THE next Suffragan Bishop of Basingstoke within the diocese of Winchester is to be the Ven. Kelly Betteridge, the current Archdeacon of Bodmin, in Truro diocese, Downing Street announced on Thursday.
She succeeds the Rt Revd David Williams, who was translated to Truro earlier this yr (News, 13 December 2024).
Originally from Wiltshire, Archdeacon Betteridge, 56, is the daughter of a farm foreman, and “grew up with a robust connection to the countryside”, she says.
She graduated from Roehampton Institute in 1992 with a BA in education and theology before becoming an All-Age Advisor for the Church Pastoral Aid Society (CPAS), delivering training, creating resources and shaping policy referring to children’s ministry.
In 2010, she trained for ordination at at Queen’s College, Birmingham, completing an MA in contextual theology. She was ordained deacon the identical yr and priested at Coventry Cathedral in 2011.
Archdeacon Betteridge served her title at St Nicolas, Nuneaton, in Coventry diocese, and in 2014 was appointed of Vicar of St Nicolas and Priest-in-Charge of St James, Weddington, and Caldecote. She was appointed Archdeacon of Bodmin in 2021.
Archdeacon Betteridge described the announcement on Thursday as “an incredible privilege”. She said: “Whenever anyone has offered to wish for me on this latest role I actually have asked for wisdom, kindness and courage. I’d like these qualities to be hallmarks of this latest phase of ministry for me.”
She will turn into the primary female bishop of Basingstoke when she is consecrated in Southwark Cathedral on 15 October. She can be formally welcomed at a service at St Mary’s, Andover, on Saturday 15 November.
Archdeacon Betteridge enjoys reading, baking, live music and theatre, and walking. She is married to Simon, who’s the National Director of Linking Lives and head of community development for Compassionate Communities UK. She has two stepchildren. “With their partners, our granddaughter, parents, siblings and cats, we’ve got our own growing community of blessedness,” she said.
The Bishop of Winchester, the Rt Revd Philip Mounstephen, said that she combined “a warm pastoral heart” with strong experience in parish ministry and diocesan leadership. “She has a deep passion for growing a church for all ages, and her ministry has been very much appreciated by the clergy of her current Archdeaconry,” he said.
