THE newly created Bishop of Leeds is relishing the prospect of
establishing his nascent diocese of West Yorkshire & the Dales
(16
August). It was announced on Tuesday that the current Bishop of
Bradford, the Rt Revd Nick Baines, has been nominated to take
charge of the see created from his diocese and those of Wakefield
and Ripon & Leeds.
"It's going to be unusual," he said. "It's not like when I came
to Bradford, and there was a diocese already there. It's going to
be an interesting challenge, and a fantastic opportunity. I look
forward to getting stuck into it."
Bishop Baines, who is 56, is a Liverpudlian who studied
languages at Bradford University and, before ordination in 1987,
spent four years working for GCHQ. He became Bishop of Bradford in
2011.
The diocese comes into being at Easter, and the Bishop says that
his first priority is to get to know the people and the place. "I
want to see what is already going on . . . and begin with my
colleagues to set out what the strategy ought to be.
"My message to the new diocese is clear: we can be confident
about God and the gospel; we can be confident about the vocation of
the Church and the unique location of the Church of England; and we
can be confident about the context in which we are working. We can
shape something new, and take responsibility for that. Let's be up
for it."
He is aware of the distress in some areas caused by the
amalgamation. "However, the reality is that, once the decision is
made, people will go with the reality. They have made their point,
we've had the vote, the decision is there, and then they have said:
'Now how do we make this work?' It's been very encouraging to
watch."
The new diocese will be divided into five areas. He will lead
one, based on Leeds, where he will live and establish his HQ; and
Bradford, Huddersfield, Ripon and Wakefield will each
have an area bishop.
Bishop Baines welcomed "the benefits of scale, and a cohesive
region". "Yet the area system gives coherence at a local level; so
you get coherent local engagement with area bishops, and a better
support of parishes."
There are no plans to upgrade the Leeds Minster to a cathedral.
"I will have my seat in three cathedrals. They are a rich resource.
We have got to be creative with all this, because it's not been
done before."
He is not daunted by the task of covering the 2425 square miles.
"If you have got to travel round a diocese, this is a pretty cool
one to do it in," he said.
The Archbishop of York, Dr Sentamu (left, with Bishop
Baines), welcomed the announcement: "He brings a well-grounded
understanding of the area he will serve, together with the vision,
energy, and experience in strategic change."