In the Diocese of Guildford, the senior leadership team is wholly committed to supporting the physical health, mental resilience, spiritual well-being and vocational growth of its clergy. Read more here.
Access all the diocesan policies, contacts and support services for ordained clergy here.
Wellbeing Covenant
In the Diocese of Guildford, the senior leadership team is wholly committed to supporting the physical health, mental resilience, spiritual wellbeing and vocational growth of its clergy.
This is undergirded with a Clergy Wellbeing Covenant launched in 2020. It’s a key document for all clergy and their Churchwardens, and which you can refer to throughout your ministry for guidance and policy on topics including:
- Your physical health and medicals
- When you are sick or unwell
- Your wellbeing and mental health
- Spiritual and ministerial development
- Special leave, including maternity, paternity, parental and adoption leave, and compassionate leave
- Support for clergy spouses
- Guidance for Churchwardens
Additional Resources and Counselling
At times, due to the pressures and challenges of parish ministry clergy may need additional wellbeing support. In the first instance please have a look at the wellbeing resources provided by our Employee Assistance Programme (Health Assured), which covers a whole range of issues including health, wellbeing, finances, relationships, and bereavement, as well as giving access to short-term counselling services. You can access the Health Assured’s resources via their Wisdom web portal. If you don't already have login details, email the People Team or call them on 01483 790309.
If you would like to explore more specialist counselling, then clergy may self-refer to Churches Ministerial Counselling Services (CMCS). Counselling is totally confidential.
Access to the Health Assured and CMCS is for all clergy, whether stipendiary or non-stipendiary
If you have any questions about wellbeing or HR policies, please talk to your Archdeacon, or contact the Head of People, Andy Morgan.
Arranging holiday and sickness cover
Incumbents and Priests-in-Charge, especially those without ordained colleagues, will often need to arrange for cover, especially when on holiday or sickness.
Encouraging the vocations of others
The local church is the place where Christians are most likely to find and explore their vocation. Church leaders therefore have an important role in encouraging people, and incumbents are a vital gatekeeper for those considering their vocation.
These are some resources you may find helpful when someone enquires about a call to ordained or lay ministry.
- Download this guide for Responding to an enquirer.
- If someone feels called to ordained ministry, refer them to this page which explains some of the different ordained roles in the Church, and what they can expect from the process once they begin to discern their call.
- If someone is less sure of the direction of their calling, this page may be helpful for them to read.
- Lay ministry roles and the processes for selection and training can be explored from here.
- After following the suggestions in the ‘Responding to an enquirer’ document above, if you believe the person should take things further, please refer them to a Diocesan Vocations Adviser using this form.
- Supporting lay ministry ongoing will be a significant part of your responsibilities. These downloads may be helpful:
- LLM Role Description.
- Guidelines for Incumbents on supporting and making the most of LLM ministry in the parish.
Clergy Discipline Measure
The Clergy Discipline Commission recommends that dioceses should publicise the imposition of penalties under the Clergy Discipline Measure by setting up a Clergy Discipline page on the diocese’s website. You can view that page here.
Resources for Clergy for Life Events
You can access all the information for clergy on Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages and Funerals here.
The latest Confirmations are listed here or on our calendar.