Heytesbury Deanery comprises the benefices in the Warminster, Westbury and Mere areas and acts as the link between Salisbury Diocese and the benefices.  Each parish in the Deanery is represented by members both of the clergy and the laity. Lay members are elected to serve for a period of three years (a triennium). Synod normally meets three times in the year.

A few years ago, Bishop Nicholas, the former Bishop of Salisbury, issued a challenge to congregations across the diocese to “Renew Hope” and to “Pray, Serve, Grow”.  Bishop Stephen, inaugurated as Bishop of Salisbury in 2022, wants to see the Church flourish and for there to be a thriving Christian presence in every parish. Deanery Synod is engaged in the work of developing the new diocesan strategy of ‘’Making Jesus Known’. In recent synods we have been exploring the Church, picking out the many positive aspects of a church that may not be growing in numbers but is certainly growing in depth. We have been looking at the 5 strands of this diocesan strategy, namely:
Courageous Christian leadership
Climate action
Creative partnerships in local mission
Working for justice
Financing the future sustainably

One way in which the modern Church is growing is through training lay church members to take on some of the responsibilities previously held exclusively by the clergy, as the number of ordained priests declines. This has been a slow evolution and for a number of years we have happily accepted the role that Lay Pastoral Assistants (LPAs) now have. In addition, a number of parishes in the deanery, have trained Lay Worship Leaders (LWL) ; to lead non-eucharist alternative services and fresh expression of church and it is hoped that the number of Lay Worship Leaders (LWLs) will grow and thereby take some of the load from incumbents in multi-church benefices.

For more information :

https://www.salisbury.anglican.org/whoweare/making-jesus-known-/

Rural Dean Revd Clifford Stride.  cgstride@btinternet.com 01985 850941

Assistant Rural Dean Revd Lorraine Dobbins 01985 212138

Administrator Linda Smith lcs47@btinternet.com  01985212138

Lay vice-chairman Henry Collins manorfarmcodford@gmail.com 07977470333