Presiding Bishop

The Rt. Rev. Dominic Stockford.

Assistant Bishop

The Rt. Rev. Arthur Bentley Taylor

General Secretary

The Rev. Michael John Smithson

Last week at a special Convocation of the Free Church of England Evangelical Connexion,to which Emmanuel Farnham belongs a new Bishop was elected to take the place of Bishop Arthur Bentley Taylor. The Bishop Elect is the Rev. Dominic Stockford minister of Christ Church Teddington.

A former Roman Catholic Priest,being born into a Roman Catholic family, Dominic did not find God in the Roman Church. Eventually after working in the Cathedral and then in a small parish in Plymouth, he left the Church. Getting into trouble led him into contact with a number of converted Christians and he began to attend churches where the Word of God was preached faithfully. Discussions with a former fellow student in Social Work led Dominic to realise the serious errors in Romanism. Her brothers ministry at a Holiday Club service brought Dominic to repentance for his sins and commitment to Jesus Christ. The song he sung the next week in a church in Exeter was one we sang at Convocation following his election as bishop:

Such love, pure as the whitest snow, Such love weeps for the shame I know, Such love, paying the debt I owe,

O Jesus, such love! Congratulations to Dominic on his election, and to the Evangelical Connexion for a convicted, clear man of God, who describes his present ministry in these terms:

I am a minister of the Gospel in a small, re- formed, liturgical and most importantly, a 'faithful to the Bible' congregation. I preach and teach the Gospel as the sole source of faith and practice for Christians. I endeavour to help oth- ers understand that only by God's grace can we receive salvation, and that, thanks to his grace, we are cleansed by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. The Lord has blessed me,. I know Jesus Christ is my Saviour. I repented of my sins and now rest in his mercy.

Dominic is also an official referee of the Football Association -no doubt that experience will be of benefit in his role as Bishop in the Evangelical Connexion!

The role of Bishop is not an easy one and our warmest gratitude is to be expressed to Bishop Arthur Bentley- Taylor for his service as Bishop - in the Free Church of England and the Evangelical Connexion, which has involved times of great trial.

From Emmanuel Monthly. The Magazine of Emmanuel Farnham.

Editor Michael John Smithson