Bishop David speaks about his first months in Cornwall
"It's been more exciting than I ever dreamt possible," he says in a film published on the Diocesan website ahead of a Clergy Recruitment day later this month. But it's also been tougher than he expected.
"Every night I go home energised by the people I’ve met and the places I’ve visited," he said. "A profound sense of thankfulness for this place and the people of Cornwall. But it’s also been tougher than I could have imagined. That twin impact, those two impressions, I think are quite important to hold together. You will find more of God than you imagined but you'll find a challenge you weren't expecting."
Has anything surprised him?
"I have been surprised by the warmth of the welcome in almost every place I've been. As perhaps in many other places but maybe it's particularly true of Cornwall, people respond really well to kind, Godly and good leadership."
And his preconceptions have changed, he said: Cornwall's economic challenges have taken him by surprise.
“We know it's a place of pilgrimage … where we have views that are breathtaking but it's also a place where some of the towns are amongst the poorest and most deprived in the continent of Europe. Don't get me wrong - those very communities are also places of resilience, creativity and leadership. But there's a beautiful report written by the social responsibility team here entitled quite simply “You can't eat the View’ (2019). And maybe that gives you a bit of a clue as to what why this is so compelling to come here.”
And one of his most significant places in Cornwall? Camborne, where alongside economic challenges, there is also a deep sense of history and pride.
“Close to my heart is a place I went to on the day I was announced as Bishop of Truro. I found myself in St Meriadoc’s School in Camborne in front of a collective act of worship of the whole school - as the Prime Minister's office announced I was to be the next Bishop. I was standing there in the school. It was amazing I've met pupils from the school ever since and found them they're doing really profound things . … Camborne and St Meriadoc’s School have a particular place in my heart."
Churches in Camborne, one of five Cornish towns chosen as a centre for controversial Transforming Mission schemes, will be pleased to hear of the Bishop's interest and commitment. “You can't eat the View’ was a conference highlighting food poverty in Cornwall held at Camborne Church in 2019.
The video was produced ahead of Clergy Recruitment Day on Saturday, September 27 in Liskeard. Click here to find out more.
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