Another saxophonist to be bishop

This morning, the Prime Minister’s Office  issued the following announcement.

“Suffragan Bishop of Taunton: Ruth Worsley

30 June 2015

The Queen has approved the nomination of the Venerable Ruth Worsley to the Suffragan See of Taunton in the diocese of Bath and Wells.

The Queen has approved the nomination of the Venerable Ruth Worsley, Archdeacon of Wiltshire in the diocese of Salisbury, to the Suffragan See of Taunton in the diocese of Bath and Wells in succession to the Right Reverend Peter Maurice MA on his resignation on 30 April 2015.

Notes for editors

The Venerable Ruth Worsley was educated at the University of Manchester and trained for the ministry at St John’s College, Nottingham. She served her title at Basford with Hyson Green, in the diocese of Southwell and Nottingham and was ordained priest in 1997. She continued as curate of Hyson Green with Forest Fields and became Priest in Charge there in 2001.

From 2006 to 2008 she served as Area Dean in North Nottingham before becoming half-time Area Dean of Nottingham South and half-time Priest in Charge of Sneinton St Christopher with St Philip in 2008. From 2007 to 2010 she also served as Dean of Women’s Ministry and Honorary Canon of Southwell Minster.

In 2010 she became Parish Development Officer in the diocese of Southwark, before taking up her current role as Archdeacon of Wiltshire in the diocese of Salisbury in 2013. She has been Chaplain to Her Majesty the Queen since 2009.

Mrs Worsley is married to Howard, Vice-Principal of Trinity College, Bristol. They have three adult sons, Nathanael, Jonathan and Ben and a very new daughter-in-law, Danielle. Ruth’s interests include walking and sailing (though she doesn’t like getting wet!), reading novels, playing the saxophone badly and singing, a little better”.

In our post Bishop of Stockport announced – an “equal sax appointment”?indicated that the Rt Rev Libby Lane is learning to play the saxophone, or “saxamaphone” as Homer Simpson calls it. We note that Sir John Dankworth, the saxophonist who pioneered modern jazz in Britain, wrote a Folk Mass setting once favoured by St Mark’s, Broomhill, Sheffield, and elsewhere. Although our version of the score for “Choir and Accompaniment” [Ascherberg, 1970] is not set for the saxophone, we are sure it could be arranged.

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