{{Short description|Anglican bishop (1925–2018)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox Christian leader | name = Bob Beak | title = Assistant Bishop of Marsabit | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | diocese = Diocese of Mount Kenya East | term = 1984–1989 | predecessor = | successor = | other_post = Rector of Heanton (1970–1984)<br />Honorary assistant bishop, Diocese of Derby (1991–2018) <!---------- Orders ----------> | ordination = 1953 (deacon); 1954 (priest) | ordained_by = | consecration = 1984 | consecrated_by = <!---------- Personal details ----------> | birth_date = {{birth year|1925}} | birth_place = <!--Settlement, County, Country | death_date = {{death date and age|df=y|2018|1|13|1925|2|11}} | death_place = Settlement, County, Country--> | buried = | nationality = British | religion = Anglican | residence = | parents = | spouse = | children = | occupation = | profession = | education = | alma_mater = London Bible College }} '''Robert Michael Cawthorn Beak''' OBE<ref name="crockford">{{Crockford | forenames = Robert Michael Cawthorn | surname = Beak | id = 23803 | accessed = 25 August 2016 }}</ref> (1925 – 13 January 2018) was an Anglican bishop.
Beak trained at the London Bible College, was ordained deacon in 1953 and priest in 1954, serving his Title (curacy) at St John's Church, Tunbridge Wells, 1953–1955. Associated with the Bible Churchmen's Missionary Society 1955–1956 and 1984–1989, he spent 1956–1969 and 1984–1989 in Kenya. Between these stints, he was a parish priest in Devon.<ref name="crockford" /> There, he was Rector of Heanton from 1970<ref>{{Church Times | title = New bishop for Kenya is a white | archive = 1984_02_17_003 | issue = 6314 | date = 17 February 1984 | page = 3 | accessed = 16 August 2016 }}</ref> (and of Marwood, Devon from 1979), being also rural dean of Barnstaple (1977–1981) and a prebendary of Exeter Cathedral (1982–1984).<ref name="crockford" />
All of these appointments ended with his 1984 appointment and consecration as Assistant Bishop of Marsabit<ref>[http://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/news/bishop-spreads-the-word-1-4951491 Derbyshire Times — Bishop spreads the word] (Accessed 25 August 2016)</ref> in the Diocese of Mount Kenya East,<ref>[http://www.ackenya.org/dioceses/marsabit.html Anglican Church of Kenya — Diocese of Marsabit] (Accessed 25 August 2016)</ref> Church of the Province of Kenya, where he remained until 1989. He brought development to Marsabit by planted churches and trained evangelists. Through Crosslinks, he oversaw feeding programmes and helped the Government distribute. For his work during the famine and in Kenya, he was later awarded the OBE.<ref name="crockford" /> Marsabit became an autonomous diocese in 2011.
He retired in 1990 and became an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) that year.<ref name="crockford" /> From 1991, he was licensed as an honorary assistant bishop in the Diocese of Derby, Church of England.<ref name="crockford" /> He retired (again) from ministry in July 2013, having been a priest at All Saints' Church, Ashover.<ref>[http://www.matlockmercury.co.uk/news/local/unique-retirement-gift-for-ashover-s-bishop-bob-1-5821966 Matlock Mercury — Unique retirement gift for Ashover’s bishop Bob] (Accessed 25 August 2016)</ref>
He died on 13 January 2018 at the age of 92.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2018/27-april/gazette/obituaries/obituary-the-rt-revd-robert-beak|title=Obituary: The Rt Revd Robert Beak}}</ref>
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Beak, Robert Michael Cawthorn}} Category:1925 births Category:2018 deaths Category:Alumni of the London School of Theology Category:Anglican assistant bishops Category:20th-century Anglican bishops of the Anglican Church of Kenya Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:British expatriates in Kenya