The next Bishop of Burnley was announced today as Rev. Dr Joe Kennedy at a special gathering which took place at Burnley Faith Centre. 

Joe succeeds Bishop Philip himself, who was his immediate predecessor as Bishop of Burnley.

See further coverage here. 

Below you can read the full text of Rev. Dr Joe Kennedy's speech after Bishop Philip's introduction. 

• Joe will also be introduced to parishes and schools across Lancashire via a livestreamed interview available here via the Cathedral’s YouTube channel from 11.30am with formal proceedings beginning at 11.45am.
• Other coverage will be available on the Diocesan Twitter/X and Facebook pages as well as on the Board of Education social channels. See top right of this page for all the links you need for the DBE socials. 
• In addition, bespoke video messages from the Bishop of Burnley-designate for the Diocese will be added to our social channels at 1pm (for parishes) and 2pm (for schools). More pictures will also be available to view soon in an album on our Diocesan flickr page.
• Finally, clergy, lay leaders, other office-holders and anyone else in our parishes who subscribes to our popular 'Parish Update' ebulletin will receive a special edition wrapping up the day's events late afternoon/early evening of March 22. Look out for it and subscribe here if you don't get it already but you want to receive it. 

Bishop Philip North introduces the next Bishop of Burnley

Thank you so much for being here today.

A bishop is a leader not just in church but in society. So the task of appointing a new bishop is quite rightly challenging, exhaustive and exhausting.

Fortunately, in this appointment process, I was served by an outstanding team of advisers. These included clergy and lay leaders representing every tradition; two extremely articulate teenagers and community representatives including the leader of Burnley Borough Council.

It was powerfully moving to witness such a diverse group reaching such a clear, common mind. We had the most powerful sense of God working amongst us and guiding our actions.

I am therefore delighted to be able to announce that the next Bishop of Burnley will be the Rev. Dr Joseph Kennedy.

Joe is currently serving as Vicar of Oxton and Rural Dean of Birkenhead in the Diocese of Chester. He is married to Emily and they have two school-age children. He will bring to the Diocese a profound faith in Jesus Christ, a passion for revitalising parish life, a keen intellect and a deep love for God’s people. 

He is also extremely good and engaging company. I am overjoyed that Joe is to be a part of the team that has the privilege of leading the Diocese of Blackburn and can’t wait to start working with him.

Please can I ask you then to welcome the next Bishop of Burnley, Joe Kennedy.

Rev. Dr Joe Kennedy; speech at Burnley Faith Centre

Thank you, Bishop Philip. It’s fantastic to be with you here at Burnley Faith Centre, and thank you to each one of you for giving time to be here today.

I am delighted and humbled to be announced today as the next Bishop of Burnley, and to be joining Bishop Philip’s team later in the year. My family are thrilled to be coming here to Lancashire and to the Diocese of Blackburn.

We’ve spent the last thirteen years living in the North West, on the Wirral Peninsula. Our two children have lived here all their lives – and so we’re delighted to be staying in the North West. But we’re new to Lancashire, and so we’re very much looking forward to getting to know the county and to getting to know you in the years ahead.

As I prepare to begin to serve you in this new ministry later in the year, I am very conscious that it is such an honour to be coming here to Burnley. I am full of admiration for the town’s proud history, and for the ways it is meeting the challenges of the present and building its future through regeneration and partnership.

Britain’s friendliest town, where so much is being done to celebrate diversity. And the home of Burnley Savings and Loans – Bank of Dave – what an astonishing story of vision and enterprise, which says so much about the town’s spirit.

It is good to see civic and interfaith leaders here today, and I am looking forward to getting to know you and to learning more about the work you are doing to build social capital and social cohesion, and to join you in that work and in continuing to build bridges in Burnley.

Across Lancashire, and across the Diocese of Blackburn, there is such a rich variety of experience: urban and rural areas and their parishes, post-industrial towns and coastal regions, schools and chaplaincies, and the diversity of traditions in the Church of England – different ways of worshipping, of serving communities and seeing things.

Isn’t it beautiful that God blesses his church, and invites us to be a blessing for others, in so many different ways? My prayer and my commitment, as I look to the future, is for our mutual flourishing across the diocese.

In these past weeks since Bishop Philip invited me to take up this post, there has been a special place in my prayers for the southern part of the diocese, where Bishop Philip has asked me to have a particular focus in my pastoral ministry.

My heart sings too as I anticipate the opportunity to begin to work with colleagues across the whole diocese as we continue to implement Vision 2026 and as we look to the future together – supporting healthy churches, transforming communities.

As part of that, I am delighted that Bishop Philip has asked me to oversee the Being Witnesses team, and I am looking forward to working closely with Joy Rushton, the diocese’s Being Witnesses Manager. It is a huge privilege to follow Bishop Jill in picking up this brief.

In so many communities across Lancashire, we can see Christians sharing the Gospel with confidence and enabling human flourishing through social action. And it’s so encouraging to see also, and as part of this, new ventures in urban areas; in strategic church plants, and in hundreds of new local congregations; and so much good work too in caring for God’s creation, and in parish renewal.

As I look to the future, my hope is that I will offer you a ministry which is confident in God, rooted in prayer, focused on pastoral care and on mission; and which offers a focus for unity across the diocese.

But much more deeply, my hope is that united together, across the diocese and in a rich variety of ways, we shall give ourselves ever more fully to coming to Christ and drawing others to Christ. These are transformational tasks, and for me personally they sum up what Vision 2026 is about. Making disciples, being witnesses, growing leaders, inspiring children and young people. They are all about coming to Christ and bringing others to Christ. It is in Christ’s company, in sharing his life, that we shall find light and life. It is in his company that we shall be able to share life with others.