Today is a day of both sadness and pride for us in Coventry as the Bishop of Southwark, The Rt Revd Christopher Chessun, announced the appointment of the Reverend Canon Kathryn Fleming as Canon Precentor of Southwark Cathedral. Canon Kathryn has been at Coventry Cathedral since 2014 - initially as Canon Pastor, before moving into her current role as Canon for Worship and Community.
Following the announcement Dean John paid tribute to all that Canon Kathryn has done for the Cathedral - “Kathryn has been an outstanding Precentor and Pastor within the Cathedral community here in Coventry, and we will miss her greatly. However, we absolutely recognise her calling to serve the people of the Cathedral and Diocese of Southwark in this significant role, and she goes with our love and prayers. We know that she will continue to strengthen the deep bonds of friendship between our two communities, signified by Southwark’s membership pf the Community of the Cross of Nails as we partner in the work of peace, justice and reconciliation.”
Canon Kathryn is incredibly excited by her new role, but will miss Coventry immensely. In Kathryn's own words - "as you might imagine, I’m both happy and sad at this change. Happy, because I have long admired Southwark’s record of trail-blazing and inclusion, and because it will be a joy to be closer to my family as Jack and Rachel are regular worshippers at Southwark Cathedral. Sad, because I have loved my time at Coventry, working with such a wonderful and supportive group of colleagues, in our iconic cathedral that means so much to so many. I love and will miss Coventry people dearly, but have rarely had such a strong sense of God’s call as I do now, looking towards a new adventure”.
Whilst we are very sorry to be losing Canon Kathryn from our Clergy team, we are truly excited for her and wish her the very best of luck in this new role. You can read the full announcement on this appointment here.
