A VICAR'S new "flock" of young clergy will include his own daughter.

The Rev John Priestley will take up new duties as director of post ordination training in the Church of England's Blackburn diocese from October 1. He will be responsible for co-ordinating training for curates for their first three years after leaving college.

Among the young clergy under his guiding eye will be his 28-year-old daughter Rosemary who was ordained during a service at Blackburn Cathedral earlier this summer. She is a curate at a church near Lancaster. The Priestleys are believed to be the first ordained father and daughter team in the country.

Mr Priestley will continue as vicar of Christ Church, Colne, as well as being responsible for a team of tutors around the county who are experienced parish clergy.

"I see the most important thing as being to encourage the young clergy," he said.

"I want them to reflect on how their experiences relate to their belief, to continue to think in a Christian way about the issues that they face and to apply their academic theology to everyday ministry."

Mr Priestley was formerly adviser for pastoral auxiliaries and chaplain to the Queen.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.