Ann Tottenham

Lady Ann Elizabeth Tottenham (born July 21 1940) is a Canadian Bishop.

She is the oldest child of Charles Tottenham, 8th Marquess of Ely who emigrated to Ontario, Canada. Although entitled to the style Lady Ann Tottenham, she does not use this. Her brother is John Tottenham, 9th Marquess of Ely.

Bishop Tottenham was the second Anglican woman to be elected as a bishop in Canada, in the Diocese of Toronto. She served until her retirement in 2005.^[1]

Teacher

She was educated at the University of Toronto, Trinity College, Toronto and a seminary in New York. In the late 1960s she became an Anglican nun for three years before becoming a teacher.^[2] She became the headmistress of Bishop Strachan School, a private school with Anglican links, in Toronto from 1981 to 1995.

Religious life

Tottenham was ordained in 1983 and, after leaving teaching, was the incumbent priest in two parishes St. George's, Newcastle, and St. Saviour's, Orono, Ontario.^[3] In 1997, Tottenham was elected as a suffragan bishop with responsibility for the Credit Valley area of the Anglican Diocese of Toronto. She was the second woman to be elected an Anglican bishop in Toronto and Canada. She succeeded the first Canadian Anglican woman to become a bishop, Victoria Matthews, as Credit Valley area bishop.

She retired as bishop in 2005, but continued her ministry and became a part-time bishop in the Diocese of Niagara.

References

1. ↑ "Toronto area bishop announces her retirement", Anglican Journal, January 1, 2005
2. ↑ 1 Piece of Advice: Exceptional women from around the globe inspire you to unlock your potential, Patricia J. Moser, Barbara K. Moser(Google eBook)
3. ↑ "Dioceses elect Three Bishops", Anglican Journal, September 1997