People from across the Diocese gathered in the Cathedral on Sunday for a special service to say goodbye and thank you to Bishop John ahead of his retirement.
Bishop John has been the 113th Bishop of Worcester since March 2008. He will formally retire on 9 October, but Sunday’s service marked the end of his public ministry in the Diocese. As Bishop of Worcester, he has been the Chief Pastor for our parishes as well as serving in the House of Lords since 2012 and as Lord High Almoner to HM The Queen and then HM The King from 2013.
Sunday’s service was attended by clergy and parishioners of churches across the Diocese, as well as the Bishop of Dudley, the Bishops of Manchester and Norwich (both former bishops of Dudley), the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Birmingham, the Bishop of Peru, the Bishop of Morogoro in Tanzania and the Regional Bishop of Magdeburg in Eastern Germany, the Mayor of Worcester, the Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire and the High Sheriff.
Bishop John preached the sermon saying: “I want to express my heartfelt thanks to all of you here – and many others beside – who have been such a support and encouragement to me in my nearly 17 years as bishop. I feel that I have received so much more than I have given. I am profoundly grateful – to you and to God.”
The Bishop referred back to the sermon he preached at his enthronement, when he talked about the ‘three hums’ which he feels should characterise the Christian life: humility, humanity and humour. He said: “I pray that we shall all be given grace to embrace the three hums and, as we do so, may God bless this Diocese of Worcester richly in its life and witness, may it really hum!”
During the service, Bishop John laid down the Diocesan Crozier on the altar. The staff is a symbol of pastoral care and succession and will be passed on to the 114th Bishop of Worcester when they are appointed. Bishop John and his wife H-J were also presented with gifts following a collection in the Diocese.
Bishop John and H-J will be retiring to Wiltshire. During the vacancy, the Bishop of Dudley, Martin Gorick will become Acting Diocesan Bishop. The process to find the next Bishop of Worcester has started but an announcement on Bishop John’s successor is not expected until next Summer at the earliest.
See more photos on our Facebook page:
