New archdeacons ready to support and build up communities across West Midlands

The Diocese has announced that Rev. Canon Elizabeth Jackson is to be the next Archdeacon of Walsall and Rev. Nick Watson is to be the next Archdeacon of Salop. 

The two clergy members were offered Archdeacon’s posts in Lichfield Diocese following a selection process at the end of last year where candidates were invited to be considered for both posts.

They will both commence their ministry on Sunday, May 4, when they will be installed at 3.30pm Choral Evensong at Lichfield Cathedral.

The Bishop of Lichfield, Rt. Rev. Michael Ipgrave said: “We have found two remarkable priests who have a variety of gifts and experience that will make them effective, pastoral and mission-minded Archdeacons. 

"They are an excellent fit for the journey we want to take towards the goals we have set for our diocese for the next five years and beyond.”

Rev. Canon Elizabeth Jackson is coming to Lichfield Diocese from Oxford Diocese where she has been Associate Archdeacon of Berkshire since 2020.

Growing up in Lincolnshire, she trained in public accountancy after school and worked in the public and health sectors.  

While raising her family, she became a Reader (licensed lay minister) in 1996 and within a few years was exploring her vocation to priesthood.  

During this period, and through her ordination training in the East Midlands Training Course, she took on a succession of employed church roles in family and youth work.

She was ordained priest in 2011 in Lincoln Diocese. Her experience in different types of ministry have included different church traditions too. 

She said: “I look forward to coming to the Wolverhampton Area where I long to support parishes in becoming ever more effective as disciples of Christ and as agents of change in their communities. 

"They already have much to offer. I want to build on that.”

The Bishop of Wolverhampton, Rt. Rev. Tim Dr Wambunya, said: “Liz Jackson brings extensive mission experience and strong administrative leadership to her new role as Archdeacon of Walsall. 

"We are excited to welcome her to the Wolverhampton Episcopal Area team in the Lichfield Diocese where her gifts and skills will be warmly embraced. May God bless and support her new ministry among us.”

The Bishop of Oxford Rt. Rev. Steven Croft, said: “Liz has been a great gift to the Area Team in Berkshire and to the wider Diocese of Oxford. 

"Liz has both a wider strategic vision and an eye for detail together with a willingness to grasp nettles when required. 

"Liz brings a passion for justice and for the marginalised to everything she does and will flourish in her new role”

Ordained in 1992, Rev. Nick Watson has a long association with the Lichfield Diocese, having been Team Rector of Wednesfield from 2009 to 2021 and Rural Dean of Wulfrun from 2014. 

Since 2021, he has been Area Dean of Manchester South and Stretford, looking after 35 parishes there.

Originally from Winlaton in County Durham, Rev. Watson's life journey has been largely in the footsteps of St Chad, but more deeply disclosing that the Northumbrian saints are still a significant influence on the Christian faith he discovered as a student in Cambridge through a combination of a Franciscan Chaplain and a university mission.

In Manchester Diocese, he was significantly engaged with their transformation programme and travelled the journey from old to new with his deanery. 

He said: “I believe passionately in the local church as the place where people meet most richly with God, the community in which they grow most fully and the means through which God blesses those around them. 

"I look forward to supporting the churches of Salop as we live out our vision and travel towards our goals.”

The Bishop of Shrewsbury Rt. Rev. Sarah Bullock said: “Rev. Nick’s listening and coaching abilities offer much to making our vision a reality in North Shropshire in a more rural and mixed urban setting. 

"It is good to welcome him back to Lichfield Diocese.”

The Bishop of Manchester Rt. Rev. David Walker said: “We’ve been hugely blessed by Nick in his time in Manchester, and will miss him enormously. 

"His ability to engage with clergy and lay people from all traditions, and to help them grow in mission and ministry, will serve him very well as Archdeacon.”