David Urquhart (bishop)

David Andrew Urquhart, KCMG (born 14 April 1952)[2] is a Scottish bishop. He is the ninth Bishop of Birmingham in the Church of England.

The Right Reverend David Urquhart KCMG
Bishop of Birmingham
Diocese	Birmingham
In office	2006–present
Predecessor	John Sentamu
Other posts	Bishop of Birkenhead (2000–2006) Convenor of the Lords Spiritual (18 May 2015 – present)[1]
Orders
Ordination	1984 (deacon); 1985 (priest) by John Habgood
Consecration	2000
Personal details
Born	14 April 1952 Scotland
Nationality	British
Denomination	Anglicanism
Residence	Bishop's Croft, Harborne, Birmingham, England
Profession	formerly commercial management
Alma mater	Ealing Technical College Business School, Rugby School

Education

Urquhart was educated at Croftinloan School, near Pitlochry, and at Rugby School. After a career in commercial management with British Petroleum before studying at Ealing Technical College Business School (Bachelor of Arts BA in Business Studies, 1977), he trained for the ordained ministry at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford.[3]

Church career

He was ordained a deacon at Petertide 1984 (1 July), by John Habgood, Archbishop of York, at York Minster,[4] and a priest the next year, and served in Hull before becoming the vicar of Holy Trinity Church, Coventry in 1992; for his last year in Coventry, he was an honorary canon of the cathedral.[3] He was appointed suffragan Bishop of Birkenhead in the Diocese of Chester in 2000. Urquhart acts as the Archbishop of Canterbury's envoy to China and accompanied him on a visit to China in October 2006.[5] Urquhart was appointed Prelate of the Order of St Michael and St George in 2005[6][7] and holds the Freedom of the Borough of Wirral.[8] He is unmarried.

His appointment as Bishop of Birmingham was announced in 2006[9] and he was enthroned on 17 November 2006,[10] succeeding John Sentamu after Sentamu's appointment as Archbishop of York. Around 800 people attended his enthronement in Birmingham Cathedral.[11] Urquhart was introduced as a Lord Spiritual to the House of Lords on 26 October 2010.[12] He became the Convenor of the Lords Spiritual on 18 May 2015.[1]

Inauguration

At his enthronement Urquhart was presented with a cope which incorporated various images related to his life and the city of Birmingham. These included a bagpiper, signifying his birth and upbringing in Scotland, a motorcycle which represents one of his hobbies and the emblems of Aston Villa and Birmingham City, the two most prominent football teams from the city. The cope also features a passage from the Bible, which reads "You shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of the streets to dwell in." (Isaiah 58:12). The passage was written in English, Mandarin, Hebrew and Luganda. During the ceremony in Birmingham Cathedral, Urquhart smashed a large clay pot with a mallet to signify the fragility of human life and our world.[13]

In a message to his new diocese shortly after his enthronement, Urquhart thanked the people of Birmingham for the warm welcome he had received. He cited his desire for the diocese to engage in "worship, making disciples and prophetic witness".[14]

Poverty

Urquhart has worked successfully with representatives of several political parties in who lead Birmingham City Council, in an effort to fight poverty and social exclusion.

Inequality and social exclusion is something that we should not easily accept in a rich country and a city like ours. Our aim is to bridge the gap between the disadvantaged and the powerful, so that more people can participate in the economic and social opportunities at work, home and play.[15]

Safeguarding controversy

In December 2018, Urquhart was cited in an independent review of the ten-year handling of an abuse case in the Birmingham diocese. The report, seen by Channel 4, found the church "fell short on a number of basic standards of complaint handling” and delivered damning findings about the Bishop of Birmingham's response in 2011. It said he “lacked adequate knowledge of safeguarding and the capacity to manage the process". The survivor claimed she had been warned by an unnamed bishop not to talk to the media as it wouldn't be “very godly”. She was also forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement before seeing the review into her own case. Urquhart apologised to her and her husband “for the upset and anguish that you both have suffered as a result of the mistakes I have made in the handling of your complaint”.[16][17][18][19]

Styles

• The Reverend David Urquhart (1984–1999)
• The Reverend Canon David Urquhart (1999–2000)
• The Right Reverend David Urquhart (2000–2018)
• The Right Reverend David Urquhart KCMG (2018–present)

References

1. Church of England — New Convenor of the Lords Spiritual announced (Accessed 18 May 2015)
2. Peter Owen — Diocesan Bishops in the Church of England
3. "Urquhart, David Andrew". Who's Who. ukwhoswho.com. 2015 (November 2014 online ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. Retrieved 7 November 2015. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
4. "Petertide ordinations". Church Times (#6334). 6 July 1984. p. 4. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 13 May 2017 – via UK Press Online archives.
5. ""Notes from China", Archbishop of Canterbury official site, October 2006". Archived from the original on 2006-11-16.
6. "No. 57654". The London Gazette. 31 May 2005. p. 7053.
7. ""New Bishop of Birmingham appointed", Office of the Prime Minister, 23 May 2006". Archived from the original on 2006-12-11.
8. ""Wirral honours civic leaders", Wirral Council press release, 6 November 2006". Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2006.
9. "No. 58024". The London Gazette. 21 June 2006. p. 8460.
10. Diocese of Birmingham — A cope of Many Languages for the Ninth Bishop of Birmingham
11. ""Birmingham's new bishop is named", BBC News, 23 May 2006". 23 May 2006. Retrieved 2 January 2010.
12. UK Parliament — Lords Calendar
13. ""A cope of Many Languages for the Ninth Bishop of Birmingham", 17 November 2006, Diocese of Birmingham website".
14. ""Bishop of Birmingham Inaugurated", Diocese of Birmingham, 17 November 2006".
15. Why David Urquhart is a man for our times
16. "Exclusive: Church of England gags abuse victim with NDA". Channel 4. 5 December 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
17. "Case of vicar said to have stripped off clothes in front of woman 'hushed up by Church of England'". The Telegraph. 5 December 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
18. "Birmingham diocese defends gagging order for survivor". Church Times. 6 December 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
19. "Church cover-up claims over 'sex pest Harborne vicar who walked around naked'". Birmingham Mail. 6 December 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2018.

External links

• Profile on the Diocese of Birmingham's official website