Items filtered by date: August 2025
The Derbyshire Carers Association has put together a list of useful helplines for Carers and others should they need help and support over the festive period, which can be downloaded here. The details are also available on the Derbyshire Carers Association website
Property Repairs and Maintenance
Please contact the property team during normal working hours on 01332 388650 or email propertyteam@derby.anglican.org
Any out of hours emergency please refer to the Emergency Contractors list from the links below.
Clergy Housing Emergency Repairs out of hours (including public holidays).
If an emergency occurs out of hours inlcuding public and seasonal holidays (Easter, Christmas etc), do not delay, instruct a Diocesan approved contractor immediately and inform the Property team of the problems when the office is open. An approved contractors list has been issued to all parishes and can also be found below.
Please be aware that not all contractors will cover Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year's Day so in the event of emergency please use a reliable local contractor.
Emergency work should be done immediately and the bill sent to the Property team for payment or reimbursement.
In case of a plumbing leak, please ensure you know the location of the stopcock for the water main.
Resources
To ensure the best use of our resources, we have compiled a list of suitably approved contractors for your reference.
Whenever possible, please try to ensure that only emergencies are dealt with out of hours.
As you will appreciate an emergency out of hours repair costs the Diocese substantially more than a repair carried out during normal office hours.
Please ensure all emergency repairs are to be reported to the Church House Property Team as soon as possible.
- You should contact us on 01332 388650 Monday to Friday between the hours of 9am and 5pm.
- You will need to provide a brief description of the repair, the contractor who attended, and most importantly your contact details. This way the repair can be monitored, audited and managed.
Emergency contact information:
>> All Derby Deaneries and Carsington Emergency Contacts [PDF] updated November 2024
>> Hardwick and North East Deaneries Emergency Contacts [PDF] updated November 2024
>> High Peak Deanery Emergency Contacts [PDF] updated March 2024
What is an emergency?
An emergency repair is any fault which threatens harm to persons or property. Examples include;
1 Heating and hot water
Where you or your home is at risk due to a major water leak from any part of the heating system, and where the heating system fails.
Please note: Not having hot water is not considered an emergency if you have an electric immersion heater and/or an electric shower.
An exception to this would be for household members who are frail, elderly or registered disabled.
2 Gas leaks
If you smell gas, please telephone (British Gas) on 0800 111 999 who will attend to isolate the meter and make safe where necessary.
3 Total lack of water supply
Before contacting a plumber, please check with the water utility company to ensure that works are not being carried out in the area.
4 Total lack of electricity supply
Before contacting an electrician, please check with the electricity utility company to ensure that works are not being carried out in the area.
Please check the electrical distribution box – has one or more fuses tripped?
5 Plumbing leaks
If the leak is causing damage, then it will be considered an emergency - especially if penetrating into an electrical fitting. In the interim you should turn off your water supply at your stopcock or gate valve, and your electricity supply.
6 Blockages
If you have access to more than one WC, and only one is blocked, then please arrange for a plumber to attend during normal working hours.
7 Roof leaks or other damage
Where the damage to the roof is likely to worsen or when it is hazardous (eg roof tiles may fall onto a path, drive or highway), ring a roofing or general building contractor identified within the guides above.
Please be aware that in the event of adverse weather conditions, the contractor will only make the roof safe. The Church House Property Team, will then liaise with the contractor to arrange a permanent repair for a later date when good weather permits.
8 Downpipes and gutters
Please only contact an emergency building contractor if water is entering the building causing major damage or the loose part is dangerous.
9 Broken windows & Doors
Where the damage is caused as a result of a crime. In this case, please notify the local police force who will supply you with a crime reference number, which we will need for our records and report the matter to the Church House Property Team.
For other breakages, if they pose a security risk or are letting rainwater in, then please arrange for a contractor to attend.
