Words: Jill Stocks Photos: Claire Evans
The new man in charge at Horsforth St Margaret’s was officially welcomed on Wednesday, in front of a full house at the church.
The licensing service, otherwise known as The Rite of Collation and Induction, saw the community gather together to welcome the Reverend Chris Clayton, with official proceedings followed by a wonderful social time to get to know the new vicar and his family.
The service was conducted by Right Revd Arun Arora, Bishop of Kirkstall, who led the formalities of the event, as the Rev Clayton first reaffirmed his ordination vows before taking the Oath of Allegiance and the Oath of Canonical Obedience and leading the congregation in prayer.
Duncan Stow from Horsforth Churches Together spoke about what was a lovely community event.
“The licensing of Chris Clayton was a really joyful occasion,” he said. “The service, which was led by Bishop Arun, included a message of welcome to all, everyone, and included some lively music and also some readings from the children from St Margaret’s Primary School which were beautifully read.
“The church was full to the rafters and people stayed to enjoy tea, coffee and conversation well after the service had finished.
“There was a lovely commendation for Chris from St Peter’s Church in Harrogate where he’d been the minister there and he was described as a wonderful listener and encourager and the church were very sad to lose him but very thankful for all he’d done.
“Chris is from Bradford and has a heart for including young people in ministry and very much hopes that St Margaret’s will be able to do more and more of that. “
He was welcomed to the community by Cllr Simon Dowling from Horsforth Town Council, a variety of people from the local community, Penny Pinn from Horsforth Community Cafe and the church wardens.
Revd Chris told us how he appreciated the support from the community: “It was both humbling and overwhelming to see so many people gathered to worship God and to support my family and me.
“This service marks the beginning of a new chapter in my ministry and in the worshipping life of St Margaret’s, and that is tremendously exciting.”
You can join the congregation at St Margaret’s every Sunday with a communion service at 8am and the Morning Service at 10am. There are many other services and activities throughout the week at the church and the parish centre. Check out the website and facebook page for more details of services and community activities.
Horsforth Churches Together are presenting a series of Lent talks over the coming weeks starting this coming Thursday, with guest speakers at churches across Horsforth, with the theme of “Christianity in Britain – Movements and influencers and the values they gave us.”
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