Final farewells will be made to the Rt Rev’d David Hawtin, retiring as Bishop of Repton at the end of November, at a service in Derby Cathedral on Saturday, November 4th, 4pm.

Bishop David, who is the Suffragan, or assistant Bishop in Derbyshire, has supported the work of the Bishop of Derby since March 1999, and is well known for his work in the area of Christian unity, encouraging Christians of different denominations in their life and work together.

Alongside colleagues, dignitaries, family and friends, church leaders from a wide range of Christian traditions will not only be present at the Cathedral service, but will play an active role in the proceedings.

The Preacher will be the Rev’d Wesley Blakey, Chair of the Nottingham and Derby Methodist District. Bishop Malcolm McMahon, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nottingham, will lead a part of the service in which the congregation will affirm their Christian faith. During the service, the Rev’d Terry Oakley, Moderator of the United Reformed Church in the region, will place on the altar an icon depicting the hospitality of God.

The Rev’d Michael Mitton, who has worked closely with Bishop David in seeking to shape the Church’s local ministry for the contemporary world, will lead the prayers. Readers of scripture will include Jim Cannings, a family friend, and Jean Broomhead, a Churchwarden of Dethick, Lea and Holloway, the local church of Bishop David and his wife, Elizabeth.

The service will include a ‘partnership procession’ during which many of the colleagues who Bishop David has worked with will gather in the centre aisle, allowing him to acknowledge those relationships.

Bishop David will be retiring to Sheffield with his wife, Elizabeth. The Rt Rev’d Dr Alastair Redfern, Bishop of Derby, said: “A vast range of colleagues across this diocese and beyond wish to express their enormous debt of gratitude for the outstanding ministry that David Hawtin has exercised among us – his wisdom, his prophetic vision of the Church and our need to engage with society and fellow Christians, as well as taking a major role in reshaping our own life. He has been inspiring and exemplary. May we all hold David and Elizabeth in our prayers as we say our formal farewell and as they begin a new chapter of their lives together in Sheffield.”

ENDS