Michael Turnbull (bishop)

English bishop

Anthony Michael Arnold Turnbull (born 27 December 1935) is a retired Church of England bishop. He was ordained in 1961 and in 1988 he was consecrated as the Bishop of Rochester. In 1994, he became the Bishop of Durham until he retired in 2003. In his retirement, Turnbull continues "preaching and teaching and writing".

Turnbull was born in Wombwell, West Riding of Yorkshire. His early education was in Ilkley Grammar School, a co educational secondary school in Ilkley, West Yorkshire, England, that specialises in humanities and sciences. Turnbull studied at Keble College, Oxford, graduating in 1958 with a MA. He prepared for ordained ministry at Cranmer Hall and St John's College, University of Durham, graduating with a Diploma in Theology.

Turnbull was ordained priest in 1961 in Manchester Cathedral. As a priest, he held the following positions:
In a 1994 speech in Church House, Westminster just before his translation to the Diocese of Durham Turnbull was "Asked what he was proudest of among his accomplishments in Rochester, Kent, he replied that the diocese had opened six new churches, and planned to open four more; and that he had set up an order of lay evangelists."

From 1994 (he was translated on 6 July and enthroned on 22 October) until his retirement in 2003, Turnbull was the Bishop of Durham, the fourth most senior bishop in the Church of England with a seat in the House of Lords. He was active in the House of Lords as the lead bishop on constitutional affairs and was prominent in the movement towards regional government in the North East. By 2003, Turnbull had been made an Honorary Fellow of St Chad's College, Durham and awarded honorary doctorates from Durham University (DD) and from the University of Greenwich. For his last four years in Durham, Turnbull was "chairman of the North East Constitutional Assembly, trying to draw up plans for an elected regional assembly". The disclosure of Turnbull's gross indecency conviction came just four weeks before his scheduled enthronement. His past was known to the archbishops of Canterbury George Carey and York Stuart Blanch, to Lord Runcie, the previous archbishop and to Lord Coggan, whom Turnbull had acted as chaplain when the offence took place. According to close associates, Turnbull "seriously considered withdrawing" from his enthronement "when his past was revealed." In his sermon during his enthronement, Turnbull spoke of the "gravity of sin" and of his "repentance". He told the congregation that he had been "through a private and now public process of repentance", and that he was "deeply sorry" that friends had to share in the consequences of his past. His sermon also touched on the "depth of forgiveness" by many fellow Christians.

Much of Turnbull's ministry has been England focused on reorganisation of its administrative structures. In 1995, George Carey appointed Turnbull as chair of the Commission on the Organisation of the Church of England with the task of producing a plan to save the Church of England. The commission was given the nickname "Turnbull Commission." During the December 1995 Church of England Synod, Turnbull, reporting on the work of the commission, proposed a National Council with broad executive powers under the leadership of the archbishops of Canterbury and York. "Leadership, policy direction and strategic and executive responsibility are too fragmented and weak," Turnbull said during the debate. "The church at the national level clearly needs to work better as one body, not as some kind of dismembered jellyfish. Staying as we are and trying to tread water is not an option," he said. Other members of the Synod challenged the proposals as too much centralization. Turnbull's report passed by a vote of 239 to 167. However, the stiff opposition meant that the proposal was revised and returned for further debate in February 1996. In the proposal of the Turnbull Commission, "the whole Church of England, money and everything, would have been run by the central committee". But the proposal was not executed. The Church Commissioners remained in existence, and in control of the money. The only reform executed was that he Archbishops' Council was established in 1999 "to co ordinate, promote, aid and further the mission of the Church of England. It is composed of 19 members and 7 directors whose task is to give a clear sense of direction to the Church nationally and support the Church locally". Turnbull was subsequently appointed Chairman of the Ministry Division of the Archbishops' Council. Turnbull's other posts have included member of the Commission on English Cathedrals (1992–94), Vice Chairman of the Central Board of Finance (1990–1998), board member of the Church Commissioners (1989–1998), chairman of the North East Constitutional Convention (1999–2003) and Campaign for English Regions (2000–2003), chairman of the Bible Reading Fellowship (1985–1994) and of the College of Preachers (1990–1998) and the Council of Scargill House (1969–1976).

Working as One Body: The Report of the Archbishops’ Commission on the Organisation of the Church of England (Church House Publishing, 1 January 1995) Preface by Chairman Turnbull. The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church and the Causes which Hinder it (Cambridge: Lutterworth Press, 2006). Foreword by Bishop Michael Turnbull. Gordon Kuhrt, Ministry Issues for the Church of England: Mapping the Trends (Church House Publishing, 2001). Chapter 32 "The Parish System" by Michael Turnbull. John Adair and John Nelson, eds, Creative Church Leadership (Canterbury Press, 2004). Chapter 17 "The Foundation for Church Leadership" by Michael Turnbull.

Steven Croft, ed., The Future of the Parish System: Shaping the Church of England for the Twenty first Century (Church House Publishing, 2010). Contains quotations on page 155 from Turnbull.