The Revd Lynne Cullens has this morning been announced as the next Bishop of Barking.
The Reverend Lynne Cullens will be the next Bishop of Barking, succeeding the Right Reverend Peter Hill, who retired earlier this year.
Lynne is currently Rector of Stockport and Brinnington in the Diocese of Chester, where she has served since July 2019. She is also a trustee and the Chair of the National Estate Churches Network.
Speaking about her appointment in a message to churches in the Barking Area, Lynne said:
It has been the most delightful and humbling surprise to have been called to this role and to Chelmsford Diocese. I am very much looking forward to joining you and to meeting with, and learning from, people, communities and partners across the Barking area.
It will be a privilege to serve God alongside you and to support Bishop Guli as she leads our continuing discernment of his will for our diocese and his Church”.
In a welcome message to Lynne, the Dean of Chelmsford the Very Revd Nicholas Henshall said:
"It’s fantastic to welcome Lynne as the new Bishop of Barking and we are very much looking forward to welcoming her to the Cathedral for her Installation in due course. From my point of view it is great to have a fellow Mancunian on the Bishop’s Leadership Team, and I can assure her that after a while she will stop noticing the absence of rain down here!"
Lynne brings a wonderful range of gifts to this new ministry as Bishop, especially around housing and ministry on large estates. Her advocacy for the poor and marginalised will be a precious gift as we seek together to serve the communities of East London."
You can read more about the new Bishop of Barking on the Diocese of Chelmsford's website.