Lay Anglicana, the unofficial voice of the laity throughout the Anglican Communion.
This is the place to share news and views from the pews.

Get involved ...

Candidates for Cantuar: Tim Stevens

 

Bishop Tim Stevens was raised in a rural vicarage in Essex and went to Chigwell School, after which he spent a year in Zambia with Voluntary Service Overseas and then read Classics and English at Selwyn College, Cambridge. Bishop Tim and his wife, Wendi, have two adult children, Rachel and Adam. He has  ‘a keen attachment’ to cricket and rugby.

 Career

After leaving Cambridge, he  spent five years as a management trainee with the then British Overseas Airways Corporation. He left this to join the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and spent two years as  a Second Secretary in the South Asian Department.

The Crockfords entry reads as follows:

* +STEVENS, The Rt Revd Timothy John. b 46. Selw Coll Cam BA68 MA72. Ripon Coll Cuddesdon 75. d 76 p 77 c 95. C E Ham w Upton Park Chelmsf 76-80; TR Canvey Is 80-88; Dep Dir Cathl Cen for Research and Tr 82-84; Bp’s Urban Officer 87-91; Hon Can Chelmsf Cathl 87-91; Adn W Ham 91-95; Suff Bp Dunwich St E 95-99; Bp Leic from 99.

As you can see, he trained for ordination at Ripon Hall, Oxford and subsequently at Ripon College, Cuddesdon. He was ordained in 1976, at the age of 30,  as Curate in East Ham, East London.

Bishop Tim  is Council Chairman of Westcott House  theological college in Cambridge. He also has a co-ordinating role of the Bishops sitting in the House of Lords and is the episcopal spokesman on constitutional and family issues in the House. Possibly for this reason, he often speaks out on the overlap between Church and State: for example he said that the proposed parliamentary bill on same sex marriage would threaten this relationship. He also backed Archbishop Rowan’s attack on David Cameron’s idea of  ‘the Big Society’.

 

Publications

He is the author, with Tony Morgan, of ‘Simply Strategic Voluteers: Empowering People for Ministry‘ (2004)

 

Churchmanship

On the episcopal issue, he voted in favour in the debate to enable reconsideration of amendment 5.1.c, a position generally taken by those in favour of women bishops. He also voted in favour of the Anglican Covenant.

The City of Leicester has the largest Hindu population in the United Kingdom as well as substantial Muslim, Sikh and other faith communities. Both at diocesan and at national level the Bishop is involved in conversations with those of other faiths, especially in finding ways of working with other faiths on regeneration issues in cities.

 

 

Leap in the dark assessment

Nice enough chap. Possibly not inspirational leader?

◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊◊

Note: Bishop Tim has an unfortunate tendency to screw up his eyes when being photographed, making him look worried and cross. I think this is simply that he reacts to strong light, but any future spin doctors might consider placing their (arch?)bishop in a better position for photography.

16 comments on this post:

UKViewer said...
avatar

Not sure of his credentials for ABC, good at admin, probably adequate at leadership and Super at liaison.

Perhaps that is what we need? Someone who can talk to others, to coordinate, yet not be to directive. Politically he probably has the credentials, given his parliamentary background and other work he did before Ordination.

I must admit that I know very little about him or Leicester Diocese – which might be to his advantage. Who had heard of Rowan Williams before he was plucked from the Church in Wales to be ABC?

Lay Anglicana said...
avatar

Yes, I think he would do. And you may be right in your implication that we don’t want someone *too* charismatic. Still, I would like someone I felt some degree of desire to follow…

18 August 2012 19:44
18 August 2012 18:18
Matthew Caminer said...
avatar

Living as I do in Reading Archdeaconry, I would be interested to know how each of the candidates for ABofC would have handled the aborted appointment of Jeffrey John as proposed Bishop of Reading. Not just for the gay credentials, but for the whole mix of pastoral, communications, politics, (re)conciliation – the whole package. Perhaps we could speculate about each of them on this basis.

