When he first began working in a town that had been described as one of the most divided in the UK - Canon Chris Chivers was not exactly sure what to expect.

But his role at Blackburn Cathedral has in many ways helped to bridge the divide between cultures and religions during a period that asked many pressing questions. Canon Chivers this month will take up a new role as Vicar of John Keble in London.

“I read up quite a lot about Blackburn before I came. I thought Blackburn was a town that had lost confidence in itself.

“I loved it when I arrived and that hasn’t changed. There are some fantastic people here and so many of them committed to doing something in the community.

“Perhaps I helped to change perceptions through my work. Perhaps that will remain in people’s minds.”

He shares some of these thoughts in his new book ‘Fully Alive’ which was published recently. His work caught the eye of judges of the Fusion Awards when he was voted Man of the Year in 2008.

During his time in the town Canon Chivers had to contend with questions from within his own community too about how they were perceived.

“I think on the ground people realised that it was self-segregation.

“In Mill Hill (a majority white area) there was a constant cry that the council was giving more money to the Asian areas. I decided well, we will bring the chief Executive to you and separate the fact from the fiction. It transpired that more was in fact going to the white community.

“It is easy to make Muslims the problem...it is more diffficult challenging widely-held views about each other.”

His work has been complimented by that of Anjum Anwar, the first Muslim to be employed by a Cathedral in the UK.

It was this need to ‘change’ and ‘challenge’ that also saw Canon Chivers become the first Christian to host an event in a Dar-ul-Loom.

“It wholly depends on trust. Ten years ago I would not have been able to take one of my temple lectures into a dar-ur-loom. Levels of trust have increased and I think this is possible now.”

Many mosques were only until recently helping to reach out to other communities. But to Canon Chivers this was a question for the Muslim community themselves to tackle.

“Yes I agree, there is a crisis of leadership within the whole community and not just the Asian community. We have to find ways of engaging young people. Young people need to be on mosque committees.

“We are still coming out of a period where the Muslim community feels it is cornered.

“Unless that attention lessons it will be difficult for some Muslims to reach out . I hope people will, as all our futures depend on it.”

Fully Alive by Canon Chris Chivers is priced at £14.99 and available from amazon.co.uk. To read the full interview see asianimage.co.uk