Reflections on Bishop Paul's ministry in the Diocese of Liverpool

First published on: 10th February 2022

From the moment Bishop Paul Bayes was announced as the next Bishop of Liverpool we were clear that here is a bishop who would make a bigger difference. Being launched from the North Liverpool foodbank signaled where our new bishop’s heart lay. This was built on throughout his Ministry in our diocese as he embraced our growth agenda urging us to get “Fit for Mission”.

His advocacy for a range of groups, his encouragement around discipleship and the formation of a simple, memorable Rule of Life where we Pray, Read and Learn, Tell Serve and Give, his challenge for us to Do Ten Things, Bring One Friend and build a bigger table shows the real heart he has for our diocese, for our communities and for the people who live, work, pray and serve here.

There are many people who can offer many voices for what Bishop Paul has achieved here. We have gathered a sample

 

“ A heart for all people”
Bishop Bev Mason. Bishop of Warrington

Bishop Paul is a man with a heart for all people.   Bishop Paul has shown depths, breadths and heights of invitation, hospitality and the rich diversity of what it means to be human and what the world might look like if we embraced and honoured the dignity of all humankind.  

For Bishop Paul there is no one excluded from the table.  Personally, this has at times been challenging, it has been profoundly compelling and always inspiring.  I would like to think my heart is kinder and my eye of faith that little clearer by my time serving with him and under his leadership.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I am grateful for Bishop Paul’s kindness; for his prayerful spirit, and for the gift of his friendship".
Tabitha Rao Liverpool Parish Church

 It is going to be very difficult for us to wave him off into retirement: he has worked tirelessly for this Diocese, aiming to ensure that the church remains relevant to local communities and reaching out into the heart of every community both within churches and beyond. So many people have been touched by his warmth and loving care: his humility and that calm, soft voice put everyone at their ease.

Personally, I am grateful for Bishop Paul’s kindness; for his prayerful spirit, and for the gift of his friendship. He is never too busy to listen, never too preoccupied with work to respond. I hold in my heart the love and support he has given to me and my family.

Perhaps I can best sum up Bishop Paul’s impact on Liverpool and its people in the words of Flavia Weedn: “Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some people move our souls to dance. They awaken us to a new understanding with the passing whisper of their wisdom. Some people make the sky more beautiful to gaze upon. They stay in our lives for a while, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same.”

May he and Kate go forward to create beautiful skies in their retirement; may they dance and whisper wisdom with and to all whom they meet for a very long time to come; and may the Lord bless them always.

 

"Bishop Paul has always inspired me in my vocation as an example of sacrificial leadership".
Debbie Ellison and the Life Call Team

Throughout his work with Vocations, at LifeCall events, inspirational Bishop’s Charges, and Christmas receptions, Bishop Paul has shared his own journey with total honesty and openness. He has shown his own vulnerabilities and in doing that he has shown the candidates and ordinands how vulnerable they can be.

I don’t think anyone will ever forget him spontaneously bursting into A Capella song at the ordination services or singing Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious to the tune of While Shepherds watch their flocks!

I decided to ask 3 people who have been through the process for what Bishop Paul has meant to them. Here’s what they have said:

“I was inspired to explore curacy in the Diocese of Liverpool through hearing about your passion for church planting. I remember attending a licensing service very early in my time as a curate at which I was very impressed that you knew our names. Here, I have greatly enjoyed working towards the vision, of which you have regularly reminded us, as part of a team of kind, generous wonderful people who you have been responsible for leading. Thank you.”

“Bishop Paul has always inspired me in my vocation as an example of sacrificial leadership, which is relational - filled with humour and self-awareness. There are a few memories that illustrate this: him dropping to his knees as he entered Liverpool Cathedral to begin his ministry here, weighed down by the weight of this calling. His commitment to spend time with us as deacons to help him fight the lure of the "purple haze". And at my ordination rehearsal as I knelt before him, with sunglasses on my head he intoned with much mock reverence "send down your Holy Spirit upon your servant, Ray-ban..." I've also often sought to imitate his ability to successfully "work a room"! He is a master of that particular skill.”

“From his very first preach, there has always been a message of inclusivity. That everybody counts. Bishop Paul made it clear that to follow God’s call into ordination I didn’t need to change. I just needed to be myself as I was called as the person I already was. He has certainly shaped the priest I am today.   

