Message from Bishop Robert, 16 June 2025

I very much hope that you will have some knowledge of the work that has been happening across our diocese on our Deanery Strategic Pathways.

These plans, rooted in each of our nine deaneries, are a tangible expression of our commitment to parish ministry, its flourishing and its future, and a much-needed response to the changed context from which and in which we minister as Church.

Many of you will have heard me say that what we do now must be missionally-focussed and resource-aware.

We are missionally focused, because the task committed to us is to share the love of God and to work for the coming of the Kingdom. Everything we do — our worship, our pastoral care, and especially our ministry to those who come to us in times of joy, such as birth and marriage, or in times of sorrow, such as bereavement — is shaped by this calling. Through it all, our purpose is to draw closer to God, and to help those we meet do the same, so that together we may know and rejoice in the life that is shared with us in Jesus Christ.

We are resource-aware because we are to be good stewards of the abundance that God has blessed us with. That abundance must indeed be always set before us. The abundance of God’s love and of God’s blessing, with an awareness that God’s blessing comes in different ways at different times. Part of the reality of that for us is that God is blessing the Church with much ministry, but in new and different way. This means that in the coming years we will have fewer stipendiary clergy, not primarily because of cost but because, at least in the short term, there are fewer people to appoint to full time paid posts. That however, must be set alongside a growing and rich diversity of different ministries, some clergy, such as our Ordained Local Ministers of whom I wrote some months ago, others lay, funeral ministers, pastoral assistants, worship leaders and many more.

Part of the work of the Deanery Strategic Pathways will be to make decisions on what this means for the shaping of ministry, where and how those who are appointed are deployed, and what support needs to be given for those so deployed and for the communities they serve to be effective in their ministry and mission. With this in mind our Bishop’s Council, the trustees of the Diocesan Board of Finance that oversees our finances, made important decisions earlier this month to release additional funding for each deanery to support this change.

Three of our deaneries have already made a decision on how to approach this and are looking to appoint a deanery ‘operations lead’ who will work with clergy and lay leaders to support parish ministry and free others from much of the burden of the day to day management of church life enabling a greater focus on mission and ministry. Other deaneries are following and will learn and adapt from the experience of others. Together we are renewing our commitment to the values of our LIFE Together vision to share the transforming gospel of Jesus Christ.

May I encourage you, if you do not already know, to find out what is happening in your deanery and play your part, as we renew our commitment to healthy parish ministry at the heart of our life together as the Diocese of Gloucester.