An introduction to the Luton Deanery
- Luton Deanery is made up of twenty parishes. It is in the Bedford Archdeaconry of the Diocese of St Albans.
- Our Diocesan Bishop is The Rt Revd Alan Smith.
- The Suffragan Bishop with responsibility for our Deanery is the Bishop of Bedford, The Rt Revd Richard Atkinson.
- Our Archdeacon is the Revd Canon Dave Middlebrook. Other Deaneries in the Archdeaconry are Ampthill and Shefford, Bedford, Biggleswade, Dunstable and Sharnbrook.
- God’s love and care for his people, for society, and for creation needs to be expressed by our words and our deeds. Parishes are finding great value in working together, training people, studying together, sharing resources and caring together.
Luton Deanery Mission...
- In response to the report “Luton is Different”, the Deanery of Luton identifies the following agendas for its mission going forward:
- To emphasise mission rather than maintenance in its outlook and planning.
- To train, equip and empower laity to be active in mission in whatever their context.
- To affirm existing expressions of church and also support and resource new expressions of church.
- To be realistic, practical and creative in identifying and using our resources of money, buildings, paid workers and volunteers.
- To be willing to take risks and learn from our mistakes as we do our best to follow Jesus.
Going Forward...
The following are considered to be important if, as a Deanery, we are to go forward together:
• Keep the Deanery informed and aware of progress.
• Celebrate what has been achieved.
• Review progress and update goals where necessary.
Next Steps...
The examples below are suggestions and not in any sense prescriptive or exhaustive.They are meant as an illustration of how this process might be approached.
Short-term goals –
Encouraging participation, Aims and Values, meeting agendas and speakers to highlight mission opportunities, bullet-point reports of Synod meetings, celebrating the positive, supporting and encouraging each other, ‘take-home’ messages, ‘Diary’ of training opportunities.
Medium-term goals –
Things we might do better together in our partnerships, ecumenically or across the Deanery (e.g. Ministry to the elderly, Open the Book assemblies, Messy Church), restructuring/redefining the role of the Area Dean (? Mission enabler), Deanery training events, reviewing partnerships.
Longer-term goals –
Strategic appointments e.g. interfaith, assistant curates, mission-enablers, chaplaincies, deployment/redeployment, pastoral reorganisation.
There are 20 parishes in the Deanery.
Parishes on occasions work in Partnership groupings:
Partnership 1
Holy Trinity, Biscot,
St Saviour's,
St Mary’s Sundon,
Holy Cross, Marsh Farm
Partnership 2
St John’s Farley Hill,
All Saints Caddington,
St Andrew’s Woodside
St Hugh's, Lewsey
Partnership 3
St Margaret’s Streatley,
St Augustine's, Limbury
St Andrew's,
St Luke's, Leagrave
All Saints with St Peter
Partnership 4
Christchurch, Bushmead
Luton, St Mary's
St Matthew's,
St Paul's
Partnership 5
St Anne's and St Christopher's,
St Thomas', Stopsley
St Francis' with St Hugh's, Cockernhoe