The Right Rev Dr Nigel Peyton has announced that he will retire as Bishop of Brechin on 31 July 2017.
Bishop Nigel was consecrated Bishop of Brechin in St Paul’s Cathedral Dundee in 2011, returning to the Diocese and city where his ministry began in 1976.
In announcing his retirement, Bishop Nigel said, “I shall always be proud and grateful that the Diocese of Brechin has provided the bookends of my 41 years’ ministry. My time here has been a privilege, challenging and rewarding in equal measure. In our city and region, local things matter, and I have enjoyed working with so many good and interesting people”.
Partnering with Church Army, Bishop Nigel pioneered the Dundee Centre of Mission, encouraging outreach initiatives across the diocese under the strategic leadership of a new Diocesan Council. Clergy and lay training have been a priority and he recently inaugurated a new Diocesan Centre at St John the Baptist in Stobswell, Dundee.
As well as exercising oversight and pastoral care of the diocese, Bishop Nigel has engaged in the public affairs of the city and contributed regular articles for the Courier newspaper. He has cleaned the shoes of Dundonians on Maundy Thursday and is Chair of the Trustees of St Margaret’s Home for the Elderly and a Governor of Abertay University. Last December he presented the ‘Time for Reflection’ in the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood.
In addition to his Diocesan role Bishop Nigel has been actively involved in the work provincial Boards and Committees, including the Personnel Committee. He is a member of the Faith & Order Board, represents the College of Bishops on the Information & Communication Board, and chaired the steering group that designed the Cascade Process for discussions across the Church on same sex relationships and marriage. Bishop Nigel also represented the College of Bishops on the Board of Mission to Seafarers Scotland.
Bishop Nigel was ordained in Dundee in 1976, serving as Chaplain of St Paul’s Cathedral Dundee and Priest in Charge of Invergowrie, leading successful youth clubs at each church. He was also a Chaplain at Ninewells and Liff Hospitals.
In 1985 he moved south with his young family, serving in the Diocese of Southwell & Nottingham, firstly as Vicar of All Saints Nottingham, a tough inner city parish, then as Diocesan Development Ministry Adviser and from 1999 as Archdeacon of Newark and Canon of Southwell Minster. He was a member of General Synod of the Church of England 1995-2010 and a director of Ecclesiastical Insurance 2005-2012.
In 2013, together with Professor Caroline Gatrell, he published Managing Clergy Lives: Obedience, Sacrifice, Intimacy reporting his research interviews with English parish clergy.
Bishop Nigel and Anne are looking forward to retirement near Lincoln, closer to children and grandchildren, and enabling him to, “once again become a season ticket holder at my beloved and infuriating Nottingham Forest Football Club”.
Farewells to Bishop Nigel will take place over the last weekend in June. The process to elect a new Bishop of Brechin begins with the preparation of a description of the Diocese and its aspirations. Once a bishop retires or resigns, the Bishopric (or See) becomes vacant. The process for finding and electing a new bishop normally takes about six months. It involves initially the preparation of a short-list of candidates and then an election by representatives of the Diocese in question. The process begins within 21 days of the vacancy arising, by the Primus issuing a Mandate for an election. Details of the vacancy process can be read here