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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 September 2020
Considering the importance of their role in the life of the Church of England and the Church in Wales, there is not much written about the role of archdeacons. In her recent article in the January 2019 issue of this Journal, Jane Steen focused on the legal aspect of the role of archdeacons, and reflected on how they play a key role in shaping the Church and its ministry, delighting in its beauty and rejoicing in its well-being. In this article, the recently retired training, development and support officer for archdeacons reflects on the nature of the role and, in the light of that, on the way in which it might best be carried out. Believing that process is at least as important as outcome, and that good processes lead to better outcomes, he argues that coaching provides a useful model to enable archdeacons to exercise their ministries most effectively and promote both the mission and the well-being of the Church. It is also, he argues, a better reflection of Anglican theology.
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20 Ibid, p 34.
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23 Ibid, p 37.
24 Ibid, p 38.
25 Ibid, p 42.
26 Ibid, p 46.
27 The following role descriptions for archdeacons’ posts were examined in producing this work: Birmingham 2018, Bristol 2019, Canterbury 2015, Carlisle 2016, Chelmsford 2015, Cornwall 2019, Exeter and Plymouth 2019 (two separate posts), Germany and northern Europe and the East 2014 (one post), Nottingham 2019, Richmond and Craven 2018 (one post) and Surrey 2017. The role descriptions have been anonymised and given letters to identify them.
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