Hundreds of people from Coventry and Warwickshire gathered in Coventry Cathedral on Saturday to welcome the Right Reverend Sophie Jelley as the tenth Bishop of Coventry.
The cathedral service marked the beginning of Bishop Sophie’s public ministry in the Diocese of Coventry and was the first time she delivered a sermon at a service in the cathedral as Bishop of Coventry.
The service began with a combined Coventry school choir of children singing. Next a procession of Clergy, Readers and visiting Bishops moved down the nave, followed by a civic procession which included the Mayors of Warwick, Whitnash and Stratford-upon-Avon, the Lord Mayor of Coventry and the Lord Lieutenant for the West Midlands. Lastly the new Bishop and her procession proceeded from the Ruins, via the Queen’s Steps, to the West Screen.
Bishop Sophie stood at the entrance to the cathedral whilst two young people, one from Barrs Hill School and another from Bluecoat CofE School asked her who she was and why she has come. She answered “I am Sophie, a servant of Christ, called to be a bishop in the Church of God. I come in faith and obedience, to share in the life of this diocese and to walk with the people of God in this place.”
Photo taken by Caleb Irvine, aged 10.
During the service, Bishop Sophie was presented with the Diocesan crozier as well as some gifts symbolising Coventry and Warwickshire such as goose quill from Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare and a model car symbolising Coventry’s engineering legacy and its ongoing spirit of innovation.
In her inaugural sermon, Bishop Sophie held a brick made from Coventry Demolition Company which specialises in taking broken things and repurposing them into something new. She talked about Coventry’s unique purpose of reconciliation, of taking broken things and making them anew. She said, “please don’t ever think that your life has to be presentable before you can join in or offer God your humble life, for just like this brick he specialises in taking the broken pieces of life and making them into something truly beautiful.”
She also highlighted that she is keen to get to know the diocese and will be visiting each deanery for a full day in the coming months. She said that each person in the diocese “matters to God and matters to me as your bishop.”
She concluded her sermon with an invitation for those who do not yet currently know God to invite him in: “might you have wondered about the possibility of God’s presence in your own life. If that is you, perhaps even for the first time can I encourage you to act on it maybe after all this is done in quietness of home, your nearest church or find someone to ask about it before you leave – there are a fair few options here. It need not be complicated, and you won’t be the first to say – if you’re real, please show me.”
At the conclusion of the service, there was gelato from Mirabelle, the vintage gelato van stationed in the Cathedral Ruins, served and a jazz band played as people from across the diocese celebrated together.
Reflecting on the day, Bishop Sophie said:
“It was a great delight to begin public ministry as your new bishop on Saturday. Thank you for your warm welcome and the wealth of kindness you have shown. The service of installation was a truly memorable occasion with a strong sense of the presence of God. It was, for me, a real confirmation of the call I received to join you here.
I would especially thank those who played any part in that day and was only sorry not to be able to speak to all who attended more personally. Friends, family and colleagues have commented on the openhearted friendliness they received, and I was humbled by the presence of all ages, lay and ordained from every part of our Diocese.
Now we have been equipped by the Spirit at Pentecost – the adventure begins! I so look forward to meeting you.”