Martyn James Snow[2] (born 25 January 1968) is a British Anglican bishop. Since 2016, he has been the Bishop of Leicester. He previously served as Bishop of Tewkesbury from 2013 to 2016, and as Archdeacon of Sheffield and Rotherham from 2010 to 2013.[1]
Martyn Snow | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Leicester | |
 Snow in 2016 | |
| Church | Church of England |
| Diocese | Leicester |
| In office | 2016–present |
| Predecessor | Tim Stevens |
| Other post(s) |
|
| Orders | |
| Ordination |
|
| Consecration | 25 September 2013 by Justin Welby |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Martyn James Snow 25 January 1968 |
| Nationality | British |
| Denomination | Anglicanism |
| Residence | Bishop's Lodge, Knighton[1] |
| Spouse | Lynn Snow |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | University of Sheffield |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Spiritual | |
| Assumed office 6 October 2022 | |
Early life and education
editMartyn James Snow was born on 25 January 1968[3] in Indonesia.[4][5] His parents worked with the church in Indonesia and his grandparents were missionaries in China.[6] His grandfather was James O. Fraser who pioneered work among the Lisu people of Southwestern China and is credited with developing the Fraser script for their language.[7]
Snow studied chemistry at Sheffield University,[4] graduating with a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in 1989.[8] He trained for ordination at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, graduating with a Bachelor of Theology (BTh) degree in 1995.[9] He also holds a Master of Art (MA) degree in theology from Durham University which he completed in 2012.[8][10]
Ordained ministry
editSnow was made a deacon at Petertide 1995 (2 July) by David Lunn, Bishop of Sheffield, at Sheffield Cathedral[11] and ordained a priest the Petertide following (5 July 1996) by Michael Gear, Bishop of Doncaster at his title church (St Andrew's, Brinsworth).[12] He was an assistant curate at Brinsworth with Catcliffe and Treeton before service with the Church Mission Society in Guinea. He worked as Youth Chaplain with the Anglican Diocese of Guinea in the Church of the Province of West Africa. He was vicar of Christ Church, Pitsmoor from 2001 to 2010 and area dean of Ecclesfield from 2007. In 2010 he became Archdeacon of Sheffield and Rotherham.[10]
Episcopal ministry
editOn 25 September 2013, Snow was consecrated a bishop by Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, during a service in Westminster Abbey.[5][13] In October 2013, he started his duties as Bishop of Tewkesbury, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Gloucester.[5] He was acting diocesan Bishop of Gloucester from 5 August 2014 until Rachel Treweek took up the role of diocesan bishop in June 2015.[14]
On 15 December 2015, it was announced that Snow would be translated to Leicester in 2016.[10][15] Snow officially became Bishop of Leicester with the confirmation of his election on 22 February 2016.[16] He then become the youngest diocesan bishop in the Church of England, aged 48.[17] On 14 May 2016, a service of installation was held at Leicester Cathedral during which he was seated on his Cathedra and given the crozier of the Diocese of Leicester.[18]
In May 2016 Snow was one of six bishops cited in the Guardian and Church Times as subject of Clergy Disciplinary Measure complaints owing to their alleged inaction on a disclosure by a sexual assault survivor.[19][20] The bishops contested the complaints.[21] From October that year, Snow sat on the Church of England's National Safeguarding Steering Group (NSSG).[22][23]
Between 2017 and 2024, Snow was chair of the College of Archbishops' Evangelists.[24] In April 2021, Snow became the Bishop Protector for the Third Order of Franciscans known as the Third Order Society of St Francis (T.S.S.F.)[25] Snow is also Sponsoring Bishop for the Church of England project to grow the number of children and youth ministers in the church to 30,000.[26] He is also a member of the Committee for Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns.[27]
In Leicester, Snow is also chair of the Oversight Group for Leicester Homelessness Charter, an umbrella organisation for businesses, charities and statutory agencies who work with people who have experienced homelessness. [28]
He became a member of the House of Lords (as a Lord Spiritual) on 6 October 2022.[29]
Views
editSnow has been outspoken on issues of racial justice including 'taking the knee' outside Leicester Cathedral in July 2020[30] and speaking at a conference on the subject of Whiteness.[31]
In February 2023, Snow voted to approve blessings for same-sex couples in the Church of England.[32] In November 2023, Snow abstained during a vote on introducing "standalone services for same-sex couples" on a trial basis during a meeting of the General Synod; the motion passed.[33][34] In February 2023, he had spoken of his willingness to implement the votes of the General Synod on the Prayers of Love and Faith even though he had not voted for them,[35] and in November that year he became the lead bishop for the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process involving the introduction of "Prayers of Love and Faith" for same sex couples. [36]
Snow has been active in campaigning for the government to scrap the two-child limit on benefits.[37][38]
Works
edit- Coaching in the Church: leadership and growing the skills of those around you., Grove Books Ltd, 2008 ISBN 1851746986
- Leading Change in the Church: and involving everyone in the process., Grove Books Ltd, 2009 ISBN 1851747338
- Mission Partnerships: parishes working together in mission., Grove Books Ltd, 2013 ISBN 1851748598
- Reflections for Daily Prayer: Advent 2015 to Christ the King 2016., Church House Publishing, 2015 ISBN 071514457X
- Pilgrim: The Creeds., Church House Publishing, 2015 ISBN 0715144448
- Developing Leaders, https://www.biblesociety.org.uk/uploads/content/bible_in_transmission/files/2015_summer/BiT_Summer_2015_Snow.pdf
- Resourcing Sunday to Saturday Faith: Readers, Lay Ministry and Everyday Faith., 2018, https://transformingministry.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Resourcing-Faith-Booklet-April-19.pdf
- Anglican Evangelists: identifying and training a new generation., SPCK, 2019 ISBN 0281083649
- Anglican Discipleship: everyday faith and everyday witness., Grove Books Ltd, 2021 ISBN 1788271602
- Seeking an Intercultural Church., https://d3hgrlq6yacptf.cloudfront.net/61f2fd86f0ee5/content/pages/documents/ojim-spring-2024.pdf
- An Intercultural Church for a Multicultural World: reflections on intercultural gift exchange., Church House Publishing, 2024 ISBN 9781781404720
References
edit- ^ a b "Martyn James Snow". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
- ^ Sheffield Diocesan Board of Finance
- ^ "Martyn Snow". api.parliament.uk. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
- ^ a b "Snow, Martyn James". Who's Who. Vol. 2017 (November 2016 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 6 July 2017. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ a b c "The Bishop of Tewkesbury". Diocese of Gloucester. Church of England. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
- ^ "Bishop Martyn Snow shares his powerful God Story & talks about the Evangelism & the Power of Prayer". YouTube. 19 April 2022.
