The Diocese of Worcester will welcome its 113th Bishop next week; here are some news and photo opportunities for the build up to the Enthronement Service on March 1 in Worcester Cathedral

Sunday February 24

Bishop John will be on the airwaves with a live BBC H&W radio interview with Phil Simpson on his Sunday morning programme at 8.10 am

Monday February 25                   

Visiting the CHADD project with Bishop David – photo opportunity.

Bishop John will be visiting the Churches Housing Association of Dudley & District, where Bishop David (of Dudley) is chair of the board, and will be meeting some of the people who benefit from their work. He will visit an old people’s home and a women’s refuge, privately, before returning to CHADD's Head Office at approximately 11.45 am where the Bishop of Dudley will join for a visit to two young people’s refuges; the visit will conclude at about 12.30 pm. 

The Bishop of Dudley (The Rt Revd David Walker) said "CHADD is a prime example of how Christians can come together to create something that really makes a difference to people in great need.  It is a very tangible expression of God's love in the community - one of the five Marks of Mission of the Anglican Communion.  It's also a great example of churches working ecumenically - something we should always seek to do to where we can."

CHADD was formed in 1979 to provide homes for young men who were offenders or at risk in the community and people with mental health/learning disabilities; to provide safe refuges for women and children who have been victims of domestic violence, and self contained/supported flats for the elderly and young single homeless.  The Bishops of Dudley and Worcester will be visiting a residential home in Sedgely.

CHADD, 98-99 Dixons Green Rd, Dudley, DY2 7DJ.

Wednesday February 27

Bishop pays homage to Her Majesty the Queen in London

‘Paying Homage to Her Majesty The Queen is an ancient ceremony at which new Diocesan Bishops pledge allegiance.  I am delighted to be able to do so: the Queen has been a powerful and inspirational example of Christian service to me since I was a child’. 

As part of the process of taking office, Bishop John will next week pay homage to Her Majesty The Queen.  The Act of paying homage is an ancient rite that dates back to the Reformation where a new Diocesan Bishop is presented to Her Majesty The Queen. The Bishop makes an oath, acknowledging The Queen to be Supreme Governor of the Church of England. A moment after homage was paid, the ‘Temporalities’, the Financial Income of the See (Diocese) was then bestowed upon the Bishop; in practice these days Bishops like other clergy are paid stipends, rather than receiving income from manors or other property held within the Diocese as was once the case.

The Ceremony takes place in the Throne Room of Buckingham Palace, reflecting the importance of the occasion. Bishop John is met in an ante-chamber by the Clerk of the Closet (The Bishop of Guildford) and by the Lord Chancellor (The Rt Hon Jack Straw MP), who administers the oath of allegiance. Bishop John is then presented to The Queen by the Master of the Household and kneels before The Queen; he places his hands together, then she places her hands outside his, while he makes the oath.

After the formal ceremony there follows a private conversation between The Queen and her new Bishop, in the presence of the Clerk of the Closet and the Lord Chancellor. The Queen may wish to discuss current issues relating to the Diocese and the County of Worcestershire and the parts of the Black Country that fall within the jurisdiction of the Diocese, and how the new Bishop sees his role.

Bishop John is looking forward to pledging his allegiance to The Queen.  He says

‘I am delighted to be able to do so: the Queen has been a powerful and inspirational example of Christian service to me since I was a child’. 

Once homage has been paid, Bishop John will have completed the legal requirements necessary that then enable him to be Enthroned.  The enthronement service will take place on Saturday March 1st 2008 in Worcester Cathedral, with over 1,500 guests.

Friday February 29

Bishop John to visit Bishop Perowne School

Bishop John will be visiting Bishop Perowne School in Worcester at 11.30 am to meet with children from that school, St Barnabas CofE First and Middle School from Drakes Broughton and St George’s CofE Primary school Worcester.

The Bishop will be discussing a DVD made by the Diocese of Worcester and issued to all its church schools, explaining the Enthronement to children and the significance and role of a Bishop.

‘It is wonderful to be able to share in the lively thoughts and ideas of children.  I hope that the DVD that has been made to explain more about bishops and the Church will be of lasting use in schools.’

Saturday March 1

Enthronement Service/Activities

A number of activities are planned throughout the day:

9.30 am until 10.30 am Children’s workshop in Chapter House of Cathedral

(making banners/prayer cards/shakers/learn songs).       

10.30 am A Children’s pilgrimage will take place around Cathedral and out onto Sidbury and back to Cathedral (weather permitting) including the Boy Bishop (see below) from Claines in costume and a marching band.

African drummers will drum the Bishop into Cathedral at 11 am, then everyone will assemble in the Quire where children sing songs they have learnt and participate in a short act of worship, using some of the words from the afternoon’s service.

11.30 am The Bishop will be accompanied back to Chapter House by drummers.

2.30 pm Enthronement Service – Bishop John will be washing the feet of a few representatives of the life and ministry of the diocese. 1,500 dignitaries, friends, parishioners, clergy and invited guests will pack the Cathedral for this spectacular event.

