Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich | Ripple Public Relations

Background

Ripple Public Relations has proudly managed media and reputational communications for The Rt Revd Martin Seeley, Lord Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, for over a decade, from 2015 to 2025.

As the leader of the Church of England in Suffolk - representing the largest charity in the county with a multi-million-pound turnover - he is also a member of the House of Lords. His role places him at the heart of both community and national conversations, making thoughtful and impactful communication essential.

Ripple has represented Bishops serving Suffolk since 2011, both Diocesan Bishops representing the most senior leadership position within the Church of England in the county, and suffragan bishops who serve as their deputies.

Ripple will continue to represent Bishops both during and after their tenure, with The Rt Revd Martin Seeley retiring in February 2025.

Ripple’s work is centred on two key areas: media management, ensuring the Bishops’ messages reflect their mission and values, and crisis communications, offering support and strategic advice during challenging moments.

Ripple has represented multiple Bishops in the past and will continue to do so in the future, maintaining its commitment to effective, long-term communication strategies.

Media management

Ripple collaborates closely with the Bishops to amplify their work in the community and highlight the values of compassion, inclusivity and service.

Strategic Planning: Regular strategy sessions to craft messages that resonate with the Bishops’ vision - fostering community connections and engaging with younger generations.
Diary and Event Coverage: We ensure every significant event and engagement is shared effectively, shining a light on the Bishops’ community involvement.
Media Handling: Our team carefully manages media enquiries, interview requests and press coverage to maintain a clear and consistent narrative.
Visual Storytelling: Ripple oversees impactful photography to illustrate the Bishops’ work and values.

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Key media moments

These moments reflect the Bishops' core values in action, with Ripple strategically highlighting these occasions to engage the public. They are important in demonstrating their commitment to the community and reinforcing their mission of compassion, service and leadership.

Examples of key media moments include:
Connecting with young people: At the Suffolk Showground, Bishop Martin was photographed face painting with Bishop Mike (formally suffragan Bishop of Dunwich, who was elevated to Diocesan Bishop of Exeter in 2024) and playing the saxophone - both light-hearted and engaging ways to connect with younger generations. In addition, their time spent baking with children highlights their dedication to building personal connections in a fun and approachable way.

The Rt Revd Martin Seeley face painting with Bishop Mike

The Rt Revd Martin Seeley playing sax at the Suffolk Showground

Supporting the homeless: Bishop Mike’s heartfelt conversations with homeless individuals on the streets of Ipswich highlight the Church’s commitment to addressing social challenges at a personal level.

Bishop Martin supporting the homeless in Ipswich

Fighting food insecurity: Bishop Martin’s active involvement in serving meals at an Ipswich food bank demonstrates their hands-on approach to tackling urgent community needs.

Bishop Martin helping at the Ipswich food bank

Bishop Martin serving people at the Ipswich food bank.

These images and moments highlight the Bishop's mission to lead with compassion, break down barriers and bring meaningful change to Suffolk.

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The Rt Rev Martin Seeley

Lord Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich (Suffolk)

Since 2015, John has given exceptional media advice to myself and my office, ensuring strong positive connections with journalists. I have found his insights into gaining press coverage to tell our good news first class.

John has been a rock in times of crisis too, of the sorts that any organisation can face. His expert guidance and experienced support have been invaluable.

Crisis communications and reputation management

Here at Ripple PR, we are specialists in crisis communications and protecting reputations.

Company owner John Howard and his colleagues have more than 15 years' experience managing reputational risk and crisis situations for their clients, including the Church of England.

We take charge when you are suddenly put in the eye of a crisis.

We provide you with an overarching strategy to manage the incident flow and ensure business continuity.

Our expertise in delivering first-class training and excellent support will enable you to:

Plan and prepare clear, concise, and considered proactive and reactive statements for both your internal and external audiences.
Get ahead of the story, take control of the narrative, and issue press releases to the media to place your side of the story so you are treated in a fair, balanced, and accurate way.
Hold news conferences with expertly prepared spokespeople delivering key messages from your organisation with the ability to handle robust media questioning.
Manage the fast-moving social media environments.
Liaise with stakeholders to ensure a consistent, coordinated approach.
Enable your organisation to have resilience in the face of a disruptive event, carrying the sudden jump in extra workload so your organisation is able to continue smoothly with daily operations.
Keep your senior management team and leadership fully briefed throughout the incident.

We will promote and protect you, with your reputation at the heart of everything we do.

Outcome

Ripple’s strategic media management has helped highlight the Bishops’ dedication to building stronger, more connected communities.

Through our strong, positive relationships with journalists, the Bishops’ messages have reached wider audiences, ensuring their work is recognised and valued.

By amplifying his involvement in meaningful activities - whether through supporting the homeless, serving at food banks or connecting with young people at local events - Ripple ensures that their core message of compassion and service is at the heart of public understanding.