Graham Usher (bishop)

Early life

Usher was born in 1970. He was baptised by Douglas Sargent, the then Bishop of Selby. His early years were spent living in Ghana. Between 1981 and 1989, he was educated at Pocklington School, an independent school in Pocklington, Yorkshire. He studied ecological science at the University of Edinburgh, graduating with a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in 1993. He then attended the University of Cambridge where he studied theology at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1995; this degree was later promoted to Master of Arts (MA Cantab), as per tradition. Following the completion of his theology studies, he trained for the priesthood at Westcott House, Cambridge, and St. Nicholas Theological Seminary in Ghana.

Ordained ministry

Usher was ordained in the Church of England as a deacon in 1996 and as a priest in 1997. He was then a curate at St Mary the Virgin, Nunthorpe, Middlesbrough, from 1996 to 1999. While serving his curacy, he was also worked with young offenders as a chaplain at HM Prison Northallerton. He was Vicar of North Ormesby, Middlesbrough between 1999 and 2004. The area is very poor and is in the top two percent of deprived areas in England.

He was rector and lecturer of Hexham Abbey for ten years from 2004 to 2014. Hexham Abbey is a large parish church that can be described as cathedral-like. During his time as rector, the congregation grew and he supported the setting up of a food bank covering West Northumberland. He also reunited the abbey with its monastic buildings, the buildings having been separated during the Reformation, raising £3.2M to fully refurbish the building and create a stunning new cloister, refectory, conference and meeting rooms, and a state of the art exhibition about the Abbey's history. In 2009, he undertook a visit to Rome with the men and boys of the Hexham Abbey Choir. They had been invited to sing at a mass in St. Peter's Basilica, in celebration of the 1300th anniversary of the death of St Wilfrid. In addition to his parish duties, he was Area Dean of Hexham from 2006 to 2011. He was appointed an Honorary Canon of Kumasi in Ghana, the place of his early childhood, in 2007.

Episcopal ministry

On 12 December 2013, it was announced that he was to become the next Bishop of Dudley. He was consecrated on 25 March 2014 by Archbishop Justin Welby at St Paul's Cathedral, London. He was 43 at his appointment, making him the one of the youngest of the current Church of England bishops and the first to have been born in the 1970s.

He is one of the Church of England's environmental bishops.

In March 2016, he was appointed a member of the Human Tissue Authority by the Secretary of State for Health.

Other work

Having completed an undergraduate degree in ecology, Usher continues to have interest in the field. Between 2008 and 2010, he was a member of the Forestry Commission’s Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) for the North East of England. In 2010, he was appointed chairman of the North East RAC. In December 2013, the Regional Advisory Committees changed name to become the Forestry and Woodlands Advisory Committees (FWACs). He continued as chair of the new North East FWAC. He stood down from his role with the Forestry commission following the announcement that he would be joining the episcopate and leaving the North East.

In April 2009, he was appointed a member of the Northumberland National Park Authority by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. In April 2013, he was re-appointed by the Secretary of State to the Northumberland National Park Authority, his previous term having ended, but resigned when he moved from the North East.

In 2012, he contributed an article for the website of the Diocese of Newcastle concerning Ash dieback in the UK. Also in 2012, he published a book titled Places of Enchantment: Meeting God in landscapes. The book concerns the relationship between people, God and the environment; particularly people experiencing God in the natural world, rather than through organised religion such as church services.

Personal life

Usher is married to Rachel Thomson, a general practitioner who was also educated at Pocklington School. Together, they have two children: Chad and Olivia.