The Right Reverend Richard Lewis
Bishop who turned out to be an exemplary pastor and a champion of Suffolk rural ministry
THE RIGHT REVEREND RICHARD LEWIS, who has died aged 76, was Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich from 1997 to 2007.
Although his early years as a priest in the Church of England included an industrial chaplaincy in the north-east, Lewis’s subsequent work in rural ministry and as a member of the Rural Development Commission equipped him well to lead what is sometimes referred to as the Diocese of Suffolk. His maiden speech in the House of Lords highlighted the diverse and hidden challenges facing predominantly rural counties.
When Lewis’s predecessor in Suffolk retired, diocesan representatives requested that a new bishop should have had substantial experience as a parish priest. Apart from his initial curacy, Lewis had had none, but he turned out to be an exemplary pastoral bishop for the diocese, with a light touch and impish sense of humour. He eschewed the fashion for developing diocesan strategies, seeking rather to encourage local churches to flourish in a diverse way.
To this end he promoted Local
Ordained Ministry, a scheme to train and authorise gifted and enthusiastic priests to minister within their own communities. Although for a period it regularly produced additional new clergy it was a pathway to ministry which did not find lasting favour with the national church.
Lewis was also something of a father figure in Suffolk. He is still remembered for the pastoral support he gave to farmers during outbreaks of swine flu and footand-mouth disease.
Soon after Lewis moved to Suffolk, one of his sons, Peter, was stabbed to death on his 27th birthday by his girlfriend, who was subsequently committed to Broadmoor. It is said that this experience of the pain of sudden bereavement seemed to enhance the bishop’s ability to empathise with those who suffered tragic loss. Following the murder of five women in Ipswich in 2006, he was asked to lead prayers before a match at Ipswich Town FC. The silence as he spoke was followed by a round of applause.
John Hubert Richard Lewis was born on December 10 1943 and educated at Radley College. Undeterred by the memory of his prep-school headmaster talking
so vigorously about the Old Testament that his false ear fell off, Lewis went on to read theology and train for Holy Orders at King’s College, London. He was ordained in 1967 at Newcastle Cathedral to a curacy in Hexham.
From 1970, Lewis undertook a seven-year industrial chaplaincy in Newcastle before moving to the diocese of Durham as communications officer in 1977. Five years later he found his real métier when he was appointed as an agricultural chaplain in the diocese of Hereford, where he collaborated in the publication of a report, “The people, the land and the church”. He became Archdeacon of Ludlow in the same diocese in 1987.
From 1984-88 he served as national chairman of the Small Farmers’ Association; and he continued to minister in a predominantly rural environment when he was consecrated in 1992 to the suffragan see of Taunton in the diocese of Bath and Wells.
Lewis was keen to promote an open, inclusive and tolerant church. He appointed many women to parochial posts, supported the move to ordain women as bishops and took a liberal approach to human sexuality. He was an easy communicator, his sermons down to earth, accessible, humorous and intriguing. The Friends of St Edmundsbury Cathedral were not quite sure whether he was being serious or teasing when he preached to them about Saint Christina the Astonishing.
At first many questioned the wisdom of the cathedral’s Millennium project to build a tower over the crossing as envisaged by the architect, Stephen Dykes-bower. But Lewis gave his support to the dean and the project committees. The completion of the tower during his episcopacy was marked by a visit by the Prince of Wales, who had taken an active interest in the project.
Another highlight of Lewis’s time in East Anglia was his presidency of the Suffolk Agricultural Association and the County Show, where his knowledge and experience were evident as he presented prizes and chatted with the recipients. He particularly enjoyed participating in the spectacular horse-andcarriage parade.
Lewis retired at first to Norfolk, before returning to Herefordshire. He listed among his recreations bricklaying, bumble bees and kit-car building. He is survived by his wife, Sara, whom he married in 1968, together with two of their three sons.
The Right Reverend Richard Lewis, born December 10 1943, died September 19 2020