# Rachel Mann > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Rachel_Mann > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Rachel_Mann.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Mann > Source revision: 1350691958 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Anglican priest and poet}} {{Use British English|date=June 2019}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2019}} {{Infobox Christian leader | type = Priest | honorific-prefix = {{pre-nominal styles|Ven|size=100%}} | name = Rachel Mann | honorific-suffix = | title = Archdeacon [of Bolton](/source/Archdeacon_of_Bolton) and [of Salford](/source/Archdeacon_of_Salford) | image = Rachel Mann and Candle Stand (cropped).jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = | church = | diocese = [Diocese of Manchester](/source/Anglican_Diocese_of_Manchester) | term = 2023–present | predecessor = | successor = | other_post = | previous_post = [Area Dean](/source/Area_Dean) of Bury and Rossendale (2021–2023) | ordination = 2005 (deacon)
2006 (priest) | ordained_by = | consecration = | consecrated_by = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1970|02|27}} | birth_place = | death_date = | death_place = | buried = | resting_place_coordinates = | nationality = | religion = [Anglicanism](/source/Anglicanism) | residence = | parents = | spouse = | children = | occupation = | profession = {{hlist|Priest|author}} | education = | alma_mater = {{Nowrap|[Lancaster University](/source/Lancaster_University)
[Queen's College, Birmingham](/source/The_Queen's_Foundation)
[Manchester Metropolitan University](/source/Manchester_Metropolitan_University)}} }} '''Rachel Mann''' (born 1970) is a British [Anglican](/source/Anglican) priest, poet and [feminist](/source/feminist) [theologian](/source/theologian).{{cite web | url=http://faithinfeminism.com/can-a-feminist-be-religious-and-lgbtqi/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020004539/http://faithinfeminism.com/can-a-feminist-be-religious-and-lgbtqi/ | archive-date=20 October 2013 | title=Meet Rachel: A trans-woman, gay, feminist priest | Faith in Feminism }} She is a [trans woman](/source/trans_woman) who writes, speaks and broadcasts on a wide range of topics including gender, sexuality and religion.{{Cite web |url=http://ripassetseu.s3.amazonaws.com/www.lgf.org.uk/_files/documents/may_13/FENT__1369834505_onw116-news.pdf |title=Rachel Mann interviewed in OutNorthWest Magazine June/July 2013 |access-date=6 April 2014 |archive-date=3 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140503073620/http://ripassetseu.s3.amazonaws.com/www.lgf.org.uk/_files/documents/may_13/FENT__1369834505_onw116-news.pdf |url-status=dead }} She has served as Archdeacon [of Bolton](/source/Archdeacon_of_Bolton) and [of Salford](/source/Archdeacon_of_Salford) (in the [Diocese of Manchester](/source/Anglican_Diocese_of_Manchester)) since 2023. ==Early life and education== Mann was born in 1970. She grew up in Worcestershire, in the village of [Hartlebury](/source/Hartlebury), and attended Stourport-on-Severn High School.{{Cite web |last=Stanford |first=Peter |date=3 December 2020 |title=Rachel Mann: 'I was only able to find God after I had transitioned' |url=https://www.thetablet.co.uk/features/2/19072/rachel-mann-i-was-only-able-to-find-god-after-i-had-transitioned- |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=The Tablet |language=en}} Between 1988 and 1991, she studied philosophy at [Lancaster University](/source/Lancaster_University) and completed an M.A. at the same university from 1992 to 1993. She studied for a PhD in philosophy at Lancaster and was a teaching fellow from 1994 to 1996. {{Cite news |last=Stanford |first=Peter |date=2020-12-15 |title=Rachel Mann: 'I'm self-evidently a woman – but I'm glad I was once a man' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/rachel-mann-self-evidently-woman-imglad-man/ |access-date=2024-01-10 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}} From 2003 to 2005, she trained for [ordained ministry](/source/ordained_ministry) at [Queen's College, Birmingham](/source/The_Queen's_Foundation), an [ecumenical](/source/ecumenical) [theological college](/source/theological_college). She holds an M.A. in creative writing from [Manchester Writing School](/source/Manchester_Writing_School){{Cite web |title=Rachel Mann {{!