THE DIOCESE OF SALISBURY SEE OF RAMSBURY CONSULTATION

THE DIOCESE OF SALISBURY SEE OF RAMSBURY CONSULTATION AUTUMN 2011 1

Our story • 705 – Aldhelm first Bishop of the Diocese of Sherborne (Dorset, Somerset, Wiltshire, Devon and Cornwall) • 909 – Aethelstan first Bishop of the Diocese of Ramsbury (Wiltshire and Berkshire) • 1075 – Herman Bishop both of Ramsbury and Sherborne, made Bishop of (Old)Sarum (Wiltshire and Dorset) • 1220 -1258 – New cathedral built at New Sarum • 1925 – See of Sherborne revived as suffragan of Salisbury • 1974 – See of Ramsbury revived as suffragan of Salisbury • 2010 – Bishop Stephen Conway (Bishop of Ramsbury from 2006) leaves to become Bishop of Ely 2

The Diocese • • 7 th largest in England in area (2000 square miles) 880 000 people 95% of Dorset 75% of Wiltshire Poole 40% of Bournemouth Parts of west Hampshire Hawkchurch (Devon!) 3

The Diocese has. . . • 3 Bishops – Salisbury, Sherborne, Ramsbury (Ramsbury vacant since Dec 2010) • 1 Cathedral • 4 Archdeaconries – Sarum, Sherborne, Dorset, Wilts (Wilts vacant from Dec 2011) • 19 Deaneries • 458 parishes • 203 Church schools • 490 Licensed ministers (of whom 179 are paid clergy, and 110 are Licensed Lay Ministers) • 576 places of worship (87% Grade 1 or 2* listed) 4

The Rt Revd Nicholas Holtam, 78 th Bishop of Salisbury 5

The Bishop of Sherborne, The Dean of Salisbury, The Bishop of Salisbury 6

The Bishops with the Dean, the Diocesan Secretary and the Archdeacons 7

Diocesan Organisation Bishop of Salisbury Bishop of Sherborne Diocesan Synod Bishop of Ramsbury The Dean Diocesan Secretary Archdeaconry of Dorset Archdeaconry of Sarum Deanery x 4 Deanery x 5 Deanery x 4 Deanery x 6 Lyme Bay Dorchester Weymouth Sherborne Purbeck Milton & Blandford Wimborne Blackmore Vale Poole Salisbury Alderbury Stonehenge Chalke Devizes Bradford Calne Heytesbury Marlborough Pewsey Archdeaconry of Sherborne Deanery Synod Archdeaconry of Wilts Parochial Church Council Parish x 116 Parish x 128 Parish x 84 Parish x 124 8

The Diocese is. . . • People serving God in their local communities: • 27 000 weekly churchgoers • 130 000 churchgoers at Christmas and Easter • Who amongst many other things. . . 9

Work to bring people together Provide employment Support the poor 10

Educate 40 000 children Pray with our Armed Forces and others Support our rural communities 11

Support the Church in Sudan Engage in positive action 12

And offer worship 13

More information: www. salisbury. anglican. org 14

The Bishop of Salisbury. . . • Is assisted in his bishop’s duties (confirmation, ordination, licensing of ministers) by the Bishop of Sherborne, and has been by the Bishop of Ramsbury • Shares his leadership of the ministers and congregations, his oversight of church buildings, and his inter-action with the wider community with the four Archdeacons • We are consulting across the communities of the Diocese to help us decide whether we should ask the Church of England to permit us to appoint a replacement Bishop of Ramsbury • To do that we need to assess the joint working of the bishops and archdeacons 15

Please tell us. . . • What difference does having a bishop make to you, and to local and national life? • What difference does having an archdeacon make to you, and to local and national life? • What would you want them to prioritize? • How do you think bishops and archdeacons might best work in the Diocese following the dismantling of the Episcopal Area Scheme? • Should a bishop of Ramsbury be appointed? • If the Church of England decided in the next 5 years that dioceses ought to pay for their suffragan bishops, would this affect your decision? • Do you have any other comments? 16

Any Questions? 17