A Celebration of Ministry
in the Cartmel Peninsula Team Ministry
19th November, 7.30 pm, at the Parish Church of St Paul, Grange-over-Sands
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The Institution of the Revd Canon Nick Ash as Team Rector by the Right Reverend James Newcome Bishop of Carlisle and Induction by the Venerable George Howe Archdeacon of Westmorland and Furness
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The Procession of Choir And Visiting Clergy
The Bishop’s Procession
A report on the service by Pat Crosland
The date of 19th November 2009 will go down in the annals of the Lake District as being the worst floods for 50 years, but for the Cartmel Peninsula Team parishes it was the day when Nick Ash was instituted and inducted as Team Rector in St Paul’s Church, Grange. In spite of the atrocious weather conditions, particularly in the outlying areas, the church was warm and welcoming to the many people who had come to support Nick. Sadly there were absentees, notably the Rural Dean, Canon Robert Coke, marooned in Ambleside, and many of the clergy from the north of the Windermere Deanery. Visitors had travelled from Portsmouth, where Nick had been Canon Precentor at the Cathedral, and ironically two who had booked accommodation in Windermere were unable to travel down to Grange for the service because the road was impassable.
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Following the procession of choir, readers and invited clergy – including the Dean of Portsmouth Cathedral and two of the Cathedral Canons - it was with some relief we saw the Churchwardens of the six parishes in the Team leading in the Rt Revd James Newcome, the recently enthroned Bishop of Carlisle, who was to conduct the service and formally license our new Team Rector, with the Venerable George Howe, the Archdeacon of Westmorland and Furness. After a hymn and words of welcome from Canon Robert Bailey (representing the Rural Dean), the Archdeacon presented Nick to the Bishop, who in turn asked the clergy and congregations of the Team if they would support and uphold him and share with him in worship and witness, mission and pastoral care. Subsequently Nick affirmed that he believed he had been called by God to serve in this Team and committed himself to the ‘mission and ministry and the furthering of God’s kingdom in this place’. |
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A member of the Portsmouth Cathedral congregation read from the St Paul’s 1st Letter to the Corinthians – a most apposite lesson for the occasion, listing the many gifts which God has bestowed upon His people, who are the body of Christ (though Nick joked later that he had considered changing the reading to that of Noah and the flood!). In his address, Bishop James emphasised, with his usual humour and great clarity, the primary tasks for Nick:
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I hope that Nick was not too daunted, knowing the enormity of his task amongst the many others he must address! However, the warmth of the reception he was given when Bishop James presented him to the congregation, and the individual welcomes by representatives of the church and community, were a clear indication for Nick that he had the support, prayers and good will of all those he had come to serve. Individual welcomes were given by the churchwardens, clergy and readers in the Team and from the Leven Valley Benefice, the headteachers from the Primary Schools in the Team, Paul Williams, Head Teacher at Cartmel Priory Secondary School, Ash Stannard, the Churches Together Youth Worker, the Mayor and Councillors of Grange, the District and County Councillors, Ecumenical Church Leaders in Grange, and the Windermere Deanery Lay Chair.
| As the service progressed, the Archdeacon conducted Nick to toll the Church bell, an outward sign of his induction, and then led him to the Minister’s stall, exhorting him to pray for his people, lead them in worship and service, and encourage them in their witness to the Gospel of Christ. Children from Grange Primary School took the collection in models of Tudor ships which they had made in conjunction with Doug Ratcliffe, a member of the Grange congregation, as a symbolic link between the two maritime places of Grange and Portsmouth. The money collected was for the Diocesan Growth fund. |
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Representatives from each of the six parishes presented the new Team Rector with symbols of ministry – water for Baptism, the oil of healing, a bible, Books of Common Prayer and Common Worship, and Bread and Wine – and he placed them on the altar. Following prayers led by the Rector, and the Bishop’s blessing to the congregation, a procession moved to the door of the Church where the Archdeacon laid the Rector’s hand upon the door handle and invoked him to be the ‘cure of souls, and to help the people in worship and fellowship and to live out their faith in the surrounding communities, so that God’s love may be known’. |
The final act was for the Team Rector to open wide the door for Bishop James to offer a short prayer of blessing on the local community, followed by Nick turning to the congregation and saying: ‘Go in the power of Christ’ to which we replied ‘We have a Gospel to proclaim!’, then ‘Go in the peace of Christ’ and our reply ‘Thanks be to God’. So ended a most uplifting, inspiring and heart-warming service which was a joy and privilege to attend, and during which I felt the Holy Spirit was very much in our midst.
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Bishop James and Nick stood at the door of the church and said their goodbyes to all the members of the congregation as they dispersed to the Parish Hall, and lastly they too went to seek much-needed refreshments.