It may come as some surprise....

Kerrier Deanery's plans for a radical restructuring plan envisaging a giant benefice with 23 churches coming together under one Rural Dean have caused shock waves not just locally but beyond the Tamar.

And clearly - to judge from the newly appointed Rural Dean Rev Heidi Huntley's article in West Kerrier's July parish magazine - elements of the 'On The Way' plan have come as a great surprise to local residents too.  Some people aren't quite sure what is going on, she suggests. 

And, she adds, it's been a 'bit of a shock'  - to put it mildly - to hear that the second priest to be employed in the deanery (through Church Commissioners' funding - the Rev Susie Templeton - won't be working on Sundays....  So much for the 'consultation' process that allegedly took place about the re-structuring, part of Cornwall's Bishops' On The Way plans for reshaping church in the county.

Rev Heidi writes:

Dear friends

It’s come to my attention that some folk in the Deanery aren’t quite sure what’s going on with the On The Way Plan, so I thought it might be helpful to explain some aspects.
Our new Pioneer Priest, the Rev Susie Templeton,  has been appointed as soon as her paperwork has been completed in her current Diocese, we will be able to arrange her Licensing service in Kerrier.

I’ve heard it’s come as a bit of a shock to some of you to hear that Susie won’t be working regularly on Sunday mornings. I apologise because coming into this plan more recently, I presumed you understood how a Pioneer Priest’s role would function. Susie will work primarily in the community, looking for exciting opportunities to grow churches for people who have either never been to church or who have had a break away.

We can't expect families to come to church on a Sunday morning in great number anymore because of sport and other activities which now take place. But it may be that Susie will be able to set up a church that runs on a weekday at teatime.

The aim isn't necessary to make those people join us on Sunday mornings. They will be fully functioning congregations of their own. This doesn't mean it's second best or watered down Christianity. It's just different from what we've grown up with. What I will ask Susie to do periodically is to come to church is to tell us how she's getting on and to explain a bit more about her role to us.

Another surprise - the need for Community Interest Companies. The Deanery Synod was not aware that the Diocese would insist on this, when the vote on the On The Way plan was narrowly passed.  However - it is now clear that the Diocese is refusing to employ new workers proposed by the plan: the Bishops are insisting that they should be employed locally by the deaneries themselves.

You will probably have heard lots about CICS lately. This stands for a Community Interest Company. Some may say why can't the diocese just pay for everyone? Well they are paying for Susie and I, but the other roles are being paid by three grants, and we will oversee that money. For the first time and through the plan, we are being allowed to choose how we want our money to be spent in the Deanery, and to decide what type of roles will best suit our needs.

For those grants to be given to us, we need a CIC and what a CIC does is essentially financially protect those of us who will be responsible for recruiting our new ministers against any legal action or employment tribunals. The Deanery implementation team are in the process of working through some finer details, but we hope that the Deanery Synod will soon vote in favour of this. Without a CIC, the deanery will be left with only Susie and I as permanent employed priests and anyone can see that won't bring growth and progress anywhere.

You may also be aware that there are plans to make our Deanery into one benefice. That sounds a bit strange, so please let me explain. As it stands, I do not have any ministerial authority over any of the Priests or Readers in the Deanery. To make that so, I need to become Team Rector of a benefice and Susie will be called the Team Vicar. But it's simply a name change to conform with to conform to Ecclesiastical Law.

Nothing is going to change in terms of PCCs and parish boundaries in Kerrier. No one is going to be forced to merge with another PCC and there isn't going to be any parish reorganisation, unless of course you wish to at a later date.

Click here to read more about the challenges - and dangers - of setting up a deanery Community Interest Company. Critics fear that - once this happens - the Diocese will communicate with the CIC, rather deanery representative - a further diminishing of the 'local' and the centuries' old power of Parochial Church Councils (CICs). 

And parish re-organisation? Watch this space. Observers expect the Deanery Plan will inevitably falter and an unavoidable result will be weakened PCCs and the advent of a Joint Council for the whole of Kerrier Deanery.