Bishop of Ripon Archives - Page 2 of 3

Ripon hosts first farming memorial service

Ripon Cathedral has hosted the first national memorial service for people in rural communities who have lost their lives in farming accidents or to suicide or other causes during the pandemic.

The ecumenical service led by the Bishop of Ripon, the Rt. Revd. Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, was organised by the Farming Community Network, a charity that supports farmers.

It was attended by the Lord Lieutenant of North Yorkshire Jo Ropner and officials from the network and the National Farmers’ Union.

Dr Hartley, who is an FCN trustee, said:

“We give thanks for those whose work it is to bring comfort and light, for charities like FCN and its volunteers, for the skilled work of medical staff and our emergency services, for the NFU, and for those who work tirelessly to fundraise and provide vision and leadership to charities and organisations who assist in the farming sector.”

Ripon Cathedral, which hosted a national memorial and thanksgiving service for the farming community.

Hope, unity and the need for people across agriculture to come together in support of one another, as part of a community, were highlighted during the service, which recognised the experience of loss felt by all those who have been bereaved.

More than 100 attended last Sunday, either in person or thorough live-streaming, to join in hymns and hear readings and personal accounts of those being remembered.

Following the service, NFU deputy president, Stuart Roberts, said:

“The farming community will always be there to support one another. People are at the heart of farming. FCN and other charities are the people who support people – and that’s why they’re so important.”

Mark Suthern, chair of FCN’s board of trustees, also spoke of the need for the community to support one another through the changes ahead for British agriculture.

Farm tragedies

The FCN helps about 6,000 farmers and farming families each year with a wide range of issues, including mental health, family disputes, animal disease and financial concerns.

The network’s chief executive, Jude McCann, said:

“The farming community knows all too well the pain that comes following a death due to a farm accident or other tragic circumstance.

“Many of us will know someone personally who has been affected by a farm accident, a death by suicide, cancer, or other tragedies that leave lasting impacts on farming families across the UK.

“We would like to thank everyone who attended, took part and helped to organise our Remembrance Service. We hope it provided an opportunity to recognise those who have died as well as provided support and comfort to those who have been bereaved.”

Anybody who is struggling, or knows somebody who is and would like to speak with someone who understands the pressures of farming life, can contact the FCN on 03000 111 999 (7am-11pm every day of the year) or at help@fcn.org.uk.

Calls are confidential and non-judgemental.

Bishop of Ripon: Police boss has ‘done the right thing’ to resign

The Bishop of Ripon says North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Philip Allott has “done the right thing” in resigning after his comments on the Sarah Everard case.

However, Dr Helen-Ann Hartley said Mr Allott should not have delayed his decision and resigned “immediately” after he urged women to be “streetwise” about arrest powers in a BBC Radio York interview on October 1.

Mr Allott, who was elected in May, sparked outrage after also saying Ms Everard never should have “submitted” to arrest by killer police officer Wayne Couzens.

The Conservative commissioner faced increasing pressure to quit, but only did so after hundreds of complaints and a vote of no confidence by the county’s Police, Fire and Crime Panel yesterday.

Speaking after this, Dr Hartley said:

“He should have resigned immediately because I felt pretty much straight away his position had become untenable.

“I was surprised he did not do this and did not have the sufficient self-awareness to realise he had completely undermined credibility in his role.

“Now, we need to ensure that the issues brought to the fore by the horrific murder of Sarah Everard are followed up with some degree of urgency.”

Dr Hartley also said Mr Allott’s resignation highlighted a flaw in the system as unlike MPs, there is no legislation to recall police commissioners.

She said:

“This sheds light on the fact that it is difficult, if not impossible, to remove somebody from this post.

“The fact it got as far as it did, particularly to the vote of no confidence, exposes a flaw in the system of how people in elected roles like this can be held to account for the things they say.”

Meanwhile, Cllr Pat Marsh, leader of the Liberal Democrats on Harrogate Borough Council, said:

“The Harrogate Lib Dems are so pleased that Philip Allott has eventually seen sense and done the right thing and resigned from his role as Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner.

