On 9 November, the synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church elected Canon Anne Dyer as the next Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney. Dyer has served as parish priest at Holy Trinity Church in Haddington, Scotland, since 2011. Dyer is a member of the council of the Scottish Episcopal Institute and of the General Synod, which reflects her broad involvement in the church. Dyer was ordained a deacon in 1987 and a priest in 1994 in Rochester, being among the first women to be ordained to both of these offices. She served as Warden of Cranmer Hall[1] in Durham, England, and before that held a post in clergy development in the Diocese of Rochester, England. In the period leading up to her ordination, Dyer taught chemistry at St Anne’s College, Oxford, and was a business model analyst at the company Unilever[2]. For ordained ministry she studied at Wycliffe Hall[3] College, Oxford, and studied theology at King’s College[4] in London. Upon learning of her election, Dyer said: “I am thrilled that the bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church have elected me to serve as bishop in the united Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney. To lead the people of the diocese will be a privilege for me, as it will be for them to continue to make God’s love known in their communities and beyond. I look forward with both eagerness and a sense of challenge to our shared ministry and worship in various places throughout the diocese, as well as to joining the College of Bishops.” Dyer is the first woman to be elected bishop in the Scottish Episcopal Church. The General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church voted to allow women to be elected to the office of bishop in 2003. The see of Aberdeen and Orkney became vacant in November of last year, when the diocesan bishop Robert Gillies retired. The Most Rev. Mark Strange, who is Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, said: “I am delighted to welcome Canon Anne Dyer to the College of Bishops. Anne brings with her a wealth of experience in theological education and mission development and is endowed with so many gifts for the work of the diocese – and all of them used in deep love and generosity.” “I am also gratified that these gifts have made it possible for us to elect a woman to our College of Bishops. Pray for Anne, her family, for the congregation in Haddington and for the diocese in Aberdeen and Orkney as part of their journey of faith.” Dyer was born in 1957. She is married and has a daughter. Source: Episcopal News Service (Episcopal News Service), 9 November 2017
[1] A theological college and community centred on Jesus Christ. See online: https://community.dur.ac.uk/cranmer.hall/ [2] A multinational consumer goods company. It is an international company whose products are sold in more than 190 countries and used by more than two million consumers around the world. Its head offices are located in London, England, and Rotterdam, the Netherlands. It is one of the oldest international companies. It is the world’s third largest consumer goods company. See online: https://www.prakse.lv/enterprise/profile/1171/unilever-baltic-llc [3] An evangelical theological college. See online: https://www.wycliffehall.org.uk/ [4] See online: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/index.aspx