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New first lady looks forward to parish life

Michael Byrne
17/ 3/2006

SHARON Jones has been made Rochdale's first woman dean.

It will be one of two new roles for the 46-year-old mother of two, who is also taking on the role of priest in charge at St Andrew's CE Church, Dearnley.

She comes to Rochdale after spending 12 years as a prison chaplain, most recently at Forest Bank Prison, Salford.

She said: "I really enjoyed working in the prisons, but that chapter has come to an end and I am looking forward to working at St Andrew's.

"This is a great parish, very active and people here welcome others no matter what their background is. The church is part of the community, which is essential otherwise the church is just a building.

"I'm looking forward to working in a community setting and working with people in their everyday lives."

Mrs Jones hails from Birmingham and was a deacon in the city for many years before moving to Durham to study.

She has also been a missionary in Kenya and was ordained in 1994.

In her role as Dean of Rochdale, Mrs Jones will be working alongside the new Archdeacon, the Rev Mark Davies, who officially takes on his new role in a ceremony at Manchester Cathedral tomorrow (Sun).

She will be responsible for the pastoral care of the local clergy at 28 churches across Rochdale.

She said: "I am very excited by the role of dean.

"I have been lucky enough to work with a lot of gifted priests over the years, and it's very humbling to see so many people dedicated to their communities."