Spreading the word via mp3

Bishop Stock's podcast looks at knocking down barriers in Suffolk

A message of peace and goodwill via podcast has been created by Suffolk's new bishop.

The Right Reverend Nigel Stock was enthroned as the 10th Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich in November.

As he begins his new role, Bishop Stock is using modern approaches to entice the community into and spread the word of the modern day Church of England.

On his appointment, he introduced himself to parishioners via a series of four podcasts, saying his "first mission is to look, to listen, to learn, to take onboard what is characteristic about this diocese".

The 57-year-old replaced the Rt Rev Richard Lewis, who announced his retirement last year.

'A complicated task'

Bishop Stock, who was born and raised in Newcastle, has had a varied church career spanning 22 years, including five in Papua New Guinea.

Suffolk has a strong identity, Bishop Stock has said, and he wants to uncover what makes the county unique.

The 57-year-old introduced himself to parishioners via podcast

"Nobody wants someone coming in to tell them what to do before they have begun to understand what a place is like and how it ticks," he said.

Churchgoer numbers have been dwindling over recent years and the new bishop wants to see them increase, a challenge for Suffolk's 140 parish priests whom he said are "expected to carry out one of the most complicated tasks in today's world".

"I would be very reluctant to see numbers fall any further than we have at the moment, and indeed I'd really rather like to see them grow."

One month into his role, Bishop Stock has delivered his first Christmas message - as an mp3 podcast.

Over the past year, he said that "faith has been increasingly seen as a division amongst the community".

"Walls of fear are emerging because of people of different faiths and beliefs," the bishop said in his podcast.

"I believe they are sources of coherence, and the Christian faith, above all, brings hope to many."

The bishop said he hopes in the coming year it will be bridges that are being built to the local community.