'New role has been a dream come true', says bishop

A bishop who became the first woman to lead a diocese in Suffolk said the first few months in the job have been "really exciting" and a "dream come true".

The Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, Dr Joanne Grenfell, took on the role on 5 September after the Right Reverend Martin Seeley retired after 10 years of serving.

She has been living in the Bishop's House in Park Road, Ipswich, since the end of October, and her service of welcome will officially take place on 24 January.

Talking to BBC Suffolk ahead of the ceremony next month, Bishop Grenfell said she had so far found the role to be "amazing".

"I'm finding the new role really exciting, and it is just kind of like a dream come true," she added.

"People have been incredibly warm and welcoming, and it's really clear that the church is here for everybody in Suffolk.

"And I'm just so excited to be part of that, and for people to kind of reach out and tell me that I'm part of that has just been amazing."

Bishop Grenfell was officially confirmed as the county's next diocesan Bishop at a ceremony at the Saint Mary-le-Bow church in Cheapside, London.

The appointment made her the first woman to lead a diocese in the county, something she said she did not "quite know what to make of".

"I guess you don't know how anybody else does it apart from yourself, so you've just got to kind of be yourself and get on with that, I suppose," she said.

"I try to be quite warm and down-to-earth, and I really like people - I'm just a people person, so I love just hearing what matters to people and what makes them buzz.

"I feel that I can only do this job as me and that means being quite people-focused - it's good fun."

Bishop Grenfell's official welcome service will take place at St Edmundsbury Cathedral.

"It's kind of a way of putting you in your seat, and part of the service is to put me in my seat," she said.

"I think there's a really nice sense of 'this is where you belong, these are the people you sit with, the people you serve, and the people you serve alongside'."

Before then, Bishop Grenfell will preside over Christmas services at the church.

"I just want to remind people that God loves them and not the ideal version of themselves that they wish turned up every day," she said.

"Whatever your year has been like – it might have been the best year of your life or the absolute pits - God is there for you this Christmas time."

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