It has been announced by 10 Downing Street this morning (15 minutes earlier than planned!) that I am to be the next Bishop of Bradford. We’re heading back north. Given the way these things work, it isn’t possible to say when we will move or when I’ll start officially, but my feet will be under the table by spring or early summer. I think.
The Diocese of Bradford faces an uncertain few years following the report by the Dioceses Commission last week which proposed radical reform of the dioceses in West and North West Yorkshire. So, why leave Southwark/Croydon now?
Simple. It is a privilege to be asked to serve and lead this diocese at this time in its history. We need to keep our eyes on the purpose for which the Church exists and help shape the structures which will best enable us to fulfil it. I look forward to working with clergy and parishes in confidently living the Good News of Jesus Christ and working for the common good – that is, the flourishing of the whole society at a time of enormous economic and social challenge. There is loads to do in both urban and rural areas.
The next few years will bring great challenges: economically, politically and culturally. I hope to encourage confidence in the Christian Church, the unique and particular role of the Church of England and the development of sensitive ministry and outreach in a multifaith context. The task of communicating and living the Good News is great – but so are the opportunities.
Urban and rural communities face different challenges and I look forward to getting to know the whole diocese as quickly as possible. The unique interfaith relationships in this part of Yorkshire are vital to a flourishing society and I will engage fully in developing them for the ‘Common Good’. I am committed to focusing on the Church as the servant of the Kingdom of God – a church with the vision and courage to shape its future in this wonderful part of the world.
I was at university in Bradford from 1976-1980 studying German and French. I did a six-week placement here while at theological college – just after the Bradford football stadium fire. I remember the impact on the people affected and the amazing work done by the Burns Unit at a local hospital. But, this is an area and a diocese I now need to rediscover.
I will bring to this new role my experience of the secular world and ministry in rural, urban, suburban and small town contexts. I hope my background in communications, outreach and engagement with wider society will be of use to the diocese. My weaknesses and failings will also come with me – and I hope people will be patient as I learn.
Enough for now – there are people to meet and things to be done. For now suffice it to say that I will be sorry to leave the wonderful clergy, people, parishes and communities of the Croydon Episcopal Area. But, I look forward with hope, trust and gratitude to moving back up north and discovering where the light of Christ is shining in the messiness and glory of this part of the world.
More anon…
December 17, 2010 at 8:01 am
Welcome, Bishop Nick! The news of your coming is a great Advent gift for us. I look forward to some positive times in the next few years.
December 17, 2010 at 8:27 am
Superb. Loads of prayers for you and for my home Diocese.
December 17, 2010 at 8:33 am
+ Nick, may you and Bradford be blessed by this new opportunity.
Please continue to blog; it would be a loss to intelligent & provocative debate.
Best wishes
Neil
December 17, 2010 at 8:35 am
Many congratulations Nick! I am delighted that your gifts have been recognised in this way and that another part of the church will get to appreciate first-hand what we have appreciated here. All the best for the coming weeks and for this time of transition.
December 17, 2010 at 8:39 am
Congratulations, Nick. My favourite little book about preaching, ‘Stewards of Grace’, was written many years ago by Donald Coggan when he was Bishop of Bradford!
December 17, 2010 at 8:50 am
Congratulations and very best wishes.
(You’ll keep blogging, right? Might need a new picture though!)
December 17, 2010 at 8:58 am
We’ll be sad to see you go but God bless you in your new post. I hope that you will be a blessing up north but also that you and your family will be greatly blessed too.
December 17, 2010 at 9:01 am
Congratulations, and just in time for a mention in our Christmas Twurchcast!
December 17, 2010 at 9:12 am
Congrats, Nick, on your new appointment.
I hope both you, your famiy and the Diocese of Bradford will be blessed in this new adventure.
December 17, 2010 at 9:13 am
Well in the City you’ll find the Kashmir is still there on Morley Street, and the people are as friendly as ever. The City and District need a good Bishop, so welcome, and every good wish to you and your family as you come North.
December 17, 2010 at 9:14 am
Congratulations Nick. Good news for you and for Bradford – sad for us. Can’t begin to tell you how much I and the congregation here have appreciated your ministry in Croydon. Prayers and best wishes from us all.