10 Door locks
Please arrange to contact the locksmith:
1. If you cannot open or secure a door.
2. In the unfortunate event that you have been the target of criminals who may have stolen your keys, then please report this matter to the police and obtain a crime reference number, and report the matter to the Church House Property Team.
11 Dangerous trees
Trees are particularly vulnerable to the effects of high winds during a storm and sustain various types of damage as a result. If a tree is unsafe and unstable and there is imminent danger to persons and property, where possible please take supportive photographic evidence and contact the emergency tree work specialist outlined within this booklet.
We are committed to offering a first class repair service. If you have to arrange for a contractor to attend to an emergency, then please ensure the Church House Property Team are informed as soon as possible.
At the heart of Christmas
Last year, many of the familiar experiences that bring Christmas to life for all of us were lost because of the terrifying spread of the deadly Coronavirus throughout the population.
School nativities, office parties, carol singing, pantomimes, family gatherings for Christmas dinner, and much more that brings joy to so many, were often cancelled.
This year, the emergence of the new, highly-transmissible Omicron variant means the infection rate is, once again, rising alarmingly.
Despite the incredible effort being made to supply booster vaccines to all adults by the end of December, our celebrations again feel threatened and fragile.
That has focused my mind on what really matters.
At the heart of Christmas is the good news of God’s saving love revealed in the birth of Jesus.
What matters to me therefore, is echoing that generous love of God.
This year, I am determined to ensure that generosity to others lies at the heart of my Christmas.
That means I have given especially careful thought and attention to the gifts I buy for family, friends and colleagues this year but without forgetting that generosity is so much more than the material things we give to one another.
Generosity is about being available to others, making time for them and doing the things that matter to them rather than just the things I want to do.
It means stepping up to help with all the mundane but essential practical jobs at home like washing-up and taking out the recycling and rubbish for collection.
It means listening, paying proper attention and allowing others to disturb me, even when I want some peace and quiet.
It means looking beyond myself and my own family - to those who will be without shelter, food or care this Christmas and asking myself 'what generosity can I show them whether financially, through my attitude, or with my time'?
That first Christmas, Mary was overwhelmed by the generosity of the innkeeper offering shelter, the shepherds who left their flock to the mercy of the hillside, the wise men who travelled from afar to bring precious gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
She treasured these amazing things in her heart and pondered on them, wondering what those extraordinary events of the first Christmas might mean for her and her family then and in the years ahead.
As we reflect upon the generosity of God’s love for us, and see it reflected in the behaviour of those around us, may we too treasure the real gift of Christmas and take its spirit forwards into what will almost certainly be a very challenging 2022.
God’s love is not just something to be unwrapped for Christmas, shared for a few days and then put away for another year.
It is something we can draw on each and every day.
We can all commit ourselves to living a life that shows, in real and practical ways, that whatever else is cancelled in the months ahead, whoever we are and whatever our circumstances, God’s love is always available and ready to be shared generously with those around us.
Merry Christmas
Bishop Libby Lane
Bishop of Derby
This course is for readers with PtO, and for clergy with PtO who are not heavily involved in ministry, unless the Bishop’s Office requires certain delegates to do the Safeguarding Leadership course instead.
2025 Dates
PTO/3 Tuesday 9th September - 9.30-12.30pm - Zoom - Book Here
PTO/4 Wednesday 12th November - 10-1pm - Derby Church House, Full Street, Derby.DE1 3DE - Book Here
Please email amanda.sandland@derby.anglican.org to be placed on a waiting list to be contacted about future courses.
If you feel you may be affected by the contents of any safeguarding training and would like to discuss an exemption for a specific training course please contact Sue Griffin sue.griffin@derby.anglican.org our Victim and Survivor Lead, or Lisa Marriott lisa.marriott@derby.anglican.org our Diocesan Safeguarding Officer for a confidential discussion.
November 2021 saw our first-ever Diocesan Churchwarden Network events.
Churchwardens from across the Diocese made the journey to Danesmoor and Chellaston, one even coming all the way from the north of the Peak Deanery by train and taxi.
