THE Dioceses Commission has decided to press ahead with
proposals to merge three Yorkshire dioceses, despite protests from
Wakefield diocese (
News, 29 June). The Commission has proposed that Bradford,
Ripon & Leeds, and Wakefield should be abolished and replaced
by a single, larger diocese (
News, 10 December 2010).
A statement from Church House, released today,
says:
At its meeting on 26 September the Commission was able to
complete its consideration of all the submissions made to it on the
draft Reorganisation Scheme for the dioceses of Bradford, Ripon
& Leeds and Wakefield. It carefully considered the
representations made to it, both at this stage and earlier, and has
unanimously decided to proceed with a draft scheme bringing all
three dioceses together.
The Commission firmly believes that the scheme represents a
once-in-a generation opportunity for reinvigorating mission which
should be grasped. It intends to issue a revised scheme embracing
all three dioceses by the end of October, together with a fresh
report which will both address concerns that have been put to the
Commission, and set out the benefits to mission that it believes
will come from a new single diocese.
The current diocesan map in the region owes more to history than
the way these communities are now shaped. The Commission received
overwhelming evidence that the Church's structures no longer
reflect current social, economic and demographic realities on the
ground, and that the Church needs a single diocese to engage
effectively in mission with the people and communities of West
Yorkshire and the Dales.
The Commission believes that the benefits to the Church's
mission and ministry in West Yorkshire and the Dales will only be
fully realised by a scheme embracing all three dioceses. They each
have their own distinctive contribution to make, and have a part to
play in creating something new, rather than recreating an older
model.
Chair of the Commission, Professor Michael Clarke, said: "On
behalf of the Commission I would like personally to thank everyone
who has made representations to us. A revised scheme will be
published next month, and all three dioceses will then have a
chance to decide whether they share our vision, which has been
drawn from our discussions in Yorkshire over the past two years,
that the proposals will better enable them to advance their mission
to the communities which they serve. The Commission is clear that
this represents a remarkable and unique opportunity for the Church
of England."
Notes
1.The Dioceses Commission published a draft scheme to amalgamate
the West Yorkshire dioceses of Bradford, Ripon & Leeds and
Wakefield on 1 November 2010. This followed extensive consultation
within the dioceses involved prior to that stage. The statutory six
month consultation period on the draft scheme ended on 30 April
2012. Full details of the proposals can be found at
http://www.churchofengland.org/about-us/structure/dioceses-commission/yorkshire.aspx
2.In June 2012 the Commission decided to proceed with a scheme
on the basis that the details would be worked out over the
summer.
3. Having decided that there would be a scheme, the Commission,
under the Dioceses, Pastoral and Mission Measure 2007, needed
formally to decide whether or not to amend it in the light of the
representations made. It plans to issue the details of its revised
scheme - together with supporting documentation - by the end of
October. It is the Commission's intention that its papers would be
accompanied by an executive summary with a pastoral letter from its
Chair to parishes. It will inevitably take a little while to
finalise the documentation following the Commission's meeting on 26
September, hence the short delay before it can all be issued.
4. The Commission's scheme and its report on it will be
submitted to members of the Diocesan Synods of the dioceses
affected, so that the Synods can then decide whether or not to
support the Commission's proposals. That decision needs to be made
by the end of March next year, with the intention that the General
Synod would be invited to debate the scheme in July. The earliest
any of the proposals could be implemented would be in the autumn of
2013.