A NEW vicar has taken up a position in Meirionnydd.
The Bishop of Bangor, Right Rev Andy John, has announced the appointment of Rev Dr Ruth Hansford as ministry area leader in the Bro Ystumanner Ministry Area, which serves the communities around Tywyn, Aberdyfi and Llanegryn.
Ruth is presently the team vicar in the Diocese of Exeter.
Born in Thailand, where her parents were missionaries, Ruth has experienced great diversity in church, community, culture and language during her life.
Following a career as a clinical biochemist in the NHS, her ordination in 2003 at Exeter Cathedral has allowed her to fulfil her desire to work in rural communities and to share with people the message that God loves them.
After 14 years in the Diocese of Exeter in the Church of England, Ruth and her family are looking forward to working with the churches in the Bro Ystumanner Ministry Area and sharing the same message.
It will also be an opportunity to explore her family’s Welsh heritage.
Looking forward to her new role, Ruth said: “I am really excited about taking up this post. It is the culmination of responding to God’s nudges to consider ministry in the Church in Wales. It is also an unexpected gift, as it fulfils a personal desire to live between the mountains and the sea!”
Read the full story in this week’s north editions of the Cambrian News