This is a poignant week. Not only do we we in the church consciously walk with Jesus and his bizarre group of friends through acclamation, popularity, betrayal, denial, desertion and death, but up here in West Yorkshire we experience all the emotions that go with 'endings'.
This evening my office closed for ever. Tomorrow I will preach and preside at Bradford Cathedral with the clergy and ministers as we recall Jesus sharing a final meal with the friends who would fail him so badly only hours after pledging eternal allegiance to him. We will re-affirm our ordination vows, looking with a confident humility to the future, fully conscious of our failure to be consistent. On Saturday night the Dioceses of Bradford, Wakefield, and Ripon & Leeds will end and the new Diocese of West Yorkshire & the Dales will be born. On Monday I will become the acting Bishop of Leeds until I get made 'legal' on 8 June at York Minster. My office in Leeds will open for business on 30 April. We will move house at the end of July (structural problems have been found and will take some time to resolve).
A crucified ankle bone (Basel)
Even those of us who believe completely in the way we have chosen cannot help but find this ending poignant. Earlier generations have been faithful to their call from God to celebrate and hand on the faith – and we are now called to be faithful to the challenges and opportunities presented to us.
Holy Week is a good time to prepare for this – despite the sheer hard work and hidden complexity of just making the new diocese legal, viable and operational on day one. Endings are important and need to be lived with. But, Sunday is coming and apparent endings are surprised by the irruption of new life and a hope that cannot be quenched. Christians are constantly told by Jesus not to be afraid: after all, we are drawn by hope, not driven by fear.
The practical work and decision-making involved in creating the new diocese are detailed, demanding and challenging. My colleagues deserve medals, but only get a barrage of emails! And Sunday is coming.
In fact, most people in the parishes and institutions of West Yorkshire & the Dales won't notice much difference at first. Changing the bank accounts overnight is unlikely to excite a great wave of joy. But, those whose lives and roles are affected will notice – and they are examples of vision, courage, faith and hope.
This might sound a bit trivial in the light of Syria, the dangerous situation in Ukraine, the sinking of a ferry in South Korea (to say nothing of Liverpool's Premiership title ambitions). However, the local and the personal are always most powerful, even if the wider world helps keep things in perspective.change is always upon us: we either shape it or we become victims of it. Our three dioceses have decided to shape the future and have taken the brave step of choosing to commit ourselves to both the known and unknown challenges that face us.
