Articles - Miscellaneous

Everything you always wanted to know about Allerton Deanery but were afraid to ask.

There may be some of you who don't know much about deaneries or have forgotten what you did know. Each diocese is divided into groups of neighbouring parishes called deaneries. The Diocese of Ripon and Leeds has 8 deaneries. We are part of Allerton Deanery, a worshipping community of just under 2,000 adults.

There are 15 parishes within Allerton Deanery covering all shades of Anglicanism. One third of the churches are in Urban Priority Areas such as Gipton, Chapeltown and Harehills. The most rural is in Bardsey. One church continues to oppose the ordination of women; another offers an Anglo-catholic style of churchmanship. There are two team ministries, one based in the city centre (which includes Leeds Parish Church - the nearest Leeds has to an Anglican cathedral), the other in Moor Allerton consisting of 3 churches.

Each deanery has an area dean who acts as a support to the other clergy within the deanery. During a vacancy the churchwardens and the area dean have oversight of the parish. Our area dean is Steve Jarratt, vicar of St Matthews, Chapel Allerton. He announced his resignation from the post of area dean in June as he has been appointed Chair of the Diocesan Council for Mission to replace Bishop James Bell.

Each deanery has a synod which acts as a forum for the parishes to exchange views on the problems affecting the deanery. It meets four times a year. The venue changes each quarter so that virtually every church in the deanery will host a meeting during the 3-year cycle. Meetings are opened with prayer in the style chosen by the host church.

Each deanery is asked to contribute an amount of money to the finances of the diocese - known as the parish share. Deanery synod determines how that financial contribution is to be shared between the various parishes belonging to the deanery. In the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds this has been done by the diocese allocating the share directly to each parish based on a formula. The deanery has then "fine-tuned" this allocation between the parishes according to local circumstances. This system will change in 2006 to give deaneries far more responsibility and flexibility as far as share allocation to parishes is concerned.

Deaneries are an important part of the democracy of the Church of England. It is open to a PCC to raise a matter at deanery synod which may in turn refer it to diocesan synod. (The change to the administration of share mentioned in the last paragraph arose in that way.) Diocesan synod could refer such a matter for consideration by general synod if appropriate.

One of the most significant projects within deaneries at present is known as DRM - Deanery Resources for Mission. It is a process of making best use of resources in the deanery in ways such as merging parishes, establishing stronger ecumenical links and looking at the viability of parishes when a vacancy arises. At diocesan level DRM is incorporated in the budget by a phased reduction in paid clergy numbers.

All serving clergy are members of deanery synod, as are retired clergy who live in the deanery. Each parish elects its members of deanery synod at the annual parochial church meeting to hold office for 3 years. Deanery synod representatives are members of the PCC for their term of office. The number of representatives a parish has depends on the size of the congregation. We have 4 representatives Anne Smith, Kathryn Elliott, Christine Brett and myself - the token man!

David Everett

26 July, 2004