A new pioneering priest has been licensed to the Dyffryn Clwyd Mission Area.

Revd Luke Bristowe joined the team of ordained and lay ministers for Ruthin and its surrounding communities with particular responsibility for developing new connections with the Christian faith and new expressions of Christian community.

Luke was licensed as a new priest at a service of welcome conducted by Bishop Gregory Cameron and Archdeacon Andy Grimwood at St Peter’s Church in Ruthin yesterday (Sunday 16 April) at 1530hr.

Luke spent eight years serving in a church in Canterbury, trained for ordination for three years in Bristol at Trinity College before moving to Wrexham to join the team planting Hope Street Church in the city centre.  For the past year, Luke has been finishing his curacy in the wider Wrexham Mission Area at St Mark’s and St Margaret’s churches.

‘I am delighted to welcome Luke and his family to this key role in the life of Dyffryn Clwyd’, said Bishop Gregory. ‘Luke is a young and enthusiastic priest and will bring a vibrant contribution to the ministry team in the mission area’.

Luke is married to Bex and they have five children between the ages of three and eight.   As a family, they enjoy being active and outside as much as they can, including camping, hiking, paddle boarding, and canoeing.  One of their greatest achievements to date is getting the children and the dog to the top of Snowdon and back, with minimal tears!  When the Bristowes aren’t adventuring, they spend slower weekends walking the dog, baking a cake together, or scouring a charity shop for a pre-loved new toy.

‘I am enormously excited and incredibly humbled at the prospect of serving in Dyffryn Clwyd Mission Area’, said Luke Bristowe.  ‘The rich heritage of faith and prayer in the area brings a sense of ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’ and I hope to play my part in the next season of the life of the church.’