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Bishop James trained for the ordained ministry at St John’s College, Nottingham. He served his curacy in the Diocese of Guildford before moving to the Diocese of Birmingham in 1986 as Vicar of Nechells. He served as Chaplain to the Bishop of Birmingham from 1996 - 2000 before being appointed as Rector of Holy Trinity, Sutton Coldfield, becoming Area Dean of Sutton Coldfield in 2002.

Bishop James is married to Bridget, who spent her teenage years in Thorpe St Andrew where her father was headteacher. She studied at Thorpe House School and Norwich High School for Girls before leaving Norwich to train as a nurse and is now Head of Health Care at HM Prison Long Lartin near Evesham. They were married at St Peter Mancroft in Norwich in 1977 and have two children, Alisdair and Helen.

Bishop James was welcomed to the Diocese following his consecration on Saturday 26th June 2004 at St Margaret's Church, King's Lynn.