Hot on the heels of the Christmas and New Year services the Parish of Mickleham and Westhumble gathered with friends from Leatherhead Church and the wider church community to celebrate with David and Jane Ireland and many of their friends the beginning of David’s ‘legitimate’ ministry in the parish and his licensing by the Bishop of Dorking, The Right Reverend Ian Brackley.

The church was full and the service, catering to all tastes, was a mixture of the formal, the legal and the friendly. The 18-strong choir led the procession of clergy and Bishop Ian.

The service began with the gathering, the greeting and introduction and the preparation, followed by a sermon by Bishop Ian on the theme of Wise Men, Epiphany and Christian welcome.

David Ireland was then presented to the bishop by Canon David Eaton and formally installed as parish priest in Mickleham and Westhumble. The declaration and oaths were signed, completing the legal and formal proceedings and after our new parish priest led us all in prayer there began a friendly procession of welcoming representatives including the Rural Dean, Sir Paul Beresford MP and Cllr Bridget Lewis Chairman of Mole Valley District Council, Lay Chairman Mrs Joyce Gordon and the head teachers of both Box Hill and St Michael’s.