I had heard of ++Rowan!!! I am sure lots of other people had too.

Lay Anglicana said...
avatar

I had heard of +Rowan, as he then was, and desperately wanted him to be ABC as I thought he was ‘one of us’ (Anything to stop the Bishop of Rochester!). He definitely seemed the best of the bunch. But then a matter of days after his installation, ++Rowan betrayed Jeffrey John and went back on his word. There are nicer ways of saying it, but I think that is the truth. So I am not that confident of my ability to pick the best man for the job, and am glad of the existence of the CNC!

avatar

Me too (that is, I´m glad for the existence of the CNC without the Archbishop of York or Canterbury on it while choosing the next ABC).

Lay Anglicana said...
avatar

I will say this bit very quietly: ‘So am I’! :>)

avatar

I heard you in Central America (the ¨pot shot¨ heard round the World). lol

18 August 2012 20:51
Lay Anglicana said...
avatar

🙂

18 August 2012 21:03
18 August 2012 20:23
18 August 2012 20:20
18 August 2012 20:02
18 August 2012 19:52
Matthew Caminer said...
avatar

13 years as bishop in one place doesn’t sound like an CV for someone who ‘will go far’

Lay Anglicana said...
avatar

No, and I admit to being a little mystified why the bookies currently rate him 5th out of the whole field.

18 August 2012 20:03
18 August 2012 19:59
Brian R Pateman said...
avatar

As you say Laura, “He’ll do.”

Is that what we need though? A candidate not likely to make waves is not likely to create much of an impression. I assume that we are all looking from the inside, as Anglicans.

I wonder what those who are not committed Christians of any flavour would make of an Archbishop who had previously had such a low profile? And that is something which matters as the ABC is our outward figurehead and probably the only Anglican that pretty much anyone outside the Church could put a name to.

Lay Anglicana said...
avatar

Poor chap, we are damning him with faint praise, aren’t we? I struggled to find any light or shade, or indeed any colour. And it was not for want of Googling – I had reached page 10, which almost no one ever reaches on a Google search. In desperation I googled ‘Bishop Tim Stevens Gossip’, but answer came there none. Of the candidates so far, I am sticking with Justin Welby (The Rt Revd etc). I am also a great admirer of the Bishop of Liverpool, currently I think the next but one in the odds.

Brian R Pateman said...
avatar

Damning him with faint praise indeed.

He’s probably the one then, that’s me off to the bookies tomorrow morning!

The Rt Rev Justin Welby is still my choice too.

19 August 2012 07:18
18 August 2012 20:48
18 August 2012 20:39
Matthew Caminer said...
avatar

I just hope that whoever it is can somehow model leadership that somehow bridges the feelings, loyalty and devotion of the vast numbers of people in the pews whose view of normality differs from the very different view of normality expressed by those who bring gender issues to the table seemingly at the expense of all else. Very tricky! Good luck to him and the Lambeth Palace curia!

19 August 2012 08:19
Susan S. Hedges said...
avatar

Re his squinty eyes in pictures. . . the ones that look that way to me at least, are the ones taken outdoors. In the ones from obviously inside, he looks less worried and perhaps kinder. I am only glad that I have no say in the matter. I guess that means I can’t complain if I don’t like him, but it really won’t stop me. I am enjoying reading your assessments.

Lay Anglicana said...
avatar

Thank-you so much for commenting. His facial expression is fine indoors, so long as he is not facing a sea of flash-lit cameras. I don’t know how anyone manages actually, but perhaps it is something that can be learnt (stage actors, for example, don’t do this).
The Church of England laity (and clergy for that matter) are used not to having any say in the selection of the next ABC. But I think it is fair to say that social media was (were?!) not as highly developed in 2003, when Rowan Williams was appointed. Now there is quite a lot of talk back and forth. But who knows if it is having any influence on the selectors?

20 August 2012 16:35
20 August 2012 16:00

Leave a Reply to Brian R Pateman Cancel reply

We rely on donations to keep this website running.