FROM Liverpool to Lydford, and from one parish to five, in the depths of a freezing Devon winter the new team vicar for the Northmoor churches has received a warm welcome from his new congregations.

The Rev John Davies has taken on responsibility for the parishes of Lydford, Bratton Clovelly, Germansweek, Sourton and Bridestowe — a far cry from his last parish in his home city of Liverpool. He takes over from the Rev Ian Sykes and the Rev Stuart Wilson, both of whom retired last year.

Mr Davies and his wife Diana, who have made their home at The Rectory in Lydford, said they were keen to experience life in rural Devon.

'Living in a village on the edge of Dartmoor is clearly a very different environment from a housing estate on the edge of Liverpool. This is a beautiful area and we are delighted, and feel quite privileged, to be living here,' said Mr Davies.

'I enjoy walking, and exploring towns and villages, and have had some good days out starting to get to know some of the amazing places around here.

'I also enjoy reading and writing, and there's a lot of written material about Dartmoor and Devon which I'm going to keenly consume over the coming months.'

Mr Davies said he has been made to feel very welcome by his new parishioners: 'It is the people that make a place, and from the first of our few visits here in the summer all the way through to my first service here in December, we felt warmly welcomed by the people we met in the parishes.

'Having said that, we leave behind us some very lovely people up north who we will keep in touch with.

'It's been good to discover that the churches are often close to the heart of village life, one way or another, and that even villagers who only attend church on special occasions still support the parish in various ways.'

The team rector, the Rev Stephen Cook, said: 'We are delighted that John has come to join us.  He will bring a whole new set of gifts and insights to the parishes here. I think he is settling in well now and I am looking forward to working with him as a colleague.'

Mr Davies' previous parish in Liverpool served a large housing estate with about 12,000 residents.

In Devon, Mr Davies will be responsible for five very rural parishes, which Mr Davies said will bring its own challenges.

'Having five parishes to care for instead of just one will mean that a large part of my role will be to encourage and help others, often volunteers, to help run the services and care for the people.

'I also hope to offer a presence in community groups in the different villages, to visit and support schools and other groups.'

Mr Davies said although accents and attitudes were bound to be a bit different, people were people wherever they were and he hoped what he had learned in 16 years of ministry about caring for people — and challenging them too, about the claims of Christianity on their lives — would transfer well into his ministry here.

He said: 'I talk a lot about God being especially interested in ordinary people and in coming alongside us in our everyday lives: I think the story of Jesus, the Son of God who came to earth as a baby and lived the same life as the rest of his family and peers, illustrates this perfectly.

'When people start to see this it can transform how they see themselves and the value they put on their everyday lives.

'I call this 'finding heaven in the ordinary'. It's at the heart of what I believe and like to share with others.'

Mr Davies has his own website, where anybody can read his sermons and personal thoughts, at http://www.johndavies.org">www.johndavies.org