Diocesan Press Release

Woolwich, Kingston & Croydon Areas Welcome New Bishop of Southwark

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  6 October 1998

Civic authorities and church and school representatives will welcome the Rt Rev Tom Butler, the new Bishop of Southwark, with a wide-ranging programme of events in the Woolwich and Kingston Episcopal Areas on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 October. Croydon Area will greet him on Saturday 31 October.

WOOLWICH AREA, SATURDAY 10 OCTOBER

The Bishop will preside at 8.30 am Communion on Saturday 10 October, at St Paul's Church, Thamesmead, then have 9.30 breakfast at Greenwich Town Hall at the invitation of the Mayor, Cllr Don Austen. At 10.30 he then moves on to St John's Church, Eltham, where he will meet members of congregations in Greenwich Borough and receive greetings cards. Some churches will also make presentations of their activities.

St Mary's Lewisham will host the Bishop for a buffet lunch at 12.30, and MPs Joan Ruddock, Bridget Prentice and Jim Dowd are expected. The Deputy Mayor of Lewisham, Cllr Kelly Conway, will speak about the needs and priorities of the Borough. Bishop Tom will continue to St Dunstan's Church, Bellingham, at 2 pm, to meet people from Lewisham churches and hear about their work.

At 3.15 pm the Bishop leaves the Archdeaconry of Lewisham and transfers to the Archdeaconry of Southwark. He will meet representatives of churches from across the borough at St George's Church (Trinity College Centre), Camberwell, at 4 pm. Three of the churches will tell their stories, and present the Bishop with a book of similar stories from each parish in the borough. There will be formal welcomes from Cllr Janet Heatley, the Mayor of Southwark, and Cllr Niall Duffy, the Leader of Southwark Council, as well as from the Revd Grahame Shaw as Rural Dean, and the Revd Bruce Stokes, Baptist Borough Dean.

The Bishop will respond to these greetings and take questions from those present before joining them in worship.

KINGSTON AREA, SUNDAY 11 OCTOBER

Church members and school children from the Kingston Episcopal Area will welcome the Bishop of Southwark at St John's, Waterloo at 3 pm on Sunday 11 October. Each of the ten deaneries (groups of churches) in the Area will make a short presentation of their life and activities. Children from the church primary schools will sing "What a wonderful Saviour is Jesus", and the gospel choir of St Mark's Primary School, Kennington will make a further contribution.

The well-known broadcaster Canon Roger Royle will conduct an interview with Bishop Tom and with his wife Barbara. The Bishop will also give an address, and after a closing hymn give a blessing. To conclude the whole event, 200 balloons will be released from the church steps at about 4.30 pm.

Ends.