A Lay Canon at Wakefield Cathedral and a Churchwarden in Batley have both received honours in the Queen’s birthday list.
Lay Canon Yaqub Masih, A Pakistani Christian from Huddersfield has been given an MBE for services to the community.
The Huddersfield business man has raised thousands of pounds trying to build bridges between the Muslim and Christian faiths in Bradford, Dewsbury and Huddersfield area and has taken aid and money raised directly to persecuted Christians in Pakistan.
Last year his charity, New Horizons which is chaired by the Bishop of Wakefield, the Rt Revd Tony Robinson, organised a conference with speakers including the former Defence Secretary, Dr Liam Fox, Dr Shoaib Suddle, Chief of the Police Association in Pakistan and former Director General of the Intelligence Bureau in Pakistan and an International Speaker on Terrorism, and Supt Vince Firth of Bradford’s Reducing Crime and Re-offending Group.
Pictured here is Dr Liam Fox with conference organiser and Lay Canon at Wakefield Cathedral, Canon Yaqub Masih
David Ashton, Churchwarden at St Andrew's, Purlwell, Batley has been given an MBE for services to the Church of England and the community of Batley. He has served on General Synod since the 1970s.
David is a strong advocate of community engagement and in his answer to questions as a candidate for General Synod he said: "My personal gospel is to follow the teachings of Jesus by showing love and compassion to others.
"It is important to offer a helping hand to anyone in need and ensure equal treatment for all. I have tried to put these words into action throughout my life by running youth groups which have been open to both church members and youngsters from the local area who had very few resources available to them. As I have grown older, I adopted this role for the elderly of the parish and their friends who would otherwise have very little social contact."
Many congratulations to David and Yaqub, with our thanks for all they have done and continue to do.