Jāna Jēruma-Grīnberga
(born 1953, London, United Kingdom) – pastor and bishop emerita
From childhood, Jāna regularly attended Latvian worship services and accompanied her father, composer and musician Alberts Jērums, to other services, assisting at the organ.
She studied biochemistry and medicine, specializing in intensive care nursing, until God’s calling led her further. Jāna studied theology at Oakhill College in London, and in 1997 she was ordained as a pastor in the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad (LELBP). She served the Latvian congregation in London and the international St. Anne’s Lutheran Church, where she also learned Swahili.
In 2009, the Lutheran Church in Great Britain consecrated Jāna as the first female bishop in the history of Great Britain. She has been actively involved in the Latvian community, studied at the Guildhall School of Music, and performed with the ensemble Atbalss. In 2014, she moved to Latvia and for several years served as chaplain at St. Savior’s Anglican Church in Riga. She currently lives in Staicele and serves at the Long-Term Care Centre “Vīķi.”
Jāna and her husband have two daughters and three grandchildren.
Jāna’s ministry is characterized by ecumenical openness, collaboration, and a commitment to strengthening women’s roles in the Church. She believes that basic knowledge of church and Christianity is declining in modern society, that the pastor’s role is evolving, and that traditional approaches are no longer sufficient—one cannot simply wait for people to come to church; new ways must be sought continually.
Bishop’s staff, Used by Jāna Jēruma-Grīnberga, the first woman to serve as bishop of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain from 2009 to 2013
The staff is a genuine shepherd’s crook, which I bought from a store selling supplies for farmers. I thought that for a small, simple church, without power or grandeur, such a simple staff was the most fitting.
The bishop’s staff symbolizes the bishop’s calling to shepherd, protect, and lead the church like a good shepherd with their flock. At the same time, it signifies Christ’s presence and guidance through the bishop’s ministry, highlighting spiritual authority exercised with compassion and care rather than power.
I do not want to say that the female way is gentler—it can even be harsher at times, because we, as women, are not afraid of pain, of difficult emotions. I have cried at funerals, something many male clergy would consider inappropriate. When funerals are especially moving, I cry alongside the people, sharing in their grief.
Jāna Jēruma-Grīnberga
(born 1953, London, United Kingdom) – pastor and bishop emerita
From childhood, Jāna regularly attended Latvian worship services and accompanied her father, composer and musician Alberts Jērums, to other services, assisting at the organ.
She studied biochemistry and medicine, specializing in intensive care nursing, until God’s calling led her further. Jāna studied theology at Oakhill College in London, and in 1997 she was ordained as a pastor in the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church Abroad (LELBP). She served the Latvian congregation in London and the international St. Anne’s Lutheran Church, where she also learned Swahili.
In 2009, the Lutheran Church in Great Britain consecrated Jāna as the first female bishop in the history of Great Britain. She has been actively involved in the Latvian community, studied at the Guildhall School of Music, and performed with the ensemble Atbalss. In 2014, she moved to Latvia and for several years served as chaplain at St. Savior’s Anglican Church in Riga. She currently lives in Staicele and serves at the Long-Term Care Centre “Vīķi.”
Jāna and her husband have two daughters and three grandchildren.
Jāna’s ministry is characterized by ecumenical openness, collaboration, and a commitment to strengthening women’s roles in the Church. She believes that basic knowledge of church and Christianity is declining in modern society, that the pastor’s role is evolving, and that traditional approaches are no longer sufficient—one cannot simply wait for people to come to church; new ways must be sought continually.
Bishop’s staff, Used by Jāna Jēruma-Grīnberga, the first woman to serve as bishop of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain from 2009 to 2013
The staff is a genuine shepherd’s crook, which I bought from a store selling supplies for farmers. I thought that for a small, simple church, without power or grandeur, such a simple staff was the most fitting.”
The bishop’s staff symbolizes the bishop’s calling to shepherd, protect, and lead the church like a good shepherd with their flock. At the same time, it signifies Christ’s presence and guidance through the bishop’s ministry, highlighting spiritual authority exercised with compassion and care rather than power.
I do not want to say that the female way is gentler—it can even be harsher at times, because we, as women, are not afraid of pain, of difficult emotions. I have cried at funerals, something many male clergy would consider inappropriate. When funerals are especially moving, I cry alongside the people, sharing in their grief.
