Archbishop announces Isabelle Hamley as new Chaplain

07/11/2016

Isabelle

The appointment has been announced today of the Revd Isabelle Hamley as the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Chaplain. As well as her duties as Chaplain she will have responsibility for developing the Archbishop’s priority of prayer and the renewal of religious life, especially through the Community of St Anselm. Currently Tutor in Biblical Studies at St John’s College, Nottingham and Associate Priest in the parish of Edwalton, Isabelle will take up her new role in January.

Archbishop Justin said: “I am delighted to welcome Isabelle to the team at Lambeth. The Chaplain is a central part of life here, supporting the Archbishop and the family, maintaining the rhythms of worship and prayer and providing pastoral support for the community who live and work here.”

“Isabelle comes to us highly commended by her diocese where she has served in several ministry roles, lay and ordained, in university, college and parish. She brings a pastoral heart, a spiritual richness and a rigorous theological understanding to what is a demanding role. We look forward to welcoming her, husband Paul and daughter Aelwen to London and life at Lambeth.”

In responding to her appointment, Isabelle said: “I am delighted with the opportunity to join the Lambeth team in supporting the work of the Archbishop. It is a privilege to join such a rich and diverse working environment, bringing my experience in parish, chaplaincy and theological education. I look forward to getting to know all those who work and live at Lambeth and enabling prayer to be the beating heart of our life together.”

Originally from France, Isabelle has studied and ministered in the UK for the last twenty years. She recently became a British citizen where one of the questions in the process was, “Who is the Archbishop of Canterbury and where does he live?”

Isabelle is in the final stages of a PhD in Biblical studies, (Relational identity, Otherness and Victimisation: An Irigarayan Reading of Judges 19-21), having degrees in both English Studies and in Community Justice, a research masters in postcolonial literature and an MA in Ministry and Mission.

Her appointment comes following an extensive selection process which attracted candidates from diverse backgrounds across the Church of England. The appointment committee was itself diverse, and recommended two names, in order of priority, to the Archbishop.

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