Following a process of advertisement and recruitment, The Rev Canon Dr Anne Tomlinson has been appointed as the new Principal of the Scottish Episcopal Institute. Dr Tomlinson will take up office during August and says “It is an immense privilege to have been called to serve the Scottish Episcopal Church as Principal of its Institute. I ask for your prayers for the staff and students, as for myself, as together we set out in faith on this new stage of the journey.”
Commenting on the appointment the Most Rev David Chillingworth, Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld & Dunblane and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church says “The Scottish Episcopal Institute will shape the character and quality of our ministry in the next generation. The appointment of the first Principal is an important moment for our church. I warmly welcome Canon Dr Anne Tomlinson in that role. Anne has helped to shape the ministry of clergy and laity in every part of our church. Her work is theologically and spiritually rooted. She is rigorous and ordered in what she undertakes. She is generous in sharing programmes which she has developed. The Principal will work closely with the College of Bishops and I know that she will have their confidence. We uphold Anne in our prayers as she prepares for this new challenge in ministry”.
This is a new post created following an extensive review of ministerial formation and training within the Church. The Scottish Episcopal Institute will replace the Theological Institute of the Scottish Episcopal Church (TISEC) and will provide a new emphasis on formation-led training.
Following degrees in prehistoric archaeology, Dr Anne Tomlinson did her formational training through St John’s College, Nottingham and subsequently studied Practical Theology at New College, University of Edinburgh. She worked in the Theological Institute of the Scottish Episcopal Church (TISEC) for nine years variously as Tutor, Director of Pastoral Studies and Co-ordinator of the South-East Region before becoming the Church’s Provincial Officer for Local Collaborative Ministry and Director of Ordinands for the Diocese of Edinburgh. For the past five years she has been the Ministry Development Officer of the Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway. Married to Fred, a Rector in the Diocese of Edinburgh, with a grown-up daughter, Anne is a vocational Deacon.
