Manchester City Chaplain to be consecrated Bishop of Sherwood

Tony Porter (53), has a wide range of experience of working in tough urban areas and currently leads a congregation of between 6-700 at his church in Manchester's Moss Side. Sport has been a major part of his life, having played hockey for England, and for the past 10 years he has been chaplain to Manchester City Football club, where player and staff say he will be sorely missed.
 

Former Nottingham Forest player and now manager at City, Stuart Pearce,said: "It's been an absolute pleasure having Tony as chaplain. People come to him when they've got a problem because he's always around. He is low key, he doesn't impose himself, he is there if you need him, if you don't it's OK. He could be the best signing Nottingham have made for a number of years!"

 

Tony will be the first Anglican Bishop actually to live in Nottingham for 121 years and has a particular brief to focus on how the church can play a significant role in the city of Nottingham. Commenting on his future role as the Bishop of Sherwood, Tony said: "I am looking forward to encouraging people in frontline Christian ministry, particularly in the urban scene. I have enormous respect for them, but I know what it's like. I understand the rough bits and I know the exciting bits as well. I am also looking forward to working with Bishop George."
 

Hundreds of church members and clergy are expected to attend the special service next month in York, marking Tony's official start in ministry as a bishop. The York service will be followed by a special local service of welcome the next day on Wednesday 22nd at 6.30pm at St Mary's Church in Nottingham's Lace Market, when he will be officially welcomed into the city. On Friday, March 24th, at 6pm the new bishop will be installed at Southwell Minster - the cathedral of the diocese.
 

Tony studied English at Hertford College, Oxford. Before beginning university, he was picked to represent his country in hockey on the England Schoolboys team in 1971. That year the team won the British Home Championships. Tony says: "The greatest thrill of my life by a mile was playing for England. There is nothing like putting an England shirt on your back and I loved every minute of it."
 

During his time at Oxford, when he continued to play hockey for the university, winning a blue against Cambridge, he met his future wife, Lucille. Lucille was studying Physics. Tony claims they make a perfect match as she fixes the computer and does the DIY, while he talks about it.
 

Following a serious leg injury through hockey, Tony was put in touch with the university Christian Union which he cites as a personal turning point and instrumental in his own conversion to Christianity. From Oxford he went on to study theology at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. His first curacy was in Edgware, North London where he and his wife enjoyed their work with teenagers. He then became a curate at St Mary's Haughton Green in Manchester Diocese, where his particular brief was to encourage men to come to faith from the nearby council estate. In 1983 he moved to be priest-in-charge at Christ Church, Bacup, on the edge of Manchester, which included an area of very high unemployment, where the church was threatened with closure. Leaving the church at Bacup with a larger congregation, in 1991, he became Rector of Holy Trinity Rusholme, also in Manchester and on the edge of Moss Side.
 

Apart from his years of parish experience, Tony has also written a number of books, including one called 'Superjack' - a story about a professional footballer, which he describes as 'a parable on Jesus in sporty language.' As a former sportsman, he has been very actively involved in the organisations to support Christians in the sporting world, and was Chairman of "Christians in Sport". He believes sport is a great leveller, involving people from all backgrounds and ethnic mixes without prejudice. Tony says the skills he learnt as an athlete influence the way he operates in Christian ministry. His commitment to be with people wherever they are in the world shows in his work in chaplaincy.

Tony has spent almost 10 years as chaplain to Manchester City, where he has formed strong friendships with many of the players. The Club manager, former Nottingham Forest player, Stuart Pearce, is also a good personal friend. He has also been chaplain to Greater Manchester Police for 8 years. Talking about his work with the police he said: "It is very easy to criticize the police and very few people stand by them at difficult times. I sometimes go out on patrol with the police on a Friday night and I can see first hand what kind of pressure they are under."