THE newly inducted vicar of a Marston church has said she wants to bring it 'back into the community’ as she begins her first term with the parish.

Skye Denno, 37, who had previously served as a co-vicar at two Cowley churches, was inducted at her new home of St Nicholas Church in Elsfield Road with a special ceremony on May 4.

The married mother of three said that she was ‘delighted’ to have become the area’s new vicar.

She said: “It was incredibly exciting. I had been at other churches in Cowley so it is not that far away but I am really pleased.

“It was a real celebration and there was people from the parish of Marston and from my previous church and also friends and family there.

“So for me it felt like a real coming together of all these people and the parish.”

The former team vicar of both St Francis Church and St James Church in Cowley, Mrs Denno said she would look back fondly on the five years she was there, but said that now she was ‘ready for a new chapter.’

She added: “As hard as it was to leave, it was time for me to go and start a new challenge of my own.

“A long time ago my best friend she went to university here at Oxford Brookes University and she lived in Cowley and the Headington area. That was my first link to this area.

“In terms of this parish in Marston it is new to me, but it also just feels right.”

Speaking of her priorities for the area and some of her challenges Mrs Denno, who is originally from Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire, said that she planned to take it slow at first.

She said: “A lot of my first year will be listening and connecting with people and asking what do they want from their local parish church.

“I would be naive to think there is not a connection to the church here already so my role is to see how that can be developed further.

“My role as vicar is to get myself known, to listen to people, and to see what they want from the church. I want to bring the church back into the community again.

“Because I have only just arrived it is very tempting to set lots of things up and hold events and at this moment I am waiting to make these connections and relationships.

“We make friends with people first and then we invite them to things.”

She added that the next big event to be held at the church was Ascension Day on May 25, with a service to be held at 4pm.