}} Our Writers and Experts {{!}} Manchester Writing School |url=https://www.manchesterwritingschool.co.uk/writers/rachel-mann |access-date=2024-01-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628233557/https://www.manchesterwritingschool.co.uk/writers/rachel-mann |archive-date=28 June 2018 }} and she undertook [postgraduate studies](/source/postgraduate_studies) in the Bible and [19th-century literature](/source/19th_century_in_literature) at [Manchester Metropolitan University](/source/Manchester_Metropolitan_University). Her [doctoral thesis](/source/doctoral_thesis) was titled "The representation of fecundity and barrenness in the poetry of [Elizabeth Barrett Browning](/source/Elizabeth_Barrett_Browning), [Christina Rossetti](/source/Christina_Rossetti), and the Bible: a critical and creative interrogation of a [Christian-feminist](/source/Christian_feminism) poetics", and was completed in 2017.{{cite thesis|last1=Mann|first1=Rachel|title=The representation of fecundity and barrenness in the poetry of Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Christina Rossetti, and the Bible: a critical and creative interrogation of a Christian-feminist poetics|url=http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.728278|website=E-Thesis Online Service|publisher=The British Library Board|date=2017|type=Ph.D}}{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} ==Ordained ministry== Mann was [ordained](/source/ordained) in the [Church of England](/source/Church_of_England) as a [deacon](/source/Deacon) in 2005 and as a [priest](/source/Priest) in 2006. She served her [curacy](/source/curacy) at St Matthew's Church, [Stretford](/source/Stretford) in the [Diocese of Manchester](/source/Anglican_Diocese_of_Manchester). Between 2008 and 2017, she was [Priest-in-Charge](/source/Priest-in-Charge) at the [Church of St Nicholas, Burnage](/source/Church_of_St_Nicholas%2C_Burnage), before being appointed its [Rector](/source/Rector_(ecclesiastical)) in 2018.{{Crockford| surname = Mann | forenames = Rachel | id = 1270| accessed = 23 June 2018}} Between 2009 and 2017, she was also Resident Poet at [Manchester Cathedral](/source/Manchester_Cathedral). In 2017, she was made an [honorary canon](/source/honorary_canon) of Manchester Cathedral. Between February 2018 and the end of its extended quinquennium in July 2021, she was a member of the [General Synod of the Church of England](/source/General_Synod_of_the_Church_of_England), having been elected by the clergy of the Diocese of Manchester.{{cite web|title=Rachel Mann elected to General Synod|url=https://www.manchester.anglican.org/news/2018/02/09/rachel-mann-elected-general-synod/|website=Diocese of Manchester|accessdate=26 March 2018|date=9 February 2018|archive-date=26 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326142028/https://www.manchester.anglican.org/news/2018/02/09/rachel-mann-elected-general-synod/|url-status=dead}} In June 2021, she left St Nicholas Burnage to become full-time [Area Dean](/source/Area_Dean) of Bury and Rossendale.{{cite web|title=Seven Full-Time Area Deans Appointed|url=https://manchester.anglican.org/news/latest-news/full-time-area-deans.php|website=Diocese of Manchester|accessdate=23 July 2021|date=26 February 2021|archive-date=23 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723191254/https://manchester.anglican.org/news/latest-news/full-time-area-deans.php|url-status=dead}} In the elections for the 2021-2026 Quinquennium, Mann was re-elected as a member of the Church of England's General Synod for Manchester.