“His position was untenable after his highly insensitive remarks made about Female behaviour in the wake of the tragic death of Sarah Everard. After the unanimous vote of no confidence in Mr Allott by the County’s Police, Fire and Crime Panel it was difficult for him to continue in the role.”

Just hours after yesterday’s vote of no confidence, Mr Allott announced his resignation in a letter saying he spent the past two weeks trying “to rebuild trust and confidence”, but would “do the decent thing” and leave his post.

He later tweeted:

“After the Police and Crime Panel meeting today, I have subsequently tendered my resignation as I have become the story, and therefore a distraction to protecting victims of violence.

“I am so sorry I cannot deliver on my program of preventing male violence against women and girls. Doing what’s right is hard.”

Another meeting of the Police, Fire and Crime Panel will now be arranged to appoint an interim Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, while plans are put in place for another election.

Harrogate businesses come together to target net-zero emissions

Harrogate’s business community met today to discuss how to meet the challenges of climate change and net-zero emissions.

The Business Net Zero Conference is being held all day at the Harrogate Convention Centre and has been organised by Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition.

It’s part of the Climate Action Festival that is taking place all month in the district in the run up to the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow.

Today’s speakers included representatives from Techbuyer, Transdev, Yorkshire Water and Bettys & Taylors of Harrogate.

‘A sign of hope’

The Bishop of Ripon, the Rt Revd Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, opened the day by challenging business people in the room whether their goal was profit “at all costs” or developing a social and environmental mission.

She said:

“Today’s conference is a sign of hope but we shouldn’t underestimate the challenges.”

Harrogate-resident Professor Piers Forster, from the University of Leeds, offered a scientific grounding to the debate during his speech.

Prof Forster sits on the UK government’s climate change committee and will be heading to the COP26 summit to help negotiate ambitious climate targets with other governments.

He showed a video of frightening wildfires in Canada caused by greenhouse gas emissions. However, he emphasised that he is optimistic that change can happen if businesses get on board.

“It’s within our power to change where we end up together.”

Decentralisation of energy

Jennifer Woodhall, marketing director of Harrogate firm Chameleon Technology also spoke. The company is a Harrogate success story as its smart meters are in seven million homes across the UK.

Ms Woodhall said decentralisation of energy was essential to avoid the volatility that is currently engulfing the market.

“We can’t rely on a few, large sources of power.”

Paul Haslam, a Conservative councillor on Harrogate Borough Council and North Yorkshire County Council, as well as a Harrogate District Climate Change Coalition member, told the Stray Ferret he hoped the conference would become an annual event.

“It’s great we’ve got to this point. I’m delighted and we’ve got some fantastic speakers. It will be bigger and better next year.”

Pictured are: (from left) Jemima Parker, Cllr Paul Haslam, Prof Neil Coles, the Bishop of Ripon, Jennifer Woodhall, Cllr Phil Ireland, Jade Boggost, Kirsty Hallett, Prof Piers Forster

Bishop speaks out after more vandalism in Ripon

The Bishop of Ripon has spoken out about vandals after another incident in the city.

Dr Helen-Ann Hartley’s comments come after she saw the Welcome to Ripon sign on the North Bridge approach to the city had been vandalised.

She told the Stray Ferret:

“I was greatly saddened to see the Welcome to Ripon sign smashed up.

“Sadly, a minority are clearly intent on inflicting harm on our local community.

“While I appreciate there are many challenges that people face today, destroying things of value is not the answer.

“I hope whoever is doing this, can pause to reflect on how their actions hurt others, and think again before they smash something else up.”

Photo of discarded Welcome to Ripon sign

Destroyed and discarded — the sign was torn down and thrown off the bridge.

The sign, bearing the words: ‘Welcome to Ripon, Stay Awhile Amid its Ancient Charms’ was erected in 1986 by the city’s civic society, in memory of former member Catherine Elmes.

Dr Hartley said:

“I remember early on when we moved here, I walked into Ripon and stopped at the sign and took a photo of it.

“I felt pleased to be in our new home here.”

