Lay Leadership in the Deanery -
Let know your views.
Until recently much of the finance was provided by the Church Commissioners and channelled through the Diocese, which consequently took most of the major decisions on policy and resources. Now finance in most dioceses comes totally from the current laity, and much decision making about the scale and planning for deployment is being devolved more locally, usually involving the Deanery directly.
Despite these changes many ‘in the pews’ still have a mind-set that ‘they up there’ – the Senior Staff of the Diocese - will continue to make all the decisions. Is the time is right to attempt something more challenging which will reflect the changing cultural climate in our church? That is where we need your help.
This attitude presents difficulties. For example, if important decisions are to be made at Deanery level we must have key lay leaders from the churches fully involved. There are still very many parishes where the election of the Deanery Synod reps is not taken seriously. It is arguable that this should become the most important election of every APCM if the laity are to have their voices heard – and responded to – in the future. We must strengthen Deanery Synods
This is where we need your help
You may be familiar with the Booklets and Briefings published by Parish and People as the Deanery Resource Unit. Over the years a wide range of issues about Deanery Development have been covered, and we are now putting together a booklet on Lay Leadership in the Deanery.
We have written about some aspects of Lay Leadership before, but we think the time is right to attempt something more challenging which will reflect the changing cultural climate in our church.
We need to you to ask you, as a Lay Chair or recent Lay Chair, to complete the Lay Leadership in the Deanery Survey. Your responses will form the basis of the new booklet, and we hope you will be as ‘hard-hitting’ and honest as possible.
We need to unearth the frustrations, evaluate present experience, record examples of both good and poor practice and provide a document that all within the church will find helpful in moving forward the debate on how Lay Leadership can become really effective at Deanery level – and hence how Deaneries can play that vital role which recent trends are demanding of them.
Please feed us your experiences! – and thank you so much for your time
Simon Brown