{{cite web|title=General Synod Election Results|url=https://manchester.anglican.org/news/latest-news/general-synod-election-results.php|website=Diocese of Manchester|accessdate=12 February 2022|date=14 October 2021|archive-date=12 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220212161647/https://manchester.anglican.org/news/latest-news/general-synod-election-results.php|url-status=dead}} On 12 June 2023, she was announced as the next Archdeacon [of Bolton](/source/Archdeacon_of_Bolton) and [of Salford](/source/Archdeacon_of_Salford);{{cite web |title=Archdeacon of Bolton and Salford announced |url=https://www.manchester.anglican.org/archdeacon-of-bolton-and-salford-announced.php |website=Diocese of Manchester |access-date=17 June 2023 |date=12 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230615125031/https://www.manchester.anglican.org/archdeacon-of-bolton-and-salford-announced.php |archive-date=15 June 2023 }} she was duly collated to those archdeaconries ([in plurality](/source/in_plurality)) on 4 July.{{cite web |website=Diocese of Manchester |title=Rachel Mann — Notice of Appointment |url=https://www.manchester.anglican.org/the-revd-canon-dr-rachel-mann--notice-of-appointment.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230714105205/https://www.manchester.anglican.org/the-revd-canon-dr-rachel-mann--notice-of-appointment.php |archive-date=14 July 2023 |access-date=14 July 2023 }} ===Views=== Mann belongs to the [liberal Anglo-Catholic](/source/Liberal_Anglo-Catholicism) [tradition](/source/Churchmanship) of the Church of England, though she was brought up an [Evangelical](/source/Evangelical)-[Charismatic Christian](/source/Charismatic_Christian). She supports the full inclusion of the [LGBT](/source/LGBT) people in the church.{{cite web|title=Candidate: Rev'd Canon Dr Rachel Mann|url=https://cofemanchester.contentfiles.net/media/documents/document/2018/01/Rachel_Mann.pdf|website=Diocese of Manchester|access-date=26 March 2018|date=January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326202342/https://cofemanchester.contentfiles.net/media/documents/document/2018/01/Rachel_Mann.pdf |archive-date=26 March 2018}} Between 2020 and 2024, Mann was a patron of the [Open Table Network](/source/Open_Table_Network), an ecumenical Christian charity supporting worship communities for [LGBT](/source/LGBT) people and their allies.{{Cite web|date=19 November 2020|title=Meet Our Patrons - Rachel Mann in conversation with Alex Clare-Young|url=https://opentable.lgbt/our-events/2021/11/19meet-our-patrons-bishop-rachel-mann-in-conversation-with-alex-clare-young|access-date=18 April 2021|website=Open Table Network}}{{Cite web|date=29 November 2024|title=‘Dazzling Darkness’ author steps down after four years as OTN Patron|url=https://opentable.lgbt/our-news/2024/11/29/otn-patron-steps-down-after-four-years|access-date=7 August 2025|website=Open Table Network}} On 5th February 2026 it was announced that she will be retiring from her role on 31st July 2026. This is on medical grounds following a long period of ill health and several major surgical operations. ==Author== She is the author of ''Dazzling Darkness: Gender, Sexuality, Illness & God'' (Glasgow: Wild Goose 2012) and ''The Risen Dust: Poems and Stories of Passion & Resurrection'' (Glasgow: Wild Goose 2013), both published by the publishing arm of the [Iona Community](/source/Iona_Community). Mann is also a contributor to ''Fear and Friendship: Anglicans Engaging With Islam'' (Continuum 2012) and several books on liturgical theology, including ''Presiding Like a Woman'' (SPCK 2010). Her book about the First World War and Ritual, ''Fierce Imaginings: The Great War, Ritual, Memory & God'' (London: D.L.T. 2017) was shortlisted for the 2019 Michael Ramsey Prize for Theological Writing. In 2018, she was appointed Visiting Teaching Fellow in Creative Writing and English at the [Manchester Writing School](/source/Manchester_Writing_School), [Manchester Metropolitan University](/source/Manchester_Metropolitan_University).{{Cite web|url=http://www.manchesterwritingschool.co.uk/writers/rachel-mann|title=Rachel Mann | Our Writers and Experts | Manchester Writing School|access-date=1 January 2020|archive-date=1 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200101111234/http://www.manchesterwritingschool.co.uk/writers/rachel-mann|url-status=dead}} She is also a visiting scholar at [Sarum College](/source/Sarum_College).