Michael Parker (bishop)


Clement George St Michael Parker was a British Anglican bishop who served as Bishop of Aston and later of Bradford.

Family

Parker was born in Edgbaston in 1900 the son of the W. H. Parker, a priest. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford. He died in 1980.

Ministry

Parker was made deacon on St Michael's Day 1923 by Henry Wakefield and ordained priest in Advent 1924 by Ernest Barnes, Bishop of Birmingham — both times at Birmingham Cathedral. He was an assistant curate at St Bartholomew & St Jude's Birmingham. He was vicar of All Saints' King's Heath, Birmingham, rural dean of King's Norton, honorary canon of Birmingham and Archdeacon of Aston.
During his curacy at St Jude's he and his vicar, Denis Tyndall, compiled Adoremus: A Book of Eucharistic Worship for the Young. The book was described as "primarily for use at what is known as the Children's Eucharist", but was also "to meet the need of the increasing number of parishes in which there is the 'Parish Eucharist'". It was regularly used for the children's Eucharist at All Saints' King's Heath and also for the Parish Eucharist instituted by Michael Parker to replace Matins as the main Sunday morning service.
On 18 October 1954, Parker was consecrated a bishop by Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury, at Westminster Abbey, to serve as Bishop of Aston ; and translated to Bradford in 1961. On retirement in 1971 he was appointed an assistant bishop in the dioceses of Coventry and Worcester.