PART THREE—THE DEANERY CONFERENCES

3.1 The Deanery Conferences

As a concluding part of the consultation process, the Bishop and Archdeacons, accompanied by the Revd John Leach, the Parish Development Adviser, visited all the deaneries. This gave an opportunity for sharing ideas and raising further issues resulting from the plans sent to the Bishop. It perhaps needs to be said again here, that the Bishop and Archdeacons saw no reason to question the general thrust of each plan.

The most we can do in this section of the report is to set out some of the issues which people felt it was important to address. They are listed in no particular order of importance. In a few instances, the issue will be peculiar to one deanery rather than to all.

3.2 Ministry Teams and Training

It is generally recognised that alongside the reduction in stipendiary clergy there will need to be a growth in the number of Non-Stipendiary Ministers, Readers, Evangelists, Eucharistic Pastoral Assistants and other lay ministries. Everyone’s ministry must be of the highest standard if the church is to flourish, and training for those coming into ministry must be of an equally high standard however it is delivered. Leaflets produced by the Province on the ministry of Priests, Deacons, Readers and the Laity are still available for display and distribution.

3.3 There is a requirement for the Diocese

• to identify specific training needs with the deaneries and parishes

• to establish and publish in advance a programme of training for each aspect of ministry

• to deliver training at a local level as well as centrally

• to deliver learning programmes of varied and appropriate academic levels

• to assist any deanery training co-ordinators through the support of any diocesan appointed co-ordinator for training

• to continue to encourage vocations to the stipendiary ministry

3.4 The Gifts of the Laity

More than once, the feeling was expressed that the laity will have to take on even more responsibility for the smooth running of parishes as clergy numbers reduce. There is a requirement therefore for the Diocese:

• to produce courses to help them fulfil the tasks asked of them

• to foster even stronger discipleship through supporting locally-based courses

• to communicate well what is on offer

There was almost unanimity of agreement that we should, as soon as possible, engage someone who could act as a co-ordinator of training for lay and ordained ministry who would also take part in delivering some aspects of the training. However, a concern was expressed that it would take time to discern lay people who were called to exercise particular gifts and to train them for appropriate ministries.

3.5 Stipendiary Clergy Numbers

Not all the deaneries felt able to produce workable plans with the number of stipendiary priests allocated to them.

Deaneries were advised early in 2004 of the number of stipendiary posts that was considered to be affordable. The Diocese will fund assistant curates but those deaneries proposing an increase in their allocation will be asked to pay the full costs for those posts after 2013.

The possible isolation of clergy through reorganisation needs to be recognised and addressed.

It is anticipated that, at any one time, there will be six stipendiary curates in post, distributed among the parishes and benefices identified as training areas.

3.6 Church Buildings

Every deanery mentioned the great financial cost of maintaining our places of worship and the pressures placed upon Parochial Church Councils by the burden of increased Government legislation. There was no common solution to this problem. Ideas ranged from a determined effort to keep all our centres of worship because of their importance within the wider community to challenging the diocese to set criteria for keeping a building open and taking responsibility for closure if the criteria were not met.[17] There were, however, those who felt that closure should always remain the decision of the congregation.

It was recognised that not all our buildings are easily adapted for wider community use but the hope was that the diocese would actively support, where possible, plans to alter the fabric of a church to permit such possibilities.

3.7 Boundary Changes

Several of the Deanery plans mentioned boundary changes between deaneries and even, in a couple of cases, between dioceses. In fact, however, very little is likely to change after the discussion process for three reasons.

Firstly, there was some resistance by particular parishes or deaneries to the changes, so that the default mode of staying as we are prevailed.

Secondly, the larger the proposed change, the more parties needed to agree it. Monmouth Diocese could not, for example, unilaterally make boundary changes affecting parishes in Llandaff or Swansea and Brecon Dioceses!

Thirdly, there was the feeling that some proposed changes were merely tinkering and would not in themselves bring any more chance of growth and renewal. We have to be sure that major shifts in our parish and deanery structure are being carried out in order to facilitate real mission. However, we have noted various possibilities for changes, and may well revisit some of these in due course.

3.8 Ecumenical Co-operation

Few of the deaneries went further than re-affirming the present ecumenical relationships that exist. There is a general recognition that where they exist there are possibilities of increasing the work that is being undertaken. The more formal links such as those in East Cardiff appear to be the most effective in realising the possibilities within such relationships.

Footnotes

17 The Diocesan Churches and pastoral Committee set out a number of criteria in the document "BEYOND 2000 - enabling mission in the Diocese" which was presented to the Diocesan Conference in October 1999.