New Bishop of Bangor elected

Oct 9 2008 By Daily Post

Andrew John

The Venerable Andrew John, Archdeacon of Cardigan, has been elected as the 81^st Bishop of Bangor.

The decision was made on the third and final day of the meeting of the Electoral College of the Church in Wales at Bangor Cathedral.

The archdeacon, 44, was raised in Aberystwyth and took his religious studies at Nottingham University.  He entered the church as a deacon in 1989 and became a priest a year later within the Diocese of St Davids.

If he accepts the Bangor post - that responsible for the oldest cathedral site in the UK - it will be the first time Rev John's church career has taken him outside of the St David's diocese. 

He has been Archdeacon of Cardigan since 2006.

The Bishop-elect has 28 days to accept the appointment.  He will replace the Right Reverend Anthony Crockett who died in June.

Mr John said he was “shell-shocked but delighted”.

He had had a tense wait for a decision with fellow candidates. He said: “The roof of my mouth was dry.”

He pledged to increase attendances and attract more young people into the Church in Wales.

He said: “In Bangor we are very aware it’s a very spread diocese. The countryside is facing a lot of challenges – transport, and the way we have to transport (away) so many young people.

“We needed to find a way to invest the human resources into our communities so they become the lifeblood of our areas.

“So they no longer function as commuter or sleeper villages.”

Mr John said he also wants to reverse falling attendances.

He said: “The church has begun to realise that in the marketplace – which is where we are – our worship has to be engaging and our preaching has to relate to people’s lives.

“We can no longer shout louder. Those ways don’t work.”

He wants people to “want” to come to church rather than by “force of habit”. He also wants all lay and ordained ministers to avoid being “snowed under” by paperwork and instead meet more people.