Peterborough's new Bishop 'excited by the opportunity and potential' of the area as he formally begins new role

Peterborough’s new Bishop Debbie Sellin has spoken of her excitement in getting to know the people of her new Diocese as he formally begins her new role.

Bishop Debbie formally began her public ministry on Sunday (March 3) with a special service at Peterborough Cathedral.

Bishop Debbie has taken up the role previously held by The Right Reverend Donald Allister and is the first female bishop in the city’s history.

Her appointment was formally announced in September and officially confirmed in December and comes just ten years after the church allowed women to become bishops and only 30 after women were allowed to be ordained as priests at all.

The 59-year-old previously acted as the Bishop of Southampton after the retirement of her predecessor.

She has been in the city since February, getting to know people in the city.

Speaking of her pride at taking up the role, Bishop Debbie said: “It was amazing service and it was great to see the Cathedral full.

“It’s historic to be the first female Bishop. It’s only been 30 years since women could be ordained and 10 years since women could be appointed bishops so there is a sense of forging new ground.

"What I love is that younger women can look as see that they can be Bishops and it helps them imagine what they could end up doing.

“In 100 years time, people will look back and think, oh look that was the first time there was a female Bishop so it is of real interest to the Diocese.”

Bishop Debbie will be responsible for leading communities in Peterborough but also in Rutland, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.

She added: “The first word that comes to mind when I think about the diocese is variety. There’s so many different communities living here, a huge amount of variety.

“Peterborough strikes me as diverse. There’s a lot of vibrancy- which I really like- you hear different accents, languages and there a lot of faiths. I particularly love the vibrancy around Cathedral Square.

“My priority is finding getting to meet people. I met a lot of people at the service on Sunday who invited me to come to their communities so I look forward to that and getting to meet as many people as possible.

“I’m going to be going to the city hospital and the prison in the next few months and I’d love to meet the Principal of the university, civic leaders and charities. The Light Project is something I want to visit quite soon.

“It will also be really good to meet with the faith leaders in the city, who have been really welcoming and played a part in the service yesterday."

Bishop Debbie- who was born in Scotland- was ordained in 2007. She served as a Deacon in the Diocese of Guildford before becoming the Vicar of Wonersh in Surrey in 2010.

She then became the Bishop of Southampton in 2019 and served at the acting Bishop of Winchester between 2021 and 2023.

In her previous career, Bishop Debbie worked as an NHS manager before becoming a children and families church worker.

She added: "One of the privileges is that I can see all of the work that is going on in the parishes, if I can help tell the stories of that, then that’s a big part of my job.

“My attitude is that every church can look and think, what can we do to help the people that live in our area. Parish vicars look after those that come to their church but they also want to look after those that don’t come to church as well.

“Most churches are doing something in their local communities and the challenge is making sure it is relevant to where they are.

" During the cost of living crisis, quite a lot of churches have opened up as warm spaces and that combats loneliness and stops people feeling isolated. It’s important all churches look at their area and think what is right for them to do.

“I’m very much looking forward to the future, it’s exciting. I’ve come to a new place with so much opportunity and potential. The key thing is to learn the area, get to know people and listen to what is going on and then think, what more could we be doing.

“If I can help to encourage people to do more of what they’re already doing, then that’s good.

“I’m really grateful for the warm welcome. So many people have written and contacted me and not just people from church. I’m really grateful to the people of Peterborough for that. The service was a real example of that and I’d love to get to know them.”