Pen pushing Bishop introduces more bureaucracy as On The Way re-organisation collapses in Truro Diocese

In the latest twist in the Diocese of Truro's steady march towards disastrous On The Way restructuring plans: the acting Bishop of Truro, the Rt Rev Hugh Nelson, has admitted that rural deans are finding the demands of proposed new huge benefices just too much. He is a creating a new role for what effectively are 'area deans' covering several deaneries.

He and his colleagues have heard 'clearly and consistently' from rural deans over the past 18 months that their role is not manageable,  he writes in a letter to the Diocese this week. "As a result, there will be a 'significant changes' to the rural dean's role.

"The new Deans for each area will carry all the legal responsibilities of a Rural Dean, will play a key role in deanery plan implementation, will support parishes and benefices with the practical and relational work of change and will provide clergy and lay leaders with practical and pastoral support. ... This change is designed to help local churches by freeing the current Rural Deans from the work they currently carry, giving them more time and energy for mission and ministry, as well as giving more support directly to church communities."

If only the Bishop had listened and acted sooner!  Instead, his response is typically and tragically managerial. These new posts are yet a further layer of bureaucracy.  There is no indication at all that the Bishop - and his colleagues - are pausing to question why this lamentable situation arose in the first place. 

The answer - as anyone who has been involved in the creation of the On The Way plans knows - is that they are just not workable and do not have the support of churches and congregations. Huge benefices 'managed' by Oversight Ministers are a bureaucratic vision pushed by Church House, and this vision has little support and little chance of success in Cornwall.  The Diocese has understandably struggled to recruit planned rural dean positions.

Now - rather chillingly - as Bishop Hugh has announced, new deans will oversee Oversight Ministers who will manage teams of lay workers. As - technically, according to the Bishop - these new deans cannot formally be known as 'Area Deans', they will be known as 'the Dean for the Western Area (Penwith, Carnmarth North, Carnmarth South and Powder), Dean for the Central Area (Pydar, St Austell and Trigg Minor & Bodmin) and Dean for the Eastern Area (Stratton, Trigg Major and West Wivelshire)'. 

The new posts will be funded by the diocese inititally - a further drain on precious reserves.  

Oversight Deans overseeing Oversight Ministers. This would be laughable were it not so sad: a clear demonstration of the way On The Way plans are simply falling apart. Text of Bishop Hugh's letter, dated 19 October 2023:

Dear friends

I am writing to tell you about a significant change to the Rural Deans role.

Over the last 18 months Episcopal College has heard clearly and consistently from Rural Deans that their role is not manageable. Expecting clergy who have demanding ministries to give a day a week, and often more, to responsibilities outside their own parishes is often detrimental to their wellbeing and to the life of their own church communities.

We also know how crucial the Rural Dean role is, especially for clergy support, for working with parishes in transition, for leading the process of recruiting to vacant clergy posts and in the implementation of deanery plans.

We have consulted widely on how we can best provide parishes and deaneries with the proper support of a Rural Dean, without over-burdening our clergy. This consultation has included past and current Rural Deans, clergy, other dioceses, BDC, the national church and the Board for Change and Renewal. All recognise the need for a change and, having considered a range of options, a proposal was presented to the recent Bishops Diocesan Council to establish a new approach.

Instead of 12 Rural Deans who also have full time stipendiary roles, we will recruit now three new full time Deans, each of them responsible for a group of 3 or 4 deaneries. They will be known as the Dean for the Western Area (Penwith, Carnmarth North, Carnmarth South and Powder), Dean for the Central Area (Pydar, St Austell and Trigg Minor & Bodmin) and Dean for the Eastern Area (Stratton, Trigg Major and West Wivelshire).

(For technical and legal reasons, they can’t formally be called ‘Area Deans’ – hence the title ‘Deans for the Western/Central/Eastern Area.’)

Kerrier and East Wivelshire both included a full time Rural Dean in their deanery plans, and appointments have been made to these roles. To honour the integrity of these local plans and their appointments, those posts will remain in place, working with the three new Deans.

The new Deans for each area will carry all the legal responsibilities of a Rural Dean, will play a key role in deanery plan implementation, will support parishes and benefices with the practical and relational work of change and will provide clergy and lay leaders with practical and pastoral support. They will work closely together under the leadership of the Archdeacons, and each will exercise a ministry of word and sacrament in their deaneries.

This change is designed to help local churches by freeing the current Rural Deans from the work they currently carry, giving them more time and energy for mission and ministry, as well as giving more support directly to church communities.

The cost of these new posts will come from diocesan reserves and, we hope, from the national church as part of a future funding bid.

Because we think these new roles are so important, we are recruiting for them immediately. The adverts will go out later this week, and interviews will take place in November. We hope that the new Deans will in post by March 2024.

In the meantime, I am deeply grateful to the current and past Rural Deans who have done so much for the life of the church across the diocese. Please join me in praying for them, and for successful appointments to the three new posts.

ends