30th July 2018

Change of Board of Finance Chair as Diocese thanks John; welcomes David

The Church of England in Lancashire (Blackburn Diocese) has a new Chair of the Diocesan Board of Finance Ltd.

Handing over - pictured are left to right Bishop Julian Henderson, David Barlow, Canon John Dell and Canon Graeme Pollard.

David Barlow, from Clayton-le-Woods, takes over from Canon John Dell, from Burnley, who has retired after 14 years in the role.

John presented his final set of accounts to the most recent meeting of the Diocesan Synod before Synod members voted to appoint David as his successor.

At Synod, there were warm words of thanks for John from the Bishop of Blackburn, Rt Rev Julian Henderson and also from Bob Collins, Chair of the House of Laity.

Bishop Julian said: "Throughout your time as Chair you have always had faith that God is in charge and caution in your approach, which has given us confidence at all times. I have never felt the need to worry with you at the helm."

Responding, John said: "It has been a privilege and a blessing to serve in this role and I hope I have done some good for the Diocese. I would also like to pay tribute to all my colleagues in the Board of Finance who work hard to ensure we are all heading in the same direction."

The new Chair of the Board of Finance, David Barlow, is a Reader and worships at St John's Parish Church in Whittle-le-Woods.

A qualified accountant, David's career highlights include eight years as Financial Controller for the Archdiocese of Liverpool and 12 years in a variety of financial roles for the Co-operative Bank Ltd.

Speaking after Synod, David said: "It's a tremendous challenge and I'm looking forward to the new role. I am also grateful for all the support I have received already from John and others. I hope to build on his achievements going forward."

Diocesan Secretary, Canon Graeme Pollard, added: "I would like to take this opportunity to thank John for all his hard work over many years. He will be missed by everyone in the Board of Finance.

"At the same time, I warmly welcome David Barlow as John's replacement at what is an exciting time for the Diocese as we move further forward with our Diocesan Vision 2026 Healthy Churches Transforming Communities."

Ronnie Semley
30/07/2018