THE Bishop of Gloucester, the Rt Rev Rachel Treweek, threw convention to the wind on Sunday by launching her Remembrance Day observance in Newent.

Having earned a reputation for not standing too strictly on ceremony, the Bishop gave the traditional sermon amid the more pastoral surroundings of St Mary’s Church, rather than the Gothic splendour of the Cathedral.

In her sermon she spoke of how the reading from the Book of Micah on ‘beating swords into plowshares, and spears into pruning hooks’ had a profound personal relevance for her.

She told the congregation about a project she had been involved in, after the Mozambique War, literally converting weapons into farming implements.

And, indicating the cross she now wears around her neck, she said it had been made from shell casings and sent to her from the Mozambique project on her appointment as bishop.

After the service, she stayed on and chatted with members of the congregation over a welcome cuppa, before returning to Gloucester for an afternoon service in the Cathedral.

The Vicar of Newent, the Rev Simon Mason, said the bishop’s sermon in St Mary’s Church was challenging uplifting and encouraging.

“We had invited her to come to the Onion Fayre but that was not possible but she readily agreed to come out for Remembrance Day, which was a huge honour. We were very pleased to have her here.

“She was very, very keen to come out here and meet the local people.

“Although she was due to speak at the Cathedral in the afternoon she stayed on after the service here and chatted with people over a cup of tea. She was very approachable.”

Since taking over the diocesan reins in September this year, Bishop Rachel, who worked among some of the poorest people in the East End of London, has remained unstuffy and down to earth.

However, she sparked off controversy on being admitted as the first female Lord Spiritual in the House of Lords, by saying God should not be seen as male but simply as God, to avoid gender conflict.

For the full story buy The Forester.