Bishop's fund-raising launch

The Rt Revd Jonathan Gledhill unveiled his plans for this year's appeal. He revealed that the overseas element of this year's appeal will be used to sponsor the training of clergy and lay leaders in the developing world.

And the home element of the appeal will continue the training theme, but a little closer to home.

Funds raised will be used to kick-start a major appeal due later in the year by the trustees of Shallowford House, the diocesan conference centre at Shallowford, near Stone.The Bishop's Lent Appeal is an annual event which raises thousands of pounds each year, and this year is set to be no exception.

The overseas element of the initiative comes about following an appeal from the Rt Revd Made Katib, the recently-retired Bishop of Kuching, one of Lichfield's companion dioceses in Malaysia.

He said the cost of training the many new ordinands and lay leaders coming forward in this fast-growing part of the church was proving to be prohibitive.

And so the overseas element of the Lent Appeal will create a new Bishop of Lichfield's Overseas Training Fund which can be used not only in Malaysia, but also to support mission agencies such as USPG, who are themselves supporting the training of new ministers around the world.

It was recently revealed that Shallowford House is to undergo a major redevelopment.

The House was donated to the diocese in the early 1900s and has been used as a training base for Readers and other Lay Ministers, and also a retreat centre where potential clergy have gone to test their calling to the priesthood, ever since.

It is also used by other community and social care groups, but is now in need of a major overhaul. And details of the expansion plan for the retreat and conference centre are set to be announced at the venue tomorrow.

New residential accommodation, a new chapel and new meeting facilities are all outlined in a planning application which has been submitted.