WHEN the Rev Michael Brierley came for an 'incognito' visit to St Eustachius Church before being formally interviewed for the post of priest-in-charge of Tavistock and Gulworthy he must have liked what he saw — because tonight he will be officially licensed by the Bishop of Exeter in a special ceremony at the church. The last few weeks have been a hectic time for Michael, 33, who comes to the post from serving as domestic chaplain and research assistant to the Bishop of Oxford. His appointment was announced in October, but it was not until just before Christmas that Michael, his wife Joss, and their teenage son Ben moved into the vicarage on Plymouth Road. In fact, many regular churchgoers might not have recognised Michael when he attended midnight mass on Christmas Eve because he again went 'incognito' to join in the service and enjoy the atmosphere and occasion before taking up the responsibility of leading the services. Born and brought up in Bromley, Kent, he studied history at Corpus Christi, Cambridge, then in his 'gap' year worked as an auxiliary nurse at St Christopher's Hospice in South London — a hospice where many auxiliaries are considering the church as their future vocation. Asked if work with those who were terminally ill gave doubts to his faith in God, Michael replied: 'If anything, my faith deepened because of my experience. It was, in fact, a very happy and enjoyable time.' He then trained for ordination at Ripon College, Cuddesdon, Oxford, and served in six rural parishes in Dorset. In Tavistock he is keen to get stuck into his new job and has been talking to curate Joanna Abecassis and churchwardens John Saxon and Lesley Morris at Tavistock, and to Mary Ann Furze and Ted Deacon at Gulworthy to sort out the details of his service and make immediate plans. 'As soon as I'm licensed I will join others for prayers in the church, in the public services at 8am and 5pm from Monday to Saturday. 'This is something I see as a terribly important part of church life — a constant round of prayer which is the grounding of everything we do. It is a sign of the church's and God's care and love for the community. We pray for the community, the world and the Church. It is a practice that I fully support because prayer is the foundation for everything we do.' Michael hopes that he will be easily approachable to his new parishoners, whether they are churchgoers or not, and he is certainly happy to wear his 'dog collar' around the town. 'Being seen in the community is highly important. People tell me that my predecessor John Rawlings was wonderfully visible and present at such places as the town council, in the market and the schools and at important community events. 'Providing a presence is a very important part of being a parish priest, sharing both the joys and sorrows of people wherever they gather.' He is indebted to the 'fantastic job' that Joanna Abecassis did in filling in the vacancy while the search was on for John's successor — in particular by helping the parish to develop its 'Mission Action Plan'. In his eagerness to roll up the sleeves of his vestments for his new role, Michael has designated tomorrow (Friday), the day after his official appointment, as a chance to meet his new parishoners. Rather than just invite people to come and visit him at St Eustachius Church, Michael and Joanna will be 'out and about' in the centre of Tavistock, visiting shops and businesses so that she can introduce him to people on the streets. 'If you see me in my dog collar on Friday come and say hello,' said Michael. 'In rural Dorset the pubs were very much key parts of the community so don't be surprised if I pop into your local for the odd tipple — purely for pastoral reasons, of course!' He adds: 'Tavistock is a lovely, lovely town, located between the Tamar Valley, an Area of Outstanding Beauty, and Dartmoor and the city of Plymouth on its doorstep. It has all the components as a great place to live — a vibrant, thriving town. I used to holiday in the area as a boy and I've never forgotten it.' Michael is full of praise for the work that Joanna and her team have put into their Mission Action Plan for the parish, which has identified areas the church needs locally to tackle in the future — in fact it was one of the reasons that attracted him to take on the challenge of the post. The plan identified around nine key areas, including developing both the human and financial resources of the church, its ministry, and encouraging members, and young people in particular, to take active roles in parish and church life. 'There is the danger that everything is left to the vicar to get on with. Everyone has a role to contribute, no matter how small, and it's the priest in charge's job to help people find that role and their own individual vocation.' He is looking to keep many of the traditions at his churches but at the same time encourage new people to come and join in the worship. 'You can maintain the catholic traditions but with informal touches — a catholic service with vestments; reverence and the sacraments can at the same time also offer humour and be geared towards children and young families.' Out of his vestments Michael cannot wait to walk and explore the delights of Dartmoor and the surrounding countryside. His passion for the odd game of cricket is on a bit of a sticky wicket as his 'official' day off is on Saturdays when he is determined to give time to his family, while on Sundays he will be otherwise occupied! Asked if he had a message for his new parishoners Michael said: 'I hope that all those in Tavistock and Gulworthy will know that the church is there for them, caring about them as a visible symbol of the love of God, and that the churches might help us all become what God has it in us to be.'