LGBT+ Christian charity Patron becomes Archbishop
Archbishop Cherry Vann after her election on 30th July 2025. PHOTO: Church in Wales.
THE CHURCH IN WALES has elected its first female archbishop - Bishop of Monmouth Cherry Vann, who has been a Patron of the Open Table Network (OTN) since 2020.
The Most Revd Cherry Vann was among the first women to be ordained as a priest in the Church of England in 1994.
When she became Bishop of Monmouth in south Wales in 2020, media attention focussed on the fact that she was the first lesbian bishop in the Church in Wales, and that she has a civil partner.
As Archdeacon of Rochdale for 11 years before that, she celebrated with Open Table communities in Liverpool and Manchester and supported a community consultation which led to forming the Open Table community in Derby.
On becoming a patron of the LGBT+ affirming Christian charity in 2020, Archbishop Cherry recorded a message for Open Table community members across England and Wales. In the three-minute YouTube video she said:
'God wants us to thrive and to shine and to rejoice in the way God has made us, not to live in fear or self-loathing as so many of us do.'
In 2021 she recorded a webinar interview with then-OTN Co-Chair Sarah Hobbs. During the hour-long recording she answered questions about her journey to faith and ordination, sexuality, coming out as a lesbian in the Church of England, and the reaction to her appointment as a bishop of the Church in Wales. READ MORE.
In 2022 she recorded an interview with the BBC Radio 4 programme God Knows I’m Gay about the challenges of having to conceal parts of her life for so long yet, when she goes into her chapel each morning, knowing she’s where God wants her to be. READ MORE.
Archbishop Cherry has preached at several Pride events, including one in September 2024 at Newport Cathedral. She reflected on how truly inclusive love casts out fear - especially the fear LGBTQIA+ people experience in the face of rejection, hostility, and exclusion from the Church. READ MORE.
Archbishop Cherry will formally begin the role with a consecration service at Newport Cathedral on a date to be confirmed. As Archbishop she will continue to serve as Bishop of Monmouth.
OTN is a growing partnership of Christian communities across England & Wales which genuinely welcome and affirm LGBTQIA + our families, friends & anyone who wants to belong in an accepting, loving community.
OTN supported the pioneering LGBTQIA+ Chaplaincies in the Church in Wales dioceses of St Asaph and Bangor since they launched in 2016 and 2017 respectively. There is currently one Open Table community in Cardiff, and plans are under way to launch a new community in Haverfordwest in September 2025.
OTN Director Kieran Bohan said:
‘Archbishop Cherry has actively supported Open Table communities in England and Wales for many years, since before she became a bishop. We are delighted that her gifts are being affirmed by the Church In Wales in this new way, and that she is encouraging plans for more Open Table communities in Wales.’
OTN Co-Chair Dr Carol Joyner said:
‘As a queer woman, I am thrilled and excited at the appointment of our patron, Bishop Cherry Vann, as Archbishop of the Church in Wales. Bishop Cherry will bring diversity, compassion and energy to the role and we are grateful for her continuing support.’
OTN Trustee Revd Rosemary Hill, leader of the Open Table community in the East Cardiff Ministry Area, said:
'Archbishop Cherry's appointment is a source of great joy and celebration. For LGBTQIA+ Welsh Anglicans, this is a momentous occasion that demonstrates how far the Church in Wales has come in terms of equality and inclusion in the last decade. These are turbulent times for the Church in Wales and we hold Archbishop Cherry and her civil partner Wendy in our prayers as they start this new chapter in their lives and vocations.'
