Skipton Deanery members recently welcomed the Revd Tom Lusty as their new Networking Coordinator as part of a pilot rural change project supported by the diocese.
The Revd Sheena McMain, Area Dean, commissioned Revd Tom in the new part-time role which he will hold during the next two years, looking to support and develop rural parishes in the area, celebrating the many good things which are present and promoting sharing and collaboration between communities who can feel quite isolated from one another.
Revd Tom said: “I’m really excited about building relationships and meeting people from churches all over the deanery in the weeks and months ahead.
“I’m particularly pleased that I’m not on my own, I’m part of a great team and feel supported and encouraged as I begin this new role.
“It will also, hopefully, impact positively on my ongoing ministry for the past four years as a parish priest serving my own parish in Upper Wharfedale and Littondale.
“It will remind me to focus on what is important in ministry – and that people are at the heart of it.”
The initiative has the support of the Rt Revd Anna Eltringham, Bishop of Ripon, and is funded as part of a pilot rural change project enabled by Barnabas, which is the Diocese of Leeds’ initiative to support churches in mission funded by the national church.
Skipton Deanery members are enthusiastic about this development in the project, which has been designed to respond to the wishes of the local churches.
Revd Sheena said: “We are so excited to welcome Tom to this post and very grateful to everyone who has made this work possible.
“We are confident that Tom will be a great person to enable churches across our deanery to listen to each other, learn from each other, and to support each other.
“We seek to build lasting relationships and work together to share the good news in this beautiful part of the Ripon area.”
To find out more about Barnabas, please click here.