Bishop Karen has been invited by the Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally, to support the Diocese of London as acting Bishop of Stepney. From January to April 2026, she will divide her time between London and Dorset.
With the announcement of Bishop Sarah’s appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury designate and the appointment of Stepney’s former bishop, Joanne Grenfell, as Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, the diocese of London needs experienced leadership for an interim period. Bishop Karen has been Bishop of Sherborne for ten years, but was previously Archdeacon of Buckingham, which covered Aylesbury, Slough and Milton Keynes.
Bishop Karen said: “I am looking forward to supporting the Stepney Area in whatever way I can, until a new area bishop joins their team, and Bishop Emma, Bishop of Kensington, as she steps into the role of Acting Bishop of London, both of us seeing Bishop Sarah across the Thames and into Lambeth Palace early in the New Year.”
She remains in Dorset in the early part of each week and is available for pastoral meetings.