Jan McFarlane

The Venerable
Jan McFarlane
Archdeacon of Norwich
Diocese Diocese of Norwich
In office 15 March 2009–present
Predecessor Clifford Offer
Other posts Diocesan Director of Communications (1999–present)
Personal details
Birth name Janet Elizabeth McFarlane
Born 1964 (age 50–51)
Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, United Kingdom
Denomination Anglican
Alma mater University of Sheffield
University of Durham
Cranmer Hall, Durham

Janet Elizabeth "Jan" McFarlane (born 1964) is a British Church of England priest and former speech therapist. She has been Diocesan Director of Communications in the Diocese of Norwich since 1999 and Archdeacon of Norwich since 2009. She is one of the most senior priests in the diocese.

Early life

McFarlane was born in 1964 in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England.[1][2] She studied at the University of Sheffield, graduating with a Bachelor of Medical Science (BMedSci) degree in 1987.[1] She then worked as a speech therapist in the National Health Service and lived in North Staffordshire.[3] She specialised in teaching deaf children to speak.[2]

Having been selected for ordination, McFarlane underwent a number of years of formation. She studied theology at St John's College, Durham, and graduated from the University of Durham with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1992.[1] She then underwent a further year of training at Cranmer Hall, Durham, an open evangelical Anglican theological college.[1][4]

Ordained ministry

McFarlane was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 1993 at Lichfield Cathedral.[1][4] From 1993 to 1994, she served as parish deacon at Christ Church, Lichfield in the Diocese of Lichfield.[1] She was ordained as a priest in 1994.[1] She was one of the first female priests as 1994 was the first year that the Church of England ordained women to the priesthood. From 1994 to 1996, she remained at Christ Church to serve her curacy as part of the Stafford Team Ministry.[1][4] From 1996 to 1999, she was a chaplain and minor canon of Ely Cathedral in the Diocese of Ely.[1]

In 1999, McFarlane moved to the Diocese of Norwich to take up the appointment of Diocesan Director of Communications, and she has remained ever since.[1] From 2001 to 2009, she was additionally chaplain to Graham James, the Bishop of Norwich.[1][4] She was selected as the next Archdeacon of Norwich in 2008.[3] On 15 March 2009, she was installed as Archdeacon in Norwich Cathedral.[4] Upon her appointment, she became one of only nine female archdeacons out of a total of 112 in the Church of England and the first in her diocese.[3]

McFarlane is a supporter of the ordination of women as bishops.[5] She was a member of the General Synod of the Church of England that approved the consecration of women to the episcopate.[6]

Personal life

In February 2014, McFarlane was diagnosed with breast cancer. As part of her treatment, she underwent surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. She shared her story with a local newspaper, the Eastern Daily Press, and "urged other cancer patients to not hide away from the disease".[7]

Selected works

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Janet Elizabeth McFarlane". Crockford's Clerical Directory (online ed.). Church House Publishing. Retrieved 30 November 2015. (subscription required)
  2. 1 2 "Norwich vicar Jan's debt to Dawn French". Network Norwich. 15 October 2008. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 "First-ever female archdeacon set for Norwich". Network Norfolk. 20 June 2008. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Archdeacon of Norwich". Diocese of Norwich. The Church of England. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  5. ↑ "Women Bishops: Enough Waiting – Jan McFarlane’s message to General Synod". Archbishop of Canterbury. 15 November 2012. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  6. ↑ "The Archdeacon of Norwich, the Venerable Jan McFarlane, on today's women bishops vote". BBC Radio Norfolk. 14 July 2014. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  7. ↑ Gretton, Adam (30 August 2014). "‘The more open we can be, the less frightening cancer becomes’ – the Archdeacon of Norwich, the Ven Jan McFarlane, shares her story about her fight with breast cancer". Eastern Daily Press. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
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