Keith Sinclair (bishop)

Gordon Keith Sinclair (born 3 December 1952) is a British Anglican bishop. Since 2007, he has served as the Bishop of Birkenhead, one of two suffragan bishops in the Church of England Diocese of Chester. As of 2020, he is also the acting Bishop of Chester.

The Right Reverend Keith Sinclair
Bishop of Birkenhead
Sinclair conducting a dedication ceremony in 2008
Church	Church of England
Diocese	Diocese of Chester
In office	2007–present
Predecessor	David Urquhart
Orders
Ordination	1984 (deacon); 1985 (priest) by Hugh Montefiore
Consecration	8 March 2007 by John Sentamu
Personal details
Born	(1952-12-03) 3 December 1952
Nationality	British
Denomination	Anglican
Spouse	​ ( m. 1989)
Children	3
Alma mater	Christ Church, Oxford Cranmer Hall, Durham

Early life and education

Sinclair was born on 3 December 1952 to Donald and Joyce Sinclair.[1] He studied at Christ Church, Oxford, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree; as per tradition, his BA was later promoted to an Oxford Master of Arts (MA Oxon) degree.[1][2] He then worked as a solicitor.[3]

Sinclair entered Cranmer Hall, Durham, an Evangelical Anglican theological college, to train for the ministry.[2] During this time he studied theology and graduated with BA degree from Durham University in 1984.[1]

Ordained ministry

Sinclair was ordained in the Church of England: made a deacon at Petertide (1 July) 1984[4] and ordained a priest the Petertide following (30 June 1985) – both times by Hugh Montefiore, Bishop of Birmingham, at Birmingham Cathedral.[5] From 1984 to 1988, he served his curacy at Christ Church, Summerfield in the Diocese of Birmingham.[1][2] He was additionally a part-time chaplain at the Birmingham Children's Hospital.[3] Then, from 1988 to 2001, he was vicar of the Church of SS Peter & Paul, Aston.[1] He was also the area dean of Aston and an honorary canon of Birmingham Cathedral between 2000 and 2001.[2] He moved to the Diocese of Coventry, and served as vicar of Holy Trinity Church, Coventry from 2001 to 2007.[2]

Episcopal ministry

On 8 March 2007, Sinclair was consecrated a bishop by John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, during a service at York Minster.[6] Since then, he has served as the Bishop of Birkenhead, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Chester.[3] He has additionally served as acting Bishop of Chester since 1 October 2019.[7]

Beliefs

Sinclair is on the council of reference of the True Freedom Trust. Its vision is to uphold traditional biblical teaching on sexual relationships and gender and to do so with "understanding and compassion, so that Christians who struggle with same-sex attractions or gender identity gain increasing acceptance, wholeness and maturity in faith within their local church."

Sinclair was one of the bishops selected to be a member of the Church of England working group on human sexuality which in 2013 produced the Pilling Report.[8] The report acknowledges the complexity of the issue stating: "This report cannot attempt a definitive account of the debate about the meaning of Scripture, even if such an enterprise were conceivable."

Two essays are appended to the Report. One, by Sinclair, epitomizes a conservative understanding of the biblical texts. The other by the Revd David Runcorn argues a scriptural case for a more inclusive ethic.

The Report, by way of explanation for the essays, states: "We include these two contributions, not because they sum up the whole range of scriptural scholarship on this subject – they emphatically do not – but because they epitomize the way in which study of the same sources can lead to very different conclusions."

Personal life

Sinclair has been married[9][10] since 1989[1] and they have three children.[9] He is a keen walker[11] and his brother is the actor Malcolm Sinclair.[12]

Styles

• The Reverend Keith Sinclair (1984–2000; 2001–2007)
• The Reverend Canon Keith Sinclair (2000–2001)
• The Right Reverend Keith Sinclair (2007–present)

References

1. "Sinclair, Gordon Keith". Who's Who. ukwhoswho.com. 2017 (November 2016 online ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. Retrieved 29 July 2017. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
2. "Gordon Keith Sinclair". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
3. "Who's Who: Bishop of Birkenhead — Rt Revd Keith Sinclair". Diocese of Chester. Chester Diocesan Board of Finance. Archived from the original on 19 January 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
4. "Petertide ordinations". Church Times (#6334). 6 July 1984. p. 4. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 29 July 2017 – via UK Press Online archives.
5. "Petertide ordinations". Church Times (#6386). 5 July 1985. p. 16. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 29 July 2017 – via UK Press Online archives.
6. "York Minster consecration service for new Bishop of Birkenhead". Liverpool Daily Post. 8 March 2007. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
7. "Bishop Peter announces his retirement". Diocese of Chester. 2 May 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
8. Report of the House of Bishops Working Group on Human Sexuality (PDF). Church House Publishing. 2013.
9. Official notification of appointment
10. London Gazette Notice of Appointment
11. Debrett's People of Today London, 2008 Debrett's, ISBN 978-1-870520-95-9
12. "Actor's long association with playwright". Sheffield Telegraph. 3 February 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2014.

Church of England titles
Preceded by David Urquhart	Bishop of Birkenhead 2007–present	Incumbent