Bishop Karen’s Diocesan Synod Address

Welcome to this Synod, and thank you for your ongoing support. Just so you are aware, this address is being recorded so anyone who wishes can take it back to play to their deanery or PCC.

We continue to navigate ourselves through a unique and challenging time. Bishop Stephen is now formally suspended whilst two complaints proceed through the Clergy Discipline Measure process.  He remains supported by Bishop Tim Thornton, and as a diocesan board of finance, a small group of trustees meet regularly and continue to keep the Charity Commission informed of any changes.  We do not know how long the process will take and what the outcome will be.  Please continue to pray for all those involved.

Personally, I could not get up each morning if it were not for your prayers, so thank you for them.  I am not only fulfilling three roles but have not had a functioning office for seven months, so the workload and expectations have been demanding. We have now obtained some office space near the deanery from which the Bishop of Salisbury’s staff can begin to work.

I ended last Synod with these words, which I believe are important for us at this time.  Reminders of God’s grace, reminders that God continues to work through what is fragile and vulnerable.  And despite the difficulties, we have certainly seen God’s grace shine.

Since we last met, we have had the annual ordination of some fabulous priests and deacons.  Clergy gathered in a simple way for our annual day in July, and for many it was both homely and holy.

Life comes from being church where God has placed us.  On September 25 pilgrims from across the diocese walked St Edward’s Way from Wareham to Shaftesbury, and the following week, hundreds of walkers, riders, and cyclists raised money for Dorset and Wiltshire Historic Churches Trusts through ride and stride.  I strode through Poole and ended up at St James’ where there was a sea festival and met Lucy in her own mitre!

Our links with Sudan and South Sudan continue. Later in September I had the opportunity of meeting Archbishop Samuel, who spent time in the Wimborne and Pewsey deaneries, sharing stories of his dangerous role in reconciliation between warring tribes.

Over the summer I had also acted as Dean of Guernsey, so I was pleased a few weeks ago to visit and license Matthew Trick as Dean and Vicar of Sark.  We look forward to Matthew joining in with the life of the diocese.

Lay Ministry is vital and continues to grow. Always at the end of September we licence new LLMs and admit those who have transferred from elsewhere.  It was a chance too to celebrate LLM ministry and to have a blue and white photo!

It is always also good to honour some of those who serve the diocese, and most recently we installed three new canons at evensong, who continue to contribute to diocesan and cathedral life.

I am pleased to report that the diocese’s commission has agreed that I can go ahead with the appointment of the Bishop of Ramsbury.  That process is a long one; however, it will begin this month with an advert in the Church Times asking people to suggest names.  Shortlisting will take place before Christmas, with interviews in early February.  Then we are in the hands of the King, safeguarding checks and a July consecration date.  So hopefully there will be someone in post by next summer.   The role will be largely as the one occupied by Bishop Andrew; however, it will also have a significant missional focus with the military within the diocese.  Over 60,000 military personnel and their families are based here, and there is a need to build relationships outside the wire, with families and chaplains; a bishop with this emphasis will help us develop that area further.

My passion has always been in the local church.  That is where the life is, and that is what continues to give us both meaning and joy.  Christ dwells with us in every action of kindness, act of worship and word shared.  Therefore, in the last six months, the Diocesan Board of Finance, the Bishop’s Council, through its committees and staff, have been working hard to make all we do more streamlined and explicit in its delivery to support you, where you are.

How have we done this?  Firstly, by consolidating our assets. Four archdeacons, down to two, selling surplus houses owned by the diocese, and reducing the number of central staff posts.  This has caused our predicted deficit this year to be reduced, which Elizabeth will elude too when she shares the budget.  Secondly, by using DBF money to support the local church. We need to note here though, that currently much of that money is used to support stipends due to unpaid parish share. Without the need to do that, we can do so much more.  

Aldhelm Mission Funding has become more significant after a large gift from the Order of St Denys, which came to an end last year.  We are now giving grants around £200,000 per annum to support mission initiatives in the local church. This includes part-funding of many children and family workers, as well as one-off projects.

And thirdly, by achieving external funding.  This is short-term funding for particular posts to enable local mission and support the local church.  A sizeable number of our staff are now externally funded, to be effective in the areas of communications, giving, children and young people’s work, and to enable our mission hubs and create around the diocese mission areas.  This is where benefices work in partnership with their neighbours, within and across deaneries for the best sharing of resources and local delivery, and will become the future model for ministry provision.

It has been exciting to see the change.  Therefore, as local churches, you will continue to receive resource investment.  Teams whose role is to be deployed to help you.  This includes ongoing giving support, increased volunteer support, and we are beginning to think about how admin structures, particularly in rural areas, can be best supported and networked.

