The Rt Revd Dr Jane Steen is the Bishop of Lynn,
Jane Steen is the Bishop of Lynn, one of two suffragan bishops in the Diocese of Norwich. The other is Ian Bishop, the Bishop of Thetford. The Bishop of Norwich is the Rt Revd Graham Usher.
Suffragan bishops support the ministry of the diocesan bishop and offer episcopal oversight in a diocese which is geographically large and whose diocesan bishop is involved in national and international ministry. Their ministry is delegated from the diocesan bishop, and all their responsibilities are exercised on his behalf.
Bishop Jane’s ministry is focused on the Lynn area, which is comprises North-West Norfolk with some overlap into the southern part of the diocese. Lynn covers around 800 square miles and includes 75 benefices, with 186 active parishes and 293 churches. Bishop Jane is responsible for appointing clergy, ensuring the pastoral care of both clergy and laity, and working with the Archdeacon of Lynn in the day-to-day practical oversight of the churches in the Lynn area. She rejoices in confirming and baptising those coming to the Christian faith and in preaching and teaching in the area and diocese. Bishop Jane is the Bishop of Norwich’s nominated ‘bishop for mission’ and is a member of the diocese’s Strategic Development Group in which she works with the Bishop of Thetford and key diocesan officers to enable mission and ministry to grow and flourish across the Diocese, to attract additional resource and to encourage churches in serving their communities. She continues to support the Homegrown network for children, young people and their families in King’s Lynn.
Bishop Jane is the chair of Together Norfolk, a charity which supports churches to address social deprivation especially in King’s Lynn and Great Yarmouth. She has also worked with the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association to establish agricultural chaplaincy at a time when farming is under immense pressure. She is a member of the King’s Lynn Neighbourhood Board. As a member of its predecessor, Bishop Jane was a co-champion for King’s Lynn’s new Library and now adds her voice to the Board’s concern for community development and cohesion in the town.
Beyond the Diocese of Norwich, Bishop Jane is a member of the Church of England’s Faith and Order Commission offering theological resource to the House of Bishops. She is the deputy lead bishop for church buildings, working with national church officers and the lead bishop, The Rt Revd Andrew Rumsey, in advocacy for England’s parish churches. She supports the work of BridgeBuilders in equipping people for transformational relationships and Christian community.
Before to coming to the Diocese of Norwich, Bishop Jane ministered in the Dioceses of St Albans and Southwark. She was a curate in the Chipping Barnet Team Ministry before moving to Southwark as the chaplain to the diocesan Bishop. She then served as the Canon Chancellor of Southwark Cathedral and the diocesan Director of Ministerial Education, overseeing the continued professional development of ninety-nine curates as well as other parish clergy. Her last role in the Diocese of Southwark was as the Archdeacon of Southwark, a role in which she lead reform of diocesan governance, was the lead Archdeacon for safeguarding, the diocesan member of the borough Gold Group for responses to serious incidents, and the convenor of the Ecumenical Borough Deans.
Bishop Jane studied at Newnham College, Cambridge, and holds an undergraduate degree and a PhD in English literature from the University of Cambridge. She read Theology at Cambridge through Trinity College while studying for ministry at Westcott House. She holds a LLM degree in canon law from the University of Wales (Cardiff). She has contributed to academic publications on eighteenth-century Anglicanism (the topic of her PhD) and to the Church of England’s Reflections for Daily Prayer.
