At 10am on Monday 4 November, Martin Gorick, currently Archdeacon of Oxford and Residentiary Canon of Christ Church, Oxford was announced by Downing Street as being the next Bishop of Dudley. Here are some photos of the day spent introducing Martin to just a few parts of our diocese!
The official announcement was made on the steps of Dudley Council House where Martin was welcomed by the Mayor of Dudley and other civic and community leaders. After the welcome we moved inside to enjoy tea, coffee and biscuits in the Mayor's parlour.
During the morning, Martin visited the Black Country foodbank's warehouse in Brierley Hill where he learnt about the work of the organisation and the support it receives from churches across Dudley and beyond.
We stopped for lunch at the Welcome Project in Halesowen, which supports over 100 refugees from the surrounding area and as far away as Birmingham. Martin was able to chat to the refugees about their experiences and understand why this project is invaluable to them.
In the afternoon, Martin headed out of Dudley Borough to visit St John's CE Middle Academy in Bromsgrove. He met with the headteacher, Geraint Roberts along with the head boy and girl and answered questions from the school's worship leaders about what it means to be a bishop and what Martin had done previously. The visit ended with a beautiful act of worship led by the children during with Martin was prayed for by the Rector in the Bromsgrove Team, David Ford.
On leaving Bromsgrove, Martin headed for Droitwich to see a part of the rural side of the Diocese, visiting Churchfields Farm in Salwarpe. Martin was shown around the family-run farm, chatting to the herdsman about the cattle, meeting the calves and seeing the biomass boiler. He also discovered all about Droitwich Salt, which is being created on the farm for the first time in 100 years. And of course, no visit to Churchfields is complete without trying the ice cream!
Finally Martin ended his mini-tour of the Diocese in Worcester, where he was welcomed by the Mayor of Worcester and met diocesan staff as well as Rural Deans and Lay Chairs.
Watch this video with Martin as he reflects on the day.
