The diocese has welcomed its two new archdeacons, Beverley Mason and Andy Jolley at a service at Ripon Cathedral attended by civic dignitaries, bishops, former and new clergy colleagues, family and friends.
The Venerable Beverley Mason, formerly vicar of All Saints in Bingley, and the Venerable Dr Andrew Jolley from Birmingham were collated and installed, Beverley as the Archdeacon of Richmond and Craven and Andy as the Archdeacon of Bradford. They bring to full strength the senior staff team of five area bishops and five archdeacons, led by diocesan bishop, Rt Revd Nick Baines.
Beverley Mason’s archdeaconry covers the North Yorkshire area of the Diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales and has the same boundaries as the Episcopal Area of Ripon, stretching from Knaresborough and Richmond in the east to Settle and Barnoldswick in the west. She will work closely with the Area Bishop of Ripon, the Rt Revd James Bell. Prior to the appointment she was at Bingley for three years and before that Vicar of St John's, Upper Norwood in South London where she was also Area Dean. More on Bev here
A former stockbroker, she came to faith while travelling in Africa and studied for ordination at Trinity College, Bristol. Bishop Nick says, "Beverley brings wide experience of both the church and wider world, and, from a firm base in anglo-catholicism, brings both passion for the good news of Jesus Christ and commitment to the growth of the church. She will bring important perspectives to the strategic direction of the diocese as well as pastoral encouragement to the parishes and people in her archdeaconry.”
Andrew Jolley will formerly begin work as the new Archdeacon of Bradford at a service of Welcome in Bradford Cathedral on February 20th. He used to work for Ford as a chartered mechanical engineer, then trained for ordination at St John’s Nottingham and served his curacy in Sparkhill, Birmingham. In September 2002 he was made vicar of Aston Parish Church. His doctoral work focused on the relationship between faith and work.
The Bishop of Birmingham, the Rt Revd David Urquhart, said, “West Yorkshire & the Dales is very fortunate to be getting a priest of such calibre and depth to serve on their senior team. Andy’s heart for mission, strategic thinking and spirit-filled energy will be much missed here in Birmingham." More on Andy here
The service at Ripon Cathedral was led by Bishop Nick, who, in his sermon, paid tribute to the Revd Simon Cowling and Revd Canon Alistair Helm who have been acting archdeacons since the vacancies arose, combining archdeacon duties with their role as parish incumbents in Bolton Abbey (Simon) and Manningham, Bradford (Alistair).