The current Dean the Very Rev. Tim Barker is due to retire this summer, after which his home, the St Andrew’s Rectory, next door to the parish church, is to be sold by the parish. It is already on the market.
Mr Barker is currently the rector of the parish church, but from January 2030 a law change will mean that no permanent rectors can be appointed in parishes that rely on providing a rectory funded by ratepayers.
This impending change led to the Guernsey Deanery Fund deciding to buy a property for the new Dean.
‘While the next Dean will continue to have responsibility for St Peter’s Church in Sark as priest in charge, he or she will not be the incumbent of a Guernsey parish,’ said a spokesman.
The Deanery Fund purchased L’Abeurveux in La Villiaze Lane, which will be renamed The Deanery, for £1,014,000 early last month.
Candidates for Dean are currently being sought by the Lt-Governor, acting on behalf of the Crown.
The Deanery Fund is a non-profit organisation that primarily generates its revenue through surplus income from the Guernsey Ecclesiastical Court as well as the Deanery’s management of smaller trust funds, funded through bequests, investments and general donations. It has also used its income to support community projects and local charities across the Bailiwick.
‘The purchase of this property has, however, significantly depleted the assets held by the Guernsey Deanery Fund which, inevitably, will reduce its annual income, which is now fully committed to supporting the general ministry in the 16 parishes of the Deanery,’ said the spokesman.
‘For the avoidance of doubt the Deanery Fund will not be in a position to purchase further properties, nor are funds available for that purpose from either the Church Commissioners or the Diocese of Salisbury.’
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