December 17, 2010 at 9:23 am
Great news Nick. I’m really happy for you and for Bradford. Lots of prayers for you all as you say farewell to Southwark, move North and settle-in.
December 17, 2010 at 9:40 am
Love and prayers, Nick for an intriguing challenge back up North. There are cities in which you need to be yourself and enjoy it, or you’re invisible. I don’t see you faling into that black hole, and I do see this working out really well for the Kingdom…
December 17, 2010 at 9:42 am
A Bishop who blogs about the X factor. Brilliant!
December 17, 2010 at 9:44 am
[…] He has written about it on his blog. […]
December 17, 2010 at 10:11 am
Congratulations Nick. The people of Bradford are very fortunate. Please tell us that you’ll carry on blogging.
December 17, 2010 at 10:13 am
Congratulations! We’ll miss you down here but I’m confident that you’ll be a great Bishop of Bradford and that even more success awaits you.
December 17, 2010 at 10:41 am
So pleased to hear of your appointment. Bradford is such an exciting place to be at the moment with so much more in store!
Look forward to showing you round Christians Against Poverty’s HQ when you’ve settled in.
December 17, 2010 at 11:20 am
Congratulations to you and best wishes to your family when you all move back north.
In Croydon Area, and in Oxted in particular, we shall miss your support and the energy and enthusiasm you bring to our joint mission. The Diocese of Bradford will be very blessed to have you as their bishop.
December 17, 2010 at 11:26 am
Congratulations Nick. This means we will be almost neighbours again … ish! Oh and I love the idea of your “seemingly random wisdom” [previous post]. Best wishes to you and yours and hope the move goes well.
December 17, 2010 at 11:59 am
Congratulations Nick. Please find time to continue with your blog. You writings are a breath of intelligent commonsense and sensitive Christian comment amongst so much wordy waffle!
Anne.
December 17, 2010 at 12:54 pm
Dear +Nic,
A very warm welcome to the Diocese of Bradford from an ordinary hod carrier vicar of some 38 years’ vintage!
I’m a Vicar in the Bradford Diocese (Leeds Metropolitan District though!)and have one or two things in common with you!
My late father (died aged 42 in 1955) was Vicar of St George’s, Shirley (at that time under the jurisdiciton of the then Bishop of Croydon, +Cuthbert Bardsley, who was a personal friend of my parents and who became Guardian to my brother and I).
I trained at CliftonTheological College which became Trintiy in my final two terms.
I was Chaplain at Liverpool University (1976-1979) and on the staff of Mossley Hill Parish Church; followed by a year or two in a parish in Everton. One of my sons graduated from Liverpool Hope University and another son is a familiar sight in Liverpool City Centre where he ‘busks’ on a regular basis!
I served my first curacy in a parish on the Wirral – one of my predecessors there supervised you I think when you did a placement in his parish here in Bradford!He and his lovely wife are great friends of ours!
Welcome to you and Linda – we look forward to meeting you in the months to come.
December 17, 2010 at 1:07 pm
Dear Bishop Nick,
Congratulations. A rare Christmas treat for the people of Bradford and the Diocese. They have had hard times, so you will bring much blessing to them.
And Christmas blessings to you
Andrew
December 17, 2010 at 1:25 pm
Thank you for you ministry based in the Croydon area. We will miss you greatly. God bless you and your family as you go at his behest, may you bring much fruit to the people in Bradford Diocese and beyond!
December 17, 2010 at 2:14 pm
Great news – enjoy the challenge; never be afraid to ask the simple question, and take our prayers with you.
jj
December 17, 2010 at 3:00 pm
Congratulations! I do hope the move goes well for you and yours and that you and your new diocese will be blessed with each other. I also hope that your new responsibilities will allow you to continue posting here with your valuable thoughts and reflections on such a wide range of topics.
December 17, 2010 at 3:46 pm
Congrats and good luck!
December 17, 2010 at 4:10 pm
Just read this on a friend’s blog! Good luck Nick, you’ve been excellent in Croydon. Do stay in touch; it’s been lovely knowing you so far.
Take care,
Calum
December 17, 2010 at 4:24 pm
Great news for Bradford, for the church more widely and for you Nick. Congratulations! And the Bradford patch does border Cumbria so good news for us too.
