The Revd Mike Bartlett retiring after over 32 years in the Diocese

The Revd Mike Bartlett, Rector in the Christ the King Team in Redditch, will retire at the end of this month. He will lead his final service on the Feast of St Peter on 29 June, which will mark the 40^th anniversary of his ordination to the Priesthood. Mike said: “We recently finished a project replacing the church roof and redecorating the inside and reaching 40 years as a priest seemed to be a good moment to move on.”

Mike was a curate in the Diocese of Liverpool before moving to be a team vicar and hospital chaplain in Wordsley parish, which was then in the Diocese of Lichfield. He moved to Redditch in 1988, becoming part of the team ministry there with responsibility for St Peter’s Church in Crabbs Cross.

“St Peter was originally a daughter church to Headless Cross and has always been part of a wider team. When we arrived the church had been badly neglected, but we found a thurible in the cupboard so knew that it had a history in the Anglo Catholic tradition. It’s a ministry of ‘smells, bells and choruses’! The sacramental life is very important and I wouldn’t want that to be lost. It’s not about living in the past, but bringing the traditions with you and adapting them in different ways.”

As a follower of Benedictine spirituality, stability is very important to Mike and this is one of the reasons he’s stayed in Redditch. He’s often baptised and then married the same people. Throughout his time at St Peter’s he has led pilgrimages to Our Lady of Walsingham for both adults and young people; from the parish and beyond. “Working with young people is always a delight – they have so much to offer. Their faith is often extremely deep and they have been a real source of inspiration to me.”

Over the years Mike has found that his faith has become more rooted in daily prayer and daily Eucharist, which has strengthened his incarnational belief. “I’ve found the Lord is ever present, but in particular ways, most especially in the Mass, which has definitely helped me to keep working in the vineyard.” Alongside his role as a parish priest, Mike is a Chaplain in the Society of Mary and Local Vicar in the Forty Martyrs Chapter of the Society of Holy Cross – a network across the West Midlands which shares fellowship and good practice. He has also represented the Bishops of Ebbsfleet in the Diocese.

“I’ve made a lot of good friends in this diocese and the wider region and as a result I’ll be staying relatively locally. I’ve worked under three different diocesan bishops and felt that our diocese has been blessed by all of them. I won’t miss the increasing administration involved in being a parish priest, but I will certainly miss the people – not just the congregation, but all those I come into contact with as neighbours and through occasional offices.”

“I really hope that the Church of England will continue to keep its diversity and breadth and not simply strive after a populist agenda. The church seems to be becoming ever more liberal and I worry there’s a danger that it will end up drifting around in different currents. We must hold on to the gospel and our strength in proclaiming it!”

Mike and his wife Lynn will be staying in the West Midlands and Mike is looking forward to doing a bit more reading, walking and travelling. He will be making himself available to help out other churches, but not until he’s had a chance to relax for a while!