Copthorne Village website

7. Real Estate & Deanery and Parish Boundaries

It has been noted that the East Grinstead Deanery is larger than some Episcopal areas in other dioceses. Some feel that the viability of East Grinstead Deanery, as a working unit, needs looking at. A basic requirement would be to include Crawley more overtly - say the Deanery of East Grinstead and Crawley. Others feel that a more radical change is required, and nothing short of the surgical separation of the twins will work - two separate deaneries.

The DRG has gleaned from the parishes the following suggestions for and against splitting, or remaining as one. Some Facilitators started the review with a mind to keep the Deanery as one - but now feel splitting may be a valid idea; others started with the intention of encouraging two deaneries, but concluded staying as one has greater merit. Consequently the group has no majority for a formal recommendation as to which of the alternatives should be followed, but asks that Deanery Synod has a thorough and informed debate that crystallizes the mind of the Synod, leading to a vote on the issue.
Retaining The Existing One Large Deanery
Advantages:
    Having a larger pool of clergy staffing means there are more people to help out when there are vacancies
    A wider variety of clergy skills can be available within a larger deanery
    Financially, there is a stronger support for the parishes that find it harder to reach FMC (Full Ministry Costs)
    Crawley brings a wide ethnic mix to the Deanery that is appreciated outside the town

Disadvantages:
    It is as far from the West of Ifield parish to the East of Cowden parish as it is to from Crawley to Brighton; over 20 miles!
    The Deanery feels a little unbalanced, like ‘knuckles on the end of a bone’
    With some 28 worship centres, and over 25 clergy posts plus additional paid lay workers, it is just too large
    It is perhaps too much for 1 Rural Dean to have to cope with
Splitting In To Two Smaller Deaneries Of Crawley, and East Grinstead
Advantages:
    Crawley is different to the rest of the Deanery
    Small is beautiful, relationships are easier to maintain
    2 much more manageable sized Deaneries

Disadvantages:
    People in churches are ‘the same’ everywhere, so Crawley is not really so different
    Does taking off the 100,000 population of Crawley emasculate and diminish the remaining East Grinstead part of the Deanery too much?
    The split might work OK for Crawley & East Grinstead - but what of the parishes in between, who are forced to ‘choose’?

Many of our existing boundaries were established on ancient rights of way, or geological features like streams. Modern physical boundaries such as railway lines and motorways make clear divisions in peoples’ minds these days. Whether we seek to split the Deanery, or remain as one, there are a number of places that looking at boundaries between parishes may help. These can loosely be categorised into three; inter-parish, inter-deanery, and inter-diocesan boundaries changes. Inter-parish boundary changes, agreed by both parishes, are straightforward to make. Inter-Deanery boundaries are slightly harder to change, but within a diocese easier to see through than changes that involve two separate dioceses. Details of a number of useful potential changes are listed in the Appendix 3, (but it should be stressed that the DRG would not wish boundary changes to be seen as of great importance or as a prime outcome of the Review).

Whatever is decided about boundaries, and however possible drawing in another parish from another Diocese may be, it is vital that with the new housing planned for East Grinstead, south of the A264, but currently partly in the Southwark Diocese, be urgently discussed by the Diocesan Bishops of the two dioceses. It appears clear that the new area will consider itself as ‘East Grinstead’ whatever any historic boundaries may be, and pastoral & church school provision needs to be considered in that light.

Individual parishes have a number of issues to do with their own buildings, and these are listed in Appendix 4. In addition to the ‘usual’ issues with buildings, several parishes have building projects on the go:
    St Andrew’s Furnace Green, in the Crawley Southgate parish is planning a new church/hall that is expected to cost some £500,000.
    Copthorne is in the process of building a new Parish centre, in the £1million region.
    Crawley Down needs to do something with its aging Parish Rooms, in the region of £200,000.
How can the Deanery/Diocese support parishes that are trying to find the capital towards their mission? Should the Deanery/Diocese be trying to cushion their PMC in any way, as an encouragement to mission?