- ^ Fraser Crossman, Eileen (1994). Mountain Rain (OMF ed.). Wheaton, Ill: Harold Shaw Publishers. ISBN 9-780877-885511.
- ^ a b "Leicester, Bishop of, (Rt Rev. Martyn James Snow) (born 1968)". Who's Who 2023. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
- ^ "Martyn James Snow". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
- ^ a b c "Bishop of Leicester: Martyn James Snow". GOV.UK. Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street. 15 December 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
- ^ "Petertide ordinations". Church Times. No. 6909. 14 July 1995. p. 12. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 6 July 2017 – via UK Press Online archives.
- ^ "Ordinations". Church Times. No. 6961. 12 July 1995. p. 4. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 6 July 2017 – via UK Press Online archives.
- ^ Yong, Michael (2 August 2013). "New Bishop of Tewkesbury youngest in C of E". Gloucestershire Echo. Retrieved 19 February 2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Diocese of Gloucester — Letter from the Bishop of Tewkesbury Archived 2014-08-08 at the Wayback Machine (Accessed 7 August 2014)
- ^ Diocese of Leicester — Welcome to the New Bishop of Leicester Archived 2016-01-29 at archive.today (Accessed 15 December 2015)
- ^ Diocese of Leicester — Martyn confirmed for Leicester & photo on Twitter (Accessed 26 February 2016)
- ^ "A quiet revolution, not an Evangelical takeover". Church Times. 19 February 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
- ^ "Welcome Bishop Martyn". Diocese of Leicester. Church of England. 14 May 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2016.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Senior Anglican clergy accused of failing to act on rape allegations". The Guardian. 26 July 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ "Goddard Inquiry begins to sift through Church's evidence". Church Times. 29 July 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ "Independent Learning Lessons Review". Church Times. 29 July 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
- ^ "National Safeguarding Steering Group" (PDF). Church of England. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
- ^ "November 20 2017 – National Safeguarding Steering Group [NSSG] and National Safeguarding Panel [NSP] – Church of England". The Bell Society. 20 November 2017. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
- ^ "Archbishops College of Evangelists". Retrieved 14 May 2018.
- ^ "TSSF". Retrieved 1 May 2021.
- ^ "30k Project Board" (PDF). Retrieved 1 August 2023.
- ^ "Committtee for Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns". Retrieved 20 July 2024.
- ^ "Homelessness Charter". Retrieved 1 May 2021.
- ^ "The Lord Bishop of Leicester". Retrieved 11 October 2022.
- ^ "Taking the Knee". Retrieved 1 August 2020.
- ^ "Whiteness". Retrieved 1 November 2023.
- ^ https://premierchristian.news/en/news/article/how-church-of-england-bishops-voted-same-sex-blessings-during-general-synod
- ^ "GENERAL SYNOD NOVEMBER 2023 GROUP OF SESSIONS BUSINESS DONE AT 5 P.M." (PDF). churchofengland.org. The Church of England. 13 November 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
7. The motion (as amended) 'That this Synod, conscious that the Church is not of one mind on the issues raised by Living in Love and Faith, that we are in a period of uncertainty, and that many in the Church on all sides are being deeply hurt at this time, recognise the progress made by the House of Bishops towards implementing the motion on Living in Love and Faith passed by this Synod in February 2023, as reported in GS 2328, encourage the House to continue its work of implementation, and ask the House to consider whether some standalone services for same-sex couples could be made available for use, possibly on a trial basis, on the timescale envisaged by the motion passed by the Synod in February 2023.' was carried following a counted vote by Houses.
- ^ "General Synod 15th November 2023 – Item 007" (PDF). churchofengland.org. The Church of England. 15 November 2023. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
- ^ "Prayers of Love and Faith". Retrieved 10 February 2024.
- ^ "synod signals support for anglican way forward on same-sex relationships". The Church of England. 9 November 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
- ^ "the two child benefit cap in the UK is unfair and doesn't work". The Guardian. 16 May 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
- ^ "new DWP statistics". Child Poverty Action Group. 11 July 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.