The Reverend Canon Anna Eltringham has been named as the new Bishop of Ripon this morning.

Downing Street announced at 10am the King had approved the nomination of Rev Canon Eltringham, who is currently team rector for Oxted, in the diocese of Southwark.

Rt Revd Nick Baines, Bishop of Leeds introduced the new bishop immediately after the announcement to a gathering at St Peter’s Church in Harrogate.

The Bishop of Ripon is one of five episcopal area bishops in the Church of England Diocese of Leeds and has responsibility for a large area, including the Yorkshire Dales and the towns of Ripon, Harrogate, Settle, Skipton, Wetherby and Richmond.

The new bishop in Harrogate today

Revd Canon Eltringham’s consecration will take place on June 22 in York Minster. However, she will not fully take up the post until September.

She will succeed Helen-Ann Hartley, who left Ripon to become Bishop of Newcastle this year.

Before entering ministry, Revd Canon Eltringham worked in strategic marketing, including a role in Croydon Council.

Whilst increasingly involved in church, community and justice work, she discerned God’s call to ordained ministry, following in the footsteps of her father and previous generations in her family.

Revd Canon Eltringham grew up in the west country and studied business and anthropology at the University of Durham.

She plays the saxophone and is married to Nigel, with whom she has two daughters. They enjoy family trips out in her VW T25 campervan and visiting museums, galleries, arts events and the seaside.  She also likes creative writing, walks in the country and trying to up-cycle furniture.

She said:

“I have felt drawn back to the north of England for a number of years and have a strong sense of God’s call to this particular role.

“God has laid a number of things on my heart in recent times, including a passion for climate-care and justice; care for the wellbeing of clergy and all God’s people; a vision for a church that serves as much beyond as within its buildings; and children and young people at the heart of it all.”

‘Important rural area’

The Rt Revd Nick Baines, Bishop of Leeds said of the appointment:

“I am delighted to welcome Revd Canon Anna Eltringham as the next Bishop of Ripon and to this important rural area that includes the world famous Yorkshire Dales.

“Our parishes and communities, big and small, will greet her with great warmth as her commitment to parish ministry and the environment will be evident from the word go.

“Anna’s pastoral care for clergy and lay leaders is evident from her previous work in the Diocese of Southwark and the wider church. She will greatly support our diocesan mission to encourage Christian confidence across the Ripon episcopal area and beyond.”

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Revd Canon Eltringham was ordained Deacon in the Diocese of Southwark in 2008 and served her title at Holy Innocents in South Norwood.

She then joined the Oxted team ministry (four churches in Surrey) where since 2019 she has been team rector.

Since 2017 she has also been the Dean of Women’s Ministry, advocating for, and developing the ministry of lay and ordained women in the diocese and advising senior staff on such matters. Anna has also served as an honorary chaplain to the monarch since 2020.

The Most Revd Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York said:

“Revd Canon Anna’s enthusiasm and love for parish ministry and her ability to connect, having been an advocate for clergy well-being and serving as Dean of Women’s Ministry, will be a great blessing to the parishes and Diocese of Leeds.”

The most senior Anglican in the north of England is to visit Harrogate this month.

The Most Reverend Stephen Cottrell is giving a talk at St Mark’s Church on Saturday, September 25.

The talk is titled Travelling Well and will be a theological reflection on pilgrimage in Christianity. The archbishop has twice walked the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in Spain.

It will be the first in a wider series of lectures arranged by the Harrogate School of Theology and Mission, which is an ecumenical association of Harrogate churches.

It was launched to develop theological and biblical training that is open to all.

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The programme has been running for about five years, but this will be the first live lecture since the start of covid. The talk will also be available on zoom.

Geoffrey Turner, a committee member of the Harrogate School of Theology and Mission, believes being able to hold sessions over the internet has been beneficial. He said:

“When covid came and we couldn’t do our live lectures, we thought we’d be shut down. Like the whole Christian church, we were saved by Zoom – the creator of Zoom really should be made a saint.

“It made us realise we can be more flexible, especially for big name speakers who might be based further away from Harrogate.

“But the fact we’re live, up and running again is really meaningful for us. The Archbishop of York visiting gets us off to a flying start, and we’re really looking forward to it.”

The programme includes live lectures, including Canon Dr Mark Powley on meeting God in worship, Rt Revd Toby Howarth on Yorkshire’s Christian and Muslim communities working together, and Dr Selina Stone on pneumatology, embodiment and justice.

The planned commemorations for VE Day on Friday may have been called off, but the community in Ripon is preparing to ensure the 75th anniversary will not go unmarked despite the coronavirus lockdown.

The city council is calling on citizens to join in a city-wide clap at 3pm, while earlier in the day at 11am, Ripon Cathedral will host a virtual service on YouTube, featuring the Archbishop of York, The Most Rev Rt Hon Dr John Sentamu. Commemorative planting has already been completed as a public display to mark the anniversary.

Councillor Andrew Williams, chair of the the city council’s events committee, told The Stray Ferret:

“The significance of 3pm on May 8th is the fact that this was the time when Churchill spoke to the nation 75 years ago, signalling the end of the war in Europe.”

Cllr Williams added:

“As well as encouraging residents to join in a city-wide clap, we are asking them to decorate their windows red, white and blue. We are extremely disappointed that the three days of celebrations we planned had to be cancelled, but we must at least acknowledge the service and sacrifice of those who served in the second world war.”

The commemorative VE Day service at Ripon Cathedral can be watched via the cathedral’s website and will include singing from the Dishforth Military Wives Choir and music from the Black Dyke brass band. The Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire, Mrs Jo Ropner, will give a short reading and the Archbishop will give a brief reflection. As the service draws to a close, Tom Coxhead, the cathedral’s assistant organist, will play ‘Spitfire Prelude’ which William Walton wrote for the 1942 film ‘The First of the Few’.

Originally the cathedral was to have hosted a service for the county on VE Day, but as with its Easter Day and other services, is  using YouTube to reach out to the community.