 The son of a Scots Presbyterian minister , Lang abandoned the prospect of a legal and political career to train for the Anglican priesthood . Beginning in 1890 , his early ministry was served in slum parishes in Leeds and Portsmouth , except for brief service as an Oxford college chaplain . In 1901 he was appointed suffragan Bishop of Stepney in London , where he continued his work among the poor . He also served as a canon of St Paul 's Cathedral , London . 
