2nd November, 2015
Looking for some time away from the hustle and bustle of daily life? The remote Ascension Island – located some 1,600 kilometres west of Africa and 2,250 kilometres east of South America in the South Atlantic Ocean – is advertising for a new Anglican vicar.
The previous vicar, Father Don Wittich, spent two years on the island which is a part of a British Overseas Territory which also includes the islands of Saint Helena and Tristan da Cunha. Having retired after turning 80 earlier this year, he said in an article on the diocese website that he’d loved his time on the island, describing it as a "paradise" in which he never had to lock doors.
Anglican newspaper, The Church Times, has advertised the position which attracts a £13,000 stipend plus free house, car and fuel and services like electricity and water.
The Right Reverend Dr Richard Fenwick, the Bishop of St Helena – in the diocese of which the island falls, lauded the island’s attractions on the diocese website. "As an island, Ascension is truly exotic – complete with the great white-sand turtle beach, where these remarkable and astonishing creatures come to lay their eggs as regular as clockwork every year," he said.
The island is home to an RAF base and various infrastructure serving the likes of the BBC and the European Space Agency.
– DAVID ADAMS
