Donald Allister has spent 29 years in Christian ministry in our diocese. Next year he is due to become the Bishop of Peterborough. STEPHEN REGAN reports on Donald’s love for ministry, and how he feels about the challenges ahead of him

Liverpool-born Donald, aged 57, is the son of a Mersey docks manager and a nursing sister. He grew up in Birkenhead, Bromley (Kent), Heswall, then Birkenhead again before studying at Cambridge University and later at theological college in Bristol.

He is due to be consecrated and installed as Bishop of Peterborough next spring. He will succeed the Right Reverend Ian Cundy, who died last May.
Donald said of his appointment: “I was very surprised indeed to be offered the job. I’m overwhelmed because it’s a very big job and a responsible role, and I’m full of the feeling that I’m not really worthy to do it.

“But I know that it’s God’s call and the Church’s call. I love Christian ministry. I’ve loved all my jobs in Christian ministry up to now and I am very excited. I’ve come to the point where I know it’s the right thing to be doing, and I’m very pleased to be setting off on this new path.

“The Wirral has been my home for as long as I can remember. I spent most of my childhood in Birkenhead and in Heswall. I’ve got very, very fond memories, and the fact that for the past seven years my area of responsibility has included the Wirral has been really great. I’m going to miss the Diocese of Chester and the Wirral very much, in lots of ways.

“Peterborough‘s a part of the country I’ve never been to, lived in, known anything about, so it’s very much a new adventure, and I’ll miss lots of good friends and colleagues here.

“The bishop’s role is to lead the Church, to give the Church confidence and courage; to remind the Church of its teaching and its values and to represent the Church to the wider world, but it’s different in a lot of ways today – because the wider world in Britain is now less accepting of the Christian message than it used to be, so the bishop’s job as a missionary, as a representative of the Church to the outside world, is quite a bit tougher.

“But there are still lots of opportunities to get involved in local communities and in trying to bring Christian values to bear on everyday life.“

Donald is married to Janice, a GP. They have a son, the Revd John Allister, who is Curate at Hurdsfield, near Macclesfield, and two grown-up daughters, Rosie (a vet) and Susan (who gave up her academic career in recent months to become a full-time mother).

The Bishop of Chester, the Rt Revd Dr Peter Forster, said: “I am delighted at Donald Allister's appointment to the See of Peterborough. Donald was brought up in the Diocese of Chester, and has served most of his ministry here. We shall miss him very much.

“Donald had a most creative incumbency at St Mary's, Cheadle. He played a major role beyond the parish, as a Rural Dean and in the wider Diocese. The current flourishing of the parish owes much to Donald's wise leadership.

“The years as Archdeacon of Chester have allowed Donald's ministry to develop and grow. He has won respect and admiration from all parts of the Diocese, and in the elections to General Synod topped the clergy poll by a wide margin. He has combined the administrative, pastoral and teaching roles of Archdeacon in a remarkable way.”

The Bishop of Birkenhead, the Rt Revd Keith Sinclair, said: "It has been a great privilege to work with Donald Allister over these past two-and-a-half years. He is a great colleague with a passion for the Gospel and a love for the Church.

“Donald’s ministry has been valued by men and women in ministry across the traditions. He is pastoral, a great preacher and teacher, and the Diocese of Peterborough can look forward to receiving a godly and gracious bishop. We shall miss him tremendously.”

As Bishop of Peterborough, Donald will oversee the mission, ministry and administration of an ancient diocese that has more than 360 parishes and covers Northamptonshire, Rutland and most of the city of Peterborough. He will join 43 other diocesan bishops of the Church of England.