Dear Friends,

We are reaching the end of July and I have been with you as Acting Bishop of Derby for three months, which seems to a good moment to write to you all. As you will know, my role is part time. I am spending 2-3 days in the Diocese each week, mostly based in Derby, and mostly at the beginning of each week, with some flexibility. Thank you for your prayers, and your patience, as we continue to journey together.

We are pressing on with the appointment of a new Bishop of Repton. This is work that +Libby began with consultation back in March. The process is that firstly a case for the appointment has to be put to the Dioceses Commission who next meet in September. The paperwork for this is being prepared, and the Diocesan Secretary Will Hagger and I will attend a meeting in Manchester to make the case. If the response is positive, the appointment process will start. I would expect it to be at least six months from then before the new Bishop arrives. Please keep this in your prayers, I will update you as we go along.

Comings and goings:

In the last three months we have warmly welcomed the Venerable Emma Sykes as Archdeacon of East Derbyshire. Emma brings much wisdom and experience to the role and to the team and it is very good to have her on board.

And we will soon be welcoming a new Diocesan Director of Education. More details will follow, but for now I want to record my warmest thanks to Liz Seymour, the Deputy Director, who has been Acting Director of Education in recent months. I know how much her leadership and connection with schools and parishes have been appreciated. As Liz resumes her Deputy role, we are thankful to have a full-strength Education team.

Focus and priorities:

My focus since starting has been to get to know the Diocese afresh, and to hear how God is working in all our varied communities. There is great encouragement in the most recent mission statistics. Across the length and breadth of the diocese there are signs of life and growth – the kingdom of God among us. As well as the statistics, there is much encouragement in the stories that don’t show up in the numbers – the commitment to the poor, the creativity of the small and rural, those who are growing in depth and discipleship as well as those places growing numerically, and all of us reaching out with God’s love wherever we may be and in many different contexts. Those contexts include our 111 church schools, a variety of chaplaincies, and some new worshipping communities. Thank you for all you are doing to share the gospel of Jesus Christ – good news for all.

The Bishop’s Leadership Team have been discerning priorities for the next 6-12 months, and I share them with you. Much of this you will know or be aware of, and there will be more information to follow.

• People and Places: Ensuring appointments – paid and voluntary - parochial, resource churches, new worshipping communities, chaplaincies, schools, and parish support team are aligned with the diocesan vision and values. There will be work on the shape of ministry, the gifts, character and skills needed, and models of church and ministry. The Archdeacons and the Strategy and Engagement team are leading on this.
• Resourcing Churches: Identifying potential resourcing churches/parishes, in a range of contexts and expressing the breadth of Anglican tradition. The Mission, Evangelism and Parish Revitalisation Department (MEPR) is leading on this.
• Mission Action Planning (MAP): Rolling out newly refined MAP resources and tool kit, for the benefit of every benefice/parish/worshipping community. MEPR is leading on this too.
• Growing Younger: Enabling and encouraging children, young people and families, to come to faith and become part of the church family through partnering with schools, establishing new worshipping communities and nurturing discipleship in children and young people, including putting Church Schools at the heart of mission. MEPR and the Education team are leading on this.
• Income generation: Increasing generosity, stewardship and giving; using income strategically; ideas for income generation that haven’t been tried. Mark Titterton, Executive Chair of the DBF, and Will Hagger, Diocesan Secretary are leading on this.
• Communication strategy: Appoint new head of communications who, as part of their role, develops a communications plan based on the vision and agreed priorities. Develop a new website for the diocese. The Strategy and Engagement team is leading on this.
• Appointing a new Bishop of Repton: Aim to have a new Bishop of Repton in post Spring/Summer 2027. I am leading on this.
• Centenary Celebrations: 2027 marks the hundredth year of the Diocese of Derby, and of Derby Cathedral. Please look out for more information and be thinking about what you can do. The Strategy and Engagement team is leading on this.

I am seeing this season we have together as an opportunity – an opportunity to notice what God is doing, to take some decisions and actions, and to set a tone and direction for the future. It is a transitional space – which means we can experiment a bit, and you can put it down to having an Acting Diocesan Bishop if it doesn’t work out!

In our recent Bishop’s Leadership Team residential we read Luke 5:1-11. Jesus borrows Simon Peter’s boat and teaches the crowd from the boat. Afterwards he says to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch’. Simon answers ‘Master we have worked all night long but have caught nothing.’ It’s a way of saying ‘we’ve tried that, why would it be different this time?’ We had the sense of Jesus saying to us: ‘Go again, put your nets on the other side’. So, we go again with all our endeavours to show love and to share the gospel of Jesus …  being faithful to our calling in the knowledge that it is Jesus who asks us.

Finally, I thank God for you and I assure you of my prayers. There is so much in our Diocese to be thankful for. I ask for your prayers too, and am grateful. May August be, as we always hope, ‘a quieter month’ – do please take care of your good selves and your households – may this Summer period bring rest, refreshment and joy.

With every blessing,

The Rt Revd Jackie Searle

Acting Bishop of Derby