The plaque in memory of Catherine Elmes on the vandalised sign

The North Bridge ‘welcome’ sign is one of two on the approaches to the city centre — the other being at the junction of Harrogate Road and Quarry Moor Road.

Vandalism, alongside other anti-social behaviour, is a recurring problem in Ripon.

The cabmen’s shelter — a rare heritage item and listed building on Market Square — had its windows smashed twice in the space of three months.

Prior to this, vandals also broke windows at Ripon Town Hall and the Ripon Cathedral office and deliberately damaged the protective rubberised surface of the children’s playground in Grove Lane.

North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Philip Allott visited the city last month and pledged investment in policing to address the spike in anti-social behaviour.

He said he intended to give local officers the resources they needed, including a phased investment in the city’s combined police and fire station on Stonebridgegate.

Bishop of Ripon has ‘grave concerns’ over care home isolation

The Bishop of Ripon has written to five MPs asking for the removal of a requirement for care home residents to isolate for 14 days if they leave their homes.

The Rt Revd Dr Helen-Ann Hartley’s intervention comes after Richard Webb, director of health and adult services at North Yorkshire County Council, also expressed concerns about the issue.

The more restrictive guidance for care homes was issued shortly after restrictions eased on the hospitality sector last week and non-essential shops were allowed to reopen.

The five MPs who received the letter included local Conservatives Andrew Jones, Nigel Adams and Julian Smith. It says:

“I am very concerned indeed about the impact on the physical and mental well-being, and indeed the human rights of individuals of diverse ages and vulnerabilities.

“I note that John’s Campaign for example focuses on principles and attitudes rather than procedures and protocols.

“With that in mind, I ask what sort of society we wish to be as we emerge from the pandemic crisis?

“Given that it is further likely we will be living with covid for a long time, it is of grave concern that our most vulnerable citizens will be treated in such a restrictive way.

“That has, in my opinion, a corrosive impact on our society and has implications that far outlast our own lives.”

Last week a care home run by Disability Action Yorkshire on Claro Road, Harrogate, said it would defy the guidance because it was a “clear breach” of human rights.

Jackie Snape, chief executive of the charity, has written to Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Andrew Jones, warning he will receive furious e-mails as a result of the guidance.

She said:

“For the people that live at 34 Claro Road this is devastating. They are young people who just want to have the same freedoms as everyone else.

“They are seeing pictures of groups enjoying a beer outside the pub and they are being told they can’t even go for a walk around the block.”

Does this story affect you or your loved ones? Write to contact@thestrayferret.co.uk to tell us about your experience.

Column: A year that’s highlighted inequalities but also kindness and hope

Today marks a year since the start of the first lockdown and a National Day of Reflection. The Bishop of Ripon, the Rt Rev’d Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, writes for the Stray Ferret and considers how hard the year has been but why she still has kept an abiding sense of hope.

What were you doing a year ago today? A glance at my diary on March 23, 2020 includes prominent use of the following words: ‘postponed’, ‘cancelled’, ‘Zoom’ and ‘evening prayer dial-in’. Certainly a contrast to the diary appointments of the previous week. On March 23^rd 2020 we entered lockdown 1.

I am sure I am not the only one who never imagined that a year later we would still be in a lockdown, with 4.26 million people having been infected with COVID, and as of the time of writing, 125,516 tragically dead in the UK. The specificity of that number is important, because each life matters. It makes for grim reading, and the reality is that so many more lives have been impacted in ways that don’t make the headlines. In recent days, the Stray Ferret has been featuring moving tributes to those who have died during the pandemic. It is significant that not all of those lives were lost to the virus. There are heartbreaking stories of people who have died without their loved ones at their side, with goodbyes said on the wavering screen of a tablet or smartphone. And funeral services with limited loved ones present; that’s been so hard too. We’ve had to get used to face-masks, distancing, and the words ‘you’re on mute’ have become rather over-used in my vocabulary.

