Revd Camilla becomes parish's first female vicar – 17 years after women were shunned

A PRIEST has bucked the trend by becoming a parish group’s first female vicar – two decades after it shunned women from its vacancy.

Revd Camilla Campling-Denton took up the post with the Stanwick Group of Churches this autumn, taking charge of Aldbrough St John, Forcett and Melsonby parishes.

The group rose to notoriety in 2000 when they said it would not be prepared to accept a woman priest.

But the mother-of-three, who lives in Aldbrough, said she had received a warm welcome thus far.

Mrs Campling-Denton said: “It’s not been an issue since I’ve been here to be honest.

“If anybody has any reservations about a woman priest nobody has even hinted at it.

“People have been generous and welcoming. In a lot of churches it takes a lot of time for people to get their head around the different style of ministry we bring – that’s not to say we’re all have the same style though.”

Mrs Campling-Denton was a full time rector in Knaresborough but found juggling being a full time priest with three children was becoming unsustainable.

“I was finding it really hard – partly because you do not get evenings to yourself and your family,” she added.

So she asked the Archdeacon if there were any part time positions available and landed a spot in Aldbrough St John. Her husband, Chris Denton, is an organist at St Mary’s Church, in Richmond, and also plays at St Mary’s Catholic Church, in Barnard Castle, from time to time.

The Stanwick group brushes the edge of Teesdale. It used to have one foot firmly planted in dale territory before Caldwell Chapel closed last year.

Progress is being made at St James’ the Great Church at Melsonby where a renovation project is taking root to make it a space for the whole community.

A similar scheme has come to fruition at St Cuthbert’s, in Etherley, and Mrs Campling-Denton said she wanted to work to make a welcoming space as the benefice.

“I would like to build a relationship with the community and for people to really feel ownership of their church,” she added.

“And, vice-versa, the church has to be active in the community – it’s not something I can do alone, it’s something we need to do as a whole.

“We want to build up all ages. We are not going to get families coming in from nowhere – we have to start with the big services.”

The reverend was also keen to stress the importance of getting out and visiting people.

She added: “One thing I think was very important historically was taking care of elderly or lonely people.

“It used to be a traditional role we had but with fewer and fewer ordained people visiting it can get missed.

“You cannot keep an eye on everybody but as a whole we need to be there for people to make sure they aren’t lonely and receive communion at home.”