THE first full time inter-faith adviser for Churches Together in Lancashire is to be the Reverend Dale Barton.

Rev Barton, whose Preston parish contains a mosque and a Hindu temple, has been parish priest of St Stephen's in Preston since 1988.

The former chaplain to Lancashire County Council said: "I am thrilled that my appointment is being sponsored by Churches Together in Lancashire and not just a single denomination.

"I hope to encourage conversation between Christians and members of other faith communities in Lancashire."

And Rev Barton has more of an international perspective than most. After working as an assistant curate in the Newcastle Diocese he moved to Lesotho in 1977, where he encouraged lay training and managed it in eight primary schools.

He said: "Bishop Desmond Tutu wanted four single, white priests to serve in the mountain parishes in his diocese; I was the one who went, I was also the first white priest in the diocese to be an assistant to an African."

Rev Barton returned to England in 1981, working as an assistant curate in the Bath & Wells Diocese before moving to Preston eleven and a half years ago.

He said: "Our parish of St Stephen has a mosque and a Hindu temple. I know the leaders of both and visit them in their places of worship from time to time.

"I meet children and parents of both these faith communities in our school. My own children have had a good start, rooted in faith in Christ with experience of multi-racial education too."

He added: "Our church in inner Preston is a multi-racial congregation.

"Our family has a Hindu 'granny' in Central India, through Help the Aged, and we have relatives in Asian heritage community in Leicester through marriage."

Rev Barton will take up his new appointment on November 1.

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