BISHOP OF HUDDERSFIELD IS NEWEST RESIDENT AT UNIVERSITY OF HUDDERSFIELD
In another historic first for the Church of England, the first Bishop of Huddersfield has officially moved into his new office – on the campus of the University of Huddersfield in the heart of his new Episcopal Area.
It is fitting for the new bishop, the Rt Revd Dr Jonathan Gibbs to position himself in the centre of his Episcopal area which stretches across Kirklees and Calderdale, as his mission statement is to grow churches and serve the community.
He said: “ I am delighted to be opening my office in the heart of Huddersfield and especially to be working so closely with the University which is such an important and vibrant part of the life of the town and region.
“This symbolises our commitment to helping grow the next generation of fantastic young people in our region, and to putting the Church right at the heart of the wider community.
“And I am enormously grateful to Professor Cryan and his team for the wonderful welcome I have received and look forward to working in partnership with them for the sake of the wider community in Huddersfield and in the whole of Kirklees and Calderdale,” he said.
Vice-Chancellor of the university, Professor Bob Cryan said: “I am delighted that Bishop Jonathan will be based at the University. We are pleased to be playing a small part in this historic moment.”
“It’s been a long time coming, but we now have a Bishop of Huddersfield in response to changing times and changing needs and I look forward to a highly fruitful relationship both with the Episcopal Area and our new bishop.
“Bishop Jonathan is well aware of the challenges he faces in establishing a new structure and winning everybody over to it. But he is a man who is exceptionally well positioned to achieve this. His core religious faith is obviously the most important attribute, but his highly active and varied career in the Church of England, serving on many committees and forums and his membership of the General Synod all serve to show that he has the organisational and political skills needed in his historic new role,” he said.
You can watch a video report of this from the Yorkshire Post here: