THE Revd Christopher Sims sees his new role as Archdeacon of Walsall as being a combination of that of a search engine, work engine and fire engine.
Speaking shortly after the announcement, he said: ‘A search engine is being somebody to whom you can come for advice and information; a work engine is somebody who just has to knuckle down and make things happen in the life of the churches; and a fire engine occasionally goes along to help sort things out in difficult situations when things aren’t working as well as they ought to.’
But rather than being daunted by the perceived demands of the job, he is looking forward to returning to the West Midlands, having being ordained at Birmingham Cathedral in 1977.
‘In some ways coming back to Walsall is like turning a complete circle because I started off my ministry just over 30 years ago in Birmingham,’ said Chris. ‘After ordination I started work as a curate in Walmley, near Sutton Coldfield, which is literally just down the road from Walsall.
‘At one level I shall be very sorry to be moving on from Shrewsbury and from Shropshire. It’s a beautiful town; it’s a lovely county and the people are absolutely delightful.
‘But on the other hand I am very excited about the challenges and the opportunities that lie ahead of us. So I’m looking forward to going to Walsall and getting to know people of the West Midlands because I remember them as being very warm hearted and welcoming.’
However, when it comes to his favourite hobby, football fan Chris has a dilemma – who to support with Wolves, West Brom and Walsall football clubs all in the Walsall Archdeaconry.
‘I’m going to be spoilt for choice with the three W’s in the area. Of course, I’d like to spread my favours amongst all of them, but I don’t think I’m going to have the time. So I’ll start nearest to home, and go and support Walsall and then see where we go from there,’ he concluded.
Chris was appointed vicar of Shrewsbury Abbey and Saint Peter’s Church, Monkmoor in 2003, and is currently the Rural Dean of Shrewsbury and Chaplain to Shrewsbury Town FC. He is married to Catherine, and the couple have three grown up boys, Thomas, David and Andrew.