Ceremony details revealed for installation of the new Bishop of Derby

The new Bishop of Derby, who began her ministry in the county’s northern reaches, is to be officially installed at a ceremony next weekend.

The Right Reverend Libby Lane will be installed as the eighth Bishop of Derby in a service in Derby Cathedral at 2.30pm on Saturday, May 25.

Derby Cathedral’s Canon for Liturgy, the Rev Richard Andrews, said: “This will be a wonderfully joyous occasion of celebration and prayer.

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“But it is also a time for both Bishop Libby and the whole diocese to renew their commitment as we inaugurate a new phase of ministry in the Diocese of Derby.”

It will represent a Derbyshire homecoming for Libby, who was previously Suffragan Bishop of Stockport, in the Diocese of Chester.

Having grown up in Glossop, Libby was first selected for ordination while working in the parish of St Thomas at Brampton in Chesterfield.

She said: “Derbyshire nurtured me and brought me to faith and I want to love Derbyshire back. I want to lead a church where people find hope because they know they are loved by God in Christ.”

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Friends and family, including Libby’s husband George and two children, will travel from across the county to take their place in the pews alongside the Lord-Lieutenant and High Sheriff of Derbyshire, the Mayor and Mayoress of Derby, faith leaders, and MPs.

In accordance with tradition, Libby will be anointed with oil, garlanded with flowers, presented with the pastoral staff and vested in the diocesan cope and mitre, before she takes her seat on the cathedra for the first time.

Youth council members and representatives of churches and chaplaincies from across the diocese will have roles in the service and there will be a special signed-only reading from Derby Deaf Church.

Prior to the service, Libby will walk through the city from the train station starting at 1.10pm, accompanied by children from local Church of England schools and celebratory flag bearers.

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She will watch a short performance by the local branch of the National Liturgical Dance Network in the Market Place, before she bangs on the cathedral door three times with her crozier to gain entry.

At the end of the service, she will stand outside the cathedral to publicly bless the city, county, and the Diocese of Derby.

Members of the public are invited to attend the service, and should take their seats by 2pm at the latest.

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