Categories News Consecration & Installation of Bishop Dale Bowers of St Helena Post date 16th November 2018 Reporting and photos: Sharon and Darrin Henry of ‘What The Saints Did Next’ History was made on Sunday 11th November with the consecration and enthronement of Dale Bowers as the 16th Bishop of the island of St Helena. See full report below the slideshow… IMG_2637 PS Edit 3000 Archbishop Makgoba presided at the consecration. IMG_3098 PS Edit 3000 IMG_2733 PS Edit 3000 IMG_2796 PS Edit 3000 IMG_2831 PS Edit 3000 IMG_2842 PS Edit 3000 IMG_2852 PS Edit 3000 IMG_2890 PS Edit 3000 IMG_3052 PS Edit 3000 IMG_3166 PS Edit 3000 IMG_3190 PS Edit 3000 IMG_3191 PS Edit 3000 IMG_3211 PS Edit 3000 History was made on Sunday 11th November with the consecration and enthronement of Dale Bowers as the 16th Bishop of the island of St Helena. Dale is the second island-born bishop and it is believed this was the first consecration of a bishop on the island. The ceremony took place at St Paul’s Cathedral and was led by the Most Revd Dr Thabo Cecil Makgoba, visiting Archbishop and Metropolitan of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. It was a colourful, memorable and for some, an emotional occasion that was broadcast live via radio to reach beyond the estimated congregation of 300. Bishop Dale’s sons, Jacob and Luke, attended the ceremony as acolytes and his wife Penny stood proudly at the front. Accompanying Archbishop Thabo were the Rt Revd Stephen Molopi Diseko, Dean of the Province and Bishop of Matlosane, and the Rt Revd Allan John Kannemeyer, Bishop of Pretoria, along with the Revd Mcebisi Pinyana, the Archbishop’s chaplain, who all flew in from Johannesburg the previous day. Once the consecration section of the service was done, Bishop Dale and the Procession left the cathedral via the vestry, and – following tradition for the enthronement – pounded his staff three times on the west door to request permission to enter the cathedral. He was welcomed inside by Sylvia Ivy Ellick, Registrar of the Diocese of St Helena. He then swore, ‘to respect, maintain, and defend the rights, privileges and liberties of this Diocese and to rule it with truth, justice and love, not lording it over God’s heritage, but showing myself in all things an example to the flock of Christ.’ In an uplifting sermon Archbishop Thabo paid tribute to the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. Partway through the service he spoke in four languages representative of the different provinces. Bishop Dale previously served as vicar of the Jamestown Parish. He replaces Bishop Richard Fenwick who retired in May this year. The Diocese of St Helena was founded in 1859 and is the 4th oldest diocese of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. ← Enriching our celebration of Advent by Andy Kruger → Collects – Year C 2019 2 replies on “Consecration & Installation of Bishop Dale Bowers of St Helena” Congratulations to Bishop Dale and to all Saints for one more small step showing that indeed you can hold all positions of responsibility on your Island. Religion has lost favour in many countries, none more so that Ireland, Australia and the UK where established institutions have housed perpetrators of abuse. Yet despite that it still forms the moral base of a healthy society especially where led by known exemplary leaders. Bishop Dale is of course known by his flock as “boy and man”. Congratulations dear Dale Alan Colyer here the former Vicsar of St THOMAS Moonee Ponds do you remember worshipping with us for those many weeks when you were on long service. Be assured of my prayers and I hope to come and visit you as soon as I can. Blessings Alan Leave a Reply Cancel replyComments are moderated and may take a few days to appear. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Email * Website Δ
Congratulations to Bishop Dale and to all Saints for one more small step showing that indeed you can hold all positions of responsibility on your Island. Religion has lost favour in many countries, none more so that Ireland, Australia and the UK where established institutions have housed perpetrators of abuse. Yet despite that it still forms the moral base of a healthy society especially where led by known exemplary leaders. Bishop Dale is of course known by his flock as “boy and man”.
Congratulations dear Dale Alan Colyer here the former Vicsar of St THOMAS Moonee Ponds do you remember worshipping with us for those many weeks when you were on long service. Be assured of my prayers and I hope to come and visit you as soon as I can. Blessings Alan
