Jane Elizabeth Margaret Sinclair (March 1956 – 14 January 2021) was a British Anglican

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

. Before her retirement in 2020, she was a Canon of Westminster from 2014, and Rector of St Margaret's Church, Westminster from 2016. She had served as Archdeacon of Stow and Lindsey between 2007 and 2014.

Early life and education

Sinclair was born in 1956. After attending schools in London, New York and then

Westonbirt School Westonbirt School is a co-educational independent day and boarding school for boys and girls aged 11 to 18 located near Tetbury in Gloucestershire in South West England. Founded in 1928. The historical Westonbirt House is part of the school. We ...

, she read History at St Hugh's College, Oxford and represented the university at lacrosse, graduating in 1978. Sinclair then trained for ordained ministry at

St John's College, Nottingham St John's College, Nottingham, founded as the London College of Divinity, was an Anglican and interdenominational theological college situated in Bramcote, Nottingham, England. The college stood in the open evangelical tradition and stated that i ...

Ordained ministry

She was a

deaconess The ministry of a deaconess is, in modern times, a usually non-ordained ministry for women in some Protestant, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Orthodox churches to provide pastoral care, especially for other women, and which may carry a limited l ...

at St Paul's,

Herne Hill Herne Hill is a district in South London, approximately four miles from Charing Cross and bordered by Brixton, Camberwell, Dulwich, and Tulse Hill. It sits to the north and east of Brockwell Park and straddles the boundary between the borou ...

from 1983 to 1986; a Lecturer in Liturgy at

from 1986 to 1993; a Canon Residentiary and

Precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

Sheffield Cathedral The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Paul, Sheffield, more commonly known as Sheffield Cathedral, is the cathedral church for the Church of England diocese of Sheffield, England. Originally a parish church, it was elevated to cathedral st ...

from 1993 to 2003. In 1995 Sinclair was elected to

General Synod The General Synod is the title of the governing body of some church organizations. Anglican Communion The General Synod of the Church of England, which was established in 1970 replacing the Church Assembly, is the legislative body of the Church of ...

, and also server on the Liturgical Commission with involvement in the revision of the Psalter for Common Worship. From 2001 Sinclair was a member of the Cathedral Fabric Commission for England. Sinclair was

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

Rotherham Minster The Minster Church of All Saints or Rotherham Minster is the Anglican minster church of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England. The Minster is a prominent example of Perpendicular Gothic architecture and various architectural historians have rated ...

from 2003 to 2007; and Archdeacon of Stow & Lindsey until her retirement. In 2014 it was announced that she would be appointed a Canon of Westminster based at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

, taking on the role of Canon Steward. She was installed as a canon of Westminster on 7 September 2014.Westminster Abbey – Archdeacon appointed Canon
(Accessed 21 July 2014) In January 2016 it was announced that Sinclair would change roles within the Chapter, becoming Rector of St Margaret's from 1 September 2016.Westminster Abbey — Sinclair appointed Rector of St Margaret's
(Accessed 23 February 2016) Sinclair retired in April 2020 after five and a half years at the Abbey. Jane Sinclair died on Thursday 14 January 2021.

Styles

* 1987–2007: ''

The Reverend The Reverend is an honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. ''The Reverend'' is correctly ...

'' Jane Sinclair * 2007–2014: ''

The Venerable The Venerable (''venerabilis'' in Latin) is a style, a title, or an epithet which is used in some Western Christianity, Western Christian churches, or it is a translation of similar terms for clerics in Eastern Orthodoxy and monastics in Buddhism. ...

'' Jane Sinclair * 2014–2020: ''The Reverend

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western ca ...

'' Jane Sinclair

References

1956 births 2021 deaths Alumni of St Hugh's College, Oxford Archdeacons of Stow People from Market Rasen Canons of Westminster Women Anglican clergy Alumni of St John's College, Nottingham Staff of St John's College, Nottingham People educated at Westonbirt School {{Canterbury-archdeacon-stub