Bishop Michael has announced the appointment of the new Bishop of Taunton.
Dear colleagues,
I am delighted to share the news that this morning (22 October 2025), Downing Street has announced that Fiona Gibson will be the next Bishop of Taunton.
Fiona has done an outstanding job as the Archdeacon of Ludlow and has a huge amount of expertise that will help us as we seek to grow our church and our increase our work within our communities across Somerset. Her rural experience and educational background, in particular, will be a wonderful gift to us.
Fiona is spending today meeting people from across our diocese. She will begin her day in Wiveliscombe, meeting clergy, church volunteers and members of the rural community at St Andrew’s Church, before heading to Taunton. There she will enjoy a tour of Pyrland’s Church of England Secondary School and a visit to the Without Borders Cafe, which employs refugees and offers work experience to asylum seekers, and is run by the charity CHARIS Refugees in Taunton.
From there she will make her way to Glastonbury to meet with clergy and volunteers at St John’s and St Benedict’s before joining in with the school assembly at St Benedict’s Junior School, Glastonbury. She will then return to Wells to meet staff at the diocesan offices before attending Evening Prayer at Wells Cathedral.
Please join me in praying for Fiona and her family as she prepares to take on this role next year.
Bishop Michael