I’m acutely aware of how local businesses have been impacted; incomes and long worked-for livelihoods decimated. The road to recovery in that regard is a long and winding one. On a personal note, I haven’t hugged my parents in over a year, and haven’t seen them face-to-face since October last year. Their medical challenges and emergency hospital stays in the interim have been hard to navigate at a distance, and I’ve been grateful for the kindness of their neighbours who have kept an eye on them. And I can’t forget the delivery drivers who have brought flowers and treats to their front door. Perhaps it’s those little things I have learnt to appreciate all the more? Perhaps it’s the realisation also of how much our lives are bound up with those of our neighbours? And there’s the recognition of my own mortality, accompanied by the question ‘do I really need all this stuff around me?’ Maybe you have your own thoughts and experiences too? One thing that has been persistent through all these wonderings and experiences however is an abiding hope. This isn’t a naïve wishful musing; it’s grounded in my faith (hopefully you won’t be surprised to hear me say that). A famous theologian is reputed to have once said: ‘even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree’.

During this past year, a light has been shone on many things, exposing raw inequalities in our communities and in society. These cannot be ignored. That light however has also illuminated kindness and compassion, and the many examples we have witnessed in that regard cannot be ignored either. Hope is the bridge we have to get us into the next day, and the day after that. Hope is the vaccine, the fruit of scientific endeavour and medical expertise. One thing I am really sure of, is that despite our best efforts at times, we really are all in this together. So much has changed this past year, yet I have been consistently amazed at the resilience of local communities. For that I give thanks. Strength is sometimes found in the most unlikely of places. Now where’s that apple tree? I need to go and get it planted!

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Bishop of Ripon: ‘Farmers give us hope on Plough Sunday’

On Plough Sunday, the Bishop of Ripon, the Right Rev Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, reflects on how the traditions of the day can be maintained, despite not being able to gather at the Cathedral.

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the green heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Words by the North American writer and farmer, Wendell Berry.

Well, usually on Plough Sunday I would have been in Ripon Cathedral blessing the plough and setting the mark for the agricultural year ahead. While it’s true that many farmers these days are exponents of the no-till method which is better for the ground, the plough remains an important symbol of our agricultural heritage.

One of the features of this extended pandemic crisis has been a reawakening of connection to land and to asking questions about where our food comes from? These are not new questions, and in many ways they were part of the Brexit landscape way before covid-19 and Zoom became part of our everyday language.

This new year sees us in a post-Brexit landscape but locked-down again. I have just spent a day taking part in the online 2021 Oxford Farming Conference. The theme of this year was ‘Business as Unusual’, a nod to the tension between recognising that a lot has changed, with the desire to get back to normal. In her opening remarks for the conference, the chairman Sally Williams reminded us that in the midst of so much change, ‘farmers kept on farming’. Many people in agriculture that I have spoken with in recent weeks have expressed concern about the virus yes, but confidence in the resilience of people to weather the storm. For all the emphasis on ‘social distancing’ many’s a farmer who has remarked ‘well we are pretty good at social distancing, it’s what we do most days’. But it is noticeable nonetheless that one of the sessions at this year’s OFC was again dedicated to issues of mental health in farming.

A couple of weeks ago, I took part in the first Zoom session of a new global book club called ‘Fieldwork’. Hosted by the NFU’s Adam Bedford (who himself participated in the Ripon Cathedral Plough Sunday service in 2018), the book under discussion was English Pastoral by Cumbrian shepherd James Rebanks.

It was fascinating to hear James talk about his book, but it was another book he mentioned that caught my interest; a book published in 1940 by Thomas Firbank called I Bought A Mountain. In this book, Firbank describes his purchase, aged 21, of a 2400 acre sheep farm in North Wales. James Rebanks mentioned it because it is a book that essentially describes someone from a non-farming perspective learning about rural life from the people he encountered. The book itself ends with the start of the Second World War, and Firbank’s enlisting to fight in the Coldstream Guards. I mention this as a reminder that we aren’t the first or only generation to face life-changing circumstances. We don’t know yet what a post-covid world will look like; it’s rather more certain that we will need to learn to live with the virus. The language of battle and defeat is distinctly unhelpful.

