Anashuya Fletcher Explained

Type:Bishop
Honorific-Prefix:The Right Reverend
Anashuya Fletcher
Assistant Bishop of Wellington
Church:Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia
Diocese:Wellington
Term:2024–present
Predecessor:Eleanor Sanderson
Ordination:17 November 2018 (priesthood)
Ordained By:Justin Duckworth
Consecration:13 April 2024
Consecrated By:Don Tamihere
Birth Place:Sri Lanka
Spouse:Paul Fletcher
Children:2

Anashuya "Ana" Fletcher,, (born 1984) is a Sri Lanka-born New Zealand Anglican bishop. She has been assistant bishop in the Anglican Diocese of Wellington since 2024.

Biography

Fletcher was born in Sri Lanka to Tamil Christian parents and immigrated with her family to New Zealand to escape civil war around the age of one.[1] She grew up in Auckland, trained as an attorney and worked as a solicitor and in human rights law at International Justice Mission before entering ordained ministry.[2] [3] She and her husband, Paul Fletcher, also co-founded social enterprises like a fair-trade coffee shop and Common Good Coffee.[4]

Fletcher was ordained to the priesthood at Wellington Cathedral alongside her husband in 2018.[5] The Fletchers, who have two young children, were appointed co-priests in charge at St. Peter's Anglican Church, Gonville, in Whanganui.[6] Anashuya also worked as "inter-cultural communities enabler" for the New Zealand Church Missionary Society. Her appointment as assistant bishop of Wellington was announced in February 2024, and she was ordained as a bishop at Wellington Cathedral on 13 April 2024.[7]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Martin . Robin . Regional refugee resettlement: 'There is a real desire to welcome' . 25 March 2024 . Radio New Zealand . 7 February 2019.
  2. News: Clarke-Morris . Julanne . Wellington celebrates Bishop Ana . 22 April 2024 . Anglic . 16 April 2024.
  3. News: Wylie . Liz . Anglican Church appoints Whanganui reverend youngest Assistant Bishop of Wellington . Whanganui Chronicle . 25 February 2024.
  4. News: Johanson . Rowan . Coffee project fuels social change . 25 March 2024 . Newshub . 12 October 2013.
  5. News: Wellington celebrates as 18 ordained . 25 March 2024 . Anglican Taonga . 22 November 2018.
  6. News: Tweed . Mike . Our leaders: Community comes first for St Peter's Anglican Church priests Paul and Ana Fletcher . 25 March 2024 . Whanganui Chronicle . 2 May 2021.
  7. News: Wellington Anglicans Welcome Anashuya Fletcher As Assistant Bishop . 15 April 2024 . Scoop . 12 April 2024.