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The next Bishop of Peterborough |
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Press Conference Statement Thank you very much for coming here this morning. I do appreciate it. I also appreciate the support and welcome I’ve already received from Bishop Frank and others of the senior staff here. I look forward to getting to know them better and to working with them. I’m also looking forward to meeting the clergy and lay leaders of the whole of this diocese, and hearing from them how they see what’s going on in their areas and the needs and opportunities of the Church. I greatly value working alongside others – in this case the senior staff, the rural deans, and the clergy and lay leaders in every part of the diocese. I’m new to the area, and my first task will be to listen. My chief aim is to be a bishop for all the people and parishes of the diocese. Then, together, I hope we can formulate creative ways in which the church can move forward to meet the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. The first I knew about this appointment was when I received a letter out of the blue from the Prime Minister on the 11th of September. He said that having taken the advice of the Church’s Crown Nominations Commission he was happy to nominate me to the Queen for appointment as Bishop of Peterborough. After many discussions, meetings and quite a few prayers I wrote back to the Prime Minister on the 15th of October accepting his offer to nominate me. It’s quite a long process, but thoroughness and care certainly seem appropriate when we consider such an important responsibility. This appointment was certainly not something I expected or sought. Nobody is worthy to become a Bishop, or indeed to become any sort of Christian minister. I will miss the Diocese of Chester and my many friends and colleagues there. But I firmly believe that this move is the call of the Church and the call of God. I love the Church of England. And while I’m well aware of its imperfections too – including my own! – I do believe it’s been a source of great blessing to this nation and the wider world. I pray that it will continue to be so. I’ve served as an ordained minister for over 33 years now. Every day has been a privilege. Many of those days have been joyful, and throughout that time I’ve known God’s presence and his love. God’s love is very important to me. That’s what you expect to hear from a clergyman, of course! But I firmly believe in the central Christian truths that Jesus died on the cross for my sins, and that he rose from the dead to give me eternal life. That belief thrills me, and I love sharing it with others. Quite wonderfully, Jesus established his Church, which is an odd and sometimes fallible organisation, yet amazingly he has entrusted to us the huge task of sharing his love with the world. This means inviting all people to experience it for themselves. The longing to express God’s love is at the very core of who I am. I love the ministry of preaching, teaching and offering pastoral care and support, which is the strong centre of a bishop’s ministry. I relish the opportunity given to me in this new appointment, of sharing the faith with people for whom it might be a new thing, and of encouraging them further along the road towards knowing God for themselves. I know that a great deal of very valuable work has been done in this area already. My task is to build on what has been achieved, and under God’s guidance to do all within my powers to help formulate the next chapter of the story of the Church of England in Northants, Rutland and Peterborough. So I’m looking forward very much to getting to know the area and the people over the coming months and years. Christian leadership is about service and I am here to serve: to serve God by serving the Church of England, the wider Christian and faith communities, and indeed all the people who live and work in Peterborough Diocese. I am very happy to answer questions. The Ven. Donald Allister
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