A NEW vicar in Portishead is to take on a pioneering role in the community.

In a ceremony at Somerset Hall on June 13 Reverend Tina Hodgett was welcomed to the Portishead Church of England clergy team and licensed to serve under the title of team pilgrim.

The new and innovative role means she will be spending only one or two days each week in church. The rest of her working hours will be spent out and about in the town, being available to people and groups who are not necessarily churchgoers.

This is Tina’s first appointment as a vicar after completing a training post in two small churches in Nottingham.

Before training to be a priest she was a modern languages teacher and became a deputy headteacher of a secondary school in Hertfordshire. The 46-year-old has also worked as consultant in education.

Tina says she has been given a blank canvas for her job as team pilgrim and is really looking forward to getting to know the people of Portishead.

She said: “My first year will be a time of research, finding out as much as possible about the town and its residents, allowing them to help shape my role in the community.

“I’ll be walking the streets and hanging out in pubs, coffee shops, parks and other meeting places, so that I am easily available if people have questions about matters of life and faith.”

Tina is hoping that people will introduce themselves to her when they see her in the town, but she can also be contacted by emailing pilgrim@portisheadparish.co.uk