The Diocese of Derby is committed to promoting, maintaining, and sustaining the wellbeing of our clergy.

To this end, the clergy wellbeing advisory group exists to offer advice and counsel to the diocesan bishop(s), to help ensure that diocesan procedures, practice, training, communications, and strategies are implemented and maintained which uphold clergy wellbeing.

The group also offers advice on the advancement and implementation of GS 2133 - A Covenant for Clergy Care and Wellbeing, developing principles of prevention, resilience, and self-care to help clergy flourish and minimise crisis situations.

In time it is hoped that the group will operate as a conduit through which clergy can feedback their experiences of clergy wellbeing, suggest areas for improvement, and air their views on the kind of support they would like to receive. 

The group meets regularly throughout the year.

If you would like to contact any of the members of the group, you will find their contact details below.

The Ven. Karen Hamblin – Archdeacon of East Derbyshire, Chair and Clergy Wellbeing Lead
karen.hamblin@derby.anglican.org
01246 913688 / 07432 705285

Revd Dwayne Engh - Ordained Ministries Development Officer
dwayne.engh@derby.anglican.org 
07425 606421

Claire Lees– Director of People & Ministry Development 
claire.lees@derby.anglican.org 
01332 278175

Mandy Francis – HR Manager
mandy.francis@derby.anglican.org 
01332 388686

Mina Munns – Wholeness and Healing Lead
mina.munns@stalkmunds.org.uk 

Canon Julian Hollywell – Chair of the House of Clergy
julian.hollywell@derby.anglican.org
01332 673573

The Covenant for Clergy Care and Wellbeing was made an Act of Synod at the February 2020 Group of Sessions of the General Synod. The Covenant is the expressed view of the mind of the Church of England on issues relating to clergy care and wellbeing.

“Our vision is that the work of supporting clergy in their ministry will become an integral part of the life of the Church and part of the DNA of every aspect of our mission and ministry.”

Revd Canon Simon Butler, Head of the Clergy Covenant Working Group

To find our more, please see the national website, The Covenant for Clergy Care and Wellbeing.

If you would like to read the main document behind the Covenant (GS 2072 Clergy Wellbeing) you can access it here.

The Church of England has initiated a ‘Big Conversation’ around Clergy Wellbeing and is encouraging all of us to take part. There are three resource papers to help encourage reflection and action available here.

They are not long but do ask some searching questions of us as clergy, of the local church and of our bishops and the wider Church.

“I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” 

The pitfalls of ministry are many and various and when the going gets tough there is almost always a personal cost both to ourselves and those amongst whom our lives are set.  The Apostle’s frustration is rooted in an honest self-understanding, a recognition that alone we will adopt unhealthy or misconceived ways of living that take us away from the person God yearns for us to be.

Wellbeing is not an add on.  Wellbeing is not an optional extra for those who have the time.  Wellbeing is not a matter for people less busy than us.  Wellbeing is a Gospel value, for it is about choosing to be the person God intends, indeed yearns for us to be… to have life and life in all its fullness.  Taking wellbeing seriously is a non-negotiable part of our ministerial lives if we are to flourish as God’s people and for those who have made ordination vows, live them out with integrity.

You will hopefully find resources here to help you do that.  They are intentionally diverse, as not everything will speak to everyone and they are not the solution to anyone’s problems in themselves, but a starting point offered to help each of us in our different contexts take responsibility for our own wellbeing.

Get in touch

These pages are constantly under review, so that we may all receive assistance and appropriate advice in a quickly changing ministerial environment.

We welcome your feedback. If there is information missing from these pages that you or others may find helpful, please contact and let us know.

The Clergy Wellbeing Advisory Team
January 2024