December 17, 2010 at 5:13 pm
Sounds like a good appointment to me. Congratulations and every blessing
December 17, 2010 at 5:52 pm
A lot of good sense on your blog – a lot of good sense to come from a Bishop, I think!
December 17, 2010 at 6:16 pm
What wonderful news! It is reassuring when the Church of England gets it right, as it so obviously has in this appointment.I do hope that all goes well as you prepare for to move and take on a new challenge.
December 17, 2010 at 6:55 pm
Congratulations. Prayers and blessings go with you.
December 17, 2010 at 7:02 pm
Congratulations and prayers. Please don’t let a diocesan role stop you blogging, especially if you’re going to go down in history as the last diocesan bishop of Bradford.
December 17, 2010 at 7:09 pm
Congratulations Bishop Nick! This is great news for you and Bradford not so good for Croydon!
December 17, 2010 at 7:17 pm
Hi Nick,
Our dear Vicar Will Cookson ‘broke the news’ to us this morning, about your plans to leave Croydon. Several songs around the theme of ‘Please don’t go’ come to my mind, as you will be much missed here. However, I’m sure that God has great plans for you & yours in Bradford, and I wish you every success in your new post, (& indeed as you complete your current tenure!)
While I’m at it, I hope you & the family have a lovely Christmas, & every blessing for the New Year. God bless,
Angela Baker of Springfield, Wallington
December 17, 2010 at 7:31 pm
Bishop Nick,
Good for you and perhaps more for the People of Bradford, who will have the benefit of your ministry.
Things are certainly moving fast in the Episcopal world.
December 17, 2010 at 8:16 pm
Herzliche Glueckwuensche aus Stuttgart! Please do not forget your German while learning more Bradford languages!
December 17, 2010 at 9:24 pm
Congratulations Bishop. Bradford’s a lucky diocese. With all good wishes (including from both my children whom you confirmed) as you and Linda prepare to move north. (It’s probably less snowy there!)
Freddie
December 17, 2010 at 9:56 pm
Excellent news for Bradford and the wider church! Congratulations and may God speed you north.
December 17, 2010 at 10:57 pm
Just heard the news from Staveley – Congratulations on your appointment!
December 17, 2010 at 10:59 pm
Congratulations on your uplift, look out RW, Bradford will be a challenge. Probably good for Croydon too. God bless.
December 17, 2010 at 11:16 pm
Great news for the church in the north. All good wishes for the move when it comes.
December 18, 2010 at 2:48 am
My deepest commiserations to my homelands. I left because I couldn’t bear what was happening to them – and now this. I thought you were safely tucked away in the south.
December 18, 2010 at 9:22 am
Nick Baines you are leaving us!!!! Congratulations, truly wonderful news for you, Linda and Bradford but a great loss for Croydon. Thank you for the support and encouragement you have given the Chaplains at the Bethlem over the years. You will be missed.
December 18, 2010 at 11:39 am
May I add my congratulations on your appointment to those of so many others. You will be most welcome in Bradford and the folk of GraceSpace (a fresh expression) look forward to your ministry.
I shall add this blog to our website.
December 18, 2010 at 11:45 am
Croydon’s loss is Bradford’s gain. At least,thanks to the blogosphere, we can still hear from you and the experiences of getting to rediscover the diocese and the people. May God go with you, I know he will.
December 18, 2010 at 1:12 pm
Welcome to Bradford, Nick and Linda. I’m sure you’ll have a happy, enjoyable and fruitful ministry here. (Was also good to meet you briefly at Kadugli House yesterday). David
December 18, 2010 at 2:04 pm
We knew some diocese or other would take you away from Croydon sooner or later…so Bradford are the blessed ones this time round and it’s sooner rather than later.
Thank you for your ministry of good sense and constant encouragement and hope in the Croydon Episcopal area.
Best wishes to you and Linda as you prepare for the move and settling in. A new place and a new role are always a great adventure! Enjoy! And go with the thanks and prayers of us here in Coulsdon.
December 18, 2010 at 3:22 pm
I saw Bishop Christopher the other day in the street (I hadn’t seen him since the news of his appointment) and I said congratulations, like lots of people have to you on the new job on this blog.
And I can see why I said it and the others have said the same. But then as +Christopher walked away, I sort of thought ‘congratulations’ was the wrong word.
