A Church of England faith leader is receiving backlash for tattoos on her arms after she was chosen as the next cantor and head of worship at a prominent cathedral. Rev. Wendy Dalrymple is a priest and soon-to-be precentor and residentiary canon designate at Canterbury Cathedral in England.
After the cathedral tweeted the announcement with a photo of Dalrymple showing her many arm tattoos, she immediately received online backlash. One user wrote, “The tattoos are disgusting and should bar her from any religious role.” Another Twitter user wrote of Rev. Dalyrmple’s tattoos, “So @CburyCathedral, you have gone woke.” Canterbury Cathedral turned off comments on the post shortly after its online announcement, allowing Twitter users to only quote-tweet the post.
A spokesperson for Canterbury Cathedral said the negative reaction is “unacceptable.” Dalrymple responded to the tweet, saying she had mixed emotions about leaving her current church, but was excited about the next part of the journey. For eight years, she’s been the rector of All Saints with Holy Trinity in Loughborough, England, in the Diocese of Leicester.
SWNS reported that in her role, she helped evolve the church into an intercultural worshiping community, which made the church inclusive for those from different backgrounds. Dean of Canterbury David Monteith, a Northern Irish Anglican priest in the Church of England, tweeted his response to the online hate, saying he was “saddened by the abuse she has received.”
We announced the appointment of our new Precentor @priestwendy for @CburyCathedral last weekend. Just so saddened by the abuse she has received. Determined to shape a a cathedral which addresses misogyny, entitled power and prejudice because the love of Jesus requires that.
— David Monteith (@davidrmmonteith) July 12, 2023
A spokesperson for Canterbury Cathedral also said, “While the overwhelming majority of feedback to Wendy’s appointment has been extremely positive, unfortunately, there has been some online abuse about her appearance from a small number of individuals — sadly, a common experience for many women.” They added that Dalrymple was saddened but thankful for the support from Dean Monteith.
She told the church, “The best response was hearing from someone who said, on showing my picture to their tattooed daughter and son-in-law, ‘They didn’t know people like them were allowed in church, and now they do.’” According to Canterbury Cathedral’s website, Dalrymple is married to a retired police officer, has three children and two grandchildren. She was appointed to her new role on July 9.
In its announcement of the appointment, the cathedral also noted on its website, “In recruiting for this new role, the Cathedral, in consultation with the Archbishop of Canterbury, sought a colleague with creative flair to support the Cathedral’s life, sustaining all that is already good, and also developing both worship and events to help fulfill the Cathedral’s ambition to serve the Diocese and the Communion in ever more vivid, thoughtful and imaginative ways. Wendy will begin her new role in Canterbury in autumn 2023.”
One Twitter user said of the controversy: “My brother in Christ, she just stood there and had her photo taken in clericals, same as any other priest. Plus her art is, if I’m not mistaken, Christian,” as SWNS reported.
Another person added, in part, that Christian values are what matter, not appearance: “I don’t care what anyone looks like, so long as they truly believe in God and teach us that there is hope that our inner souls are not lost after death.”