Tower and Town, April 2019 (view the full edition)Interview With The Bishop Of RamsburyIs it true that you were born in Marlborough? No! That rumour is a result of misplaced comma in the Salisbury Diocese press release about my appointment! My wife Rebecca is from here, but my childhood homes were in Hertfordshire where my father was a vicar. What exactly is your role as Bishop of Ramsbury? I am suffragan (i.e. subordinate) to the Bishop of Salisbury and as such have oversight of the Church of England's work in roughly the northern half of the diocese, which means that I have care of the clergy, their appointment and deployment, and the work of the churches there. Initially that will mean a lot of travelling around getting to know the place and its people - a lot of listening and learning to start with. I am also the regional representative of the Church of England - being that public face of the Church, so that means communication - writing and public speaking, which is something I enjoy doing. What are your own personal hopes and aspirations for your role over the next few years? Two things in particular, I suppose. First, helping the Church to make the decisions that will see it flourish in twenty/thirty years' time. We have ageing congregations and ageing clergy, so finding ways to grow again. Patterns of regular church-going have changed radically in the last ten/fifteen years - the Church has to adapt to attract the attention of and be good for family and professional life. And secondly, I want to arouse curiosity in the Christian faith, asking the question "what does it mean to be a Christian in today's world?" Are you optimistic about the Church of England and the Christian faith in the 21st century? Most definitely - after all, we are in the resurrection business! We have the perfect conditions for revival - new growth comes best out of decline - indeed, things might need to get more challenging before they get better. There will be and there needs to be a different looking Church - remember the parable about putting new wine into old wineskins: "the wineskins break, the wine is spilled and the wineskins are ruined". We need to preserve the best of our heritage and be adaptable to new circumstances, just as St Augustine says - "ever ancient, ever new". And transforming society isn't necessarily just about big numbers and full churches - very often the best work happens from small beginnings. David Du Croz |