Hundreds of people from across Suffolk attended a packed farewell service for one of the county’s Bishops as he leaves for a senior leadership position within the Church of England.
Tributes were paid to the Suffragan Bishop of Dunwich, the Rt Revd Dr Mike Harrison, who is becoming the Diocesan Bishop of Exeter.
Bishop Mike, 61, took up his current role in 2016 and after eight years in the county he moves to Exeter as one of the Church of England’s most senior leaders.
The service at St Edmundsbury Cathedral in Bury St Edmunds for Bishop Mike, whose successor has yet to be appointed, was led by the Rt Revd Martin Seeley, diocesan Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich.
Bishop Mike said: "While I am delighted and excited to be the next Bishop of Exeter it will be with considerable sadness that I leave the people and county of Suffolk after eight years as the Bishop of Dunwich. I was not familiar with Suffolk before arriving in February 2016 but the hospitality, creativity and good humour of so many in my time here means I will leave with deep gratitude and affection for the diocese and county.
I have been in a privileged position of seeing the difference the Church makes to so many across Suffolk, as well as seeing people come to faith, commit publicly to their faith and to grow in faith across such a wide variety of contexts, and church traditions."
He added: "I am so grateful to colleagues and congregations for the way in which they have formed me as a bishop too - whether through service, witness or wisdom and I am sure much of what I have learned will be put to good use in Devon".
Bishop Mike, a former management consultant and social worker, was the 10th Bishop of Dunwich and he focused on growth in the Church of England, helping to build congregations and engage with younger people.
Bishop Martin said: "As suffragan bishop, Bishop Mike has been my right hand for many years and now deservedly takes up the position of a diocesan bishop to lead the parishioners of Exeter. Mike is warm and outgoing with a deep spirituality as well as a creative intelligence and, as a fine teacher, preacher and pastor, he is ideally equipped to lead the community in Devon. Here in Suffolk he was passionate about reaching as many people as possible, and was greatly supportive of fresh expressions, pioneer ministry and other vehicles which enabled the church to reach out to more people across the county.’"
Bishop Mike quickly made his mark in the Diocese after arriving from Leicester where he had been the Director of Mission and Ministry for 10 years.
He went on night patrol in Ipswich with the Town Pastors and said afterwards the service offered by Christians until 4am was a very good example of the Church going an extra mile to help people potentially at risk.
He spent his first Christmas Day morning in Suffolk visiting the inmates of HMP Highpoint, near Newmarket and in 2017 he joined Bishop Martin in an 11-day pilgrimage, walking 70 miles from Dunwich to Bury St Edmunds to meet communities and discover their challenges too.
A fan of live comedy, football and running, he enjoyed some of the more light-hearted moments in the Diocese including face painting at the Suffolk Show.
Bishop Mike was also pictured on a motorbike in St Edmundsbury Cathedral during an event for children aged 11 to 17.