The Bishop of Worcester, Dr John Inge has announced that the Revd James Treasure will be moving to Dudley to lead the new Resourcing Church based at St Thomas and St Luke, ‘Top Church’.
James is currently a curate in the Kidderminster West Team and will take up his post in June 2018. He will spend the first year preparing for the launch of a new congregation in Top Church in September 2019, working alongside the Revd Robert Barlow, Interim Team Rector, as well as the other clergy and lay people in Dudley.
Bishop John said: “James is a very gifted priest and I’m delighted with this appointment. He will come to Dudley with a brief to build a team for this ground breaking project, building relationships in the town and prayerfully discerning the right way forward as the building is made ready for new forms of worship and outreach. It’s a really exciting time for both Top Church and the Church of England in Dudley generally.”
James said: “I am thrilled to take up this role at such an exciting time for Top Church and Dudley. Esther and I are really looking forward to getting 'stuck in' and playing our role as God's Kingdom people in Dudley.”
Resourcing Churches bring resources into an area to fund intentional mission – planting new churches and supporting and revitalising others. They have been very successful across the Church of England in bringing more people to faith. With the help of funding from the Church Commissioners, it is an opportunity to establish a congregation in Dudley, which will be very different from the other Church of England congregations currently in the town. Top Church will be redeveloped and improved and James will work with the existing community there to bring new life to this iconic church to enable it to best serve the needs of the local area.
About James Treasure:
James is married to Esther and they have three boys, Irenaeus (14), Wesley (12) and Atticus (9). James is a Franciscan tertiary and formerly a minister in the free church tradition leading vibrant churches in London and Stourbridge. Esther has worked for a number of years with those on the margins of society, most recently for Hope into Action that enables churches to create homes for those who have none.
