LEADING churchmen will get a taste of life in Pendle during a two-day fact-finding tour.

The Bishops of Blackburn and Burnley, the Right Reverends Alan Chesters and Martyn Jarrett, together with the Archdeacon of Blackburn, the Venerable Dr John Marsh, will meet a wide cross-section of the community during a Deanery visit on Thursday and Friday.

Among the places they will visit individually will be Oddie's Bakery, Nelson, Nelson and Colne College and a local farm.

A special service at St Luke's Church, Brierfield, will be led by all three clergymen on Thursday, at 7.30pm.

Other places on the itinerary include St Philip's Primary School, Nelson, Mansfield High School, Brierfield, the Open Door community project, Colne and a walkabout in Nelson centre.

In the past, the Bishops have visited individual parishes on solo trips, but the approach has changed and the church leaders now visit deaneries as a team.

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