Diocesan Mission and Pastoral Committee
The DMPC is a statutory committee established under the Mission and Pastoral Measure 2011.
The DMPC’s remit, in broad terms, is to keep under review arrangements for pastoral supervision and care in the diocese and to make recommendations to the bishop. The functions of the DMPC in the diocese are carried out by the Bishop’s Council, which requires it to take a diocese-wide view on policy and strategy around ministerial deployment and resourcing.
Most of the day-to-day work is carried out by the four Archdeaconry Mission and Pastoral Committees (AMPCs), sub-committees of the DMPC. The membership of the AMPCs, which each meet two to three times per year, is made up by and large of area deans and lay chairs.
In addition, some elected clerical and lay members of Bishop’s Council are also members of the archdeaconry committee for their respective area, to allow diocesan oversight of local discussions. They make decisions and recommendations after consultation with relevant interested parties on issues such as pastoral re-organisation and suspensions of presentation. The AMPCs have an important role in relation to deanery mission action plans, which they review and support.
In addition to the AMPCs, the DMPC also has a fifth, specialist subcommittee, the Closed Churches Committee, which is responsible for finding suitable alternative uses for churches formally closed for regular public worship under the MPM2011, or those churches approved for formal closure by the DMPC.
Maggie Metaliaj
Pastoral Secretary
01865 208 243