Commanders of Tens

For those not entirely familiar with the way the Church of England (and to a degree the Roman Catholic Church) works, in between the local parishes and the dioceses headed by a bishop are the deaneries. A very ancient structure originally corresponding to the administrative 'Hundred' of Anglo-Saxon England - a hundred being an area theoretically comprising one hundred hides - the Deanery is a group of parishes headed by an Area Dean (a more common title now than the formerly current Rural Dean). Area Dean is a thankless task which nobody wants to do, unless they are foolishly ambitious enough to see it as a stepping-stone to further advancement, as it involves more work for no more pay. An additional problem is that Deaneries don't have a clear role to play in the structure. They were revived in the 19th century and seem to have been intended then as a support network for clergy; they later acquired a lay element in the form of Deanery Synod to which every church sends representatives according to the numbers on its electoral roll. I've been a Deanery Synod rep: it tends to be a job you give to someone you want on your Church Council but who doesn't have any other position, or alternatively someone who wants a position but who doesn't seem very suited to anyhting else. The Synodical Government Measure of 1969 says that Deanery Synods must meet twice a year, must receive accounts and a report from Diocesan Synod, and must elect representatives to Diocesan Synod. Beyond that, there is no guidance at all as to what it should be doing. Deaneries are a structure in search of a purpose.

The Hornington Deanery has a new Area Dean, the vicar of Brisbourne, a large-ish evangelical church not far away from Swanvale Halt, and having been begged by the Bishop and Archdeacon to do it clearly wants to make it worth his while. Not only has he extracted some administrative support out of the diocese, but he appears to want the Deanery to act pre-emptively over the issue of what to do with a group of parishes which are soon to be without incumbents. 

We're also aware that some of our colleagues have not been best-served pastorally. Over the last year or so a curate and two incumbents have or are about to resign their positions with no alternative work to go to, because they're so fed up. A curate from the Deanery has had a heart attack within six months of taking on her first parish, and I know several other clergy are having a tough time. So I have been asked to have a brief to keep a pastoral eye on the incumbents in the north of the Deanery. Given how badly I remember how my own congregation members are doing, I wonder how wise this is ...