The Reverend Sarah Siddique Gill has been appointed Vicar at the United Benefice of St. Stephen's and St. James' Blackburn.The institution by the Right Reverend Philip North, Bishop of Burnley and the induction by The Venerable Mark Ireland, Archdeacon of Blackburn took place at St. James' Church in the presence of clergy and lay readers throughout the Deanery of Blackburn with Darwen and beyond.Those also present with words of welcome for Sarah included the Churchwardens of both churches, Councillor Jim Shorrock, Mayor of Blackburn with Darwen, and his Consort Mark Joyce, the Headteachers of both St. Stephen's and St. James' Schools, Mal Breeze representing Churches Together in North Blackburn and Sadiq Patel representing the Blackburn Interfaith Forum. They all welcomed Sarah on behalf of their individual organisations and on behalf of the local community.An enthusiastic group made the long journey from Sarah's former parish in Bishop Auckland as well as friends from her earlier appointment in Bradford, and from as far afield as Birmingham and Leicester. Sarah's mother undertook a long journey from Pakistan to be a part of the institution and induction service.Parishioners from both St. Stephen's and St. James' Churches were joined by supporters from Lammack Methodist Church and Revidge Fold United Reformed Church, with whom St. James' Church and other local churches have been working together under a Local Ecumenical Covenant for over 30 years. Sarah brings experience of working with a Local Ecumenical Partnership in County Durham.Following the service, everyone enjoyed refreshments and a chat.Photographs from the event can be found in this link to the document archive
Reverend Sarah will be installed as vicar at a service at St James on Thursday 17th October at 7:30pm. The institution will be by The Right Reverend Philip North Bishop of Burnley and the induction will be by The Venerable Mark Ireland Archdeacon of Blackburn.<br>
The attached document details how St James capture, manage and process personal data relating to the Electoral Roll. The church intends at all times to be compliant with existing data protection legislation covered under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) as defined by the Information Commissioners Office (ICO).Further information about the GDPR regulations can be found on the ICO website at the following linkhttps://ico.org.uk/your-data-matters/
Dear FriendsI am writing with a major strategy document which has recently been agreed by Diocesan Synod and which lays out our vision as a Diocese for leadership and deployment. It is a wide-ranging document but I hope one you will find interesting. Its starting point is our shared baptismal vocation and so it emphasises the key role of the laity, but it also deals with vocations to the priesthood and the deployment of clergy.At its heart is an attack on the 21st century heresy of ‘declinism’ – the casual presumption that we make in so many areas of our common life that the battle for the Christian soul of the nation has been lost and that we should be planning for a smaller church with fewer people and fewer clergy. The strategy therefore aims to maintain clergy numbers at least at their current level and equip local churches for growth.In this respect it issues a profound challenge to us all in three areas:Vocations. Nick McKee, our new Director of Vocations, started work this week and his task is to support us in fostering a culture of vocational discernment in which all are encouraged to offer their gifts more and more generously in Christ’s service. It is from this culture of vocation that new and unexpected lay leaders and priests will emerge.Stewardship. The giving in the Diocese in recent years has been heroic, however Synod also noted that parish share receipts are no longer increasing as we hoped. We need to go on teaching about giving if we are to meet the goal of maintaining or increasing stipendiary clergy numbers. We are not a Diocese with historic assets which means that we can only fill as many stipendiary posts as our parishes can afford.Mission. There is so much good work going on across our Diocese in so many areas and plenty of churches demonstrating growth. We know that in the dying and rising of Jesus we find the pearl without price, a relationship of perfect love that raises human life to the glory. It is our joy in this truth and the salvation it brings that will make new disciples for him.I hope you enjoy reading this document and feel excited by the challenges it presents. It will go on the website at some point but we were keen that you should see it in advance.Yours,Bishop PhilipBishop of Burnley
