 He also had a sister, Frances, who was a regular worshipper at Jesmond URC (formerly Presbyterian), Newcastle upon Tyne, in the late 1970s and into the 1980s.In 1947, the fledgling Church of South India, an ecumenical church formed from several Protestant churches, appointed Newbigin as one of their first bishops in the Diocese of Madurai Ramnad – a surprising career path for a Presbyterian minister.In 1959 he became the General Secretary of the International Missionary Council and oversaw its integration with the World Council of Churches, of which he became Associate General Secretary.