The Queen has approved the nomination of the Rt Revd Andrew John Watson MA, Bishop of Aston, for election as Bishop of Guildford.
Andrew Watson (53) studied law in Cambridge, where he was also a bassoonist in various orchestras and chamber groups. Following two years as caretaker and youth worker in Islington, he trained for ordained ministry at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, where he also met his future wife Beverly (who has since been ordained herself). He was curate in Ipsley, leading a church on the council estate where they lived, and served a second curacy in Notting Hill, restoring the Grade 2* listed church of St Peter and developing a community café, nursery school and prison visiting team. He was Vicar in East Twickenham where he planted three further churches and led teams to Norway and Sweden, Donetsk and the slums of Delhi.
He was a member of General Synod for eight years and Area Dean of Hampton for five years, before being consecrated Bishop to serve as Suffragan Bishop of Aston in the diocese of Birmingham, overseeing the programme ‘Transforming Church’.
Andrew and Beverly have four children, Hannah (24), Sam (22), Joe (19) and Lydia (15). He is the author of The Fourfold Leadership of Jesus, Confidence in the Living God and The Way of the Desert. Andrew remains a keen musician and a China enthusiast, and enjoys reading, cooking, photography and walking stretches of the South West Coast Path.