Foreword

Joint Introduction by the Lay Chair and Area Dean                  

Welcome to the website of the Deanery in the Weald which it is hoped will provide the information you require about parishes in the Deanery and links to them.  To gain full benefit from the website, it is suggested that you log in to register to use the site at the bottom of the page. 

The twelve parishes that make up this most westerly part of the Diocese of Canterbury were, until nine years ago, part of a much larger Deanery covering much of West Kent.    As the “Cranbrook Deanery”, we became a much more cohesive group. The Deanery Synod made the decision to move away from the name of one Parish within that group and to call ourselves “Weald Deanery” which was better felt to reflect the area and communities we serve.  Three of our parishes are linked by the main train line to London; Marden, Headcorn and Staplehurst.  Cranbrook is a small rural town; Goudhurst and Hawkhurst are both larger villages; Sutton Valence, and Sissinghurst  are slightly smaller villages and  Kilndown, Chart Sutton, Frittenden and East Sutton are small rural communities.

Here are some of the most attractive villages in the south-east of England. Most of the characteristic oast houses have been converted into housing and the hop gardens have disappeared, but the villages retain much of their charm of former years. Within comfortable commuting distance of London, these villages have attracted many incomers, some to retire, but many more to find a refuge from the hurly burly of their daily lives. Here among us they discover active communities, good schools, local attractions such as Sissinghurst Castle or Bedgebury Forest, and active churches, keen to respond to the challenges of living the Christian faith in the twenty-first century.

The parishes in the Weald Deanery have worked hard on its mission and ministry plans and continue to work together on its financial responsibilities. We come together as a Deanery to share worship and two of our synod meetings, each year, are open to all members of our parishes. On these occasions, we have shared thoughts on subjects such as communion before confirmation and woman bishops.  We are planning together for the future pastoral care of the people of the whole Deanery, and beginning to plan for our growth and development together.  We are also working towards running training courses of various sorts across the Deanery.  All that is going on is girded by our deanery prayer group, which meets regularly. There are many new patterns of ministry, and already we are welcoming the deployment of self-supporting ministers in our midst, to say nothing of new forms of authorised lay ministry. We are fortunate indeed that within our communities there are many people who give so generously of skills developed and experience gained from many walks of life.

Against this background of change the Church continues to provide its traditional ministry to the sick and the bereaved, the care and nurture of our children and the weekly provision of worship to God which (we hope) inspires and challenges our congregations, together with opportunities to study and grow in the Christian faith. We hope that our new-found togetherness will support the life and ministry of our individual parishes.                

        Canon Valerie Wallis, MBE, Lay Chair                               Revd. Bill Hornsby. Area Dean Designate.   
    Honorary Lay Canon of Canterbury Cathedral