It was announced this week that Bishop of Sheffield, Steven Croft, will soon be moving to take up the position of Bishop of Oxford, succeeding the Rt Revd John Pritchard, who retired in October 2014 after seven years in post.
7 Years In Sheffield
Having served in Sheffield for 7 years, Bishop Steven's ministry has been "a desire to connect the Church across the Diocese more deeply together as one body with a common sense of mission and purpose and to enable the diocese to re-engage with mission in the wider community with confidence and hope". He will certainly be missed.
The Very Revd Peter Bradley, Dean of Sheffield, said:
“We are going to feel the loss of Bishop Steven very keenly in the Diocese. The Cathedral has gone through a great period of positive change in his time as Bishop of Sheffield and the team here would like to thank him for his support. We will be praying for him and his family as he moves forward with his journey in faith.”
In a personal letter to the Diocese of Sheffield, Bishop Steven wrote:
“I have enjoyed and appreciated almost every part of being Bishop here (in Sheffield): the warm welcome across South Yorkshire (and the parts of East Yorkshire around Goole), the joy of working with an outstanding senior team, with dedicated and creative clergy and lay leaders...I am now looking forward to the new challenge and responsibility this move will bring. At the same time I am very sorry to be leaving a Diocese and friends and a place I love dearly and where Ann and I feel very much at home.”
Bishop Steven expects to take up this new role in the early Autumn of this year and there will be an opportunity to say farewell at Sheffield Cathedral in the coming months.
You can read more about this announcement on the Diocese of Sheffield website.
