Appointment of Assistant Bishop
Local
“I am grateful to Sarah for answering the call to serve the clergy and people of the Diocese in this new way and to apply her insights gained through ministry in varied contexts. I gladly welcome her to the episcopal team,” says Archbishop Jeremy Greaves
Dear sisters and brothers,
Following considerable prayer and with the concurrence of the Diocesan Council I am pleased to announce that the Reverend Canon Sarah Plowman has accepted my invitation to be an Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of Brisbane and to serve as Bishop for the Northern Region.
Sarah has a Bachelor of Applied Science QUT (1993), a Graduate Diploma of Education QUT (1996), and a Bachelor of Theology CSU (2010). Sarah studied at St Francis College and was ordained deacon in 2004 and priest in 2005.
Since her ordination Sarah has served in the following ministries:
- Chaplain All Saints’ Anglican School 2004-06;
- PTO Wynnum 2006-08;
- Associate Chaplain, Anglican Church Grammar School 2008-09;
- Chaplain, Cannon Hill Anglican College 2009-19;
- Honorary Canon, St John’s Cathedral 2014-18;
- Residentiary Canon, St John’s Cathedral 2018-20;
- Mission Chaplain — Director of Ordinands and Vocations 2020-21;
- Mission Chaplain, Director of Discernment and Formation from September 2021; and
- Honorary Canon, St John’s Cathedral from 2021.
Sarah is well known across the Diocese. She has been active in the Diocese of Brisbane throughout her life. As a young person, her faith was nurtured in the Parish of Nambour and she went on to graduate from St Margaret’s Anglican Girls School, where the Sisters of the SSA had a lasting impact on her life. As a young adult, she was involved in leading Diocesan youth ministry activities, including Youth Synod and The Gathering. She also led a local youth group, ran a deanery camp and was elected to Diocesan Council.
Sarah studied science (physics and mathematics) at QUT before training and working as a teacher. This experience as an educator well prepared Sarah for ministry in schools.
After studying theology at St Francis College, Sarah was ordained a deacon in 2004 and ordained priest in 2005. While Sarah has worked as a Chaplain throughout much of her ordained ministry, she has remained actively engaged in her local parishes throughout that time. She has been a Canon of the Cathedral since 2014 and her most recent role has given her a good sense of a variety of parishes from across the breadth of the tradition in the Diocese.
As well as serving on Diocesan Council for a time, Sarah was instrumental in bringing the Chaplain’s role at Cannon Hill Anglican College into the Senior Leadership team — both have given her experience in governance at a senior level.
Sarah brings knowledge of and experience in schools, which continue to be a vital part of the Diocesan mission. Her knowledge and passion in this space will be very helpful as we seek to work creatively with our schools in mission, and as the regulatory landscape for schools continues to shift and change.
During her time as Director of Discernment and Formation, Sarah has brought fresh ideas, new systems and rigorous processes to the selection and formation of clergy for the Diocese. This has included excellent work with candidates for whom English is not a first language. She has demonstrated creative and strategic thinking as well as maintaining a good working relationship with the episcopal team. She has also developed good relationships with parish clergy across the Diocese and across the breadth of Anglican expressions in the Anglican Church Southern Queensland.
I am grateful to Sarah for answering the call to serve the clergy and people of the Diocese in this new way and to apply her insights gained through ministry in varied contexts. I gladly welcome her to the episcopal team.
It is my intention, God willing, to consecrate Sarah as a Bishop in the Church of God at the opening Eucharist of the Diocesan Synod on Friday 21 June 2024, at 7.00pm. We will observe the Feast of St Alban (22 June) at that Synod Eucharist.
Please join me in praying for Sarah and her family as she prepares for this important new ministry in the life of the Diocese.
Yours in Christ,
The Most Reverend Jeremy Greaves KCSJ
Archbishop of Brisbane
