Wanted: Man with a mission as new Bishop

The first bishop of the new diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales will need his own specialist skills set and what is required is included in a new job description – the first to be published for a diocese yet to come into existence. The new diocese will be created from the three existing dioceses of Bradford, Wakefield, and Ripon and Leeds on April 20, 2014.

The qualities being sought in the first Anglican Bishop of Leeds are part of a Statement of Need, a document which also gives an overview of the new area and its make-up, which was published yesterday on a new website (www.wyadtransformation.org) which will keep churches across the new diocese updated on developments and changes.

The Statement of Need says the new bishop will be passionate about mission, an effective communicator, experienced in managing and affecting change and will put the local church first before playing a fuller part in the national life of the church.

The new bishop is also expected to be wholly committed to the Area Scheme which will create episcopal areas of Wakefield, Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield and Ripon,

Canon John Carter, spokesperson for the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds, said: “This is the very first time we have ever had such a document for a diocese which does not actually exist. This is unprecedented in that there’s a process for appointing a bishop before the diocese for which he will be bishop exists.

“A lot of people have been meeting to look at how this new diocese should work and a lot of thought and prayer have gone into this Statement of Need. It very much reflects the sort of structure that people are hoping the new diocese will be: outward looking, concerned about the local communities, diverse but also working closely together for a more effective church in the world.

“The Crown Nominations Commission will be taking all of this very seriously into account as they meet this month to look at the possible candidates for this important new role.”

Earlier this year people were invited to submit names for the role.

The Statement of Need has been drawn up by a group of elected representatives from the three existing dioceses of Bradford, Wakefield, Ripon and Leeds and will be used as the basis to draw up a list of potential candidates for the new vacancy.

The Crown Nominations Commission, which includes the Archbishop of York John Sentamu, six people from the three existing dioceses plus a further six people from across the country, will meet this month to draw up a shortlist of people to interview for the role.

The nominations panel, chaired by the new Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is expected to make its recommendation to the Prime Minister for approval early in 2014 and it is hoped the name of West Yorkshire and the Dales’ first bishop will be revealed in early spring and enthroned some time in summer.

The Statement of Need says that mission was the driving force behind the creation of the new diocese – which will come into being on Easter Day 2014 when the three existing dioceses are dissolved – and this new diocese is in a unique position to lead on that with its three cathedrals of Wakefield, Bradford and Ripon – already existing centres for mission.

The new diocese covers an area of 2,425 square miles and runs from Barnsley in the south of the diocese, through and across the old industrial and urban areas of West Yorkshire, into North Yorkshire. The total population is 2,614,000, the majority of whom are concentrated in the southern part of the diocese.

Don’t miss next Friday’s Yorkshire Post for an interview with outgoing Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, John Packer.

Comment: Page 16.