The Revd Will Newman

The Revd Will Newman came to St John’s Cathedral in 2004 to serve as a Cathedral Chaplain and Priest-in-charge of St Stephen’s Chapel Stanley, one of the daughter churches of the cathedral. 

Will divides his working time between the cathedral and Stanley. At the cathedral, Will leads on Christian Education and Nurture Programmes, Spiritual Retreats, Pilgrimages, and Interfaith Links. Will lives in Stanley, where he is School Chaplain at St Stephen’s College, and Prison Chaplain at Stanley Prison, Hong Kong’s main high security prison, as well as being the priest for the people of St Stephen’s Chapel and the wider community in Stanley. 

Formed at Westcott House, Cambridge, for ordination, Will loves exploring issues and questions of faith with people, teaching and guiding people on their Christian journeys, as well as building bridges with people of other faiths. As a student Will spent his summers on a farm working with sheep, and he carries something of the shepherd with him in his ministry.  

Before ordination Will worked with Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) in the 1980s and 90s, first as an English teacher in Yunnan Province, Southwest China, then in London recruiting and training teachers, and back in China in the VSO Beijing Office, supporting volunteers and developing the VSO China Programme.

Will is married to Dot (Theadora Whittington), a trained artist and illustrator who writes and illustrates children’s books, and creates fine art pictures of local Hong Kong life and Chinese festivals. They have two sons. Robin lives in Cardiff and works as a Patent Examiner, and Francis is working towards a PhD at Harvard in the History of Science, related to Taiwan in the late Qing Dynasty. 

Will enjoys hiking in the hills, singing with the Cecilian Singers and the Cathedral Evensong Choir, and reading history.