She is about as far from the stereotype of a Church of England bishop as you can get: black, female, fearless. She was born and raised in poverty in Jamaica, deprived of parental love, beaten and abused as a youngster, yet Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin radiates warmth and joy as she opens a pile of Christmas cards in her office at Canterbury cathedral.
The card she sent this year depicted a black Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus in a refugee tent on a hillside. It is a message that came straight from her heart. As bishop of Dover, the issue of migration – whether it is people fleeing war, persecution or economic hardship – is always near the top of her in-tray.
