The new vicar at St Peter's church in Shipley is to be the Reverend John Rainer.

The 48-year-old has been vicar of Holy Apostles, Leicester, for the last eight years. During that time he launched a scheme to involve church community workers in the New Deal for Communities programme in the parish.

He also set up the Living Stones project, an attempt to start a new church on a housing estate.

In 1999 he took part in a six-month job exchange with a priest from New Zealand, working in Frankton parish, Hamilton, and lecturing at Waikato Bible College.

He is married to Julie, a librarian, and the couple have two children, Joanna, 12 and ten-year-old Jonathan.

Mr Rainer's institution will be held on Sunday, May 11, 2003, at 5pm.