A brother and sister, Lindsay Urwin and Kate Prowd, are now fellow bishops in the Diocese of Melbourne.
Urwin does not support ordaining women, and did not join other bishops in the prayers of consecration at St. Paul’s Cathedral in Melbourne. Instead, he sat with family members in the front pew.
His theology of ordination did not hinder the bishop from otherwise affirming his sister. He presented her with a pectoral cross given to him by his parents when he was consecrated 25 years ago, and happily posed with her for photos outside the cathedral.
Prowd was among the first cohort of women ordained deacon in Melbourne in 1986. She was presented with a pastoral staff belonging to the late Bishop Barbara Darling, Melbourne’s first woman bishop.
The new bishop is a clinical psychologist, which she has combined with work as a school chaplain and associate parish priest. Her expertise as a clinical psychologist has proven useful in her work as an examining chaplain and providing psychological assessments for aspiring ordinands. Her husband, Roger, is a priest and they have three daughters.
Bishop Urwin spent most of his ministry in England, where he was ordained in 1980 and consecrated Area Bishop of Horsham in 1993, at age 37. He later served as administrator of the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, while remaining an honorary assistant bishop in Chichester.
He is now active in Melbourne as vicar of Christ Church Brunswick, and provides ministry in Anglican schools.
John Martin
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
