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Reverend's David and Mary Dunn

History made as husband and wife team lead parishes

For the first time in its history, the Diocese of St Asaph has welcomed a husband and wife team as joint priests in charge of a group of Parishes.

The Reverends David and Mary Dunn were inducted to Llanfair Caereinion, Llanllugan and Manafon during a special service on Saturday 3 December.

The induction service was led by Bishop Gregory who also preached the sermon, assisted by the Revd Pam Powell, Area Dean, and the Archdeacon of Montgomery, the Venerable John Thelwell, who installed the priests in charge.

There was a good turnout for the service as they were joined by other clergy from around the Diocese as well as parishioners and family members for the historic occasion.

Commenting on their appointment, the Bishop said:

“It will be an exciting challenge for David and Mary, but their gifts are entirely complementary, and we look forward to all that they offer to the parishes of Llanfair Caereinion, Manafon and Llanllugan.”

David and Mary Dunn with Bishop Gregory

Revd Mary Dunn, Bishop Gregory and Revd David Dunn

David and Mary were brought up in South Wales, David in Chepstow, Monmouthshire, and his wife Mary in the Sirhowy Valley, near Caerphilly.

They first met at a Cymru Groes camp in Bangor, Gwynedd, in 1965 and have been married for 43 years.

They have four children, two of whom are priests in the Church of England, and five grandchildren.

Before his ordination in 1990, David served in the RAF, retiring as a Squadron Leader running a training department, and Mary is a former Maths teacher.

David is an experienced Priest and has been the Vicar of Holy Trinity Church at Pontnewydd for the past 18 years, whilst his wife Mary was ordained three years ago and has served as a curate of St Mary’s Church in Malpas, Newport.

They are now looking forward to sharing their ministry in shaping the life and worship in the three parishes together.

David said:

“We believe God has called us to serve together and the invitation from Bishop Gregory to minister in the Llanfair Caereinion group is an exciting opportunity and a challenge which we feel God has led us into.

“We are now looking forward to working with the people of the three parishes.”

Many thanks to Eirianwen Jones who provided the photographs and information for this article.

Send your news of events - forthcoming and recently enjoyed - to the Diocesan Communications Officer, Phil Topham. The news pages of the website include Bishop Gregory's mailing to clergy, a Calendar of forthcoming events, news of activities around the Diocese and a link to the Diocesan newsletter, Teulu Asaph. Use the column on the right to navigate around these pages.

 

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