News The Diocese of St Albans in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Luton & Barnet ‘Faithful and extraordinarily effective’ Archdeacon of Bedford to retire at year end After a ministry spanning 36 years as curate, Revd Christopher Foster. Vicar and Archdeacon, the Venerable Paul The Bishop of St Albans, Dr Alan Smith, Hughes has announced that he will retire speaking about the Archdeacon’s ministry, on 31st December 2018. said: “Paul has been a faithful and During his time as Archdeacon he has extraordinarily effective servant of the served the hundred or so parishes of Diocese of St Albans, where he has spent Bedfordshire as well as acting as a school his entire ordained ministry. Having served Governor and a member of various in Chipping Barnet, Dunstable, Boxmoor and diocesan committees, including the as Archdeacon of Bedford, his ministry has Diocesan Property Committee where both been appreciated both inside and outside of his pastoral instincts and his experience as the church. I know many people will share a Residential Property Surveyor before his my sadness that he is retiring. However, ordination have served the diocese well. I am delighted that he will still be living in Archdeacon Paul is married to the Revd the diocese where he is hoping to exercise Canon Liz Hughes, who is Senior Chaplain to Luton an active retirement ministry. I wish Paul and Liz our best Airport. Liz was first ordained Deaconess in 1983 and wishes for this next stage of their life and ministry.” was one of the first cohort of women to be priested in the Archdeacon Paul said: “I was hugely surprised to be asked Church of England in 1994. by Bishop Christopher Herbert to become Archdeacon of Having lived here before ordination, their family has grown Bedford. up in the Diocese of St Albans. Paul and Liz will continue “It has, however, been a great privilege to serve the very to live in the diocese after retirement and Liz will continue diverse communities of Bedfordshire and Luton for the last in her role at Luton Airport. 15 years. Together with my wife and family, we have been Paul is a long-time listener and contributor to BBC Three made so welcome and in particular, living in Luton has Counties Radio, where he has known many presenters, been a wonderful experience. producers and managers. He encouraged Anthony “I pray that my successor will find this a very rewarding Isaacs amongst others to seek a career in radio. He has ministry, supported as they will be by great colleagues, lay also known the station’s religious producers and had the and ordained alike. privilege of preparing the late Ian Pearce for baptism before a diocesan visit to the Holy Land, where Ian was baptised There will be a farewell service on Saturday 12th in the River Jordan by the then Bishop of Hertford, the Rt January at St Paul’s Bedford at 4pm. All are welcome.” St Albans Woodland Burial Trust is runner- up for 2nd year St Albans Woodland Burial Trust, which provides a woodland burial site for those people and families wishing to be buried in consecrated/protected ground in an environmentally and ecologically sustainable manner, has won significant recognition for the second year runnning. Amongst natural burial grounds in the South East region, it has been awarded runner-up - again! additional acres. As trustees we never thought that this The awards are run by the natural death centre and were would be possible in such a short time. It is a remarkable announced over the summer. achievement which has only been possible because so The St Albans Woodland Burial Trust is located in Keysoe, many people have chosen to come to our woodland for Bedfordshire, and has been running for 11 years. Chair burial or interment of cremated remains. This has enabled of trustees, the Revd Charles Royden, said: “This year us to invest in professional manage- ment which has cut we have not only got on top of our two acres, with the back the brambles which were choking trees and thinned help of our hands on woodland manager Will Saunders, out diseased ash and other weak trees. we have achieved a remarkable transformation of ten www. http://woodlandburialtrust.com/index.php SeeRound Online September 18/7 p4 www.stalbans.anglican.org/news/seeround.