Ministry is vital, as everyone uses their gifts in the service of the church, inside and outside it.  As a diocese, it is one of our fundamental areas, so the selection, training, housing and ongoing support of our ministers is of immense importance.  We have over 400 retired clergy with PTO serving the diocese, and they too need support.  They are also often an untapped resource and bring gifts and ministries which can be more than helping the local church on a Sunday, and therefore appointing two new part-time retired clergy officers is one of our aims in the next few months.  We must not forget that we also have a number of retired bishops in the diocese, and at this time I am incredibly grateful for their support, particularly John Inge and Robert Atwell in the north of the diocese.

We are investing too in leadership and training.  A recent review of our ministry provision identified four key strands which we shall be focussing on in the coming years.  The importance of integration between the DBF staff in serving the parishes, and those of us on the interface, everything should be outward facing and therefore, HR serving clergy and parishes, and ministry which meets the needs of the local, will be central.

It also highlighted the need for greater collaboration between ordained and lay. The growth of Lay Worship Leaders has identified a need for further training, so our smaller churches can act like cell churches, meeting regularly together for worship, including bible study led by an LWL, and then welcoming others in, and witnessing to the community around the good news of God’s love.

The review also emphasised the need for lifelong learning and wellbeing, so an integrated programme of training to meet the needs from curacy into retirement will be developed, including pastoral supervision, mentoring and opportunities for wellbeing, with Sarum College as a partner amongst others.

By enabling the local diocesan board of finance, needs good partnership with you.  This is not about us and them, or you and us; it is about all of us playing our part in Making Jesus Known.  For your part, it is simply: please continue to give, generously and sacrificially.  We cannot do what we would like to do without everyone playing their part and making a full contribution towards the shared ministry fund.

The question of clergy cuts has been raised.  The budget is a pragmatic response to external pressures, within the diocese, as parishes cannot afford to share, and outside the diocese, with the falling number of vocations, and the decision to pay clergy a fair stipend.  As a diocese we would be foolish to bring forward a budget which results in us being no longer a going concern in a few years time.  We can build upwards with generosity; we can also bring our concerns, which are the concerns of most other dioceses, up to General Synod through our newly elected members.  Yes, it would be lovely to have more national funding, but that is not happening now. 

So, as you can see, we are making change.  It needs to be effective, and that is our challenge. The tide needs turning towards a church that is sustainable, growing younger so we can have as many flourishing Christian Communities as possible.

As I shared last time, the number of vocational enquiries is up, and the growth is in self-supporting ministry; you can see by these graphs that the number of self-supporting ministers, particularly with the development of the Elizabeth Pathway at Sarum College for older candidates, is rising.  There are fewer stipendiary vocations, and nationally they do not cover those needed to cover the considerable number of retirements; thus the lower number we need to budget for in the future.

The vacancy figures were large a year or so ago, particularly in Wiltshire.  However, by making attractive roles, working collaboratively across benefices and making pastoral change, we have managed to fill a substantial number of posts this year, full-time, part-time, and house for duty.  And I pay tribute to the work of our archdeacons and assistant archdeacons, and our PAs,  who largely make this happen, working with benefices and candidates to make the best possible appointments.

This includes a number of interim posts for three years, in places where income and church attendance is lower than expected, but where there is potential.  We have seen success with this in places like Blandford, which have been turned around in the last few years.  We are willing to risk subsidising appointments to these places by appointing good leaders and supporting them in the time they are there.

Just to highlight other work in the pipeline, we had a great volunteer day earlier in the year, and work continues equipping churchwardens and others in the task you do. 

Church buildings continue to occupy our minds, and external funding has enabled us to actively look at producing options for benefices when considering future viability of some of our buildings. In twenty years as archdeacon and bishop, I have been involved in only four closures – so the church does not do this quickly – and all of them with people wanting pragmatically to close the church!  However, the possibility of a local trust, taking care of some of those not regularly used, aimed at attracting significant donors who wish to preserve some of our ancient buildings, is looking more likely.

This afternoon we are encouraged to Grow Younger and see how the work of children and young people is developing and can be developed more widely.  Anna and her small team continue to help churches with their grants and giving, and finally I have commissioned a small group to produce a suite of discipleship resources for the local church, to encourage people in their stewardship, faith sharing and bible study.  Watch this space.

We have entitled 2027 as a year where we make an Impact in the local and Inspire faith and generosity.  There will be more of that to come in the lead up to Christmas and through into Lent and beyond.  Please continue to share your stories of faith, the stories of those who turn up Sunday by Sunday, the stories of new Christians.

Please feel free to pick up on any of this, and ask me any questions at lunchtime.

I want to thank the staff who serve us so well, as well as you all for your own commitment.  I end by returning to scripture.  I would encourage you to read St Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians Chapter 4 in its entirety as it speaks of God’s grace increasing thanksgiving.  I hope you leave here today too with thanksgiving in your hearts for all that God is doing, and will do, and I hope we all leave willing to be used by God in whatever way, so that God’s light goes on shining from our hearts out to the world.

Thank you.