Minster vicar steps away so wife can 'flourish'

A vicar about to leave his parish after five years said he was stepping away to help his wife "flourish" in her own new role.

The Reverend Tom Mumford moved to Ipswich Minster in 2021 but announced last year he and his wife Laura would be moving to York as she becomes a priest.

Mumford will deliver his final sermon at worship later, which he described as the hardest he had ever written.

"We both have our own vocations and she felt a very strong call to be a priest," he explained to BBC Radio Suffolk's Wayne Bavin.

"I know from doing it the last five years this is the best job in the world and she feels that strong sense of call.

"So a particular set of opportunities came up at about the same time in two amazing parishes that she will be absolutely fantastic in and I can't wait to see her flourish and grow."

Mumford added that he had a "great" new opportunity as well, as he would support the Bishop of Selby.

He said he felt sad and would miss the town and parish "enormously", but it had been a "really extraordinary five years".

During his time he saw the church redesignated from being known as St Mary-le-Tower to the Minster as well as Ipswich Town Football Club being promoted to the Premier League in 2024.

"When you're a parish priest, this isn't a job, it's a way of life," he continued.

"It's a way of being in a community and with people.

"When you build up relationships and walk with people through a time, the relationships are deep and profound and they will be hard to leave.

"But I will continue to keep in contact with people.

"This town and this county, I've felt more at home in this place than I have anywhere else."

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