[Anglican Communion News Service] The Rev. Heather Shotton, the new assistant curate for the Offa Mission Area, a group of churches along the English-Welsh border in North Wales, made history last week after being licensed by video-conferencing. Shotton should have been licensed during a service at St. Mary’s Church in Ruabon on March 29, but that service was one of thousands cancelled across the United Kingdom by restrictions designed to curb the spread of COVID-19.

Shotton was licensed during a virtual service on the Zoom video conferencing platform. She was in one place, along with her husband, but she was joined online by clergy from six other churches and by Archdeacon of Wrexham John Lomas, who carried out the licensing.

Following Shotton’s licensing, two other priests were licensed virtually in the Church in Wales. Bishop of Monmouth Cherry Vann licensed two new parish priests for the Monmouth area. The Revs. Tim and Karen Dack, a married couple, recently arrived in Wales from New Zealand. On April 2, Karen Dack was licensed as priest-in-charge for the Monmouth Rural Group, and Tim Dack as priest-in-charge of the Monmouth Town Group.

Read the full article here.