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| Rev. Preb. Dr. Woyin Karowei Dorgu |
President Muhammadu Buhari has described the appointment of a Nigerian, Mr Woyin Karowei Dorgu, as the 13th Bishop of Woolwich, by the Church of England, as gladdening and reassuring.
A congratulatory message was on Friday sent to Dorgu by the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa.
” Your appointment is gladdening and reassuring being the first black man to be so appointed in 20 years.
“This is an attestation to the fact that Nigerians in the Diaspora are excelling in their various fields of human endeavours, thus projecting a good image for the country abroad,” Buhari said in the letter.
The President hoped and prayed that Dorgu’s appointment as a Bishop would serve as a catalyst for others in the region as well as enhance Nigeria’s spiritual rejuvenation.
“You have worked really hard and earned the respect of the Church of England to be so appointed. With you on this, we are sure you will continue to contribute your quota to the success of the Church,” he added.
President Buhari expressed his wiliness to receive Dorgu in Nigeria and rejoice with him on his unique feat which has made Nigeria proud.
Bishop Dorgu will be consecrated at Southwark Cathedral on March 17, 2017.
The Queen of England approved the appointment of Dorgu on Tuesday.
The government of the UK’s website said the new Bishop, the Reverend Prebendary Dr Woyin Karowei Dorgu was announced on Tuesday.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/suffragan-bishop-of-woolwich-dr-dorgu
The Vicar of St John the Evangelist Upper Holloway, in the Diocese of London, will take charge of the Suffragan See of Woolwich, in the Diocese of Southwark.
Dorgu is aged 58, a General Practitioner, studied at the London Bible College for his BA, and studied for his ordination at Oak Hill Theological College from 1993 to 1995 and also holds an MA in missiology.
He was Curate at St Mark’s Tollington in London Diocese from 1995 to 1998, before moving to be Curate at Upper Holloway in the same diocese until 2000.
From 2000 to 2012 he was Team Vicar at Upper Holloway before becoming Vicar in 2012 and from 2016 he has been Prebendary at St Paul’s Cathedral.
He is married to Mosun, a doctor. She is a consultant child psychiatrist who works for the NHS and they have 2 grown-up children.
His interests include reading, cycling, travelling, cooking for guests and he is a keen Arsenal FC supporter.
According to AllAfrica, the Church of England got its first black bishop for 20 years in a move that significantly increases its handful of minority ethnic clergy in senior leadership positions.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201612210100.html
The church announced that Woyin Karowei Dorgu, the 13th bishop of Woolwich, would be consecrated at Southwark Cathedral on 17 March, 2017.
Dorgu was born and brought up in Nigeria, and ordained in the UK. Woolwich, in south-east London, has a significant Nigerian population, many of whom worship in black-majority Pentecostal churches rather than the C of E.
At a press conference at Southwark Cathedral, Dorgu said one of his priorities as bishop would be to celebrate the racial diversity of the Woolwich area.
He said he intended to “encourage BAME [black and minority ethnic] vocations and more participation in ministry”.
“I will celebrate the diversity in race, ability, gender, sexuality and class … Celebrating our differences is a gift,” he added.
The only other black bishop in the Church of England is John Sentamu, now archbishop of York – second in the church hierarchy – who was consecrated as bishop of Stepney 20 years ago. There are three BAME archdeacons and one dean.
Dorguhad said his appointment was “a small step in the right direction”.
“Quite a lot of Nigerian Christians in the Woolwich area] are from an Anglican background. I hope my appointment will be a model. Seeing someone from a similar background could be a catalyst for dialogue between the C of E and black majority churches and Nigerians looking for a spiritual home.”
Although he and Sentamu were the only black bishops, Dorgu said: “I would not describe the position as lonely. There is a lot of support and friendship.”
On the issue of sexuality, which has divided the Church of England and the global Anglican communion for two decades, Dorgu said he stood firmly behind the church’s official position. The church refuses to conduct same-sex church weddings on the traditional biblical grounds that marriage is between a man and a woman, and its insistence that gay clergy must be celibate.
Dorgu – known to some of his congregation as Brother K – trained as a medical doctor in Lagos before being ordained. He was brought up in a Christian family but said as a teenager he rebelled against the gospel and left the church.
After encountering Christian students at university, he decided to “accept Jesus as my personal saviour and Lord in my early 20s”. He came to the UK in 1987 and was ordained as a priest in 1996.
He described himself as an evangelical but added: “I will fly no party colours … I will promote unity, respect, integrity and collaboration among different traditions.”
Since his ordination, he has been a minister in London parishes. NAN
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