Graham Usher (bishop)
The Right Reverend Graham Usher |
|
---|---|
Bishop of Dudley | |
Diocese | Diocese of Worcester |
In office | March 2014–present |
Predecessor | David Walker |
Orders | |
Ordination | 1996 (deacon) 1997 (priest) |
Consecration | 25 March 2014 by Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury |
Personal details | |
Birth name | Graham Barham Usher |
Born | 1970 (age 53–54) |
Nationality | British |
Denomination | Anglican |
Education | Pocklington School |
Alma mater | University of Edinburgh Corpus Christi College, Cambridge |
Graham Barham Usher (born 1970) is an Anglican bishop and ecologist. Since 2014, he has been the Bishop of Dudley, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Worcester. He was previously rector of Hexham Abbey.
Contents
Early life
Usher was born in 1970.[1] He was baptised by Douglas Sargent, the then Bishop of Selby.[2] His early years were spent living in Ghana.[3] Between 1981 and 1989, he was educated at Pocklington School, an independent school in Pocklington, Yorkshire.[4] He studied ecological science at the University of Edinburgh, graduating with a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in 1993.[1][5] He then attended the University of Cambridge where he studied theology at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.[6] He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1995;[1] this degree was later promoted to Master of Arts (MA Cantab), as per tradition.[6] Following the completion of his theology studies, he trained for the priesthood at Westcott House, Cambridge,[5] and St. Nicholas Theological Seminary in Ghana.[1]
Ordained ministry
Usher was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 1996 and as a priest in 1997.[1][7] He was then a curate at St Mary the Virgin, Nunthorpe, Middlesbrough, from 1996 to 1999.[3][5] While serving his curacy, he was also worked with young offenders as a chaplain at HM Prison Northallerton.[6] He was Vicar of North Ormesby, Middlesbrough between 1999 and 2004.[5] The area is very poor and is in the top two percent of deprived areas in England.[4][8]
He was rector and lecturer of Hexham Abbey for ten years from 2004 to 2014.[6] Hexham Abbey is a large parish church that can be described as cathedral-like. During his time as rector, the congregation grew and he supported the setting up of a food bank covering West Northumberland.[4][8] He also reunited the abbey with its monastic buildings, the buildings having been separated during the Reformation,[6] raising £3.2M to fully refurbish the building and create a stunning new cloister, refectory, conference and meeting rooms, and a state of the art exhibition about the Abbey's history. In 2009, he undertook a visit to Rome with the men and boys of the Hexham Abbey Choir. They had been invited to sing at a mass in St. Peter's Basilica, in celebration of the 1300th anniversary of the death of St Wilfrid.[9] In addition to his parish duties, he was Area Dean of Hexham from 2006 to 2011.[5] He was appointed an Honorary Canon of Kumasi in Ghana, the place of his early childhood, in 2007.[5]
Episcopal ministry
On 12 December 2013, it was announced that he was to become the next Bishop of Dudley.[10] He was consecrated on 25 March 2014 by Archbishop Justin Welby at St Paul's Cathedral, London.[2] He was 43 at his appointment, making him the one of the youngest of the current Church of England bishops and the first to have been born in the 1970s.[11][12]
He is one of the Church of England's environmental bishops.
In March 2016, he was appointed a member of the Human Tissue Authority by the Secretary of State for Health.[13]
Other work
Having completed an undergraduate degree in ecology, Usher continues to have interest in the field. Between 2008 and 2010, he was a member of the Forestry Commission’s Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) for the North East of England. In 2010, he was appointed chairman of the North East RAC.[14] In December 2013, the Regional Advisory Committees changed name to become the Forestry and Woodlands Advisory Committees (FWACs). He continued as chair of the new North East FWAC.[15] He stood down from his role with the Forestry commission following the announcement that he would be joining the episcopate and leaving the North East.[16]
In April 2009, he was appointed a member of the Northumberland National Park Authority by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.[17][18] In April 2013, he was re-appointed by the Secretary of State to the Northumberland National Park Authority, his previous term having ended, but resigned when he moved from the North East.[19]
In 2012, he contributed an article for the website of the Diocese of Newcastle concerning Ash dieback in the UK.[20] Also in 2012, he published a book titled Places of Enchantment: Meeting God in landscapes. The book concerns the relationship between people, God and the environment; particularly people experiencing God in the natural world, rather than through organised religion such as church services.[21]
Personal life
Usher is married to Rachel Thomson, a general practitioner who was also educated at Pocklington School.[4] Together, they have two children: Chad and Olivia.[6]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. (subscription required)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Pages containing links to subscription-only content
- Living people
- Church of England bishops
- Bishops of Dudley
- British chaplains
- 1970 births
- People educated at Pocklington School
- Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
- Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge
- Alumni of Westcott House, Cambridge
- British ecologists