To be honest the "first woman" bit hadn't crossed my mind until a message of good cheer and congratulations from a kind colleague arrived earlier this evening.
I hope to fulfil this role with warmth, fairness and good humour. I hope we will be a creative and collaborative Synod. I hope we can encourage good listening, fresh thinking and courageous speaking, and be a truly safe space for those things.
And of course in the spirit of every honest person doing something for the first time, I hope I don't mess it up.
I'll hopefully be blogging more in the next 5 years as I Chair the Diocesan Synod and serve on General Synod too. All constructive and kindly spoken comments are welcome.