It is my strong belief that our rural communities are keepers of a narrative that speaks of the greatness of the small (to quote words by the Iona community member John Bell), as well as guardians of the treasures and riches of our land, our earth. After all, the word human comes from the Latin word ‘humus’, meaning earth or ground. I think that plough Sunday points us to that reality; of our own mortality but ultimately of new birth, of possibility and hope grounded in the knowledge that Spring surely does follow Winter. God the Creator is bound up in all of that; God who experienced human failure and defeat, and yet who rose again and who is present with us now in the blazing fire of the Holy Spirit, as sure as the spectacular skies of Winter sunset and sunrise.

Blessed are you, Lord God of all creation:
for in your abundant care you have given us fertile land,
rich soil, the seasons in their courses.
You provide seed for sowing, water, light and warmth
to bring forth the miracle of growth.
You give us skill to work the land,
to prepare and nourish it, that it may be fruitful.
By your blessing,
let this plough be a sign of all that you promise to us.
Prosper the work of our hands,
and provide abundant crops for your people to share.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God for ever.

God speed the plough.
God speed the plough.

Amen.

My Year: The Bishop of Ripon’s Christmas message of hope

In her Christmas Day column for the Stray Ferret, the Bishop of Ripon, the Rt Rev Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, reflects on all the things we’re missing this year – but that we can still have all we need, and fill that need for others too.

I am sure there wasn’t a dry eye in the house when Oti Mabuse and Bill Bailey were crowned the winners of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing competition.

I have dipped in and out of this year’s series. I watched all of Bake Off and I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here (which secured me a point in this year’s Ripon Runners’ Zoom Christmas Quiz: I knew that Jordan North was the runner up!), but Strictly has not really been on my viewing radar, and I’m going to have to catch up on that one.

But the sight of Oti and Bill rejoicing at their win and so much wanting to run around and hug the other contestants but not being able to do so was a poignant moment of joy and grief all in one.

Ripon Cathedral was reopened by the clergy in June, after the first lockdown was eased

I still haven’t been able to hug my parents. My dad completed his cancer treatment just before lockdown, but then both had to shield. They are in a tier 3 area, and so Christmas won’t be the same; we aren’t risking the opportunity to meet up indoors.

Out of lockdown and tiers, catch-ups have been in our garden. We celebrated their golden wedding anniversary back in October on a mercifully mild and sunny autumn day, a Bettys celebration iced fruit cake the delicious centre-piece of the distanced picnic-table spread.

‘Lives pulled apart’

Covid has impacted all of our lives, and while I have been uplifted at the stories of community care and resilience, it has been hard to hear about the pain of lives pulled apart, and of loneliness, isolation and struggles. This year Christmas isn’t the same, and we aren’t able to gather with friends and family.

I will miss the Boxing Day pilgrimage to Fountains Abbey, and blessing the City of Ripon at midnight from the Town Hall balcony with raucous crowds assembled below on the Market Square, and fireworks offering a rousing welcome to the new year. No, it’s just not the same at all.

Yet what is the same is the Christmas story. I shared a reflection on this at a recent Auction Mart drive-in carol service. Using a Christmas cracker, I spoke about how a cracker contains surprises: a joke or riddle, a paper crown, and a gift. The baby who was born over 2000 years ago was something of a surprise; he was the answer to the musings of prophets; he was a king unlike any other; and in his life all of humanity received a gift: God becoming one of us, experiencing our joys and sorrows and going ahead of us into the unknown.

Now, to some, that’s just daft, but this is a narrative of hope that has endured, and it’s a narrative that grounds everything that I try to do, say and be.

And you can see it at work all around us too: in the kindness of strangers, in the magnificent NHS, and in the process of the rapid development of the vaccine. Maybe you can think of your own example too?

I’m struck by lots of images of Jesus’ birth, how the child radiates light illuminating the faces gazing upon him. All the light we need is that which can help us take the next step. We don’t need a floodlight.

