Items filtered by date: August 2025
>> Download a printable map of North East Derbyshire Deanery (suitable for A4 and A3) [JPG]
>> Download a printable map of the Archdeaconry of East Derbyshire from this page.
Welcome to the North East Derbyshire Deanery.
We are part of the East Derbyshire Archdeaconry.
North East Derbyshire Deanery Synod Meetings 2025
North East Derbyshire Benefices
- Barlborough and Clowne (Parishes of Barlborough; Clowne)
- Brampton St. Thomas and St. Mark (Parish of St Thomas and St. Mark)
- Brimington (Parish of Brimington)
- Calow and Sutton Cum Duckmanton (Parishes of St. Peter Calow; Sutton Cum Duckmanton
- Chesterfield Holy Trinity and Christ Church (Parish of Chesterfield Holy Trinity and Christ Church)
- Chesterfield SS Augustine (Parish of Saint Augustine, Chesterfield)
- Chesterfield Saint Mary and All Saints (Parish of Chesterfield (St. Mary and All Saints))
- Dronfield with Holmesfield (Parish of Dronfield with Holmesfield) (including Gosforth Valley, Holmesdale and Unstone)
- Eckington and Ridgeway (Parish of Eckington and Ridgeway) (including Upper Eckington)
- Elmton with Creswell and Whitwell with Steetley (Parishes of Elmton with Creswell; Whitwell with Steetley)
- Hasland (Parish of Hasland) held in plurality with 16.
- Killamarsh and Renishaw (Parishes of Killamarsh; Renishaw)
- Loundsley Green (Parish of Loundsley Green)
- Old Brampton and Great Barlow (Parishes of Old Brampton; Great Barlow)
- Saint John, Newbold with Dunston (Parish of St John Newbold with Dunston)
- Temple Normanton (Parish of Temple Normanton) held in plurality with 11.
- Staveley and Barrow Hill (Parish of Staveley and Barrow Hill)
- Walton St John (Parish of Walton St John (including Holymoorside))
- Whittington (Parishes of St Bartholomew, Whittington; St Barnabas, New Whittington)
- Wingerworth (Parish of Wingerworth)
>> Spotlights on parishes in North East Derbyshire Deanery
Reader licences and the Bishop’s Permission to Officiate are renewed in Derby Diocese every three years during Advent. The Warden of Readers will be in contact with individual Readers to remind them when they need to renew, so please don’t work through the process without being in touch with the office!
Renewing a licence or PTO is not just a piece of administration, but a really good opportunity to take stock of the ministry that you offer with the people around you, as well as in the quiet of your own heart and mind.
You might want to spend some time as you go through the paperwork asking for some feedback or working through your priorities.
As you go through this process, in order to renew your licence you need to gather some paperwork together as follows:
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A Working Agreement with your incumbent or, if your parish is in vacancy, your area dean
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A letter of support from your PCC
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A form which lets us know that we have the correct contact details and other important details right on your file.
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Proof that you have a current and appropriate DBS. If you need to apply for a DBS check to be done please refer to the Safeguarding section of the website. Otherwise please let us know when your DBS check in valid from and to and we will check it.
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Your paper licence or PTO letter so that we can amend it.
>> Reader working agreement [Word doc]
>> Reader licence renewal - PCC support form [Word doc]
The Venerable Nicky Fenton
Archdeacon of Derbyshire Peak and Dales
nicky.fenton@derby.anglican.org
01332 388658
Emily Woodhouse
PA to the Archdeacon of Derbyshire Peak and Dales
emily.woodhouse@derby.anglican.org
01332 278177
Having loved four months working as acting archdeacon, I was absolutely delighted and thrilled to be invited to continue the work that I have started and to partner with you to create transformed lives through growing church and building community, so that we might be good news for all and bring God’s kingdom nearer.
I was born in Birmingham and came to faith when I was 17 through a mixture of a Billy Graham Crusade, a school Christian Union, membership of uniformed organisations and Bible reading at home.
I am married to Michael; a chartered accountant and we have two adult children Emily and Sophie, and we enjoy going out for meals and exploring new places together. Most days I try to get to the gym and either swim or do aqua, pilates or yoga. Music and dance have played a significant part in my life too. When I’m on my own I love reading, watching films, jigsaw puzzles.
Prior to ordination, I worked in education – my last teaching job was as nursery teacher with 95 pre-school children and a team of nine staff in my care. I also have a qualification in people practice.