It’s nice to be well-regarded and an appointment to being a bishop is a sign of that, but also there must be a degree of fear and trembling in those who get called to these big appointments.
I’m sure +Christopher isn’t anticipating a bed of roses as he tries to nurture the opinionated and occasionally difficult clergy of Southwark diocese and I wouldn’t particularly fancy your job of diocesan reorganisation let alone all the other responsibilities.
So I do want to say something positive, because you’ll be much missed in Croydon (and Southwark) and Bradford will gain alot from your ministry, I’m sure, but somehow congratulations feels the wrong word.
December 18, 2010 at 3:49 pm
Many Congrats Nick, great news and well deserved
December 18, 2010 at 8:36 pm
Many congratulations, Nick.
December 18, 2010 at 8:50 pm
Looks like Croydon’s loss is Bradford’s gain. Looking forward to welcoming you to my beloved city.
Kate Kelly, Worshipper at St John’s Bowling, Bradford
Work at The Vine, St Mary’s, Bradford
December 18, 2010 at 9:21 pm
Excellent news. Many cogratulations +Nick.
December 18, 2010 at 9:38 pm
Congratulations. Enjoy Brdaford.
December 18, 2010 at 9:48 pm
Congratulations, I follow your blog and I’m delighted for Bradford’s sake as well.
December 19, 2010 at 12:13 am
So sad to hear you’ll be leaving us Nick, you have been such an inspiration, and it has been wonderful to be a part of your ministry in Croydon. You have blessed me so much personally, from meeting with me, to simply remembering my name when our paths cross; it means a lot.
Wishing you all the best for your future in Bradford.
With love, Becca
December 19, 2010 at 6:40 am
[…] a bit weird being announced as the new bishop of a place. You get a day of full-on introductions to people and places, then come home and […]
December 19, 2010 at 2:52 pm
Bishop Nick,
Many hallelujah’s on your translation (you were trained in Bradford at translation I recall!). I pray that Bradford will be as renewed by you as it will be by restructuring. I pray particularly for them that your new Yorkshire family will enjoy the sense of being loved and defended which you so wonderfuly give your Southern flock, both wonderfully Christlike characteristics in a shepherd.
Best Christmas and New Year wishes from Dorset!
December 19, 2010 at 8:53 pm
Brilliant news Nick – well done!
December 20, 2010 at 11:34 am
Bradford will be blessed by your inimitable blend of insight, humour communication and pastoral care. Don’t give up the blog as the rest of us need a good point to congregate for a widening of our thoughts and horizons
December 20, 2010 at 2:26 pm
Congratulations! From what I hear everyone High Church as well as Low, is happy about this result! Best of luck in your new position!
Kurt Hill
Brooklyn, NY
December 21, 2010 at 7:55 am
many congratulations on your appointment – although we will miss you down here.
December 21, 2010 at 11:42 pm
Many congratulations. This is excellent news, both for you and the family and for the good folk of Bradford, soon to be (?)part of West and North-West Yorkshire (although I think North-West Yorkshire is an invention of the Dioceses Commission!). Every blessing for the weeks and months ahead.I really enjoyed our occasional chats at General Synod. I decided not to stand again this year (am training to be a Reader in St Albans) but have threatened to be back! Anthony
December 22, 2010 at 10:46 am
Anthony, thanks for this – see you sometime…
December 22, 2010 at 1:51 pm
Hello Nick,
I was passed the link to your blog after you announced your news, and wanted to send my congratulations to you.
I’m sure you will be a great success in Bradford. I know you will be missed in Croydon.
Love to you and Linda.
Mariane x
December 23, 2010 at 7:53 pm
Mariane, thanks for this – I’ll email you! x
December 23, 2010 at 7:55 pm
Thanks to all who have written here on news of my appointment. Only one negative response – I’d call that a result! I am grateful for the kindness shown in these responses and wish you all a happy Christmas!
December 24, 2010 at 12:51 pm
Nick. Congratulations. There was never any doubt that you would be the one from our year at Trinity College to make it to Diocesan Bishop.
December 31, 2010 at 11:49 am
I’m a bit off the pace (as usual) but I hope not too late to add my congratulations. You’ll be much missed, as you were when you left Lambeth after your time as a brilliant Archdeacon. Happy New Year!