Bishop named as diocese faces amalgamation

The Rt Revd Nick Baines, who is currently Bishop of Croydon, will be the 10th Bishop of Bradford, following the retirement of the Rt Revd David James earlier this year.

Under proposals published last week by the Dioceses Commission the three existing dioceses of Bradford, Ripon and Leeds and Wakefield would be dissolved and a new larger diocese created.

Bishop Baines is undeterred by the possibility that his new role of diocesan bishop could be replaced by the lower paid position of area bishop in several years time as part of the proposed shake-up.

He said: "It is not about me. If my job gets re-shaped or disappears in three years time, that's OK. I have not come to build a career, I have come to serve the people here. The Dioceses Commission report was the first word, it's not the last word. We do not know what the last word will be."

The 53-year-old University of Bradford graduate said he is looking forward to working with and serving the churches and communities of the culturally diverse diocese.

A keen blogger, the cleric hit the headlines last year when he wrote a book – Why Wish You A Merry Christmas? – in which he questioned the words of some carols.

He insisted the book was about "bigging up" Christmas and was a light-hearted attempt to persuade people to think more about the original nativity story, which he fears has become confused with pantomime.

Responding then, Bishop Baines said: "I want people to get out there and enjoy themselves and sing carols, I'm not saying anything against that. But what I do want also is for them to think more about what they are saying and doing and reconnect with the original Christmas story."

Born in Liverpool, the experienced broadcaster and writer has contributed regularly to Radio 2's Pause for Thought for more than a decade and is a familiar voice on the Chris Evans' Breakfast Show. His blog, Musings of a Restless Bishop, has about 10,000 readers each week.

Bishop Baines yesterday met faith leaders and civic dignitaries in Bradford before travelling to Skipton.

He said: "Urban and rural communities face different challenges and I look forward to getting to know the whole diocese as quickly as possible. The rural areas often get forgotten. It's more expensive to live in rural areas and transport has gone down the pan in many areas. Access to services and resources can be more difficult for the rural areas because of transport, sometimes even mains gas. It's fairly basic but it gets forgotten because often the urban challenges are so in your face. There are not just challenges, there are fantastic opportunities. I am really up for the challenge."

Before his ordination the bishop worked for four years at GCHQ as a Russian linguist.