As a Vocations Team we have always been mindful that we are held by his leadership and that any support that was needed would always be there and available.

"His humility and understanding of the issues of HIV and the stigma connected shone through"
Serena Cavanagh, Health Promotion Lead at Sahir House, Merseyside’s HIV support charity.

Sahir House would like to acknowledge the massive contribution that Bishop Paul has made to our work over the years. His humility and understanding of the issues of HIV and the stigma connected shone through, with him agreeing to publicly take a HIV test, which helped us promote this issue to a wider audience. It’s been great working with Paul and we wish him a long happy and healthy retirement. A big hug and thank you from the Sahir House team.

 

"A gift to the wider church, which struggles to receive it" Kieran Bohan, Coordinator of the Open Table Network

Kieran Bohan, Coordinator of the Open Table Network, which began as a single worship community for LGBT+ Christians at St Bride’s Liverpool in 2008, and is now a charity supporting more than 20 communities across England and Wales, said: ‘

Bishop Paul came to visit our first community in Liverpool in 2015, he charged us with a mission to give ‘the love that you share, and the openness that you manifest’ as a gift to the wider church, which struggles to receive it.

In 2019 he described us as ‘one of the fastest growing church-planting movements in England’. Bishop Paul’s support for our first community in Liverpool has enabled five more Open Table communities to be planted in the Diocese, and many more beyond. When we became a charity, he became a Patron. We remain hugely grateful to him for this important part of his legacy.’

 

“A huge supporter of the laity in both their recognised lay ministerial roles and in their everyday discipleship.”
Debra Walker Chair of the House of Laity

The question may be asked ‘what does working in partnership for the Gospel look like?’. Well I am privileged to have experienced working in this way with Bishop Paul. Not only has he been a great personal source of encouragement but he has also been a huge supporter of the laity in both their recognised lay ministerial roles and in their everyday discipleship. I am particularly grateful for the space he has made for the Deanery Lay Chairs, for giving them a voice and for strengthening their collective role within the Diocese. Such a joy to work together in this way.

 

We hope he gets a chance to use his considerable performing talents in retirement.
Annie Spiers In Another Place

Bishop Paul has been a great supporter of IAP.  While Kate, herself used her directing skills to help us put The Alice Experience on in St George’s Hall, Bishop Paul also used his performing arts skills to be a filmed face for Humpty Dumpty for us.  He was due to be Barrabas in Liverpool Passion before covid halted the production in March 2020.  We will be sorry to see him go but hope he gets a chance to use his considerable performing talents in retirement and continues to encourage independent Christian groups like us to spread good news in their own unique and creative ways!

 

 

“As a school we are hugely grateful for the time and skills Bishop Paul has brought both to us”
Mr Iain Parks and all at St Mary and St Paul’s CE Primary, Prescot.

On Wednesday 19th January, Bishop Paul, visited St Mary and St Paul’s School in Prescot to commission our new aims under our vision statement: Life in all its fullness through Learning and Love.  The aim of the visit was to support our school and encourage us on the journey of living out this vision through all our words and actions.

This was Bishop Paul’s final visit to a school in his diocese prior to his retirement and was as inspiring as ever.  He received a tour of the school, met with staff, governors and children in the classrooms and then led the whole school in a commission service.  His natural ability to relate to children and adults ensured that our whole school was uplifted and ready to go out and achieve our objectives.  His message of the importance of using our ‘Learning’ to show ‘Love’ across the community inspired conversations across the school and children were heard retelling this message to parents on their way home. 

As a school we are hugely grateful for the time and skills Bishop Paul has brought both to us as a school and to the diocese as a whole and want to wish him well as he heads south for his well-deserved retirement.

 

“He is no ‘visitor’ he has been integral to all that we do.” Dean Sue Jones

Bishop Paul is technically a ‘Visitor’ to the Cathedral but he is no ‘visitor’ he has been integral to all that we do. Bishop Paul has been a wonderful support to the Cathedral. He is a man of integrity and has shared his leadership with many in the Diocese and the Cathedral. We will miss him, but his generosity of Spirit will remain.

Read the Dean's blog on Bishop Paul leaving here

 

 

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