It was full steam ahead this Sunday (April 19) as the Bishop of Bradford rode the footplate of the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway at the start of an intensive week living in and meeting the people of Keighley and the surrounding area.
Bishop Toby Howarth will be spending a week living in Keighley ‘deanery’ , one of the five deaneries which make up the new Bradford Episcopal Area.
It is part of his plans to spend five weeks living in different parts of the region - and from April 19th until 23rd he will be staying with local families visiting hospitals, businesses and church projects in the area, and having pastoral meetings with clergy and lay leaders.
Other visits this week include Airedale Springs factory at Howarth , Airedale Hospital and Timothy Taylors Brewery on April 23rd. In addition he will be taking part in a church ‘prayer walk’ around Keighley on April 22nd and holding an open meeting with parishioners from across the Deanery.
Bishop Toby commented, ""Even just in these last couple of days, the welcome and hospitality I have received in the Keighley has been extraordinary. I've met with clergy, young people and congregations, visited Airdale Springs in their new, state-of-the-art factory, enjoyed a KWVR footplate ride and walked on the moors above Oxenhope with the new-born lambs. This is a deanery of contrast, opportunity and challenge. It's been a privilege to get to know people and learn some of the ways in which God is at work here."
Airedale Springs (below right)
Bishop Toby is pictured being shown around the factory by the Company President Mr Michael Parkinson OBE. 
