ON Sunday, January 25, 150 people gathered at St Andrews Church, Poolbrook, Malvern, to celebrate the formation of the new Chase Team Ministry in Malvern.
The team is made up of the parishes of St Andrew, All Saints and St Marys Pickersleigh, the last of which is a new parish created last year from part of the Christchurch parish.
St Andrews parish has also been enlarged to incorporate the estate enclosed by Eston Avenue and Bellars Lane.
At the service, churchwardens from the three parishes presented a brief history of each church.
The Venerable Nikki Groake, Archdeacon of Dudley, preached the sermon, and the Venerable Robert Jones, Archdeacon of Worcester, licensed the lay readers of the new team, who include Peter Buchanan, Derham Cook, Judith Keene, Andy Noble, Rosemary Tostevin and Heather Williamson.
The new parish's vicar, Rev Lynne Sparkes, had been licensed in Worcester the previous Wednesday. Following the service, a bring-and-share tea was enjoyed by all in St Andrews church hall.
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