On Saturday 3 July, Bishop James will formally say goodbye to the Diocese at a Service of Farewell and Thanksgiving which will take place at Rochester Cathedral.
Due to ongoing Covid restrictions, attendance at the service has been significantly reduced and entrance is on a ticket-only basis.
However, churches and people from across the area of the Diocese are invited to share in a livestream of the service which will be hosted on the Diocese of Rochester Facebook page and which will go live at 2.30pm.
View a service sheet for the service here
During the service, a series of reflections will be offered by contributors, highlighting areas that have held particular significance for Bishop James over his 40 years of ministry and in his 10 years as the Bishop of Rochester.
These include: community engagement and chaplaincy, diversity, lay ministry, vocations, and the Diocese's overseas links which include the Anglican dioceses of Harare, and Mpwapwa and Kondoa in Tanzania.
In a moment of high symbolism, Bishop James will formally hand over his crozier ( a staff symbolic to the office of a bishop), mitre (the hat worn by a bishop), and cope (often a decorative cape) to the Bishop of Tonbridge.
As a sign that his retirement is just a new phase of his journey of faith, the Dean of the Cathedral will present Bishop James with a specially designed and crafted pilgrim's staff.
The pilgrim’s staff is fashioned from rosewood, pruned from a rose near the Bishop’s Gate in the Cathedral’s Cloister Garth.
Bishop James announced his retirement in October last year.
He has served in his role as the Diocesan Bishop of Rochester for 10 years, during which time he has taken on significant national portfolios such as Bishop to Her Majesty’s Prisons and as a Lords Spiritual, speaking in the House of Lords particularly on issues such as homelessness and criminal justice.
Within the Church of England, he has played a key role in some of the defining issues within the life of the Church, including chairing the committee which brought forward the legislation enabling women to be ordained as bishops, and leading an initiative working to increase Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic representation in senior leadership in the Church of England.
Reflecting on his time in the Diocese, Bishop James says:
“I have been so pleased to be here and to have been part of the life and story of the Church within this Diocese, its mission and its Christian presence. I’ve hugely valued being able to be on the ground in our parishes, with our chaplains, in our mission initiatives, and not least with some of our community engagement.
“One of the highlights for me has been to see all those individuals who have responded to God’s calling, whether through confirmation, or conversion, or in ordination or lay ministry in its many forms. To see people on a journey of discipleship is the most important thing of all and I’ve been really grateful to be part of that.”
The process to find the next Bishop of Rochester is currently underway.
Called the Vacancy in See process, it is hoped that new Bishop of Rochester will be appointed in 2022.