It was a great pleasure to welcome Bishop Peter to St. Jude's on Sunday evening, the 9th, January, on the occasion of the Licensing to our two parishes of the Revd. Trevor Davies. Bishop Peter also celebrated Holy Communion and preached at the service.
In addition to people from our own churches, there were also those supporting Trevor from his previous parishes at Waverton and Hargrave.
At this service, Trevor formally and publicly gave his assent to the articles of faith and took the Oath of Allegiance to the Queen and her successors and the Oath of Canonical Allegiance to the Lord Bishop of Chester. Bishop Peter then presented Trevor with a Licence and Authority to serve in the United Parish of Bunbury and Tilstone Fearnall and to be known as Assistant Minister of the parishes.
This may seem a curious title. Perhaps you have not heard it before. It is the title given to a priest who is too experienced to be called an "assistant curate". Like the Vicar, he has "the cure of souls" within the parishes and is experienced in pastoral work and the sacramental office. Trevor has the same spiritual authority as the Vicar within the parishes, the only significant difference being that he does not hold the ultimate responsibility.
This event was a special and joyous occasion in the fife of our parishes and I
know Trevor is appreciative of the way he and Eveline have been accepted by all three churches. Now that the formalities and legalities have been dealt with, Trevor says how much he is looking forward to his ministry here. And I look forward to learning from him, for he has a great deal of valuable experience to bring to the job. Our aim is to be aware of and to make use of our different gifts: in combination we should be able to be doubly effective.
For the last five years, Trevor has held a Licence as Chaplain at the Countess of Chester and West Cheshire Hospitals. He will continue in this ministry as Bishop Peter is keen for him to do so. We are fortunate that in both aspects of his ministry Trevor is a Non-Stipendiary Minister which means that he does not receive a stipend, only his expenses.
It is envisaged that Trevor will contribute to the life of all three churches through leading worship and taking funerals, weddings, etc. However, it has been agreed that his main focus will be at St. Jude's, where it will be Trevor who will take the majority of services and exercise pastoral oversight.
So we warmly welcome him and Eveline among us and look forward to seeing them not just at church services but also at our more social occasions.
Trevor will continue to live at Waverton but hopes that you will feel free at any time to contact him by telephone, e-mail or fax, or, indeed, to call on him if you are passing.