Bishop Toby praises openness of Bradfordians

Bradford has grown in confidence over the past decade, said Bishop Toby, and while he hinted that he has had opportunities to move on, he says Bradford has “got under his skin”.

“I haven’t necessarily expected or planned to stay here 10 years but actually, the more I’ve stayed here the more it’s grown on me.

“Part of it is the willingness, I think, of people in Bradford and probably more widely across the North, to talk to one another - you get on a bus here, walking down the street, in the park – people talk to you. And there’s an openness.

“For me, Bradford is really all about relationships. It’s a city and district that’s small enough where, if you have been here a bit of time, you do get to know people and you’re bumping into people, and beginning to get to know people in a deeper way.

“We have three children. If my daughter comes off her bike in London, I am not sure if anybody would help her, but actually if that happened in Bradford somebody would walk to the middle of the road, stop the traffic … there’s something that goes on here. And there’s this prioritising of relationship. And that’s very, very precious.”

Bishop Toby feels Bradford has grown in confidence (Image: Newsquest) And it seems that the multitude of faiths in Bradford, and the fact that the worldly wise Bishop immersed himself in interfaith studies early in his career, means that he belongs in this city.

“I was in a mosque last night just off the Leeds Road, which is a mosque particularly for the Gujarati Muslim community who were originally in Gujarati in India and then in the British Raj in the British Empire.

“They then came to East Africa, and many of these guys were in Kenya. And then, in the Africanisation programme in the late 1960s and 1970s, many of them left Kenya and came to Bradford. It was extraordinary to be there and realise that we had these three places in common, because I was born in Kenya, had lived in India and was now in love with Bradford. So it was wonderful sharing that with those guys last night.”

“One of the things I have learned is that you can only really understand yourself if you look at yourself from the eyes of others. There is that lovely line ‘I don’t know who discovered water, but it sure wasn’t a fish’.

“So for me to understand myself, and for us to understand what it means to be from Bradford or be British, it’s actually really helpful to engage with people who are not ‘us’.”

“To see the United Kingdom through the eyes of Dutch people, or to live in Bradford and learn about the history and the background and the extraordinary stories of Muslims here, or churches, or Christians here, or people from all sorts of different backgounds, to see what Bradford looks like from the perspective of people who have grown up on Holme Wood or Buttershaw – our estate communities – there’s so many different perspectives.

Bishop Toby is interested in the perspectives of people who grew up on the Buttershaw estate (Image: T&A) “In some ways, being Bishop of Bradford was a wonderful way of bringing a clear calling commitment to the church but also a clear calling commitment to interfaith relations, particularly to relations between Christians and Muslims.”

At 62, Toby doesn’t show any signs of slowing down, or easing up his “taxing” schedule and consistently full diary. He will, however, make time for “a small celebration” on the 10th anniversary of his first day in the job on 17 October.

“It is taxing. It doesn’t hurt that my personality is extrovert, so I get energy from being with people. I find it harder to then come back to the desk and sit down and write everything up and do all the reports and stuff like that … fortunately I have people around me who help me with that.”

Toby finds that prayer and silence help him renew his energy.

“I find increasingly, and this is only really from the last three or four years, that I need to spend time in silence - 20 minutes of just silence every morning, absolutely first thing.

“And then I do the daily office, which is the set prayers that we have, and I take our dog for a walk, out on Northcliffe Park or somewhere around, and just pray through this.

The sun setting over Northcliffe Park, where Bishop Toby enjoys walking his dog (Image: Ralph Berry: T&A Camera Club) “I pray for people, the clergy, for people I know, colleagues, friends, across Bradford. I pray for the city, for international stuff – that, I think, gives me the energy. There is a wonderful verse in the Bible which says ‘in returning and rest, you will be saved’. In other words, don’t try and go out and blitz it in your own strength. It’s almost like white water rafting - you have to ride it and enjoy it rather than try to fight it.

“There is a strong element in Christian spirituality that in the second half of life you’re doing life a bit differently - a bit more reflective and not trying to be all ambitious. It is helpful in a place like Bradford, because Bradford is a place that values relationships and it is a city that knows it has been through painful things, knows suffering, knows brokenness.

“So, they don’t need a bishop who’s a ‘super bishop’. I can be a broken person in my relationships with people as well, and we can all find strength in one another and strength in God - and that again, is a real strength for Bradford.”

The Bishop shared his favourite verse from the Bible: “I have come to bring life, and life in all its fullness” (John chapter 10, verse 10).

Bishop Toby outside Bradford Cathedral (Image: Newsquest) “I find that a wonderful encouragement and a real motivator for myself because it is about forgiveness of sins about getting to know God in Jesus, and out of that comes life in all its fullness. So that’s for me about getting good jobs, about healthcare, wellbeing, people getting on with one another, people not being discriminated against, not suffering hate crime. There’s a richness and a breadth of that life in all its fullness which is really inspiring for me.

“It is about forgiveness of sins and about getting to know God and Jesus - and out of that comes life in all its fullness.”

In Jeramiah chapter 29, God says to the people in exile in Babylon “seek the welfare of the city which God has put you in”.

“You don’t necessarily choose where you get to be, but what you can do is use the agency that you have, which is to pray and work not just for your own welfare but the welfare of the city, of the district. I find that hugely inspirational.”

Next year will also be a significant year for Toby’s family, as his daughter will be getting married in Bradford Cathedral. The Bishop won’t be conducting the ceremony, however, instead opting “to do the Dad thing” and walk his daughter up the aisle.

And as someone who “danced with the Lord Mayor” when Bradford won its bid for City of Culture status, Toby is looking forward to next year’s celebrations, and watching the city smile again. “That’s one of the reasons I really wanted to stay – to enjoy City of Culture. We have worked so hard for the bid. There has been so much work going on.

The City of Culture celebrations in City Park were captured superbly in this image by Karol Wyszynski “I wasn’t core to the bid, but I met the judges and we did a bit of lobbying – I was there at City Park when it was announced – dancing with the Lord Mayor. It was electric.”

“I have no plans to go, but I am always aware that when you have been around 10 years you can become stale.

“I think particularly one of the challenges and joys of the City of Culture is that it’s something new.

“My 10th anniversary is also the 10th anniversary of the Diocese of Leeds. A lot of my work over the past 10 years has been to establish a new culture and a new way of working, which has been a wonderful challenge.”

Covid-19 was a major challenge for Bradford The Bishop mentioned some of the lows during his tenure, including Covid, and the riots over the summer.

“The wonderful thing was they didn’t come to Bradford - but that doesn’t mean to say that many people in Bradford weren’t traumatised. And yet Bradford didn’t erupt and I think that’s a real testament to how strong our city and our district is - because actually we wouldn’t have tolerated that here.

“It is a city that is extremely resilient: people largely of different waves of immigration. These are people who have come to Bradford not because it’s about how posh your family is, it’s about what you can offer. So it is a city of entrepreneurs, of weaving, of textiles, where different cultures have woven in with one another. And there are stories of great suffering, but also huge creativity and resilience and love in the middle of all of that.

“We often think in the churches, particularly in the cathedral, that you’ve got the warp and the weft – the story of God and the story of people - and how they connect together across Bradford.”

Certainly, it seems that over the past decade, the Rt Revd Toby Howarth has been woven into the city of Bradford.