NEWLY-ORDAINED Bishop of Dudley the Rt Revd Graham Usher will be starting his new ministry with a mini-pilgrimage of his own.

He was appointed to his new post by the Archbishop of Canterbury at a service at St Paul’s Cathedral last month and will be welcomed to his new ministry with two services in Dudley and Worcester this weekend.

Following a service of welcome at the Church of St Thomas and St Luke in Dudley at 4pm on Saturday, May 3, Bishop Graham will walk and cycle 32 miles to Worcester before being rowed across the River Severn on the Cathedral ferry to be installed as Canon of Worcester Cathedral at 4pm the following day.

He said he was seeing the trip as his own personal pilgrimage.

“This means taking in the landscapes at a slower pace, feeling the earth underfoot and seeing the changing industries, listening to the different sounds, and praying for the different communities I pass through,” he said.

Bishop Graham added everyone he had met in his new role had been extremely welcoming and he was looking forward to getting to know the people of Worcestershire.

“The Church of England, working with ecumenical partners, is already serving its local communities in a myriad of remarkable ways across the diocese and it's going to be a privilege to be involved with that,” he said.

“This outward sense of being there for others is at the heart of being kingdom people as we seek to worship God and grow in our faith journey in the company of Jesus Christ.”

Bishop of Worcester Dr John Inge said he was looking forward to welcoming Bishop Graham to the diocese and working alongside him in the future.

“He is a man of God with many gifts and a great deal of experience which will enrich us hugely as we seek to communicate God’s love in Jesus to the people of Dudley and Worcestershire,” he said.

“I hope and pray that Bishop Graham, his wife Rachel and their children, Chad and Olivia, will be very happy here.”

All are welcome at both services.