Meet our Patron and the Steering Group

Our Patron

At the invitation of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Bishop Pete Wilcox is the patron of the CofE Network of Distinctive Deacons, and our distinctive deacons’ champion.

The Rt Rev Dr Pete Wilcox, Bishop of Sheffield

I have been ordained for over 35 years and spent most of that time in the north and in urban settings.  I attribute that largely to the Faith in the City report (1985), published while I was in training for the ordained ministry.  I have served in parish ministry on Teesside, on Tyneside and in the West Midlands, as well as on the staff of Lichfield Cathedral as a residentiary canon.  Immediately before moving to Sheffield in September 2017, to become the Bishop of Sheffield, I spent five years as Dean of Liverpool. I became a member of the House of Lords in 2023, and a Church Commissioner in 2024.

In the early 1990s, I studied for a doctorate on the missionary theology of John Calvin. I retain a lively interest in theological education and in formation for ordained ministry, and especially enjoy opportunities to preach and teach the Bible.  I am passionate about the Bible as a means of God’s grace.

My childhood was spent in India as the son of missionary parents.  This has left me with a love for travel — so I relish the links which the Diocese of Sheffield has with its companion Dioceses in Kenya and Argentina.

I am married to Cathy, a novelist and senior lecturer in creative writing at Manchester Metropolitan University.  I have two adult sons (one in banking in Bristol and one an ordinand in the Diocese of Liverpool), two daughters-in-law and three grand-daughters.

CENDD Steering Group

Chair

I’m Gill Newman (diocese of Chelmsford)

My calling to ordination came later in life following a career in education as an Early Years Teacher. I had started working as a Volunteer Chaplaincy Visitor at a hospital in East London and was humbled by the privilege of being able to ‘make the love of God visible’ at some of the most darkest moments of people’s lives. A desire to do this more fully began to grow within me and I entered the discernment process for ordination in the Church of England. During this process I felt very clearly that I was being called to the office of deacon rather than priest. I trained at St Mellitus in London, was ordained in 2017 and served my curacy at a church in Hackney. I currently live in Essex and am working part-time as Assistant Lead Chaplain at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow.

Secretary

I’m Rachel Fielding (diocese of Blackburn)

I spent many years working both part and full time as a Virger at Blackburn Cathedral – where I felt God had placed me. Following a chance conversation, I was led to question the role of Deacons outside of liturgy: the rest, you may say, is history and I was ordained July 2023 at Blackburn Cathedral. Previously I worked for the Methodist Home Association as Chaplain before moving to full time NHS Hospital Chaplain and handler of the Trust’s therapy dog. I am passionate about raising the awareness of the calling of Distinctive Deacon.

Treasurer

I’m Dave Cosslett (diocese of  Liverpool)

I was ordained as a Distinctive Deacon in June 2025 and am currently serving my curacy within Church Wigan. My calling was shaped by the powerful words of Isaiah 61:1–3, where God commissions his servant “to bring good news to the poor… to bind up the broken-hearted… to comfort all who mourn.” This vision of compassionate, servant-hearted ministry lies at the heart of my vocation.

With a passion for bridging the Church and the wider community, my ministry focuses on service, justice, and walking alongside those who are hurting or overlooked. Both within the community but also the workplace.

I’m married to Catherine, who is an ordained priest, and together we have three boys. As a family, we share a deep love for the local church and a commitment to seeing lives transformed through faith, community, and the presence of God.

I’m Lucy Bunce (diocese of Cambridge)

At present I am a Distinctive Deacon in training based at St Andrew’s Cherry Hinton, a village on the outskirts of Cambridge. The heart of my calling is inspired by the Ordinal which has deacons ministering in the pattern of Jesus “who washed his disciples’ feet”. Jesus’ example of “great love” is one to be endlessly improvised upon, specifically transforming the edge places, within and without the church, into places of welcome.

I have just completed a Masters in Theology which culminated in a dissertation on the distinctive diaconate in the Church of England. I hope to continue this work into a PhD with a focus on how the diaconal ministry intersects with the priestly calling, which has a diaconal foundation, and follows in the pattern of Jesus the Good Shepherd.

My varied roles in church life include Director of Music & Communications, as well as running our Social Supermarket and Cafe.

I’m Terry Drummond (diocese of  Leeds)

My background is rooted in my being commissioned as a Church Army Evangelist in 1972, by Archbishop Michael Ramsey. I spent the following 45 years in ministry with a focus in a variety situations. In addition, I was ordained into the Distinctive Diaconate in 2016 by the Bishop of Southwark.

The most important element of my call to ministry is a commitment to the importance of the ministry of the whole people of God in service to the communities we live in, all of us who worship together are called to discipleship which we live out in the way we serve our neighbour. A task that is rooted in the sharing of the Eucharist, it is from the altar that we are sent out to live out our calling. At my commissioning in 1972 I was given a text, intended to reflect the ministry that was to come, from Galatians. 6: 9. “And let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart.”