IT was hard for well-wishers to heed the instruction not to touch the bishop.

Bishop Kenneth shares a joke with the dean during his comeback service at the cathedral

This was the first public appearance of Bishop Kenneth for six months. And, much as he longed to shake hands and individually thank those who had prayed for his recovery, he couldn’t let himself. There was too much risk of infection.

But his beaming smile was enough to show worshippers his delight at being back in his cathedral for the first time since his bone marrow transfusion in December.

And the occasion was a special one. Church leaders and worshippers from all denominations across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight gathered at Portsmouth’s Anglican Cathedral to celebrate the work that Christians do together to combat social injustice.

“Four years ago, we had our last ecumenical service at our sister cathedral, St John’s Roman Catholic Cathedral,” said Bishop Kenneth. “Today we’re at St Thomas’s, and I’m very glad we’re all here. This service marks the start of Christian Aid Week and has been picked so we can unite in action and thought about how we can help to make the world a smaller place, but a more righteous place.

“It’s my first public appearance since being in hospital for my bone marrow transplant. It’s been nearly a year since I’ve been in my cathedral on a Sunday. Your prayers and best wishes and thoughts have sustained me, Sarah and the family, and we do appreciate them.”

Kenneth was given his bone marrow transplant from an anonymous Italian donor in December after his second bout of leukaemia. But his immune system is still building up its strength and doctors have advised him to avoid public transport, air conditioning, and other possible sources of infection. He will be monitored until the end of 2008. If he remains clear of the disease until then, it is unlikely to return.

He was particularly pleased to be able to make this ecumenical service, as it was organised by Churches Together in Hampshire and the Islands (CTHI) – a group that unites Anglicans, Roman Catholics, Baptists, Methodists and other denominations, and which he chaired until his illness.

The service was based on a special liturgy written by John Bell of the Iona Community in Scotland. It marked the start of the 50th annual Christian Aid Week, which raises up to £15m nationwide each year. And it took inspiration from Christian Aid’s work in El Salvador, including stories about those suffering in that country.

The Portsmouth Grammar School African Drumming Ensemble beat out a rhythm on drums and percussion before the service and also while the offering was taken. And the cathedral organ was bolstered by the Portsmouth Citadel Salvation Army Band.

Church leaders, including the Rt Rev Michael Scott-Joynt, Anglican Bishop of Winchester, and the Rt Rev Crispian Hollis, Roman Catholic Bishop of Portsmouth, stripped fruit from trees in the quire and the nave to symbolise how El Salvador had been stripped of democracy and assets.

And teenagers from the cathedral – sisters Katie and Francesca Reid – symbolically restored fruit to the trees to mark the work that Christian Aid does there to improve health, combat HIV/Aids and reduce the risks posed by natural disasters.

The Rev Matthew Reed, associate director of Christian Aid, preached on the importance of the work that Christians do across denominational boundaries to help restore social justice.

Worshippers were also able to see the Christian Aid exhibition about its work in the tsunami-hit region of Asia, which is entitled ‘Every time I see the sea’.