Region defended in vicar's job ad

A senior Black Country vicar has issued an impassioned defence of the region in an attempt to attract other clergy to apply for vacant posts.

The Reverend Richard Inglesby, vicar of Moxley and area dean of Wednesbury, wrote a stirring defence of the region in a foreword to the job description for a vicar's post at St Bartholomew's Church in Wednesbury.

The post – which has been vacant for two years – is one of many vacancies in the area which the Diocese of Lichfield has had difficulty filling.

The Post of Team Rector of Bilston has been vacant since August 2008, and the post of Vicar of the Good Shepherd with St John in West Bromwich has been vacant since December 2008.

In his foreword, Mr Inglesby, who moved to the area in 2001 from Farrington Gurney near Bath, wrote: "The West Midlands may not register very high on your 'most desirable' list of places to live and work.

"But don't be deceived by common misconceptions, often based on no more than motorway delays or Jeremy Clarkson's derogatory remarks.

"As someone who came to work here from a leafier environment, I have found many positives to outweigh lack of so-called suburban comforts."

He cites the "great-hearted Black Country folk", who he describes as a people "with a loyalty and sense of humour born from smiling despite adversity" and he praises the local dialect as reflecting "a sub-culture with ancient roots going back centuries."

Vacancies are advertised at www.lichfield.anglican.org/vacancies.