A PRIEST has been appointed to a new role dedicated to building bridges between the Church of England and the LGBTi community.

Reverend Andrew Woodward, Priest in Charge of St Mary’s Kemp Town and Rural Dean of Brighton, has been appointed by Dr Martin Warner as the first Bishop’s Liaison Officer for the LGBTi community in the Diocese of Chichester.

Reverend Andrew said he would seek to ensure all were involved with the Church “irrespective” of sexual orientation.

The new post will provide the diocese’s bishops and parishes with up to date information about the pastoral needs of the LGBTi community and how the ministry can best adapt to the community’s needs .

The role will also represent the church in the community offering pastoral support for a substantial group of people who feel “tolerated but not included” in the Church.

The appointment comes shortly after the archbishops of Canterbury and York established a pastoral oversight group to advise Church of England dioceses on how to fashion a pastoral response to those in same-sex relationships.

Reverend Andrew has a long career within the banking industry, most recently as relationship director with Lloyd’s Bank commercial banking division up to 2013.

Following ordination training with the South East Institute for Theological Education in West Malling in Kent, he was ordained in 1999 and has worked in parishes in the Dioceses of Guildford and London before moving to Chichester Diocese in 2007 and becoming Rural Dean of Brighton in January 2015.

St Mary’s in St James’s Street, Brighton, is affectionately known as the “cathedral of Kemp Town” was built in 1876-8 to designs by Sir William Emerson, architect of the Victoria Memorial in Kolkata, India.

Reverend Andrew said: “I am very much looking forward to building relationships with colleagues across the Diocese and in particular ensuring that all are affirmed and included as part of the pastoral ministry of the Church, irrespective of their sexual orientation.

“I am keen to build relationships with people who may hold differing views, so that together we can work in trust and respect for one another, for the good of all.

“My priority within all of this process is to ensure that all voices are heard and that you feel able to approach me and share your views openly”.