September saw the Bishop of Norwich busy in his own diocese and his link diocese on the other side of the world.
In Norwich Cathedral he welcomed seven new Licensed Lay Ministers at a celebration of the work of LLMs across the diocese. Find out who they are and where they serve here.
Hundreds of people took part in the celebration service, which also saw the commissioning of Helen Grogutt as Bishop’s Adviser for Licensed Lay Ministers.
She serves as an LLM in the Norwich parishes of St Giles, St George Tombland and St George Colegate in Norwich and is also a chaplain at Norwich Cathedral.
The following day Bishop Graham licensed Fr Bruce Batstone as vicar of St Mark’s, Lakenham, in Norwich, and pilgrim priest at the Julian Shrine. And the following week he licensed Sue Mann as Vicar of St Mary’s, Hellesdon.
Bishop Graham gave the opening address at the big triennial clergy conference, based at Norwich Cathedral. Clergy from across the diocese enjoyed and were challenged by a packed programme of talks, worship, workshops and bible studies. Meals together included a dinner in the nave of the cathedral.
At the beginning of the month the Bishop of Norwich undertook his first diocesan link pilgrimage to Papua New Guinea. Closer to home he spoke at local and national meetings, conferences, interviews and commissions. Bishop Graham attended the second reading of the Assisted Dying Bill in the House of Lords and afterwards said: “The clear message was that the Assisted Dying Bill needs much more scrutiny. The expertise in the House is immense. Deep concerns were raised by doctors, nurses, lawyers, and those of us experienced in pastoral care of the dying.”
His work as a member of the Crown Nominations Commission concluded with the announcement that the next Archbishop of Canterbury will be current Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally.
On the day of the announcement he said: “I am delighted that Bishop Sarah has been called to be the 106th Archbishop of Canterbury. This historic decision recognises Bishop Sarah’s many pastoral gifts as a shepherd of Christ’s flock.
“It was a personal privilege to serve on the Crown Nomination Commission and meet some outstanding potential candidates, and then to discern prayerfully who we believed God was calling to serve his Church as Archbishop at this time. It was an experience of the Holy Spirit. Please join with me in praying for Bishop Sarah and her family.”
