Andrew Rumsey

Andrew Paul Rumsey (born 1968) is a British Anglican bishop. Since January 2019, he has served as the Bishop of Ramsbury in the Church of England.

Rumsey was born in 1968 in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England.^[1][2] He studied history at the University of Reading, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1989.^[3] He trained for ordination at Ridley Hall, Cambridge,^[4] and graduated with a Master of Arts (MA) degree in pastoral theology in 1998.^[2] He later undertook a Doctor of Theology and Ministry (DThMin) at King's College London, which he completed in 2016.^[4] His doctoral thesis was titled "What kind of place is the Anglican parish? A theological description".^[5]

Rumsey was ordained in the Church of England: made deacon at Petertide 1997 (26 June) by Richard Chartres, Bishop of London, at St Paul's Cathedral;^[6] and ordained priest the Petertide following (5 July 1998), by Graham Dow, Bishop of Willesden, at St Martin's Church, Ruislip.^[7] From 2011 to 2018, he was Rector of St Mary's Church, Oxted in the Diocese of Southwark.^[1]

In October 2018, he was announced as the next Bishop of Ramsbury, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Salisbury.^[8][9] On 25 January 2019, he was consecrated a bishop by Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, during a service at Southwark Cathedral.^[10] He was welcomed into the diocese as the 17th Bishop of Ramsbury during Evensong at Salisbury Cathedral on 26 January 2019.^[10]

Rumsey has created several series of short video reflections on the theology of place, entitled Going to Ground, which are available on YouTube.^[11] The first series began in March 2020, at a time of national lockdown due to the COVID-19 epidemic. Many of the videos are recorded on the grounds of church buildings in and around Wiltshire, while others are recorded in the natural rural environment.

In an interview following his consecration as Bishop of Ramsbury, Rumsey stated that Evensong is his favourite form of church service.^[12]

Rumsey has written several books, most recently English Grounds in 2021, published by SCM Press.^[13]

In November 2023, he was one of 44 Church of England bishops who signed an open letter supporting the use of the Prayers of Love and Faith (i.e. blessings for same-sex couples) and called for "Guidance being issued without delay that includes the removal of all restrictions on clergy entering same-sex civil marriages, and on bishops ordaining and licensing such clergy".^[14]

Also in 2023, Rumsey took part in a ceremony to bless the River Marden as a sentient being, together with Kate Dineen, a shamanic practitioner. The event is to be repeated in March 2024.^[15]

In 1998, Rumsey married Rebecca.^[2] Together they have three children; two daughters and one son.^[8][2]

• Rumsey, Andrew (1998). Homing in. Milton Keynes: Paternoster Press. ISBN 9781900507721.
• Rumsey, Andrew (2009). Strangely Warmed: Reflections on God, Life and Bric-a-Brac. The Mowbray Lent Book 2010. ISBN 978-1441130686.
• Rumsey, Andrew (2017). Parish: An Anglican Theology of Place. London: SCM Press. ISBN 978-0334054849.
• Rumsey, Andrew (2021). English grounds: a pastoral journal. London: SCM Press. ISBN 978-0334061144.