Glimpses of hope, love, light and joy are everywhere, and if we don’t see it, perhaps we can be that light that someone needs today. Just enough to help us get to the next day, and the day after that. That’s what the Christmas story is about: not ‘me’ but ‘us’: God with us.

Happy Christmas!

Bishop’s blessing for new Ripon M&S store

The Bishop of Ripon, The Rt Revd Dr Helen-Ann Hartley, has given her blessing to the new M&S Food store opening in Ripon tomorrow morning.

Dr Hartley, who joined the Mayor of Ripon Councillor Eamon Parkin for a preview visit, said a prayer of blessing as members of M&S staff gathered at a safe distance with their heads bowed.

The preview was arranged because tomorrow’s planned opening ceremony, due to be carried out by Cllr Parkin, had to be called off because of the coronavirus crisis – which itself saw the original April 29 opening rescheduled.

Cllr Parkin told The Stray Ferret:

“This is a fabulous development for Ripon and a vote of confidence in our city at this difficult time for the retail sector. It gives us hope and brings us very welcome new jobs.”

The Mayor of Ripon and the Bishop of Ripon with M&S Food manager Paul Nicholl

Paul Nicoll, centre, showed Mayor Eamon Parkin and Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley around the new Ripon store

Before he showed them around the store, which is part of the £10 million St Michael’s Retail Park development, manager Paul Nicoll said almost 60 jobs had been created and 90% of the workforce has been recruited from the Ripon area.

As the Bishop and Mayor looked around, they saw a hive of activity among staff putting the finishing touches to the filling of shelves where thousands of items are already in place.

Mr Nicoll added:

“We’ve gauged from what we’ve seen on social media that local people have been looking forward to us opening.”

M&S is returning to the city years after it closed a small shop unit in The Arcade. It joins a line-up of supermarkets in the city including Aldi, Booths, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s, while Lidl has recently announced that it is also looking for a suitable site in Ripon.

COLUMN: “Speaking truth to power” is part of the job says Bishop of Ripon

This column is written for The Stray Ferret by the Bishop of Ripon, The Right Reverend Dr Helen-Ann Hartley. The Bishop was in the news recently after she received a death threat over a comment she made about the Prime Minister’s aide, Dominic Cummings, who drove from London to Durham during lockdown.

Following the Prime Minister’s appearance at the COVID_19 daily briefing a few weeks ago, I popped onto Twitter to see what the response was. ‘Fairly annoyed’ would be a summary of what I saw. I decided to contribute, and commented on a tweet from someone I know who was very upset at what the Prime Minister had said in defence of a certain official who had made a trip to Durham during the period of what we all thought was total lockdown. “Integrity, trust and leadership were never there; just a driven misguided ideology of power that has total disregard for the most weak and vulnerable, and those who work to protect and care for us for relatively low pay”.

A few moments later, as the comments started to roll in, I tweeted: “My parents live in Durham, an hour away from where we live. My father finished radiotherapy treatment just before lockdown. I’ve missed his birthday, Mothering Sunday and countless other catch-ups that would have happened. And that’s a fraction of a story compared with others”.

What happened next was both brutal and affirming as emails, phone-calls, and then hand-written letters started to pour featuring rather extreme views and threats and heart-rending stories of personal loss and thanks that Church leaders were speaking up. The reality is that Church leaders speak up quite often about all manner of topics, local, national and global, and this isn’t always noticed.

As much as we are living in ‘unprecedented times’, the conditions of anxiety and lockdown have created an atmosphere that is often toxic and unforgiving. I didn’t post those tweets lightly, I did so because my own personal story and the stories of so many I have heard in recent weeks has been seriously undermined by the behaviour of individuals who set policies and who I expect would model that in their own lives.

Speaking truth to power is an important aspect of my role as a bishop, and I do that aware of the potential to annoy and even offend. When I became a bishop in New Zealand over six years ago, my predecessor said to me that leadership was a bit like climbing a mountain: the higher you go the more scenic the views, but the more likely to attract complex weather systems. How true that is.

Farm tragedies

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‘A sign of hope’

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Decentralisation of energy

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‘Lives pulled apart’

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