John Inge

John Geoffrey Inge (/ɪndʒ/ INJ; born 26 February 1955) is a bishop in the Church of England. He is currently the Bishop of Worcester in the Diocese of Worcester. From 2003 to 2008, he was Bishop of Huntingdon, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Ely.

The Right Reverend John Inge
Bishop of Worcester
The Lord Bishop of Worcester, 2019
Church	Church of England
Diocese	Diocese of Worcester
In office	2008–present
Predecessor	Peter Selby
Other posts	Bishop of Huntingdon (2003–2008) Lord High Almoner (2013–present)
Orders
Ordination	1984 (deacon) 1985 (priest) by Eric Kemp
Consecration	9 October 2003
Personal details
Born	(1955-02-26) 26 February 1955
Denomination	Anglican
Residence	The Old Palace, Worcester
Spouse	Denise (died 2014)
Children	two
Profession	formerly teacher
Alma mater	St Chad's College, Durham University

Early life and education

On 26 February 1955,[1] Inge was born to Geoffrey John Inge and Elsie Inge (née Hill). He was educated at Kent College, an independent school in Canterbury, Kent. He went on to study at St Chad's College, Durham University where he received a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in 1977. That same year Inge performed with Arthur Bostrom at the Edinburgh Festival as part of Durham University Sensible Thespians (DUST), which would be renamed the Durham Revue in 1988.[2] In 1979, he undertook teacher training at Keble College, Oxford and received a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE).[3]

Having studied chemistry at university and completed teacher training, Inge began his first career as a secondary school teacher. He taught Chemistry at Lancing College, an independent school in Lancing, West Sussex.[4] He also served as a tutor of Teme House, one of the school's boarding houses.[5]

He trained for ordination at the College of the Resurrection, Mirfield. During his ministry, he returned to Durham University for postgraduate study. He completed a Master of Arts (MA) degree in 1994 and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in 2002.[3]

Ordained ministry

Inge was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon at Petertide 1984 (30 June), by Eric Kemp, Bishop of Chichester, at Chichester Cathedral[6] and as a priest the next year.[3][7] From 1984 to 1986, he was the assistant chaplain at Lancing College. He was junior chaplain at Harrow School from 1987 to 1989 and senior chaplain from 1989 to 1990. From 1990 to 1996 he was the vicar of St Luke's Wallsend in the Diocese of Newcastle where he also chaired the Board for Mission and Social Responsibility. He became a canon residentiary of Ely Cathedral in 1996 with particular responsibility for education and mission and was then vice dean from 1999 to 2003.

Episcopal ministry

Inge was consecrated a bishop on 9 October 2003[8] by Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, at Westminster Abbey, to serve as Bishop of Huntingdon (suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Ely).[9] As the warden for readers in the Ely diocese he encouraged and equipped lay ministry; he chaired the Cambridgeshire Ecumenical Council and co-chaired the East of England Faiths Council.[7] In July 2007 he was nominated to become the Bishop of Worcester from 1 October 2007. He was enthroned at Worcester Cathedral as the Bishop of Worcester on 1 March 2008.[10]

Other work

Inge is chairman of the board of the College of Evangelists. He serves on the Faith and Order Commission (FAOC) of the General Synod. He has served on the council of Ridley Hall, Cambridge since 2008. He was for some years a trustee of Common Purpose UK, a not-for-profit organisation which organises leadership courses across the UK for the public, private and voluntary sectors, and for which he is now a trust protector.[1] He chairs the council for the Archbishop of Canterbury's Examination in Theology which awards the Lambeth Degree — an MA, MPhil or PhD in theology.[1] He is also an advisor for the independent public policy think tank ResPublica.

Inge has led numerous groups to Africa, India, South America, Russia and the Holy Land. Whilst vice dean of Ely Cathedral he established a link between Ely and the Anglican cathedral of Christ Church, Zanzibar[8] and is active in Worcester diocesan links with the Morogoru diocese in the Anglican Church of Tanzania and the Anglican diocese of Peru. He is a longstanding supporter of the World Development Movement which campaigns for justice and development in the Global South, and of Amnesty International.

Inge was introduced in the House of Lords on 25 June 2012 and made his maiden speech three days later on 28 June. He joins his cousin in the Upper House, Peter Inge, a former Chief of Defence Staff. On 15 February 2013 it was announced that he had been appointed to the office of Lord High Almoner,[11] a post in the royal household.

Personal life

Inge was married to Denise; she died in 2014.[12][13] Together they had two children.[12] He remarried in January 2018 to Helen Jane Colston.

Honours

In 2011, Inge was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Worcester.[1]

Publications

As well as numerous articles, he is the author of A Christian Theology of Place (2003), which was shortlisted for the Michael Ramsey Prize for Theological Writing, and Living Love: in Conversation with the No 1. Ladies' Detective Agency (2007).

Styles

• The Reverend John Inge (1983–1996)
• The Reverend Canon John Inge (1996–2002)
• The Reverend Canon Doctor John Inge (2002–2003)
• The Right Reverend Doctor John Inge (2003–present)

References

1. Debrett's People of Today — John Inge Worcester Archived 21 August 2012 at the Wayback Machine
2. "Spotlight on the Durham Revue". Durham First (34): 25. 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2019.
3. "John Geoffrey Inge". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 18 June 2016.
4. "The Bishop of Worcester". People & Places. Diocese of Worcester. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
5. "Teme House". Lancing College. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
6. "Ordinations". Church Times (#6335). 13 July 1984. p. 15. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 16 May 2017 – via UK Press Online archives.
7. Worcester Diocese — New Bishop for Worcester Archived 4 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
8. Diocese of Ely — Bishop John Inge to become Bishop of Worcester (Archived at , accessed 16 May 2017)
10. Worcester Diocese — Bishop John's Enthronement
11. "No. 60427". The London Gazette. 20 February 2013. p. 3313.
12. Anstey, Cathy (11 July 2007). "We're banging the drum for the next Worcester bishop". Worcester News. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
13. Day, Jordan (28 April 2014). "Tribute to Denise Inge, wife of former Bishop of Huntingdon, John Inge". Huntingdon, St Ives & St Neots News & Crier. Archived from the original on 28 April 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2014.

Church of England titles
Preceded by John Flack	Bishop of Huntingdon 2003–2008	Succeeded by David Thomson
Preceded by Peter Selby	Bishop of Worcester 2008–present	Incumbent
Other offices
Preceded by Nigel McCulloch	Lord High Almoner 2013–present	Incumbent