Items filtered by date: December 2015

The Rt Revd Libby Lane, Bishop of Derby, has appointed the Revd Emma Sykes as the next Archdeacon of East Derbyshire.

Emma is currently serving in the Diocese of Birmingham, where she has lived for nearly 30 years. She began her working life in the charity sector working with young people facing homelessness and other challenging issues. As a youth minister at St Michael’s Church in Boldmere, she began to discern a call to ordained ministry. She trained at St John’s College, Nottingham and, in 2008, was ordained at Birmingham Cathedral.

She served her curacy at St Martin in the Bull Ring and became Associate Rector there three years later. In 2014, she took a break from full-time ministry and took a ‘portfolio’ approach, taking on a variety of different roles as a self-supporting minister including being an assistant Diocesan Director of Ordinands and a Bishop’s Advisory Panel advisor. She also worked part time for CPAS as a Leadership Specialist with a focus on young vocations and facilitating training for Curates and Incumbents.

In May 2020, she followed God’s call back to fulltime parish ministry, into her current role as Vicar of St Barnabas Erdington and Oversight Minister for the Erdington Area. Emma has been a member of General Synod since June 2024.

Speaking on her appointment, Emma said: “I’m delighted, honoured and a little overwhelmed to be asked to be the next Archdeacon of East Derbyshire. I’m looking forward to getting to know the people in the archdeaconry and supporting them to flourish in mission and ministry.

“Whilst I’m excited, I also carry sadness at leaving Birmingham Diocese and especially the people of St Barnabas whose resilience, generosity and joy has helped shape me as I follow God’s call to step into this new role.”

Bishop Libby said: “I am delighted that Emma has accepted my invitation to serve as Archdeacon of East Derbyshire. Her varied experience, both in parish ministry and other ministry contexts, will be an asset as she takes up this role within our diocese. I am looking forward to working with her as we follow our shared vision of the Kingdom of God as Good News for all, and seeing that come to fruition for the congregations and communities of East Derbyshire and across the Diocese. Please join me in praying for Emma as she prepares to join us next year.”

Further details about Emma’s Installation as Archdeacon will come in the new year.

>> Parochial Fees Table 2026 [PDF]

>> Parochial Fees Guidance 2026 [PDF]

>> PF26 Form PDF format [PDF]

>> PF26 Form Excel format [.xlsx]

At Christmas services, our doors will be open to many people within our communities who may need some additional support or reassurance.

With the support of the Diocese’s Disability Inclusion Action Group (DIAG), a 2-sided checklist has been devised with some easy-to-implement ways to make every church open and inviting this special season.

>> Download the accessible Christmas guide [PDF]

The Christmas guide comes at the end of a very special and successful year for DIAG.

Over the summer, they launched a series of accessible symbols for churches to freely download and use in their publicity. These can be used to highlight the accessibility provisions available so that our churches can become welcome spaces. A website was designed especially for the symbols so that they are available to freely download.

The disability arm of our national church was so supportive during the consultation phase and championed the end result by making them available to all parishes across the Church of England earlier than anticipated.

This was followed by a seminar in November where Rt Revd Malcolm Macnaughton, the Bishop of Repton, Carl Veal (DIAG Chair) and Lynda Herbert (DIAG representative) presented on the subject of “Enhancing accessibility in parish churches”. A recording of the webinar is available here.

A difference has truly been made in 2025, and we can look forward to what comes next from DIAG in 2026.

Thank you to all who give their time freely to champion this work.

The Rt Revd Malcolm Macnaughton, Bishop of Repton, has announced his retirement.

Bishop Malcolm’s final day in post will be Thursday, 30 April 2026.

Bishop Malcolm was installed as the Suffragan Bishop of Repton on Sunday, 18 April 2021, following his consecration as bishop at Lambeth Palace on Wednesday, 14 April 2021. He was formerly Chief of Staff to Archbishop John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, and was educated at Queen’s College, Cambridge.

On making the announcement, Bishop Malcolm said,

“It remains a joy and a privilege to me to serve as Suffragan Bishop here in the Diocese of Derby, and I look forward to continuing to share in ministry with Bishop Libby and all my colleagues across the diocese until I retire at the end of April.

I am going then in the hope that I shall have energy for a new pace and focus of life and ministry in Gloucester in retirement, where Pam and I will be moving in May. In the meantime, there is plenty to do, especially in this season of Advent, which reminds me always to look to the future with hope, in lively expectation of Jesus’ coming”.

The Rt Revd Libby Lane, Bishop of Derby, said,

“I thank God for Bishop Malcolm and all he has brought to our Diocese. He is a generous, gentle and gracious colleague whose servant leadership has been transformative for me in my ministry and for our common life.

So many have benefited from his encouragement and care across our parishes, in the Parish Support Team and in the Board of Education. We have been richly blessed that he responded faithfully to the call to serve his episcopal ministry among us.

Malcolm’s ministry spans decades, the breadth of the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion: we owe him a huge debt of gratitude.

We shall enjoy the next few months of continuing ministry and shared life with him, and I ask you to join me in prayer for him and Pam as they prepare for their move and all that God has in store for the future”.

Details are under way for Bishop Malcolm’s farewell service, and this will be announced in early 2026.

Whitfield Parish
www.whitfieldparish.org

18 hours per week
£14.84 per hour (plus pension)

As a key member of our team, working with the vicar, church wardens and key volunteers we need a friendly person as our first and central contact point. Strong admnistration and computer skills are needed to maintain our church managaement systems, bookings and elements of programme.  Send your CV to vicar@whitfieldparish.org or contact Chris for more information. 

11 December 2025 

The Revd Gillian (Gill) Ball will be licensed as Assistant Curate (Associate Priest-SSM) of the benefice of Old Brampton and Great Barlow and of the benefice of Loundsley Green, The Ascension LEP, Diocese of Derby, on Tuesday, 6 January 2026 at 7 pm at the Church of the Ascension, Loundsley Green by the Bishop of Repton, subject to all legal and safeguarding requirements being fulfilled.

The Bishop of Derby is delighted to announce that the Revd Fiona Barber, Assistant Curate in the benefice of Sinfin Moor, Diocese of Derby, has been appointed Associate Minister (Assistant Curate) of the same benefice, subject to all legal and safeguarding requirements being fulfilled.

4 December 2025 

The Rt Revd Malcolm Macnaughton, Bishop of Repton, Diocese of Derby, has announced his retirement. Malcolm’s last day in post will be 30 April 2026, with his retirement taking effect from 1 May 2026. The full public statement is available at www.derby.anglican.org.

3 December 2025 

The Revd Adele Barker, Chaplain to the Bishop of Derby, Diocese of Derby, has announced her resignation. Adele’s last day in post will be 28 February 2026. Bishop Libby is very grateful for the ministry she has shared with Adele and her commitment to the role in the coming months before she steps away.

As we approach this festive season, we want to thank you for your continued commitment to safeguarding within our church community. Your vigilance and care make a real difference. We wish you and your loved ones a joyful, peaceful Christmas and a blessed New Year.

Safeguarding - Christmas out of hours cover

The Safeguarding Team will break for Christmas on 24 December. During the holiday period, we will monitor the Safeguarding inbox and voicemails but will only respond to urgent referrals and queries. All other referrals and queries will be addressed when we return to the office on Friday 2 January. Please visit our website for additional support and guidance.

It is important that all referrals come through our central referral process to ensure they are responded to promptly. Please make yourself familiar with this process and use our referral form, which you can access by clicking here.