An air of anticipation has settled over The Church of England in Lancashire as final preparations are made for the Consecration Service of the next Bishop of Burnley.Rev. Dr Joe Kennedy will be consecrated by the Archbishop of York, The Most Rev. and Rt Hon. Stephen Cottrell, in a service steeped in ancient tradition at York Minster on Friday morning, July 19.

Bishops and other senior clergy from across the County and further afield across the northern province of the CofE will be in attendance, including Diocesan Bishop, Rt Rev. Philip North, Bishop of Blackburn. Bishop-Designate Joe’s responsibilities will extend far beyond the town of Burnley; where he will be based and will live with his family. He will work across the County and has a particular remit to lead the ‘Being Witnesses’ strand of our Diocesan Vision 2026 work. Reflecting this wide remit, hundreds of people from County parishes - including many from the town of Burnley itself - are due to make the trip over the Pennines for the day to be present in the Minster. They will be joined by Joe’s family and friends, as well as parishioners from Oxton St Saviour in the Diocese of Chester, where Joe was most recently Vicar. What promises to be a joyous service will begin at 11am and will be livestreamed on the York Minster YouTube channel and via their website here, while the full Order of Service to follow along with proceedings, can be found here. You can also follow updates on social media during the day …

...on the Diocesan X/Twitter feed @cofelancs and on Facebook/BlackburnDiocese
...on the Archbishop of York’s social channels: X/Twitter @CottrellStephen and Facebook/ArchbishopofYork
...and on York Minster’s channels at X/Twitter @York_Minster and Facebook/YorkMinsterOfficial

Meanwhile, the first post-service report to the media from the Diocese will appear mid-afternoon and more will follow in subsequent days; including a full round-up (with the official video of the service) for parishes in the popular ‘Parish Update’ ebulletin for the Diocese on Monday, July 22. Bishop-Designate Joe said today: “My consecration service will be a time of joy and reflection but will also be a vivid reminder of the responsibilities I am about to take on. My hope is to offer to all in Lancashire a ministry which is confident in God, rooted in prayer and focused on pastoral care and on mission. “I am looking forward to working with colleagues across the whole diocese as we continue to implement Vision 2026 together and look to the future – supporting healthy churches, transforming communities.” Bishop Philip added: “Everyone in the Diocese is looking forward with great anticipation to the Consecration Service at the Minster on Friday. We are praying for Joe, his family and his friends as he prepares to make this transition to episcopal ministry. “He will bring to the diocese a profound and life-changing trust in Jesus Christ; a sincere commitment to seeing the flourishing of all and huge gifts in preaching and teaching.”

Rev. Dr Joe Kennedy who is being consecrated as Bishop of Burnley

Following the Consecration Service the next milestone will be the new Bishop's Installation Service here in Lancashire at our Cathedral in Blackburn. That will take place on September 8 at 4pm and details of how to book to attend will be available from Friday afternoon on the diocesan website www.blackburn.anglican.org

Countdown to Consecration: New Bishop of Burnley prepares for his big day at York Minster

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