My theological education was based at Cranmer Hall and my curacy in St Ann’s, Nottingham. My previous roles within the Diocese of Derby include Priest-in-Charge of the Benefice of Hazelwood, Holbrook, Milford with Shottle, Diocesan School Missioner, Bishop’s Adviser in Spirituality, Retired Clergy Officer, Bishop’s Chaplain, and a residentiary canon at Derby Cathedral.
The image that speaks to me most clearly about my ministry as an archdeacon is that of a midwife: coming alongside people and places offering ongoing care, guidance and advice; mediating and bridging gaps between different groups of people; supporting the birthing of new initiatives and offering comfort and strength as people let go, and breaking down barriers to change and growth.
I focus my ministry around five key priorities – prayer, people, places, projects and planning - while ensuring I am also attentive to my ongoing personal formation. I would love the opportunity to share with you what that looks like in practice – so please do invite me to come and visit!
My prayer is that knowing we are loved by God, and supported by each other, we can give ourselves wholeheartedly to serving God in the communities and worshipping contexts we are part of; and consistently and persistently move forward in generous faith, courageous hope and life-giving love.
Parish map of the Archdeaconry of Derbyshire Peak and Dales
>> Download a printable map of the Archdeaconry of Derbyshire Peak and Dales (suitable for A4 and A3) [JPG]
>> Maps of individual deaneries can be downloaded from their respective pages here.
The Venerable Matthew Trick
Archdeacon of Derby and South Derbyshire
matthew.trick@derby.anglican.org
01332 388684
Sue Hidderley-Burton
PA to the Archdeacon of Derby City and South Derbyshire
sue.hidderley-burton@derby.anglican.org
01332 388682
Parish map of the Archdeaconry of Derby City and South Derbyshire
>> Download a printable map of the Archdeaconry of Derby City and South Derbyshire (suitable for A4 and A3) [JPG]
>> Maps of individual deaneries can be downloaded from their respective pages here.
Bishop Libby on sabbatical
Bishop Libby will be on sabbatical from Friday 2 May through to Sunday 3 August 2025. During this period all of the legal and statutory duties of the Bishop of Derby shall continue as normal through delegation to the Bishop of Repton.
Please continue to liaise with the Bishop’s Office as normal by telephone on 01332 840132, or by email at bishop@bishopofderby.org. All correspondence will be automatically forwarded to +Malcolm for the duration of +Libby’s time away. +Malcolm will continue to work from Repton House.
The Archdeacons and the Parish Support Team at Church House will continue to be on hand to provide support and advice to parishes as normal. Bishop Libby will return to her duties in August.
Temporary office relocation
From Thursday 1 May 2025, the Bishop of Derby’s office will be based at Derby Church House to allow the Church Commissioners to make repairs and improvements to the office.
Please direct any post during this time to:
The Bishop of Derby’s Office, c/o Derby Church House, Full Street, Derby DE1 3DR
Office emails and phone numbers will remain the same.
The move will take place during the week commencing Monday 28 April. The Bishop’s office may not be able to respond to emails or calls as promptly as usual during this week.
The Bishop’s office expect to be at Derby Church House until the end of this year. Information regarding their move back to Duffield will be provided when plans have been confirmed.
The Bishop of Derby is the Rt Revd Libby Lane.
Bishop Libby was installed at Derby Cathedral on 25 May 2019, having previously been the Suffragan Bishop of Stockport, in the Diocese of Chester – a post she occupied from 2015.
Libby describes Derbyshire as ‘the place that holds my heart’.
She grew up in Glossop in the north-west of the county and was selected for ordination while working in the parish of St Thomas Brampton, Chesterfield.
Bishop Libby said: “I am excited and privileged to have been called to serve as Bishop of Derby.
“I grew up here and my vocation was fostered here. Derbyshire nurtured me and brought me to faith and I want to love Derbyshire back.
“I want to lead a church in Derbyshire where people find hope because they know they are loved by God in Christ, and I pray that hope sets us free to live our lives in ways that bring change for good.”
If you wish to contact the Bishop of Derby's office, the contact details are:
The Bishop’s Office
6 King Street
Duffield
Derby
DE56 4EU
01332 840132 | bishop@bishopofderby.org
Download the Bishop of Derby's Office's Privacy Statement [PDF]
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Constantine and Empire
The advent of Constantine as Emperor in 306 marked a key moment in the Gospel of Jesus Christ becoming a public faith. Up until that point Christians had endured a challenging journey – periods of peace and proselytising interspersed with the most horrific persecution. A world of political instability and religious terrorism.