{{Cite web |title=People at Sarum College: Rachel Mann | Sarum College, Christian Education and Conference Venue in Salisbury, England |url=https://www.sarum.ac.uk/college-community/staff/visiting-scholars/rachel-mann |access-date=10 January 2024 |website=sarum.ac.uk}} In 2019, [Carcanet](/source/Carcanet) published her debut full poetry collection, ''A Kingdom of Love''. The collection was Highly Commended in the 2020 [Forward Prizes for Poetry](/source/Forward_Prizes_for_Poetry).{{Cite web |title=Forward Book of Poetry |url=https://www.forwardartsfoundation.org/forward-prizes-for-poetry/forward-book-of-poetry/ |access-date=10 January 2024 |website=Forward Arts Foundation |archive-date=8 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208021510/https://www.forwardartsfoundation.org/forward-prizes-for-poetry/forward-book-of-poetry/ |url-status=dead }} In 2020, her debut novel, ‘'The Gospel of Eve'', was published by D.L.T. In 2024, Mann's second collection, ''Eleanor Among the Saints'' was shortlisted for the [T. S. Eliot Prize](/source/T._S._Eliot_Prize).{{Cite web |title=T.S. Eliot Shortlist 2024 Announced |url=https://poetrysociety.org.uk/news/t-s-eliot-shortlist-2024-announced/ |access-date=18 October 2024 |website=Poetry Society}} Mann is a regular contributor to ''[Church Times](/source/Church_Times)'' and contributes to BBC Radio 2's [Pause for Thought](/source/Wake_Up_to_Wogan) and BBC Radio 4's ''[Thought for the Day](/source/Thought_for_the_Day)'', ''[The Daily Service](/source/The_Daily_Service)'' and ''Prayer for the Day''. She also writes about progressive music, metal and folk for ''[Prog](/source/Prog_(magazine))'', an offshoot of ''[Classic Rock](/source/Classic_Rock_(magazine))'', and ''[The Quietus](/source/The_Quietus)''. In the 2024 series of ''[Christmas University Challenge](/source/Christmas_University_Challenge)'' on BBC2, Mann represented [Manchester Metropolitan University](/source/Manchester_Metropolitan_University) and returned in the 2025 series to represent [Lancaster University](/source/Lancaster_University).{{cite web|url=https://blanchflower.org/uc/results_christmas.html|title=Christmas University Challenge|publisher=blanchflower.org}} == Awards and honours == *The International Michael Ramsey Prize for Theological Writing, 'Shortlisted' (2019) {{Cite web|url=https://www.michaelramseyprize.org.uk/books/|title=Books Archive|website=Michael Ramsey Prize|accessdate=10 January 2024}} *Lancaster University ‘Outstanding Alumni Award' (2023) {{Cite web|url=https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/news/alumni-awards-for-outstanding-former-lancaster-students/|title=Alumni Awards for outstanding former Lancaster students|website=Lancaster University|accessdate=10 January 2024}} *The Poetry Book Society 'Spring 2024 PBS Recommendation' (2024) {{Cite web|url=https://www.carcanet.co.uk/cgi-bin/indexer?product=9781800173811/|title=Carcanet Press|website=www.carcanet.co.uk|access-date=22 December 2023|archive-date=22 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231222090409/https://www.carcanet.co.uk/cgi-bin/indexer?product=9781800173811/|url-status=dead}} *T. S. Eliot Prize (shortlisted) for ''Eleanor Among the Saints'' (2024) {{Cite web|url=https://www.carcanet.co.uk/np56.shtml/|title=Carcanet Press|website=www.carcanet.co.uk|accessdate=18 October 2024}} *The Archbishop of York's Advent Book 2024 for ''Do Not Be Afraid'' (2024) {{Cite web|url=https://www.archbishopofyork.org/news/latest-news/archbishop-yorks-advent-book-2024|title=Archbishop of York|website=www.archbishopofyork.org|accessdate=24 July 2025}} *Award of Merit, The Associated Church Press Awards 2024 for ''Festival of the Child'', The Christian Century {{Cite web|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EFaN9UdG28oWb9B7srhecaz0HtIHj6Rj/view?pli=1|page=148|title=ACP Awards|website=www.theacp.org/awards|accessdate=24 July 2025}} ==Selected works== *{{cite book|author1=Mann, Rachel|editor1-last=Slee|editor1-first=Nicola|editor2-last=Burns|editor2-first=Stephen|title=Presiding like a Woman: Feminist Gestures for Christian Assemblies|date=2010|publisher=SPCK Publishing|location=London|isbn=978-0281061860|pages=133–139|chapter=Presiding from the broken middle}} *{{cite book|last1=Mann|first1=Rachel|title=Dazzling Darkness: Gender, Sexuality, Illness & God|date=2012|publisher=Wild Goose Publications|location=Glasgow|isbn=978-1849522410}} *{{cite book|author1=Mann, Rachel|editor1-last=Ward|editor1-first=Frances|editor2-last=Coakley|editor2-first=Sarah|title=Fear and friendship: Anglicans engaging with Islam|date=2012|publisher=Continuum|location=London|isbn=978-1441101495|chapter=The importance of offence: satire, the Church of England and Islam|pages=91–104}} *{{cite book|last1=Mann|first1=Rachel|title=The Risen Dust: Poems and Stories of Passion & Resurrection|date=2013|publisher=Wild Goose Publications|location=Glasgow|isbn=978-1849522793}} *{{cite book|last1=Mann|first1=Rachel|title=A Star-Filled Grace: Worship and Prayer Resources for Advent, Christmas & Epiphany|date=2015|publisher=Wild Goose Publications|location=Glasgow|isbn=978-1849524421}} *{{cite book|last1=Mann|first1=Rachel|title=Fierce Imaginings: The Great War, Ritual, Memory and God|date=2017|publisher=Darton, Longman & Todd|location=London|isbn=9780232532784}} *{{cite book|last1=Mann|first1=Rachel|title=From Now On: A Lent Course on Hope and Redemption in The Greatest Showman|date=2018|publisher=Darton, Longman & Todd|location=London|isbn=9780232533927}} *{{cite book|last1=Mann|first1=Rachel|title=In The Bleak Midwinter: Advent and Christmas with Christina Rossetti|date=2019|publisher=Canterbury Press|location=London|isbn=9781786221629}} *{{cite book|last1=Mann|first1=Rachel|title=A Kingdom Of Love|date=2019|publisher=Carcanet|location=Manchester|isbn=9781784108571}} *{{cite book|last1=Mann|first1=Rachel|title=Christina Rossetti: New Selected Poems|date=2020|publisher=Carcanet|location=Manchester|isbn=9781784109066}} *{{cite book|last1=Mann|first1=Rachel|title=Still Standing: A Lent Course Based on Rocketman|date=2020|publisher=Darton, Longman & Todd|location=London|isbn= 9780232534917}} *{{cite book|last1=Mann|first1=Rachel|title=Love's Mysteries: The Body, Grief, Precariousness and God|date=2020|publisher=Canterbury Press|location=London|isbn= 9781786222817}} *{{cite book|last1=Mann|first1=Rachel|title=The Gospel of Eve|date=2020|publisher=Darton, Longman & Todd|location=London|isbn=9780232534603}} *{{cite book|last1=Mann|first1=Rachel|title=Spectres of God|date=2021|publisher=Darton, Longman & Todd|location=London|isbn= 9781913657529}} *{{cite book|last1=Mann|first1=Rachel|title=A Truth Universally Acknowledged:40 Days with Jane Austen|date=2023|publisher=Canterbury Press|location=London|isbn= 9781786225030}} *{{cite book|last1=Mann|first1=Rachel|title=Eleanor Among the Saints|date=2024|publisher=Carcanet|location=Manchester|isbn= 9781800173811}} *{{cite book|last1=Mann|first1=Rachel|title=Do Not Be Afraid: The Joy of Waiting in a Time of Fear|date=2024|publisher=SPCK|location=London|isbn= 9780281090013}} ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== *[http://rachelmann.co.uk/ Personal website] {{authority control}} {{Archdeacons of Bolton}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Mann, Rachel}} Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century English Anglican priests Category:Transgender women writers Category:Transgender poets Category:English transgender women Category:English transgender writers Category:LGBTQ Anglican clergy Category:21st-century English poets Category:British feminist writers Category:21st-century English theologians Category:English women poets Category:English LGBTQ poets Category:English Anglican theologians Category:Christian feminist theologians Category:Anglican poets Category:21st-century English women writers Category:English Anglo-Catholics Category:Anglo-Catholic clergy Category:Alumni of the Queen's Foundation Category:Alumni of Manchester Metropolitan University Category:Alumni of Lancaster University Category:Members of the General Synod of the Church of England Category:Archdeacons of Salford Category:Archdeacons of Bolton Category:21st-century British women poets --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Rachel Mann](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Mann) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rachel_Mann?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.