Our new Bishop of Wakefield enjoyed a grand tour of the varied area where he will serve everyone, following the Downing Street announcement of his appointment.
The Ven Malcolm Chamberlain, currently Archdeacon of Sheffield and Rotherham was introduced to clergy, civic and faith leaders at Wakefield Cathedral, where he spoke of his excitement at joining the diocese and taking on the role of bishop for the Wakefield Episcopal Area.
He said how while already a great fan of Yorkshire, he looked forward to listening and learning from individual communities with their own distinctive characters and voices.
He also confessed to being a fan of Leicester City football club and only knowing about “the wrong sort of rugby.”
First stop after the cathedral was Royston St John CE Primary School, where he and the Ven Cat Thatcher, Archdeacon of Pontefract were greeted by new headteacher Rachel Steele and Year 5 pupils Reggie and Eden, who presented him with a bouquet. “Congratulations!” said Reggie, enthusiastically.
Enthusiasm for learning in a Christian environment was evident in all of the classrooms which Malcolm visited and where he chatted with children of all ages.
“We are here to make a difference to children’s lives every day,” said Headteacher Rachel, as Malcolm joined a class learning about Pentecost.
After a splendid chicken dinner cooked entirely on site, Malcolm was quizzed by a group of eager pupils: “Will you help people to get to know Jesus?” asked Vincent.
“That is the most important thing for me, getting people to know Jesus and through him, to know God,” replied Malcolm. Vincent added that Vincent was spelt “like in van Gogh”.
It was then on to meet Revd Phil Maries in a tough corner of Barnsley. St George’s church sits on the edge of challenged estate, physically cut off from the town centre by the busy ring road.
When police move drug addicts and other damaged people out of the town centre, many decamp to the area around St Georges, explained Revd Phil, Rector of the Central Barnsley Benefice.
“Earlier this week I found 14 empty 2 litre cider bottles around the back, plus syringes. “Sometimes people break in to take things they can sell – simple things like the cups from the canteen or packs of children’s crayons. But it’s often the damage that is worst. “We had to pay £5,000 for new fire doors recently.”
Nevertheless, the church remains a consistent and vital place of worship and social resource, with its well-stocked food pantry and food bank being in great demand.
“We try to help anyone who comes to us, but if trouble gets too bad, then we have to stop things. People understand that,” said Revd Phil, who is also a member of Barnsley Council’s advisory Poverty Panel.
In contrast, the benefice has many encouraging stories of church growth and of successful engagement with those seeking asylum and also in the world of music and art. St Mary’s took part in Barnsley’s most recent Bright Lights Night and an installation in the church was visited by more than, 4,000 people.
Malcolm has great understanding of work in estates churches having served in Toxteth and Wavertree in Liverpool and thanked Revd Phil and his volunteers for all they do.
“The Brassed Off church” is how Fr Robert Hart introduces St Helen’s the prominent medieval/Victorian church in Hemsworth, near Pontefract and where worship is firmly rooted in the Catholic Tradition of the Church of England and the Society parish is in the pastoral and sacramental care of the Bishop of Beverley.
St Helen’s interior was used in the famous film about social hardship, friendship and brass bands which was set in nearby Grimethorpe (Grimley in the film).
There was not a pit in Hemsworth itself, but coal mining was at the heart of life – so much so, that when pits closed in Fife, Scotland in the 1950s an entire mining community moved south to a purpose-built council estate in Hemsworth named appropriately, Scots Road.
An interesting contrast is the nearby Archbishop Holgate Hospital – a purpose-built collection of 24 almshouses, beautifully designed and built as free homes for poor people of the parish.
Fr Robert, Rector of Hemsworth is one of the hospital’s trustees and he and St Helen’s actively support those living in the almshouses, who have their own chapel on site.
Looking to the future, St Helen’s is striving for church growth and runs different courses based on Alpha and also the Roman Catholic Sycamore course.
He congratulated Malcolm on his new role and said how the many parishes and people in the Catholic tradition are concerned with excellence in worship and hope for support in either sustaining, or attaining that goal.
Malcolm said how he was committed to doing anything possible to assure the flourishing of all forms of Church of England worship traditions and that he looked forward to meeting with those from Society parishes and all across the Wakefield Episcopal Area.
Malcolm is to be consecrated as a bishop on June 11, 2025 and more details will follow when available.