THE Rt Rev Ruth Worsley was officially installed as the Bishop of Taunton on Saturday, October 3, when hundreds travelled to Wells Cathedral for the special service and to greet and welcome her to the Diocese of Bath & Wells.

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During the service Bishop Ruth was presented with her pastoral staff by Phoebe Lang, a student at the Blue School, Wells, and was placed in her seat in the cathedral and by members of the Chapter.

Her first episcopal duties as Bishop of Taunton were to admit and license nine people into the office of Reader and welcome a further two into the diocese.

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Bishop Ruth addressed the newly licensed Readers and congregation and delivered her first sermon as a Bishop.

She said: “Ministry is not about setting ourselves up as people of power, to make judgements of others, or as leaders to whom folk will be drawn. But rather to be messengers of the good news of Jesus.

"To point towards Christ whom we follow and who loves each of us. Whatever we have done. Whoever we are.

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“We can never hear too often the famous dictum attributed to St Francis: ‘Preach the gospel at all times and use words if you must’.

"By the way we live, through the things that we do and by the people we are, we are called to make God visible in the world he has created.”

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Speaking before the event, the Bishop of Bath & Wells, the Rt Rev Peter Hancock said: “Whether licensed as a lay minister or consecrated as a bishop, the 12 people who are the focus of this service have one thing in common - they have each heard God’s voice, beckoning them into the adventure of ministry.”

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PHOTOS: Diocese of Bath & Wells.