As the Church of England prepares to celebrate the installation of its first female Archbishop of Canterbury, the Church in Dorset has held its own celebration – marking 10 years since the ordination as a bishop of the Rt Revd Karen Gorham, Bishop of Sherborne.
Bishop Karen was consecrated in Westminster Abbey on 24 February 2016 and was the eighth woman to be ordained a bishop in the Church of England. She became the Bishop of Sherborne on 16 March 2016, the first woman to hold a post whose history stretches back to the early 8th century. She works alongside the Bishops of Salisbury and Ramsbury to lead the Diocese of Salisbury.
Bishop Karen’s 10 years of service and commitment to church, community and county were celebrated at Sherborne Abbey on Tuesday 24 February, where local clergy and lay representatives came from across Dorset to join in a special service of Holy Communion. The preacher at the service was the Rt Revd John Pritchard, retired Bishop of Oxford, who worked with Karen in both Canterbury, when he was an Archdeacon, and in Oxford when Karen was Archdeacon of Buckingham. Prayers were led by two Licensed Lay Ministers (LLM), representing one of Karen’s diocesan roles as Warden of LLMs. The collection was taken for both the Abbey and Routes to Roots, a homeless charity in Poole of which Karen is Patron.
With a commitment to bringing church and society together, Karen holds a number of meetings each year for community, business and church leaders from around Dorset. Bishop Karen is also patron of several local charities including the Sherborne Abbey Festival and the Dorset Community Foundation, as well as being chair of the Dorset and Wiltshire Deaf and Hard of Hearing Trust.
Bishop Karen’s journey began in Billericay, Essex, where she was brought up in a Christian home, volunteering in the church at the age of 12 for the local junior Sunday School. Reflecting on her past ten years in Dorset, Bishop Karen commented: “I have come to love this county – its people, its places, its stories – and cherish the privilege of becoming part of that story myself as the tenth Bishop of Sherborne in the modern era, continuing a role that stretches back more than 1,300 years.
“I’m often asked, ‘What does a bishop actually do?’ Of course, part of the role is to lead the Church in a particular place. But it is also about standing alongside people, not only within our congregations, but across the whole fabric of our society. As the only resident faith leader in Dorset, being a public voice for faith throughout the county has mattered deeply to me. Equally important has been helping people connect faith with their everyday life, wherever they find themselves. Local churches matter immensely, and so do the relationships we build with our communities and their leaders.
“If there is one central truth I have discovered about faith, leadership and life, it is this: God is faithful. I see God at work through our churches every day. Across Dorset’s parishes, people are making Jesus known in countless quiet, generous ways. For me, that is the heart of ministry. It isn’t defined by the big, headline moments, but by the steady faithfulness of individuals – the small acts of love, service and prayer that fill each day. Those are the things that sustain me, and they continue to shape my own life of prayer and worship.”
Image: L-R: Sarah Musgrave LLM; Bishop Stephen Lake, Bishop of Salisbury; Bishop Karen Gorham, Bishop of Sherborne; Bishop John Pritchard; Judy Anderson LLM