The Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, made a rare visit to St Andrew’s in Kirkby Malzeard to honour one of the church’s most loyal servants.

In what was the first visit by an archbishop to the church in living memory,  he presented a specially-commissioned silver medal to Chris Slater.

Mr Slater retired from his unpaid role of parish sexton and  verger at the church near Ripon last year.

The award was in recognition of his work over more than six decades, which included meticulously caring for the  grounds at St Andrew’s while keeping the building’s fabric in good condition and the clock on time.

Chris Slater, wearing his silver medal for long-service, is pictured at St Andrew’s.

Mr Slater married his wife Mary at St Andrew’s 58 years ago and the church, where they and their daughter Susan were christened, has been supported by the family for decades.

Mr Slater, who is 81, told the Stray Ferret:

“This church has been my life for more than 60 years and I looked after it in the way I have looked after Mary and Susan, with care and devotion, taking great pride in everything I have done there.

“It was a surprise, when I heard that the archbishop was coming to Kirkby Malzeard and I was honoured to receive the long service medal from him.”

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As well as looking after the grounds and the fabric of the church, Mr Slater attended, without fail, funerals there while his wife and daughter prepared the church for wedding services.

An indication of his dedication to St Andrew’s came in 2003 when he  raised £3,000 with the help of family and friends to pay for the installation of an electronic mechanism to wind the church tower clock and its chimes.

He said:

“Before then, I had to wind the clock twice a week – with hundreds of turns each time – one to keep the clock going and the other to set the chimes. It was hard work.”

The presentation of his medal was made as part of the Plough Sunday service at the church.

The most senior Anglican in the north of England is to visit Harrogate this month.

The Most Reverend Stephen Cottrell is giving a talk at St Mark’s Church on Saturday, September 25.

The talk is titled Travelling Well and will be a theological reflection on pilgrimage in Christianity. The archbishop has twice walked the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in Spain.

It will be the first in a wider series of lectures arranged by the Harrogate School of Theology and Mission, which is an ecumenical association of Harrogate churches.

It was launched to develop theological and biblical training that is open to all.

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The programme has been running for about five years, but this will be the first live lecture since the start of covid. The talk will also be available on zoom.

Geoffrey Turner, a committee member of the Harrogate School of Theology and Mission, believes being able to hold sessions over the internet has been beneficial. He said:

“When covid came and we couldn’t do our live lectures, we thought we’d be shut down. Like the whole Christian church, we were saved by Zoom – the creator of Zoom really should be made a saint.

“It made us realise we can be more flexible, especially for big name speakers who might be based further away from Harrogate.

“But the fact we’re live, up and running again is really meaningful for us. The Archbishop of York visiting gets us off to a flying start, and we’re really looking forward to it.”

The programme includes live lectures, including Canon Dr Mark Powley on meeting God in worship, Rt Revd Toby Howarth on Yorkshire’s Christian and Muslim communities working together, and Dr Selina Stone on pneumatology, embodiment and justice.