Posted on: 24th August 2023

On 30th August the licensing of our new Chaplain, Andy Muckle, will take place at 1pm in the Asisi Café area in the Crypt building. He will be licensed as Chaplain to St George’s Crypt and Diocesan Chaplain to the Homeless, by The Rt Revd Arun Arora, Bishop of Kirkstall. 

This is an important event so staff from all areas of the Crypt will be attending. 

At the service the bishop will arrive then there will be a couple of songs, hymns and prayers. There is also going to an interactive bible reading using symbols then Andy and the Bishop will do declarations and oaths. Andy will have to declare his obedience to the King and Canonical obedience to the bishop. After making these declarations the bishop will give Andy a license. 

Andy Muckle started his role as the new chaplain to St George’s Crypt a few weeks ago but he did a month placement at the Crypt 8 years ago when training for ministry. Andy said, “something about this place never left me”, so when the job came up to the next chaplain, he jumped at the opportunity to apply for it.  

Andy is an Anglican Priest, who has previously been a vicar down in West Moors, Dorset. 

Every Anglican priest has to be licensed to a role, so although Andy is employed as a chaplain to St George’s Crypt, he needs a license from the bishop. Bishop Arun Arora will come to the Crypt next week to license Andy as chaplain to the Crypt and as Diocesan Chaplain to the homeless Diocese of Leeds. This means that Andy has a role offering his insight to the wider community as well as the Crypt. 

Andy says following this licensing,  

“There is a wider role for me in the Leeds area in being able to visit other homeless projects within the whole Diocese and to share wisdom with them so that’s a lovely role to have as well.” 

Andy said that he deliberately chose certain hymns because of their messages; 

 “I’ve chosen ‘When I needed a neighbour were you there’ because that's a really powerful hymn that talks about our vulnerability and needing someone to love us and a neighbour”.