The aim of these events was to say thank you and acknowledge the huge contribution that our churchwardens make.
It was also to provide wardens with the opportunity to tell us what they felt we needed to hear and, more importantly, for us to listen.
Following opening worship and a personal thank you from the archdeacons, our partners from Ecclesiastical Insurance undertook a listening exercise where they asked the wardens:
- What is church like post-pandemic?
- What do you think the future of the church will look like?
- What can Ecclesiastical Insurance Group (EIG) do to help best support your parishes?
https://www.ecclesiastical.com/
https://www.ecclesiastical.com/church/church-insurance-consultants/lynne-ingham/
Ecclesiatical's Lynne Ingham leads a listening session
We then went on to begin the conversation around how the diocese can help when your church is in vacancy and to look at some of the challenges and opportunities about being in vacancy.
We finished the morning by sharing lunch together.
Being present at these two events only increased our admiration for all that the wardens do.
The level of expertise and knowledge in the room was overwhelming and it was a joy to be told from churchwardens who had arrived with queries about things to do with their own churches, that they had found answers in the guidance and advice given by other churchwardens present, who had experienced similar situations.
What has happened since
Those of us from the diocese and Ecclesiastical came away with a list of things to action and feedback.
A request was made for the equivalent of a ‘supply list’ of priests and readers who would be available to take services for churches in vacancy. This is being followed up.
We had hoped this would be a quick and simple task, but we are checking with our legal colleagues that to produce such a list is compliant with GDPR.
Communication difficulties were identified as being a major point of contention with the complexities of the current Church House telephone system being singled out for particular mention. This has been passed on to Senior Management.
The national churchwarden Facebook group was advertised https://www.facebook.com/groups/churchwardens and between our first and second events, our Comms team have created our a Facebook group specifically for churchwardens in the Diocese of Derby: https://www.facebook.com/groups/derbyshirechurchwardens
Questions were asked about finding reputable tradespeople when church repairs need doing and a good starting point is National Churches Trust maintenance booker:
https://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/Maintenancebooker
Environmental Questions were asked and the link below offers some helpful suggestions
https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/churchcare/net-zero-carbon-church
Other suggestions and requests are being looked at.
Over 92% of those present said that they’d be extremely likely to attend another event, so please hold Thursday, 30 June 2022 in your diary.
There will be a follow-up letter in the New Year with more details and other information from the two events.
Discussion time at the Chellaston networking event
Fees Table 2022 (locally agreed)
Parochial Fees Guidance 2022 (locally revised)
Saints of Derbyshire, the book by Revd Simon Taylor and Josephine Simister, is now available to buy.
The illustrated book tells the stories of more than 50 saints associated with Derbyshire and is published by Derby Cathedral, which will also receive all profits from the sale of the book.
At the launch of the book, Simon, formerly area dean of Derby City Deanery, revealed that the idea for the book came during a family trip to Repton.
He said: "We were looking around the parish church there and there are loads of saints associated with Repton, with this magnificent crypt for St Wystan and nowhere could I find enough information about the saints.
"And after that I just started collecting the stories, not just for Repton but for the whole of the county.
"It tells the stories of the saints. I remember some years ago reading a dictionary of saints that said 'the stories of this saint are legendary' and feeling that wasn't very helpful, I wanted to know what the stories were, however legendary and far-fetched because, they're fun and I wanted to know what made the story come alive.
"So we've kept in the monsters and the far-fetched and the supernatural because that's the funa and the joy of these stories.
"It's also a book that we hope people will take out into Derbyshire and go and visit some places and find the saints associated with places.
"And, yes, there are prayers and it is a book that, through the lives of the saints, will connect folk to God - the god that the saints in their very different ways were all trying to find."
The book is also laden with beautiful lino-print illustrations, lovingly created by Jo Simister, deanery administrator for Derby City Deanery.
