Children and young people at the heart of ‘magical’ city cathedral service as new Bishop of Portsmouth formally welcomed to diocese

Around 500 churchgoers, civic dignitaries, community representatives, and guests packed out the city’s cathedral yesterday as the Rt Rev Jonathan Frost was formally installed in the role.

Succeeding the Rt Rev Christopher Foster, Bishop Jonathan will lead the Church of England’s Diocese of Portsmouth, which covers 133 parishes across south-east Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Bishop Jonathan had chosen children and young people to play major roles throughout the service.

Young singers from Portsmouth Cathedral Choir, the Choir Church project, and the Cathedral Sing school workshops sang beforehand and throughout.

Christina Barnard and Areen Saeed, Charter Academy students, accompanied the new bishop in and out of the cathedral.

Christina, 15, read a responsive psalm, and Areen, 14, spoke the words reminding Bishop Jonathan that he was first and foremost a child of God.

Christina said that it was a ‘magical’ service, and added: ‘It was really spiritually overwhelming and so special.

‘It was such an important day, and it was great to be able to talk to Bishop Jonathan beforehand and to tell him that this was the Lord's day, and we should rejoice in it.

‘I was so happy and honoured to experience this beside him.’

Areen was a last-minute replacement for head boy Oren Campbell who had tested positive for Covid.

He said: ‘This has been the biggest honour of my life. It is a once-in-a-lifetime thing to be involved.

‘I feel sorry for Oren, but it felt like a gift from God that I was able to take over.

‘I've never felt as spiritual in my life, and God was guiding us through this ceremony.’

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Bishop Jonathan’s responsibilities include prayer and spirituality, evangelism, discipleship, and working alongside others to tackle poverty.

At the service, the new bishop used the gospel reading of Jesus feeding the 5,000 with five loaves and two fish as the text of his sermon.

He said: ‘The disciple Andrew felt overwhelmed by the task of feeding these people - he had a huge need in front of him.

‘There is an ocean of need in front of us too.

‘It is easy to feel overwhelmed when we pray for the people of Ukraine; when we look at the poverty - even in our city - that stifles opportunity and snatches life from so many; when we look at the plight of our planet.

‘But the unnamed boy in this story returns us to the 'Kingdom of God perspective'.

‘He is close enough to Jesus to respond when his moment comes.

‘He trusted Jesus enough to give all he had, without embarrassment, without shame, in the simplicity of trust - and 5,000 were fed.

‘As adults, we can often see the scale of the problem, the lack of resources or that there's not enough time, energy or faith.

‘This boy tells us to offer what we can: take the next step of faith and trust, and discover what this genius, this beauty, this radiance can do in our midst.

‘This is a call in which we go together, in prayer, in courage, in bold acts of loving service.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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