The Worshipful Jacqueline Humphreys is the new Chancellor of the Diocese of Norwich.
The ancient role overseeing legal issues surrounding church buildings and land, includes ruling on applications to change the way churches are used, reserve grave plots in churchyards, grant some marriage licences and even exhume bodies.
Jacqueline, a barrister, was sworn in as Chancellor for the Diocese of Norwich by the Bishop of Norwich on July 1, with an installation service in Norwich Cathedral planned for later this year.
The Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, said: “I am delighted Jacqueline will be bringing her skill, experience and wisdom to work with people across our diocese, and help parishes as they spread the good news of the gospel from our unparalleled collection of churches.”
A chancellor is the senior legal officer of a diocese, an independent judge in its official ‘consistory’ court administering Church of England canon law in cases relating to works carried out in churches and churchyards. The role has such significance that each appointment must be approved by the Lord Chancellor.
Jacqueline, an expert in church law, studied law at Oxford before training as a barrister and specialising in complex financial divorce cases. She is also Chancellor of the Diocese of Worcester.
Her work with the Church of England has included helping draft rules on clergy discipline and researching ways for churches to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030.
She said: “I try to use the faculty system to support the Church of England’s commitment to achieve net zero by 2030 where possible. I encourage properly considered and evidenced low carbon and other green initiatives. I’m supportive in principle of solar panels, ground/air source heating and, for small congregations, electric heated cushions and under pew heaters.
“Conversely a church wishing to install a new fossil fuel boiler will need to properly evidence that it is the right solution in the particular case, that lower carbon alternatives are genuinely not suitable and that proper steps are being taken mitigate and offset unavoidable carbon emissions.”
Jacqueline and her husband, the Revd Dr Simon Taylor, Director of Mission and Ministry Development in the Diocese of Bristol, live in the city with their two teenage children.
In any spare time Jacqueline, who has helped build up a new family Messy Church congregation since the pandemic, loves theatre, dance, archaeology and designing embroidered textiles.
She also enjoys reading novels and so is delighted to have just come across the hugely popular Norfolk-set archaeological detective fiction of Elly Griffiths. “She has gone to the top of this summer’s holiday reading list!” said Jacqueline, who will be visiting the county this summer and has fond memories of childhood holidays in Sheringham and Great Yarmouth and taking her own children to Norwich and the Broads.
“I’m looking forward to getting to know this beautiful diocese better with its spectacular buildings and faithful worshipping communities and helping those communities to use their buildings wisely to better support the mission of the church,” she said.