In the Diocese of Guildford, the senior leadership team is wholly committed to supporting the physical health, mental resilience, spiritual wellbeing and vocational growth of its clergy. Read more here.
Access all the diocesan policies, contacts and support services for ordained clergy here.
Supporting wholeness
In the Diocese of Guildford, the senior leadership team is wholly committed to supporting the physical health, mental resilience, spiritual wellbeing and vocational growth of its clergy.
This is undergirded with a Clergy Wellbeing Covenant launched in 2020. It’s a key document for all clergy and their Churchwardens, and which you can refer to throughout your ministry for guidance and policy on topics including:
- Your physical health and medicals
- When you are sick or unwell
- Your wellbeing and mental health
- Spiritual and ministerial development
- Special leave, including maternity, paternity, parental and adoption leave, and compassionate leave
- Support for clergy spouses
- Guidance for Churchwardens
If you have any questions about wellbeing or HR policies, please talk to your Archdeacon, or contact the Interim Head of HR, Andy Morgan.
Arranging holiday and sickness cover
Incumbents and Priests-in-Charge, especially those without ordained colleagues, will often need to arrange for cover, especially when on holiday or sickness. The Register of Clergy on Call is a team of Clergy with Permission to Officiate (PTO), living across the diocese, who are willing to give locum cover for services during holidays, sickness and emergencies, sabbaticals and vacancies.
For more information about the Register, contact the Diocesan Clerical Registrar, the Revd Dr Jack Mulder, Tel: 01403 581066, Email: jlerm2@hotmail.com
The Register charges the standard occasional duty fees, plus 10% to cover Register expenses and the travelling expenses of the locum minister at the current HMRC rate. Requests for locum cover should be made to the Diocesan Clerical Register Administrator, giving as much notice as possible.
Occasional duty fees are revised each year with effect from 1st September in line with the rates in the Table of Parochial Fees from The Archbishops' Council prevailing on that date.
- If the arrangement is made with the Register, an account will be rendered to the parish and all fees should be paid to the Register. This is usually the most practical arrangement if a priest assists with several parishes.
- Where parishes make a direct arrangement with the priest, the latter should provide a written request for payment to the parish, which should be paid promptly.
- It is hoped that all retired clergy who apply for permission to officiate in the diocese will agree to put their names on the Register.
- The provision for payment of a fee does not apply to LLM (Readers) nor to 'swaps' of stipendiary clergy between parishes, nor to SSMs. The parish should, of course, meet travelling expenses.
- There is a statutory fee due to the DBF for weddings and funerals. In certain instances, a PTO may be entitled to retain the DBF fee. Please see the full guidelines on this under ‘Parochial fees’
NB: During a vacancy, that part of the parochial fee due to the DBF may be used to pay fees to those on the Clergy Register. See the Diocese of Guildford Parochial Fees Policy.
Encouraging the vocations of others
The local church is the place where Christians are most likely to find and explore their vocation. Church leaders therefore have an important role in encouraging people, and incumbents are a vital gatekeeper for those considering their vocation.
These are some resources you may find helpful when someone enquires about a call to ordained or lay ministry.
- Download this guide for Responding to an enquirer.
- If someone feels called to ordained ministry, refer them to this page which explains some of the different ordained roles in the Church, and what they can expect from the process once they begin to discern their call.
- If someone is less sure of the direction of their calling, this page may be helpful for them to read.
- Lay ministry roles and the processes for selection and training can be explored from here.
- After following the suggestions in the ‘Responding to an enquirer’ document above, if you believe the person should take things further, please refer them to a Diocesan Vocations Adviser using this form.
- Supporting lay ministry ongoing will be a significant part of your responsibilities. These downloads may be helpful:
- LLM Role Description.
- Guidelines for Incumbents on supporting and making the most of LLM ministry in the parish.
Clergy Discipline Measure
The Clergy Discipline Commission recommends that dioceses should publicise the imposition of penalties under the Clergy Discipline Measure by setting up a Clergy Discipline page on the diocese’s website. You can view that page here.
Resources for Clergy for Life Events
You can access all the information for clergy on Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages and Funerals here.
The latest Confirmations are listed here or on our calendar.