The Truro diocese’s 21-church benefice has been approved by church commissioners.
The Church Commissioners have approved a proposal to combine the six benefices of Kerrier deanery, which includes 21 churches in the diocese of Truro.
However, there is one modification that calls for the appointment of two Team Vicars instead of just one, along with a Team Rector. Following persistent opposition to the proposal, the statement of reasons was released last week. There were 23 representations in favor and 171 against the Commissioners in May 1st.
A substantial increase in the number of children, young people, and families engaging with church” and other “clear, unchallenged evidence of growth and new engagement” in the deanery under the clergy team that had tested the model were given “significant weight.”. The Commissioners were informed by the pioneer and Team Vicar, Rev. Susie Templeton, that she was working with twenty schools and had introduced Wild Church in three areas, hosted by parish churches, with thirty families participating at a monthly meeting.
The vision of Ms. Templeton and the Team Rector, the Rev. Heidi Huntley, had “particularly persuaded” the newly appointed diocesan Bishop, the Rt. Rev. David Williams, who had been “sceptical” at first, according to the statement. In order to prevent “the isolation of a single incumbent in a benefice having to do everything,” a team ministry was preferable for the welfare of clergy.
The main concerns were that the reorganization would lead to a loss of pastoral care and insufficient clergy for such a large area. In order to concentrate on pastoral care, the diocese has already promised to hire a house-for-duty priest and another stipendiary priest for a period of three years.
As part of the “On the Way” program, which required deaneries to create plans for a “fruitful and sustainable” future, a plan to investigate the pastoral reorganization of the Kerrier deanery into a single benefice was first approved at the deanery synod in 2021 (News, May 13, 2022). With three abstentions, it was approved by a vote of 14 to 11.
According to the plan, the deanery would have to raise donations by £30,000 by 2023 and additional amounts over the following five years. From £259,953 in 2015 to £108,520 in 2025, parish-share contributions decreased. In a population of 45,000, the combined electoral roll of the 21 churches is 534.
Bishop Williams contended in a letter to the Commissioners that “the oversight/local model of ministry aspired to here in the diocese of Truro absolutely is supported by the Church of England’s formularies, whereas a priest-centered model of ministry is not.”.
Long-standing issues with the “On the Way” procedure, which started in 2019 under the previous bishop, were brought up by the consultation responses. According to Kathy Ough, the St. Keverne parish PCC secretary, the decline has “spiralled.”. Prior to its introduction, the diocese’s average Sunday attendance decreased from 13,000 in 2001 to less than 6,000 in 2021. Bishop Williams informed the Commissioners that the parish share currently accounted for only thirty percent of the diocesan budget.
The Diocesan Plan for Change and Renewal, which envisioned a “significant change” in parish ministry patterns with more clergy serving in oversight roles and “the majority of church communities” led by local ministers, was influenced by the plans of the twelve deaneries. According to the diocese’s most recent annual report, “less progress than planned” had been made in “embedding new models of ministry,” including commissioning local leaders.
The diocesan plan might need “more than an update” since three of the deanery plans would need to be “significantly revised.”. More stipendiary clergy were called for in many of the Kerrier responses. The diocese’s population decreased from 118 in 2001 to 81 in January 2019 and 70 in January 2023.
A significant recruitment effort has been underway, and the former Bishop of St. Germans expressed hopes to increase this to 85. There were 51 stipendiary incumbents as of 2025, compared to a target of 60. According to a diocesan spokesperson, there were 64 stipendi this week.
Growing and maintaining the headcount would be “challenging,” according to the most recent annual report, which also noted predictions of a sharp decline in the nation’s clergy workforce. It stated that the 42 lay employes at its diocesan office presented a “challenge” and would be reviewed, but that the number might increase “given the level of change.”.
“Money isn’t the fundamental challenge for the church in these communities,” Bishop Williams stated to the Commissioners. The diocese has more than £115 million in reserves and endowments. In 2022, it announced a plan to spend £22 million over a ten-year period, with about £11 million going toward reducing parish share and supporting stipendiary clergy.
