Anne Elizabeth Hollinghurst (born 4 March 1964) is a Church of England bishop and former youth worker. Since September 2015, she has been the Bishop of Aston, the suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Birmingham. From 2010 to 2015, she was Vicar of St Peter's Church, St Albans.
Early life
Hollinghurst was born on 4 March 1964 to William and Audrey Bailey. Her childhood faith was nurtured in the Church of England in the Anglo-Catholic tradition. at St Peter's Formby
Her early ministry was as a youth worker in suburban Sussex at Holy Trinity Cuckfield and then in inner-city Nottingham at St Stephen's Hyson Green with St Leodegarius Basford. She entered Trinity College, Bristol, an Open Evangelical Anglican theological college, to train for ordained ministry and graduated from the University of Bristol with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) Theology degree in 1996.
Ordained ministry
Hollinghurst was ordained in the Church of England: made a deacon at Petertide 1996 (30 June) by Patrick Harris, Bishop of Southwell at Southwell Minster and ordained a priest the Petertide following (28 June 1997), by Alan Morgan, Bishop of Sherwood at Christ Church, Chilwell. From 1996 to 1999, she served her curacy at St Saviours in the Meadows, Nottingham. She shared this curacy with her husband, Steve Hollinghurst, who is also a Church of England priest. From 1999 to 2005, she was jointly the Anglican chaplain for the University of Derby and a chaplain of Derby Cathedral. During this time, she also lectured on religion and gender in the Religious Studies Department of Derby University.
In 2005, she moved to Manchester. She was appointed domestic chaplain to the Bishop of Manchester, Nigel McCulloch, and a residentiary canon of Manchester Cathedral. She completed a Master of Studies (MSt) degree in Jewish Christian Relations at Hughes Hall, Cambridge in 2010. Her published dissertation is in Jewish and Christian Mysticism On 12 January 2010, she became Vicar of St Peter's Church, St Albans in the Diocese of St Albans. In 2011, she was elected a member of the House of Clergy of the General Synod.
Episcopal ministry
On 2 July 2015, Hollinghurst was announced as the next Bishop of Aston, a suffragan bishopric in the Diocese of Birmingham. On 29 September 2015, she was consecrated a bishop by Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, during a service at St Paul's Cathedral, London. She is the 10th Bishop of Aston. She holds a particular brief for mission, ministry and vocations in the diocese and has produced several videos on the five marks of mission
As bishop she has served on the Faith and Order Commission of the Church of England,Faith_and_Order_Commission_(Church_of_England) and chaired the group that produced the linked resources “Calling All God’s People” and “Kingdom Calling”.
Since 2020 She has been Bishop Visitor to the Anglican Religious Community of men and women at Mucknell Abbey.
Personal life
Hollinghurst's past and present research interests include feminist theology, gender and the language of God, Environmental Theology and Christian Spirituality. Hollinghurst has contributed a chapter on Franciscan spirituality and nature to the book Earthed.
In 1984, she married Steve Hollinghurst. He is a priest in the Church of England who worked with the Church Army from 2003-2019, initially as a researcher in evangelism in Church Army’s Research Unit/ Sheffield Centre . and then as a part-time tutor for the Church Army and a freelance researcher, consultant and trainer in culture and mission. He then worked for Lichfield Diocese as Evangelism Enabler, Environmental Focus (2020-2023) He currently works for Hereford Diocese as Mission Enabler (Environment)
Hollinghurst's sister, Helen, is also a Church of England priest and is currently vicar of St John’s Church, Broadstone.