Donald Allister
The next Bishop of Peterborough is to be the Ven. Donald Allister, currently Archdeacon of Chester. He succeeds the Rt Revd Ian Cundy, who died in May. He expects to take up his new post in the early spring of 2010 and comes with the express hope that he can help to build people’s confidence in their faith, and to unite all Christians around their love for Jesus Christ.
Donald Allister has wide experience of the Church of England. He was a choirboy and server in central and anglo-catholic parishes before ordination, and has served in evangelical parishes in both the north-west and the south-east, where he saw considerable numerical and structural growth.
He is the Bishop of Chester’s adviser on healthcare chaplaincy, chair of Chester’s Houses and Glebe Committee, vice/acting chair of the Board of Education and DAC, and a member of General Synod and of the Council for Christian Unity. Archdeacon Donald says he was neither seeking nor expecting such an appointment. His first task, he says, will be to get around the diocese and to reflect with clergy and church members on how we may move forward together.
“I look forward to hearing from clergy and lay leaders what’s going on in their areas and the needs and opportunities of the Church,” he says. “I am strongly committed to the pastoral care of the clergy, and to sharing that with my colleagues on the senior staff and with rural deans. I have had a particular role in looking after rural clergy and dealing with rural issues, as well as having had personal experience of working in urban areas.”
Supporting the ordination of women (having once opposed the practice), he remains deeply concerned for the proper provision of those who object to women priests and bishops, believing strongly in maintaining the unity of the Church of England.
“I want to be a bishop for the whole diocese and for everyone in it,” he says. “I do sometimes disagree with fellow Christians but all my instincts are to disagree in love and to remain or become united.”
The Dean of Peterborough Cathedral, the Very Revd Charles Taylor, said “I very much look forward to welcoming, installing and working closely with Donald Allister. He has a great loyalty and love for the Church in all its diversity, a breadth of pastoral and administrative experience, a heart for mission and a care for the community.
“His track record reveals a man who, while firm and confident in his faith, has not clung to fixed positions but shown himself willing to travel with others. He will, I am sure, be a bishop for the whole diocese, for people of faith and people of none.”
The Bishop of Brixworth, the Rt Revd Frank White, who has been acting diocesan bishop since the illness and death of Bishop Ian, also welcomed the news. “I am honoured to welcome Archdeacon Donald as he becomes our bishop,” he said. “As the leader of the diocese he will bring fresh ideas and new energy helping us all live more hopefully in a world which needs God’s healing love.
“He will draw on his wide experience as an archdeacon, an excellent foundation for the more public role of the Bishop. As his colleagues in the diocese we look forward to welcoming him and his family to the area.”
Donald Allister is married to Janice, a GP, and they have three grown-up children. The dates of his consecration as a bishop (which will take place in London) and his installation in Peterborough are yet to be decided.
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