ON Sunday afternoon, 10th April, St Stephen’s Church in Tye Green, played host to a special Civic Service of welcome for the new Bishop of Barking to the Harlow Deanery.

The Rt Revd Lynne Cullens began her ministry as Bishop of Barking on 21st March 2022 and has been busy visiting the communities for which she has pastoral responsibilities – an area which stretches from the east London boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, and Waltham Forest, to Epping Forest, Harlow and the surrounding six villages.

Revd Darren McIndoe of St Stephen’s Church welcomed Bishop Lynne and a congregation of over fifty representatives of church, civic and community leaders, together with parishioners of all ages from across Harlow and the villages.

Area Dean, Revd Canon Martin Harris, lead the service and introduced a number of local people who extended words of welcome to Bishop Lynne, including the trustees of Heart 4 Harlow, Chaplains from Harlow College and Harlow Hospital, clergy from the villages, Andy Thornton from Harlow Foodbank, Kerrie Eastman from Streets 2 Homes, and Cllr Clive Souter, Chair of Harlow Council. Martin Harris said these representatives came from Harlow’s diverse community of wealth and opportunity and poverty and deprivation, and that imbalance of inequality was something that together, across 52 churches of different demonisations, we were seeking through faith in action to redress.

This is a challenge that Bishop Lynne is well placed to offer leadership, support, wisdom, and prayer. Bishop Lynne’s former colleagues testify to her passion for social justice and serving local communities, and her wealth of experience in parish ministry, from her previous career as a charity chief executive and from the work she has done for the Church nationally, particularly in the area of housing and estates evangelism.

Revd Canon Vanessa Herrick, the Archdeacon of Harlow said that it was fitting to hold this service on Palm Sunday, an occasion when we are reminded of the importance of welcoming Jesus into our hearts, and our willingness to follow and serve him. “Bishop Lynne had not arrived in Harlow on a donkey” said Vanessa, “But she has arrived with the same humility of our Lord!”.