Retiring bishop given freedom of Newcastle
SPECIAL SERVICE ATTENDED BY CIVIC LEADERS
THE Right Reverend Christine Hardman has bid farewell as Bishop of Newcastle at a Service of Thanksgiving at Newcastle Cathedral.
The event was also notable for the fact she became the first faith leader to be presented with the Freedom of the City.
The service was attended by civic dignitaries as well as many who have met and worked with Bishop Christine in her six years leading Newcastle Diocese.
The Lord Mayor of Newcastle, councillor Habib Rahman, supported by Newcastle City Council leader, Coun Nick Forbes, presented Bishop Christine with the Freedom of Newcastle.
Speaking when announcing her retirement, she said: “I am profoundly grateful for the six years I have served this Diocese, the depth of welcome and relationships in this region has been inspirational and encouraging.”
Bishop Christine became a Deaconess in 1984 and was ordained Deacon in 1987, serving in the Diocese of St Albans. She was also a tutor, and then course director, for the St Albans and Oxford ministry course until 1996.
She became Vicar of Holy Trinity and Christ the King, Stevenage; also Rural Dean of Stevenage in 1999; and in 2001 served as Archdeacon of Lewisham and Greenwich in the Diocese of Southwark.
She retired in 2012, only to return to active full-time ministry in 2015 when she was consecrated the 12th Bishop of Newcastle and has been a Member of the House of Bishops in the Church of England’s General Synod.
Her major area of work on General Synod was the legislation to allow women to be bishops. She has also been a Church Commissioner, Chair of the Archbishops’ Pastoral Advisory Group, sat in the House of Lords and chaired the North of Tyne Combined Authority inclusive economy board.
Suffragan Bishop of Berwick, the Right Reverend Mark Wroe, will lead the Diocese of Newcastle as the process begins to appoint the next Bishop of Newcastle.
He said: “Bishop Christine has been a profound voice of hope and faith for the Church and the North East as a passionate advocate of our region.
“It’s been a privilege to serve in the team she has developed, in the midst of so many changes and challenges, to help us be a growing church bringing hope for our Diocese.
“We have appreciated her compassionate, straight-talking, faithfilled and collaborative leadership which never shies away from the issues at hand.
“Although we will miss Bishop Christine deeply in the diocese, we will be bolstered by the hope and faith in Jesus Christ which she constantly holds before us. Our prayers and love will go with her and Roger.”