Constantine laid the foundation of what came to be known as the Holy Roman Empire. The Church became a public body offering a Gospel of love to bind together the different cultures of what was thought to be the civilised world. A Holy or whole Empire.
The Importance of Coins: Cash Flow
As in every age, money was the sacrament of seriousness. Money provided the means for people to organise their lives and express their priorities. Money was produced in the form of coins. One of the ways in which Constantine connected his disparate peoples was through the use of money – the flow of ‘cash’.
First, during his reign, the images on the coins shifted from pagan symbols to signs of the cross and of the Christian faith. The means of organising life and ordering priorities was clearly part of a Christian enterprise – an expression of the love of God in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Second, Constantine enabled significant investment in the Church, providing buildings and ministries to express this Gospel of love in practical ways. The beginning of an infrastructure for a Holy Empire. Word made flesh.
Cashing the Gospel
We are heirs of these significant developments, called still to witness to the organising of life and the ordering of priorities as an expression of the teaching and example of Jesus Christ – in public life as much as in private pilgrimages.
Coins, or, in our case credit cards and notes! have a part to play in this mission and witness. Money provides the most accurate sign of how we choose to organise our lives and our priorities.
Cashing the Common Life
As we launch a new Common Fund this autumn, I hope that each of us can consider carefully and prayerfully how, in our times, we can contribute to our church offering spaces for worship and ministries for witness. Each of us will have coins, cards, notes in our lives. A key part of our witness is how we might use them to enable the Gospel of love to be made more manifest – as witness, invitation and celebration of that kind of gift of new life which Our Father longs to pour out for the blessings of all His children.
The Currency of Love
Money is something common, connecting and challenging. Too easily it becomes the ultimate measure and value: a false god. We need to use it as a form of service and fellowship – the currency of love.
+Alastair
What does Common Fund pay for?
The common fund contributes towards ministerial costs: clergy stipend, housing, council tax and water rates, remuneration costs, national insurance, pension, training (curates and ongoing CME); safeguarding and wider church responsibilities, including parish support, statutory contributions to the national church and education.
If the Diocese makes any savings could these passed on to parishes in the form of lower Common Fund contributions?
The diocese is not a profit-making organisation and any investments from savings gets put back to subsidise ministry in our parishes. What is received via Common Fund payments does not equate to the amount it costs to keep the level of clergy and ministerial support that is needed for the ongoing sustainability of the diocese. So, it is not possible to return any contributions. Each parishes calculation is based on their estimated ability to contribute and all that is received goes straight back to support ministry.
If we cannot pay the suggested amount of CF can we adjust our payments accordingly?
Your payments can be adjusted to reflect what is affordable to you, however, the common fund request will remain the same and we ask that you contribute as much as you can. For assistance in fundraising and stewardship or new ways of giving contact the Finance Team, telephone 01332 388650, finance@derby.anglican.org.
Will we lose our vicar if we cannot afford our Common Fund payments?
Not necessarily as, within the spirit of the Common Fund, it is through generosity of an affluent parish that allows stipendiary clergy to be placed in less affluent areas. We all share the costs of ministry so there can be a Christian presence in every community.
There is a problem with the formula
We agree that every formula will have its own problems, that no formula will be ‘perfect’ because the complexity of any Diocese cannot be neatly captured in a formula. But the question remains for us as a Diocese: how do we fund our Common Life and live out the Gospel imperative to ‘love our neighbour’?
We should not have to pay for ministry we’re not getting?
Within the Diocese we understand ministry more widely than the Vicar or the Parish Priest in a parish. As we reflected on this question other questions emerged. For example, if we only pay for the ministry we receive how will this affect the life of other ministry that is currently offered in the Diocese eg. Reader Ministry, Self-Supporting Ministry, Safeguarding, DAC?
Our congregations can’t afford it / won’t be persuaded to pay
As we continue to reflect on the new Common Fund, we recognise that for some parishes there will be a difficulty in paying what is asked. But we really do want to live up to the name of ‘Parish Support Office’: we want to support parishes that might find it difficult to contribute to the Common Fund. We have prioritised the work of a number of staff in the ‘Parish Support Office’ to support parishes as the new Common Fund is introduced. They will work with parishes and with deaneries through open conversations and drawing on a variety of resources.
