A husband and wife will become joint priests-in-charge of a group of churches near Welshpool in December – the first time such an appointment has been made in the Diocese of St Asaph.
The Reverends David and Mary Dunn will take charge of the parishes of Llanfair Caereinion, Llanllugan and Manafon after accepting the Bishop’s invitation to the role.
David and Mary were brought up in South Wales, Mary in the Sirhowy Valley and David in Chepstow but they met at a Cymru Groes camp in Bangor in 1965 and have been married for 43 years.
Before ordination in 1990 David served in the RAF, retiring as a Squadron Leader running a training department and Mary is a former maths teacher. They have four children, two of whom are priests in the Church of England, and five grandchildren.
Mary was ordained three years ago and has served as Curate at St Mary’s Church in Malpas, Newport and David has been Vicar of Holy Trinity Church, Pontnewydd for the past 18 years.
David said:
“We believe God has called us to serve together and the invitation from Bishop Gregory to minister in the Llanfair Caereinion Group is an exciting opportunity and a challenge which we feel God has led us into and we are looking forward to working with the people of the three parishes.”
Commenting on this appointment, the Bishop of St Asaph, the Right Reverend Dr Gregory K Cameron said:
“This will be the first time, I think, in our diocese that a husband and wife team have been appointed joint priests-in-charge.
“It will be an exciting challenge for David and Mary, but their gifts are entirely complementary, and we look forward to all that they offer to the parishes of Llanfair Caereinion, Manafon and Llanllugan.”
