Church people make it onto New Year's Honours list

The Diocese of Lichfield is celebrating after two of its church people made it onto the New Year's Honours list.

|PIC1|The Rev John Davis is the voluntary curate of Berkswich in Stafford and officiating chaplain at MOD Stafford.

After retiring from 30 years with the police, Rev Davis was ordained as a priest in the Church of England. During his time as a policeman, his service to the community was acknowledged when in 1990 he was named Community Police Officer of the year.

He continues to work as a volunteer caseworker and is County Secretary for SSAFA in Staffordshire, a charity that cares for the needs of ex-service men and women.

Rev Davis is also the current county chairman of St John Ambulance, with which he has been involved for many years.

He spoke of his surprise at receiving his Honour.

"This is an unexpected and very pleasant surprise," he said. "When I opened the letter telling of the award six weeks ago, I couldn't believe it.

"All I have tried to do over the years is to put something back into the community, most of us are able to do that, and if people do, it can make such a difference to so many people.

"I have been blessed in that my wife Sue, and all my family have supported me over the years in all my endeavours, and this award is as much theirs as mine".

The Bishop of Lichfield, the Rt Rev Jonathan Gledhill, congratulated Rev Davis on his achievement: "This is great news for John Davis, for the police with whom he has so faithfully served for 30 years, for the voluntary organisations he has supported and led and for the Church of England where he now ministers as a volunteer priest. The Diocese of Lichfield sends its warmest congratulations."

|PIC2|John Butterworth, editor of the Shrewsbury Chronicle and Reader of Christ Church, Stone, also made it onto the New Year's Honours list.

In addition to his 35 years in newspapers, Mr Butterworth has helped raise more than £4 million for charities through the Shrewsbury Chronicle and its numerous appeals to build a head and neck cancer centre, a diabetes unit and provide specialist equipment for the stroke unit at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

The Shrewsbury Chronicle has also helped provide a vehicle for the Red Cross and a children's hospice in Shropshire, a day centre for an adult hospice and a cancer unit for cancer charity Macmillan.

Mr Butterworth also ran nine charity projects during his nearly eight years as editor on the Bromsgrove Advertiser/Messenger. These included helping the Flying Doctors motorway medical service, building an extension to a playgroup for handicapped children and upgrading a local disabled riding centre.

His fundraising work has continued at Christ Church, Stone, where he led a project to sponsor five eye camps in a remote part of Afghanistan.

Mr Butterworth has also reached milestones within the newspaper industry as the Midlands representative on the national council of the Guild of Editors, and chairman and vice-chairman of the Midlands branch.

He was one of six regional editors to represent the Newspaper Society on its first ever delegation to China in 1985 and helped host the return trip the following year.

During his time as editor at Bromsgrove and Shrewsbury the paper and staff have been involved in a number of successful community campaigns and have been nominated for 70 regional and national awards and won a number of titles including Best Weekly Paid-for Newspaper in Great Britain (under 20,000 circulation) in June 2007.

"I am absolutely thrilled and humbled by the honour. It is a tribute to the enthusiasm of all the young reporters who have helped with the charity appeals and to the generosity of the readers of both papers," said Mr Butterworth.

Bishop Gledhill added his congratulations.

"I am delighted that John's work as editor of the Shrewsbury Chronicle has been recognised in this way. Not everyone in the newspaper world knows that John is also a lay Reader in the Diocese of Lichfield and his parish church at Stone.

"Readers are the vital lay theologians in our church, making connections between the world of work and people's faith. Congratulations to John."