Canon appears on TV to talk about reaching out
THE incoming Bishop of Loughborough spoke on television about how she will reach out to to minority ethnic communities in Leicestershire.
The Reverend Canon Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani appeared on BBC One’s Songs of Praise, talking about how her background as a refugee from Iran will inform her role.
She said on the programme: “I came to England when I was about 13 or 14, so I have a sense of understanding what it’s like to try and combine different cultures and discover your identity in that mix.”
She will be the first person to take up the suffragan bishopric, created to support Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) clergy, lay workers and congregations across Leicester Diocese.
The Reverend John Whittaker, vicar of St Mary’s Church in Hinckley, said: “Part of her role includes providing a lead to the Church of England in Leicestershire better serv- ing, engaging with and receiving from the BAME community.
“The Church of England as a whole is quite poor in its representation of ethnic minorities.
“This appointment of an Iranian woman as our new bishop demonstrates how important it is to the church to become more ethnically diverse.”
On the TV show, the priest showed a bullet-riddled pillowcase, which was shot five times in an assassination attempt on her father, during the Iranian Revolution.
He was then the Anglican bishop of Iran, and decided to leave for Britain with his family after his son was murdered in May 1980.
Ms Francis Dehqani currently leads Curate Training for Peterborough Diocese and is a Canon at Peterborough Cathedral.
She is to be consecrated into the new position at Canterbury Cathedral on November 30, with a special event at Leicester Cathedral at a later date.
Asked what she has learnt on her path to becoming a bishop, she said: “Whether it’s the smallest things in our life or the biggest things that bring twists or turns, ultimately a lot of good can come, even in the most hideous and tragic situations.”