Two people from the diocese have been recognised in His Majesty the King’s New Year’s Day honours.
Jayne Ozanne has been awarded an OBE for services to religion and the LGBTQ+ community. Anne Dellar has been made an MBE for services to education.
Jayne, who now lives in Guernsey, has been a campaigner for LGBTQIA+ rights and a ban on conversion therapy for many years. As a self-described ‘gay evangelical’, Jayne served on General Synod for two periods, latterly from 2015 until her resignation in 2024. She has served the church in many ways including as a member of the Archbishops’ Council, the Oxford diocese Bishop’s Council and the Diocesan Synod.
On hearing of her honour, Jayne said: “I am deeply humbled to be honoured in this way. It is critical we do all we can to highlight the harm that LGBT+ people tragically face when they are told that who 
they are is unacceptable as it causes deep psychological trauma due to unbearable levels of self-hatred and shame.”
Anne Dellar joined the diocese in 2011 as the Director of Education. In that role she was instrumental in founding the Oxford Diocesan Schools Trust, and in 2012 left the Oxford Diocesan Board of Education for the multi academy trust (MAT). Today it operates as one of the largest diocesan MATs in the country and certainly the largest MAT serving children in Oxfordshire and Berkshire. Anne retired as Chief Executive last summer.
Anne said: “I am delighted and humbled to have been awarded an MBE in the New Year’s honours list 2026. It’s encouraging when our society recognises and values the work we do in education. Children matter!”
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