Bishop Rose Hudson‑Wilkin – The Girl from Montego Bay | Black History Month

About

Join us for a powerful and inspiring conversation with Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin, as she reflects on her remarkable journey from a childhood in Montego Bay, Jamaica, to becoming the Church of England’s first Black female bishop.

In this intimate event, Bishop Rose will discuss her deeply personal memoir The Girl from Montego Bay, exploring themes of faith, identity, resilience, and social justice. With warmth, wisdom and humour, she will share stories from her life — from growing up in the Caribbean to breaking barriers in the British church — and reflect on what it means to lead with compassion and courage.

The event will include an audience Q&A, followed by the opportunity to buy a copy of the book and have it signed.

'The late South African president Nelson Mandela once famously declared, "It always seems impossible until it is done." His words could easily have been applied to the life of Rose Hudson-Wilkin... there is a genuine exuberance in her narration that is both contagious and inspiring.'
THE MOST REVD MICHAEL B. CURRY, XXVII PRESIDING BISHOP OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH, from the foreword

The Girl from Montego Bay is the autobiography of trailblazer Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Britain's first black woman bishop, who has been right at the heart of a changing nation for over forty years.

As a student, Rose had a poster over her desk that read: 'Do not go where the path leads. Instead, go where there is no path and leave a trail.'

And she does! Offering eye-opening insights into her humble and challenging beginnings in Jamaica, Rose charts her call to train as an evangelist at the Church Army College in London, where she met her future husband, Ken. Captivatingly open to the nudging of the Spirit, Rose simply has a go at everything that comes her way. The discrimination she's faced, due to her gender and minority-ethnic background, is very real. Yet Rose's infectious energy and humour shine through stories of her beloved Hackney, the ten years she ministered to (sometimes wayward) colleagues in Parliament, and her joy at playing a major role in the Coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla in 2023.

Appointed MBE in the 2020 New Year Honors for 'services to young people and the Church', and listed in the 2020 and 2021 Power list of the 100 the most influential people in the UK of African/African-Caribbean descent, Rose discloses that if there's one thing she would like to see change in her lifetime, it's that accomplishments like hers stop being 'firsts' and simply become normal.

Biography
Rose Hudson-Wilkin is a Church of England bishop and chaplain. She was the first black woman to become a Church of England bishop, consecrated as the Bishop of Dover in 2019. Born and raised in Montego Bay, Jamaica, she moved to the UK and became a Church Army officer before being ordained as a deacon in 1991 and a priest in 1994. She has served as Chaplain to Her Majesty the Queen and the Speaker of the House of Commons, as well as a Priest Vicar at Westminster Abbey.