David Lunn

Who is David Lunn?

David Ramsay Lunn is a former Bishop of Sheffield in the Church of England. Lunn was born on Tyneside, he served as Bishop of Sheffield from 1980 to 1997.

An Anglo-Catholic, he was opposed to the ordination of women, seeing it as an issue that needed an examination at an ecumenical level. During his episcopacy, he oversaw an increase in lay ministry within the diocese, but also increased the number of clergy, and improved the diocese's financial position. The period also saw the creation of the Nine O'Clock Service within one of the diocese's churches. Initially this seemed to be a successful attempt to broaden the appeal of the church, but in the end the project collapsed, and required strong leadership from Lunn to heal the resulting wounds. Following the Hillsborough Disaster, he implemented the clergy disaster plan to improve the church's response to such disasters in future.

In 1997 Lunn was awarded an honorary LL.D. degree by Sheffield University. On retirement he became an assistant bishop in the Diocese of York.