Which position did Rose Hudson-Wilkin hold from 2007 to 2010?
Rose Hudson-Wilkin Rose Josephine Hudson-Wilkin , ( born 19 January 1961 ) is a British Anglican bishop , who has been suffragan Bishop of Dover since 2019 : she is the first black woman to become a Church of England bishop . She had served as Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons from 2010 to 2019 , and previously in the Church Army and then parish ministry . Early life . Born in Montego Bay , Jamaica , Hudson-Wilkin was raised by her father and aunt Pet , her mother having left for England when she was born . She did not meet her mother again until she was nine . She was educated at Montego Bay High School , an all-girls secondary school in Montego Bay . She was 14 when she decided to join the ministry and , in a 2012 interview in the Daily Telegraph , she said : I simply had this overwhelming sense that this was what I was called to do . Ordained ministry . In 1982 , Hudson-Wilkin travelled to the UK to train at the Church Army college in the West Midlands . Having completed the West Midlands Ministerial Training Course , she was made a deacon in the Church of England at Petertide 1991 ( 30 June ) by Keith Sutton , Bishop of Lichfield , at Lichfield Cathedral . From 1991 to 1994 , she served as the parish deacon of St Matthews Church , Wolverhampton . She was ordained a priest on 23 April 1994 ( by Sutton , at Lichfield Cathedral ) , in the first few weeks that the Church of England ordained women to the priesthood . Remaining at St Matthews Church , she served her curacy from 1994 to 1995 . From 1995 to 1998 , she was assistant curate of St Andrews Church , West Bromwich . During this time , she also worked with the Committee on Black Anglican Concern . It was founded after the Faith in the City report was published in 1985 and worked to combat racism in the Church of England . It has since been replaced by the Committee for Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns . In 1998 , she took up the role as vicar of Holy Trinity Church , Dalston , and All Saints Church , Haggerston , an inner-city parish in Hackney , London . She was appointed a Chaplain to the Queen in 2008 . In 2010 , she was appointed Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons in addition to her parish work . In March 2013 , she was installed as a prebendary of St Pauls Cathedral in recognition of her service to the Church , community and most recently as Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons . In October 2014 , it was announced that she was to become priest-in-charge of St Mary-at-Hill , City of London . She moved to her new parish in November 2014 , while maintaining her additional appointments . Since November 2014 , she was priest-in-charge of St Mary-at-Hill , City of London , until late 2019 , additionally holding the role of Chaplain to the Speaker of the House of Commons , as well as priest vicar at Westminster Abbey and a Chaplain to the Queen . In 2012 , she was tipped as likely to be one of the first women to become bishops in the Church of England . On 28 June 2019 she was announced as the next Bishop of Dover , to run the Diocese of Canterbury on behalf of the Archbishop of Canterbury . On 19 May 2018 , she was one of several religious leaders to lead prayers at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle . Bishop of Dover . On 28 June 2019 , it was announced that Hudson-Wilkin was to become Bishop suffragan of Dover . As a suffragan bishop , the Bishop of Dover has authority delegated by the Archbishop of Canterbury to oversee the Diocese of Canterbury as if the diocesan bishop ; she took up her see immediately before her consecration , which was scheduled for 19 November 2019 at St Pauls Cathedral . Press coverage of the announcement noted that she would be the first black woman to become a Church of England bishop ; Guli Francis-Dehqani was the first ethnic minority woman to become a bishop , in 2017 . On 19 November 2019 , Hudson-Wilkin was consecrated a bishop by Archbishop Justin Welby at St Pauls Cathedral . She was installed as Bishop of Dover during a service at Canterbury Cathedral on 30 November 2019 . Hudson-Wilkin was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire ( MBE ) in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to young people and the Church . She was also listed in the 2020 and 2021 Powerlist , of the 100 the most influential people in the UK of African/African-Caribbean descent . Public attention . After taking up her parish role in Hackney , Hudson-Wilkin staged a rooftop protest on the church with her curate to highlight the need for funds to repair the fabric of the building . Speaking on Desert Island Discs in January 2014 , she said that with so much development going on in Hackney , she was trying to draw attention to the plight of the church , which had a leaking roof , adding that she wished she could have stayed a little longer on the roof as the protest attracted donations for its repair . Hudson-Wilkin came to wider attention as the first black female to hold the role of Queens Chaplain . When she was appointed to the Commons some people alleged that this was an act of political correctness on the part of the Speaker John Bercow . Ultimately , the traditional role was split in two with Hudson-Wilkin remaining in her Hackney parish and attending to the Commons via daily prayers and services in St Mary Undercroft , while Andrew Tremlett took up the post of Canon of Westminster and Rector of St Margarets , Westminster . In an interview in The Observer a year after her appointment to the Commons , Hudson-Wilkin commented that she would like to see a more civil attitude among MPs : Thats my secret prayer actually : the world is looking on and I just believe that I would like to see a change there in the way they handle listening to each other and the way they speak to each other . Hudson-Wilkin has updated the traditional 17th-century prayers before parliamentary debates by introducing mention of topical events , also saying a prayer on behalf of International Womens Day in 2010 that reportedly attracted complaints to the Speaker by some MPs . A critic of what she has described as institutional racism in the church , she has also spoken on the subject of gay marriage , telling The Times that the church is obsessed with sex and there are many more important issues . During her interview on Desert Island Discs , Hudson-Wilkin was asked about the proposed ordination of women as bishops and said : I believe that we hold certain prejudices about certain things and we believe them to be true .. . What I want is for people to be open to the possibilities that their minds might be changed . She added : I think the church has been the poorer actually for not having the gifts of women – men and women – in its leadership . In an episode of the BBC programme The Big Questions aired January 2015 , discussing the lack of legal recognition for humanist marriages , Hudson-Wilkin repeatedly characterised humanists as anti-religion and expressed bewilderment that humanists would want to get married , saying Marriage is a sacred act . We see it as a gift from God , so it is not something we think anybody just gets up and , stands in front , and says I’m marrying you . If humanists are anti-religion I don’t understand why you want to keep and do all of the things that religion does . Personal life . She met her husband , the Revd Kenneth Wilkin , when she was training at the Church Army College . He currently serves as chaplain to HM Prison Downview near Banstead in Surrey . The couple have two daughters and a son . External links . - Biography on Church of England site - Profile in Jamaica Gleaner - Rose Hudson-Wilkin on Desert Island Discs - Download of Rose Hudson-Wilkin Desert Island Discs episode