Over the coming five months Bishop John has pledged to visit all 29 of the deaneries which make up the diocese of Oxford in a determined effort to hear and see first-hand what life is like for the people who live here. It is, he says, tremendously important to him to talk face to face with people and hear their stories.
‘Its all very well sitting in Oxford and looking at maps and reading reports but in terms of really feeling what this diocese is like in my bones I need to get out and about as quickly as I can to meet as many people as possible, and to listen.’
Each day-long deanery visit means an early start for meetings with local clergy, followed by a whirlwind tour of the area taking in churches, voluntary groups and businesses, and often an evening service to finish. Exhausting but rewarding says Bishop John:
‘Each day is an invaluable insight into the strengths and needs of that particular area, which can range from the urban growth of Milton Keynes to rural life in the Vale of the White Horse. I have been interested and inspired by the people I have met, and by the Christian response to the various challenges of the communities which have demonstrated a vibrancy of church at work in people's lives in so many different dimensions.’
The Deanery visits have been planned to give the Bishop as wide a picture as possible of the diversity of life in the Oxford Diocese, from schools and family centres, farms and businesses, and facilities for the infirm and elderly, to the daily life and work of many of our churches.
As the DOOR went to press Bishop John had already visited, among others, the Newport Deanery where he dropped in at Olney, famous as the home of slave trader turned Christian and ardent abolitionist (and ‘Amazing Grace’ author), the Revd John Newton, and of his great friend and poet William Cowper.
The village has been in the spotlight during this 200th anniversary year of the abolition of the slave trade, and the Bishop was interested to see Newton’s grave at Olney Church, guided by Area Dean Christa Cerratti, vicar Philip Davies, and local MP Mark Lancaster, and to tour the museum dedicated to the two men in the company of trustee Elizabeth Knight.
But the visit was not all history as lay reader Rena Partridge discussed with him the church’s joy in its growing link with a church in Sierra Leone and the work done in setting up an Alpha course and youth training centre there.
The day also took in North Crawley and the dairy farm of Gordon Adderson and Sons, where Gary Adderson talked the party through his 365-days-a-year 12-hour shifts looking after the family’s small dairy herd. The long-established farm has bottle all its own milk and delivered it locally to individuals and businesses since the 1930s, though competition today, from supermarkets, is a continual threat. The family has recently diversified to provide home-made ice-cream which is proving popular.
Another day, another visit, this time to the Woodstock Deanery where Bishop John was shown around Marlborough School by headteacher Mrs Julie Fenn. The respected Church of England secondary school specialises in business, enterprise and humanities and also incorporates the Ormerod School dedicated to catering for children with special needs.
Bishop John said: ‘I consider church schools as a crucial part of spreading the good news of the church’s faith and this was clearly evident at Marlborough School where there are so many great things going on.’
The afternoon’s visits included time at Campsfield Detention Centre hearing from the Revd Brian Stops (URC) about the work of the chaplaincy there, and joining in an enthusiastic act of worship in the chapel where he was given a warm welcome by detainees.
He also met with the communities of Begbroke Priory and the sisters from the convent in Freeland for Vespers, before enjoying a party at St Leonard's Church, Eynsham, where people from the local community had the chance to meet him informally.
Visiting the Vale of the White Horse Deanery on 12 September, it was the turn of Faringdon Family Centre and area dean the Revd Richard Hancock to welcome the Bishop.
The centre was opened six years ago by the churches in Faringdon together with social services to meet a need for a social and supportive meeting point for new parents and their babies. Today it is a lively and vitally important hub of many families from the town and surrounding rural villages.
Project Manager Mike Robinson explained that as the first babies grew older the centre directed their parents to toddler groups, only to find them wanting to come back to the place they had grown comfortable in. So the centre opened another group, and then another.
Even when their children have moved on to school, the warmth of the welcome, understanding and support draws parents back to the centre. Brenda Matthews told us that as an older Mum and someone who had also battled breast cancer, she was glad to now be able to pass on advice and support to others who attended the centre.
Cuddling Jessica, daughter of her friend and new Centre User Representative Amanda, Natalie Cornford also continues to drop in to the centre even though her own daughter is now at school. She says she is so grateful for the support she received as a new mum that she wants to give something back.
Bishop John was keen to hear from the mums who used the centre and from the support workers from social services and the national Christian childcare charity Spurgeons, and members of the local clergy, and told the DOOR:
‘I’ve been completely bowled over by the warmth and humanity here today. It’s a delight to see the commitment and involvement of the churches here with other important partners and agencies in offering families such a thoroughly ecumenical and professional service. It’s clearly a much needed and valued facility in the town and surrounding area.’
Dragging himself away from the warm welcome of the Family Centre, Bishop John then met local farmers from the Cherbury and Gainfield Benefice, and later Uffington Church of England School, before leading a simple Deanery Service with churchwardens, PCC members and Deanery Synod representatives.
With many more deaneries to go before he completes his tour, Bishop John says he has a special way of remembering each one in his daily prayer life. He takes a photo of his Area Deans as he meets them, then uses the photos as a visual prompt in praying for the joys and challenges faced by the people he has met there.
It will no doubt be easier for us to remember and support him in our prayers.
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