The Bishop of Monmouth, Rt Revd Dominic Walker OGS, will install Fr Lister Tonge as Dean of Monmouth and of Newport Cathedral in the cathedral of St Woolos (Gwynllew) on Saturday 31st March at 2.30pm.
The service will recognise that Fr Lister steps into a rich heritage building on ancient roots. He will kneel and pray near the place where St Gwynllew is buried in what is now the entrance chapel of the cathedral.
Fr Lister’s particular gifts as a spiritual guide will also be recognised as he leads the congregation in a meditation.
Guests at the service will include church and civic dignitaries and people who have been influential in Fr Lister’s ministry both in the UK and internationally.
Born and raised in Lancashire, Father Lister (60) has an international reputation as someone who can help people and communities develop their spiritual life. He is a gifted pastor and also has practical experience of looking after church buildings and of working with civic organisations.
Before his present appointment, he was based in Oxford as chaplain to the Community of St John Baptist and where he has been chaplain and tutor at Cuddesdon Theological College and interim chaplain at New College and Exeter College, Oxford.
Welcoming Fr Lister to the diocese, the Bishop said:
“I am delighted to welcome to the diocese someone with Fr Lister’s gifts and personality. I was conscious that people were asking for a Dean who would make the Cathedral a place of prayer, welcome and pilgrimage so that it is truly the Mother Church of the Diocese. The Dean also needs to be seen as a significant figure in the city. I am sure that Fr Lister’s spiritual and pastoral gifts will be of great benefit to the cathedral, the diocese, and the city community.”
Fr Lister said:
“To be asked, out-of-the-blue, to bring my experience to Monmouth diocese is as humbling as it is surprising. It fits very well with my desire to be rooted in a diocese and worshipping community which wants to use my experience and energy and I am looking forward to moving to Newport Cathedral. I am also very conscious of following an immensely gifted Dean who was both greatly-loved and deeply respected. I recognise that I always stand on the shoulders of those who have ministered before me.’
“I am an urban animal and shall enjoy getting to know Newport – I already know parts of the county and look forward to getting to know it better.
“As a priest, I’ve always been more at home listening than talking and I hope that I’ll be able to contribute to discovering what God is up to in the parishes and communities of the Diocese of Monmouth as I begin by listening to what’s going on in all the variety of people’s life and experience.”
The Revd Lister Tonge trained for the priesthood at King’s College London and St Augustine’s College, Canterbury, and started ordained ministry in 1975 at Liverpool Parish Church working in downtown areas and with city and business institutions.
In 1978, he moved to Johannesburg Cathedral as Precentor, responsible for all aspects of Cathedral ministry. The Cathedral was a major bastion of opposition to apartheid and famous for its multiracial stance. Desmond Tutu was an almost-daily worshipper.
Returning to the UK in 1979, Fr Lister joined the Community of the Resurrection (known as the Mirfield Fathers) for 12 years. At Mirfield, he was part of the life and administration of the monastery and college. During that time he also trained in Ignatian spirituality at St Beuno’s in North Wales.
Since then, his ministry has taken him all over the world: he has led ‘Retreats in Daily Life’ in the Houses of Parliament, worked in various dioceses in England and Wales and in the United States, South Africa, New Zealand, the West Indies, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Finland, France, Belgium and Iceland. He has been a Senior Bishops’ Selector for those seeking ordination in the Church of England. He is a Master of Pastoral Studies and has a Certificate in Spirituality Studies from Loyola University, Chicago and a post-graduate qualification in counselling from Manchester University.
He enjoys travel, especially exploring cities. Though he enjoys art galleries and listening to music, his favourite art form is architecture, old and new. Just this past summer he has discovered a new interest in gardening. He has a married sister in New Zealand.
