We need to see our Dean back at work

From Christopher Davey.

ON Tuesday night I sat in on the emergency Jersey Synod meeting at St Brelade’s Church Hall as an observer and, despite the calming efforts of the chair, I was soon aware of the strong feelings evident in the room.

A fortnight or so ago, we were assured by our Bailiff and the judiciary that our Dean was still in post, despite being suspended from his duties as the representative of the Bishop of Winchester. The question is: where is he?

Granted, he has not been well – understandably, due to the pressure of current circumstances, but I understand he is now back at work.

We should be seeing him fulfilling all his functions as our Dean, at States sittings and, most significantly, on Liberation Day. We also need to see him carrying out his mission as Rector of the Town Church and pastoral carer of our Anglican community. It is surely crucial that Jersey’s independent position be precisely asserted by his resuming his rightful place in our Island’s life.

The word is that he may be tempted to keep a low profile in a spirit of reconciliation. Senator Sir Philip Bailhache has indicated that we may now be past that point because there is no sign that such a reconciliatory approach is being reciprocated by the Bishop of Winchester, who is visiting the Island on 26 April to ‘brief the clergy’.

Jersey is not simply an ‘outlying’ parish within the Diocese of Winchester; our Dean’s appointment is through Letters Patent from the Queen. His commission from the Bishop is to represent the Bishop in Jersey.

We need to remind our Bishop – while he continues to fiddle with his terms of reference – of this position, fairly and squarely, by seeing our Dean back at work while the issue of his commission is resolved through the promised inquiry and visit of Bishop Gladwin.

Life moves on and we need our Dean to be with us.