In the Cathedral yesterday, Bishop Martin was commissioned as the Acting Bishop of Worcester, role which he will hold throughout the vacancy in See while continuing to be Bishop of Dudley.
Bishop Martin has written to clergy and lay leaders the Diocese as he takes on this role saying:
"The last few weeks have been a time of farewells and new beginnings for me. It was so good to see the Cathedral full as we said goodbye to Bishop John. No one present will forget the moment he handed over his Worcester Crozier and walked out of the West Door one last time. We wish him a long and happy retirement after seventeen years as our chief shepherd.
Yesterday, I took up the reins as Acting Bishop of Worcester alongside my role as Bishop of Dudley. It won’t be possible to do everything on my own, and I will be ably supported by colleagues as I make a number of adjustments so that I can properly focus on the needs of the Diocese, its clergy and people. Our parishes, their ministers and people will be my first priority and I’m grateful to other members of senior and diocesan staff who will help me in that task.
We have much to get on with during this episcopal vacancy as we continue to take forwards the diocesan priorities within the transformation programme and grow as Kingdom People. As far as I’m concerned, it will be very much business as usual during this period. Please do continue to contact the Bishop’s Office on bishop.worcester@cofe-worcester.org.uk and the team there will direct any queries to the right place.
The process to find our next Bishop of Worcester is already underway and thank you to all who joined the conversation and contributed to our consultation. This fed into our diocesan Statement of Needs, which was agreed unanimously by the Vacancy in See Committee and is now available on our website. Also on the same web page are the names of the six representatives elected from our Vacancy in See Committee who will join other national representatives on the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC). This group will produce a shortlist in May and interview potential candidates to be our new bishop in June.
We hope that this will run smoothly, that an announcement can be made later in the summer, with a new bishop installed by Christmas 2025. God willing!
In the meantime, we can all pray: for one another, for the life of the diocese, for the appointment process for our new bishop - and for me, please, as I take on these additional responsibilities. The church exists to bring people to God and God to people, in the power of the Spirit and in union with Christ. That is my task as your bishop, and it’s the task of every warden, minister and congregation. During the vacancy the Bishop’s Staff team are beginning every meeting with a time of ‘Dwelling in the Word’, John 15.1-17 to be precise. It has much to teach us as we seek to make our home in Christ, as he abides, or makes his home in us. Secure in Jesus the True Vine I pray we will indeed bear fruit, fruit that will last.
Thank you for all you continue to do in Jesus’ name."