Jo said: "I think the most lovely thing about this project was that it got me back in touch with my art teaching roots from 40 years ago.
"Just doing the refresher workshop to produce the Repton crypt print was such a joy that I really couldn't resist thinking that maybe I could do one lino print for each of the chapters - not realsiing that there would be 20 chapters!
"I loved doing the research for the different subjects, so for example when it came to doing the design for the hermit who lived in Deepdale and Cratcliffe, I decided to see what the local museums had in the way of cooking pots from that era and I also had a Tudor herbal at home and I scanned some of the photos from that - simple, primitive pictures of daisies and clover that I used in the design.
"And then there were others that were really quite obvious."
Among the church artefacts that are included are the Wirksworth Stone (the lid of a stone vault found buried in Wirksworth Church in 1820), which was used for one of the chapters, and the Saxon font at Ilam, used for the story about Bertrand and the monsters eating his wife!
An exhibition of Jo's lino prints is in Derby Cathedral (until 20 December 2021) and the book, priced £12.50 (plus 4.50 p&p if required) can be ordered by emailing office@derbycathedral.org
The Diocese of Derby has subscribed to the Parish Safeguarding Dashboard online tool to make it easier for our churches to manage their safeguarding requirements.
It is free for parishes to register, update and receive action plans on demand.
The Parish Safeguarding Dashboard also enables the Diocesan Safeguarding Team and senior clergy to make sure that each parish is up to date with its safeguarding administration and offer support to those that may be struggling.
This online tool has been designed to display a clear and simple dashboard on a computer, mobile phone or tablet.
The dashboard overview page allows the safeguarding rep, parish clergy, churchwardens and other invited users to see the current status of compliance at a glance.
A green light would mean all is well, amber would mean that action is needed and red would mean urgent action is required.
Take a tour of the Safeguarding Dashboard website for more information.
All parishes should have been sent an ‘invitation’ to sign-up to the Parish Dashboard, however, if any parishes have yet to register, they can do so by emailing Sue Griffin sue.griffin@derby.anglican.org in the safeguarding team.
The advantages for parishes are illustrated in this short video
If you need any support or advice in relation to your dashboard, please contact Sue Griffin as above.
As we enter Advent, we look for the coming of Christ and of his kingdom, and the hope that gives us.
Between 29 November 2021 and 23 December 2021, Bishops Libby and Malcolm invite you to join them each week on zoom for 45 minutes of prayer and reflection together, based upon seasonal Bible passages.
Advent Hope is open to all and will be held on Monday morning from 7:30-8:15am and repeated on Thursday evening from 7:30-8:15 pm.
Both sessions will be on Zoom.
Do pass this invitation on.
Please email reply@bishopofderby.org for the access link.
Bishop Malcolm writes:
In Covid times we have had to learn to be fleet of foot, and ready to change plans at the drop of a hat.
Those of you who attended the clergy conference back in September will remember that Lusa Nsenga-Ngoy was unable to join us on the Wednesday as he had succumbed to Covid.
I am now pleased to say Lusa has fully recovered, and that he has agreed to give us an Advent address, on Zoom, on Monday, 6 December from 7 pm to 7.45pm, followed by a discussion in breakout groups, a Q&A session with Lusa - leading up to Night Prayer.
This is now opento anyone in the diocese, lay and ordained, but please do book in via this link.
Lusa will be speaking to the title, ‘Threads of hope’, with an Advent theme.
The Revd. Lusa Nsenga-Ngoy is BAME Mission and Ministry Enabler for the Diocese of Leicester.
He recently served on the Archbishops’ Anti Racism Task Force, which produced the report, ‘From Lament to Action’.
He is also a Trustee of Initiatives of Change, a global organisation working to inspire, equip and connect people to play their part in building a better society.
I realise this is rather short notice for such a significant talk, but it is offered in the hope that it may be an encouragement and inspiration during the Advent season.
Please book in right away if you possibly can.
