The Provincial Standing Committee today makes the following statement about the Secretary General of the General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church:

After more than two years in post, Dr Dee Bird will be stepping down from her role as Secretary General to take up further leadership work in both executive and non-executive roles.

During her tenure, she led a period of significant change within the General Synod Office, including an office relocation, and delivered the first General Synod outside Edinburgh in 20 years.

Dee says: “I have very much enjoyed working with colleagues in the General Synod Office and have appreciated their hard work and dedication, and also their sense of fun. They are a terrific team and I will miss them as I move on to pastures new.”

The Most Rev Mark Strange, Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, says: “Many in the church will be grateful for all Dee has done and I wish her well for the future.”

A process will begin in due course to appoint a successor as Secretary General. In the meantime, the Rev Canon Dr Michael Barlowe will become Interim Secretary General on a part-time voluntary basis.

Canon Barlowe was co-opted on to Provincial Standing Committee earlier this year as a non-voting member. He is a priest based in Edinburgh, and is a former Secretary of the General Convention, the primary governing and legislative body of The Episcopal Church (TEC) in the USA. In his early career, he worked on Wall Street before pursuing a life in ministry.

He will work out of the General Synod Office in Edinburgh, and although his role is part-time he will also be available when required for urgent matters.

“I have a deep love for the Scottish Episcopal Church and its mission,” says Canon Barlowe. “This interim role is about practical service, providing steady support at the centre so that the Church’s life and witness across Scotland can continue to flourish. I am grateful to the Standing Committee for their trust and look forward to serving during this time of transition.”

(Picture: The General Synod Office at Torphichen Street, Edinburgh)

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