Memories of seeing small numbers of people come to faith gradually, while serving on outer estates, were shared by the new Bishop of Ely, the Rt Revd Sarah Clark, this week.
“Sometimes growth came but it was one by one,” she said. “The apostle Paul talks about a labour of love and I think in some smaller communities, where it’s been a struggle, it’s a real labour of love. It takes a lot of energy and lot of faith, hope, and love.”
Bishop Clark, who served in parish ministry in the diocese of Southwell & Nottingham for 16 years after ordination, was installed in Ely Cathedral on Sunday. In her sermon, she spoke of a longing to see the diocese “grow increasingly confident in the person who we believe has risen from the dead and is alive and shares that life with anyone who comes to him — for that is the gift we have to share”.
The Statement of Needs produced prior to her appointment was frank about the challenges facing the diocese, noting that the diocesan plan, Ely 2025: People Fully Alive, had failed to reverse the decline in attendance. It continued: “Our new bishop will have to consider how to address the decline and whether a further period of centralised planning is likely to be the most effective tool to deploy.”
I really enjoyed interviewing the new Bishop of Ely, on among other things parish ministry & life as a convert https://t.co/KHfjfGkzjL pic.twitter.com/jrRStihG9d
— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) June 26, 2026
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