Church leaders vote in favour of 'super' diocese (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Church leaders vote in favour of 'super' diocese

7:00am Thursday 7th March 2013 in News By Julie Tickner, T&A Reporter

Church leaders in Bradford have voted in favour of “exciting” plans to dissolve the city’s diocese and replace it with a super diocese which would cover West Yorkshire and the Dales.
The new body would encompass areas served by Bradford, Ripon and Leeds and Wakefield dioceses and have smaller areas, each with a bishop, within it.
But while Ripon and Leeds Diocese also backed the plans, Wakefield Diocese rejected them when all three diocesan synods voted on the proposals on Saturday.
The result means it is now up to the Archbishop of York to decide whether to allow the scheme to go forward for debate at General Synod in the summer.
The Dioceses Commission published proposals for the reorganisation in 2010. It said the proposal would create church structures better able to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
The funding to the super diocese would be the same as the combined budget for all three single diocese and there would be no compulsory redundancies for at least two years.
Bradford synod members discussed the changes before Saturday’s vote in Skipton.
The Bishop of Bradford, the Right Reverend Nick Baines, said: “We had an excellent debate in which people were visionary, responsible, realistic and prophetic: it was inspiring to listen to.
“The negatives were aired alongside the positives."