Ellen Clark-King

Ellen Jane Clark was born in 1962.[1] From 1982 to 1985, she studied history at Newnham College, Cambridge, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree:[1][2][3] as per tradition, her BA was promoted to a Master of Arts (MA Cantab) degree.[1] From 1989 to 1992, she trained for ordination and studied theology at Ripon College Cuddesdon.[1] She continued her studies in Christian spirituality at the University of London, graduating with a Master of Arts (MA) degree in 1999.[1][2] She then studied for a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree at Lancaster University, which she completed in 2003 with a doctoral thesis titled "Sacred hearts: feminist theology interrogated by the voices of working-class women".[4]

Clark-King was made a deacon in the Church of England in 1992.[1] Following the vote to allow women to be ordained as priests in the Church of England, she was ordained to the priesthood in 1994 during a service at Hereford Cathedral.[3] She served her curacy in a multi-church parish in the Diocese of Hereford from 1992 to 1995.[1] Then, from 1995 to 2000, she was fellow and chaplain of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge.[2] In 2000, she moved to the Diocese of Newcastle, where she became a doctoral student and non-stipendiary minister.[1][3] She was additionally assistant diocesan director of ordinands from 2001 to 2005.[1]

In 2005, Clark-King left the United Kingdom for the Anglican Church of Canada: she was looking for an inclusive church that was welcoming of LGBTQ clergy and accepted same-sex marriage.[3] She served as associate pastor of Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver between 2005 and 2012.[1] She was additionally Archdeacon of Burrard from 2007 to 2014.[1][5] From 2012 to 2014 and from 2015 to 2016, she was cathedral vicar of Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver.[1][6] For the 2014/15 academic year, she was director for Anglican formation at the Vancouver School of Theology.[1][7] She was also an elected member of the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada.[8] She took Canadian citizenship during her time in the country.[3]

In December 2016, she moved to the United States, where she became executive pastor and canon for social justice at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco in the Episcopal Diocese of California.[6] She was promoted to vice-dean in September 2019.[6] She was an elected member of the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.[8]

Having returned to the United Kingdom, she has been Dean of King's College London since December 2020: this is the most senior cleric of the university, and is tasked with overseeing the spiritual development and welfare of all its students and staff.[9] She is the first woman to hold the post in the almost two centuries of the college's existence.[9] She has additionally be a non-stipendiary minister at St Anne's Church, Soho in the Diocese of London since 2021, and a public preacher in the Diocese of Southwark since 2022.[10]

She is married to Jeremy Clark-King, a fellow Anglican priest.[9] Jonathan Clark, an Anglican bishop, is her brother.[11]

• Clark-King, Ellen (2004). Theology by heart: women, the Church and God. Peterborough: Epworth Press. ISBN 978-0716205876.
• Clark-King, Ellen (2011). Path to Your Door: Approaches to Christian Spirituality. London: Continuum International Publisher. ISBN 978-1441157638.