Churches in Bradford Diocese vote on shake-up (From Craven Herald)
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Churches in Bradford Diocese vote on shake-up
11:53am Thursday 7th March 2013 in News
The Bishop of Bradford, the Right Reverend Nick Baines
Churches in the Bradford Diocese who met in Skipton on Saturday have voted to support a radical reorganisation.
The dioceses of Bradford, Ripon and Leeds and Wakefield simultaneously voted on plans to dissolve the three bodies and replace them with a new super diocese for West Yorkshire and the Dales.
Bradford’s vote was 90 in favour of the plans, with four against. The Ripon and Leeds Diocesan Synod also backed the plans with 70 votes for the change, 18 against and two people choosing not to vote.
The Wakefield Diocese rejected the plans with 76 against, 40 in favour of them and four not voting.
The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, will decide whether to put the issue before the General Synod for ultimate approval in July.
The Bishop of Bradford, the Right Reverend Nick Baines, has backed the plans for a super diocese.
He said the shake-up would offer the benefits of scale together with the intimacy of smaller, more homogeneous areas.
