Image of one of first female bishops Rt Rev Anne Hollinghurst, Bishop of Aston

One of the first female bishops the Rt Rev Anne Hollinghurst, Bishop of Aston, has accepted the invitation to become an Honorary Vice President of WATCH (Women and the Church). She is the first female bishop to take up such a role which will involve her offering wisdom to WATCH from her own experience and perspectives, and being able to lend her voice to some of the important issues that WATCH continues to work on.

Hilary Cotton, Chair, commented

‘Bishop Anne has been a member of WATCH since its foundation in 1996, and it is with delight that we welcome her in this new role. We look forward to learning from her experience as one of the first female bishops in the Church of England, and to her working with us towards a Church where gender justice is the norm.’

Bishop Anne said

‘I have long valued the role that WATCH has played in ensuring that matters of gender have been kept firmly on the church’s agenda. A Church that releases both women and men, lay and ordained, to be all that God has called them to be, is vital if we are to see the life and mission of the church truly flourish’