We have abnormal costs
We recognise that the formula cannot capture the complexity of the different parishes in the Diocese. As we journey together as a Diocese in our Common Life we will become more aware of these costs. In listening to parishes and walking with them we hope that we can be imaginative in finding ways to take account of ‘abnormal costs.’
The money is going to churches that are not pulling their weight
This is an important point for clarification. This statement raises all sorts of other questions: Do we want to go down the line of ‘enforcement’ and ‘sanctions?’ How do we encourage people to build God’s Kingdom, to be healthy, outward facing, growing and learning? How do we help parts of our church family find a new life and a new way of ‘being and doing church’? How do we avoid being judgemental about what another church is doing or not doing, particularly if we are not familiar with the particular context of that church?
There needs to be a conversation about the viability of some churches
This is another important point. We are aware that some ‘small’ churches feel they are struggling. And we are aware of the historic, cultural and social importance to the wider community of churches. How do we discern viability? How do we do closures well? How do we celebrate the past, but also mourn the loss of one part of the Diocesan family in the present?
The diocese needs to spend less money and cut staff costs
We recognise that in any financial planning – for business or personally – it is important to balance the budget. Income and expenditure need to be the same; if there is over expenditure in one area then cuts are need to happen in another area. The Diocesan budget reflects the Diocesan priorities for mission and ministry, for our Common Life together as a Diocese. How we spend less money and still achieve the Diocesan priorities for mission and ministry is an important – and challenging – question. How do we decide what we need to keep and what we can do without so that together we can work to achieve the Diocesan vision ‘Christ’s Presence in every community?
>> Our Finances
Thank you once again for your important contributions to our thinking about the Common Fund. As together we continue our journey into the next phase of the Common Fund we pray that together we may hear and listen to one another and that together we pray the Common Fund Prayer:
God our Father,
make us to think more of what we can give to life and less of what we can get out of it.
May we be mindful that we hold our gifts, our talents, our possessions, our life itself,
in trust for you and the service of all people.
Save us from thinking only of our own needs and desires;
and help us to remember that it is more blessed to give than receive,
according to the teaching of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen
Skills and Character
One of the key strategies for the future of work and of wellbeing is the Government’s commitment to apprenticeships. In a world of less predictability about career paths, job opportunities and regular work, there is a welcome move to equip people with both the skills and the character to find useful employment – to develop the self and to contribute to the needs of society. This is true at every level. Training for the traditional ‘professions’ involves a mix of practical and theoretical learning – as much as preparation for more traditionally ‘hands on’ occupations. This “apprenticeship model” is recognised as an especially important approach to the preparation of young people for the world of work. Apprenticeships produce a creative mix of skills and character that equip people with ‘life skills’ that are flexible and the basis for future development. What can the Gospel contribute in this kind of world?
1. Master and Apprentice
Jesus uses and endorses the model of master and apprentice. A student will never become greater than their master (“it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher”. Matthew 1024). Rather there is a profound mutuality. Jesus gives Himself to those He calls to apprenticeships. In turn, like those first disciples or learners, we respond by giving ourselves into the great enterprise of His kingdom – in which we are given a share. The key to the Master-Apprentice relationship is not ‘what is in it for me?’ – but what am I learning to develop myself and to contribute to the enterprise. Self called into service for the sake of society.
2. Apprentice and Master
The learners/disciples called Jesus ‘Master’ but between them they were called, equipped and commissioned to offer particular leadership and ministries. Apprentices are learners discerning and responding to a call, accepting the responsibilities of a commission, and always open to future development, challenge and change. The Gospel places the exploration and ownership of vocation at the centre of each human journey, and as the key to the flourishing of society.
3. Apprentices for God
The Gospel witness is entrusted to Christ’s church. We must model and offer this commitment to ‘formation’ for ourselves and for our communities through our relationship with our ‘Master’ and Lord. Each parish is, at its most basic, a community of vocation and formation. In our Diocese the Director of Vocations and the School of Formation offer particular wisdom and resources to enable us to fulfil this kingdom responsibility most fruitfully.
Take Time to Reflect
In the ‘quiet’ month of August, when meetings are less and many church activities pause, it would be good if each of us took time to prayerfully examine our own apprenticeship – our vocation and our formation. Then, we need to play that part in the calling and forming of our churches, and in the further development of our own skills and character. A small step keeps the journey alive.
+Alastair
