I’m not going to lie – I spent most of today snoozing in a chair in our common room. And Dave thought it would be hilarious to spill some cold water on my face. Great. I didn’t really do much, so I thought I’d write about something that happened the other day.

Last week I was lucky enough to be stewarding the launch of Jane Williams’ (Mrs Archbishop of Canterbury) book, ‘Marriage, Mitres and Being Myself”, which I understood to be basically a collection of stories and testimonies from various bishops’ spouses from around the globe. It was absolutely mental – every spouse was given a free copy and Jane was signing as many as she could. We tried to have a queuing system, but it’s rather hard to enforce as explaining to someone who doesn’t speak good English why they shouldn’t enter the queue through the exit route is really rather tricky… But Mrs Williams’ brief description of her book really raised for me some interesting points.

The role of a bishop’s spouse can easily be overlooked, but when considered more closely and in more detail we begin to see just how important it is. Just like everyone else, a bishop needs support from those people closest to them, and the greater the pressures of the job the more important this support is. Not only is it likely that the spouse will end up facilitating the smooth-running of the household, but will also have to vie for attention with various meetings and other commitments. In a plenary session on marriage one bishop’s wife said that her husband reminded her that he wore two rings – in effect telling her that he was as committed to his job as to his marriage.

Within the diocese the spouse may also play a vital role, making social connections that are essential to making many people feel included and also perhaps ending up acting as a sort of unofficial counsellor. We must keep in mind that these men and women have not chosen this themselves – it is, in essence, a real job that has been thrust upon them at their wives/husbands’ consecration. As such, bishops’ spouses find themselves in an important role within the Church, but with no proper training. This is why the Lambeth Spouses’ Conference is so crucial. Within the many ’self-select’ sessions are courses on IT and management, as well and vestment-making and dealing with trauma and many other useful subjects. These will enable the spouses to feel more comfortable in their role, and prepared to deal with whatever their other half’s job may throw at them.

Hopefully the stories contained within Jane Williams’ book will provide inspiration and encouragement for those who are new to their position and feel slightly adrift.