(no photos inside the Cathedral – please ask if you would like one and I will get one to you immediately the service finishes).

3.30 pm a balloon release will be held at the West door where Bishop John gives final blessing at the end of the ceremony.

‘At the Enthronement today I will be placed in the Bishop’s ‘Teaching Seat’, or ‘Cathedra’.  I will also follow Christ’s example of washing feet in order to show that I am called to serve.  I hope that my service and that of all Christians will help to enable the human flourishing which God wills for all people.’ 

ENTHRONEMENT

Bishop John has carefully chosen the word ‘enthronement’ - he prefers this as instalment makes him feel like a dishwasher.  Enthronement literally means being put in a chair, and Bishop John will be seated in his ‘Cathedra’ – teaching chair in the Cathedral (from where the word comes). 

Enthronements are rare events, the last one in Worcester was over 10 years ago.

He wants the service to encourage everyone throughout the Diocese, in particular the work of the church in Worcester and Dudley.  He is dedicated to ‘human flourishing’ and desires to see people be the best that they can, living the fullness of life through God, which is what God wants for us.

He will be washing the feet of 12 of the congregation, in the same way that Jesus did.  Bishop John talks of ‘Leadership through the lens of service’ and is keen to promote this conviction from his first day of ministry in the Diocese of Worcester.

Biography of Bishop John Inge

Bishop John was born in 1955. He attended Kent College in Canterbury then undertook a BSc in Chemistry at St. Chads College, Durham. After completing a PGCE at Keble College, Oxford, Bishop John taught Chemistry at Lancing College in Sussex before ordination. He studied at the College of the Resurrection in Mirfield, Yorkshire and was ordained deacon in 1983 and priest in 1984 in the Diocese of Chichester.

Bishop John’s first appointments were as a chaplain at Lancing College and then Harrow School, where he also continued teaching both Chemistry and Religious Studies. He then spent six years as vicar of an inner-city parish at St. Luke’s Church, Wallsend, on Tyneside. During this time he was also very involved in social responsibility throughout the Diocese of Newcastle. Bishop John moved to the Diocese of Ely in 1996 where he was appointed Residentiary Canon of Ely Cathedral. Here he had responsibility for education and mission, becoming Vice Dean of the Cathedral in 1999 and Bishop of Huntingdon in 2003. As Bishop, he has had particular responsibility for developing the strategy of the diocese of Ely for mission and ministry. He has acted as Warden of Readers and has worked hard to ensure both lay people and clergy feel supported in their ministry. He has also been heavily involved in the life of Cambridgeshire on behalf of the church as Chair of Cambridgeshire Ecumenical Council and co-chair of the East of England Faiths Council. He is a member of the Council at Ridley Hall, a theological college which trains priests.

Bishop John is fascinated by international affairs and cultural variety and has taken groups to Africa (on seven occasions), India, South America, Russia and the Holy Land. He has also fostered Indian and African links with the Diocese of Ely. He is a longstanding member of the World Development Movement and Amnesty International. Bishop John is a trustee of Common Purpose, an international organisation that helps people in leadership and decision-making positions in the private, public and voluntary sectors to be more effective in their own organisations, in the community and in society as a whole.

His book A Christian Theology of Place (Ashgate, 2003) was short listed for the Michael Ramsey Prize for Theological Writing. His latest book Living Love: In Conversation with the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency (Inspire, 2007) looks at the Christian message contained within Alexander McCall Smith’s very popular novels about Africa.

Boy Bishop from Claines - One of the most popular and widespread customs of the Church in the middle ages. The Boy Bishop takes office on the feast of St Nicholas (December 6th), the patron Saint of Children, and his authority lasts until Holy Innocents Day (December 28th). Choirboys were reckoned as special friends of St Nicholas, his festival marking a season of games and jollity. In the early days of Christian church certain days were set apart as special festivals. Holy Innocents day was assigned to the boys and a boy, chosen by his fellows, solemnly functioned as Bishop, supported by other boys as his clergy. Boy Bishops were elected over six/seven centuries up to the reign of Mary Tudor, although the custom had been forbidden by Henry VIIIth in 1542. The main idea of the election was to impress upon the children the honour and dignity of the Priesthood, the Boy Bishop being held in deep veneration by both adults and children. So sacred was the office that if a boy bishop died during his tenure he was buried in pomp and circumstance in vestments, and a monument erected to his memory, together with his Episcopal effigy.

The Claines Boy Bishop has an alb, cope, mitre and stoles made by various congregation members over the years. He wears a cross and ring and carries the Claines Crosier (A medieval silver Crosier head, found during renovations in the Mug House at Claines in the 1940’s and presented to the then Bishop of Worcester), on loan from the Lord Bishop. He is chosen from the Choir by the churchwardens.

Canon Peter Pollock installed the 27th Boy Bishop of Claines in 1997, 26 years after re-establishing the tradition.

ENDS      

The Diocese of Worcester is one of 44 dioceses in the Church of England. It covers an area of 671 square miles and includes parishes in the County of Worcestershire, the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, and a few parishes in northern Gloucestershire, south east Wolverhampton and Sandwell.