The Vacancy in See Committee received 430 responses to its consultation seeking views on who the next Bishop of Chester should be.
The survey was made up of five questions and respondents could answer as a group, church or individual. The questions asked respondents what they thought was good about the diocese and what qualities they hoped the next Bishop would bring to the role.
The survey was part of a consultation led by the Vacancy in See Committee, the diocesan group tasked with preparing a Statement of Needs - a brief description of the diocese and statement setting out the desired profile of the next bishop.
Secretary of the Vacancy in See Committee, George Colville, says: “We’re really pleased with the number of people that responded to the survey. It was particularly encouraging to see that a good number of younger people responded too.
“Those drafting the Statement of Needs have read all of the responses and will work together to try and discern and reflect the views of the diocese in the document.”
Because of the variety of roles which diocesan bishops have, not only within the Church of England but also in the local community and the nation at large, the choice of the next Bishop of Chester is not made by representatives of the diocese alone.
Six diocesan representatives from the Vacancy in See Committee will be elected to work with representatives of the Church of England as a whole, under the presidency of the Archbishops. Together they will form the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC), the body that will ultimately nominate someone to be the next Bishop of Chester.
Members of the CNC will be announced late September. They will meet for the first time in the New Year. The Statement of Needs will form part of the documentation available to the CNC as part of their deliberations. It will also be made available to prospective candidates and publicly to the diocese as a whole.
Did you miss the deadline to respond to the survey?
If you missed the deadline, there will be a public meeting on Wednesday 25 September in Hartford. It will be an opportunity to put across your views directly to Mr Brad Cook, Archbishops’ Adviser for Appointments and Development, and Mr Richard Tilbrook, Prime Minister’s Secretary for Appointments.
