The Rector of Leeds Minster, the Revd Canon Sam Corley, has been named as the new Bishop of Stockport, Downing Street announced this morning.
After a decade in Leeds and Bradford, Sam will take up his new position as a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Chester later this year.
'It will be a real wrench to leave the Diocese of Leeds,” Sam said.
“Since heading over the Pennines to become Precentor at Bradford Cathedral in 2011, I have relished warm Yorkshire welcomes from the congregations and civic communities I have worked with in Bradford and Leeds.
“I have also valued so much the encouragement of clergy colleagues and the support of staff in the Diocesan Office.
“I have learnt and gained far more than I have given and there have been so many positive changes, including the progress at Holy Trinity, Boar Lane, and of course the creation of the Diocese which feels securely established with a strong sense of identity.
“I have nothing but the utmost respect for those who have worked so hard to achieve so much in such a short space of time.”
The Rt Revd Nick Baines, Bishop of Leeds thanked Sam for his ten years of energetic service in our region:
“Sam has served the Diocese of Leeds and the wider Church of England in a variety of capacities with great diligence, wisdom and generosity.
“He has inspired many people to greater vision and ministry within and beyond the church. His appointment to the See of Stockport is wonderful for the church, the wider community in the Diocese of Chester, and the bishops nationally.
“I am very sorry to be losing him, but very confident that his ministry will continue to grow in the future.”
Looking forward to serving the Stockport and Macclesfield areas, Sam said: “Discernment is as demanding as it is energising, but I have had a strong sense of God’s leading throughout the appointment process and I am as humbled as I am excited about being nominated as the next Bishop of Stockport.
“I will still be coming back to the Diocese for a while as Claire and the family will stay in Leeds for the next academic year so that our children can round off their current key stage at school and while Claire continues her ministry at St John’s, Wortley.
”I would value your prayers as I prepare to move into this new ministry, and assure you of mine.”
Sam read theology at the University of Durham and taught history in Surrey before training for the ministry at St John’s College, Nottingham.
In 2004 he was ordained in the Diocese of Blackburn, where he became a parish priest and Assistant Diocesan Missioner.
Area Bishop of Kirkstall, the Rt Revd Paul Slater, has worked closely with Sam in his role in charge of Leeds Minster and other projects and wished him well: “Sam has been a great colleague in the Leeds Episcopal Area and we shall miss enormously his wisdom, drive and sense of humour,” Bishop Paul said.