1 April 2025
The Diocese of Gloucester has made a generous gift to the Diocese of Chelmsford which will fund a new curacy.
The Bishop’s Council in the Diocese of Gloucester has decided that 10% of the proceeds of a recent glebe land sale should be tithed to support ministry beyond their diocese.
This generous decision means Chelmsford Diocese and Blackburn Diocese will receive long-term financial support for two new curacies; one in each diocese. The other proceeds of the glebe land sale will fund ministry in the Diocese of Gloucester.
The Rt Rev’d Rachel Treweek, Bishop of Gloucester and the Rt Rev’d Robert Springett, Bishop of Tewkesbury issued a joint statement about the gift, saying:
“We are privileged in our diocese to have higher amounts of glebe land and investments than many other dioceses. Funds from these investments are well managed by our officers and our Trustees and used to invest in mission and ministry across our diocese.
“Yet with the sale of a significant piece of land it is right that we financially contribute to the life of our wider Church. In this act, we recognise that all that we have been given belongs to God, and as we bless others we too are blessed as we invest in future ministry within God’s church.”
Expressing gratitude for the gift, the Bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt Rev’d Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani said:
“We are deeply grateful to our friends in the Diocese of Gloucester for this gift that will be a blessing to our ministry in Chelmsford Diocese. Their generosity is a powerful reminder that we are one body in Christ, and that we are called to be the Church beyond the communities where we worship and serve.
“We give thanks for God’s provision and pray that this gift will help to sow the seeds of a friendship that will benefit mission and ministry across both our dioceses in the future.”
