The Diocese of Portsmouth covers Hampshire, the Isle of Wight,
the Channel Isles and parts of Berkshire, Dorset and Oxfordshire  

A Message from Bishop Crispian

Naming the Pastoral Areas (March 2007) / Announcing the Pastoral Areas (September 2006)

Naming the Pastoral Areas (March 2007)

I have been spending much of my time in the last few months visiting the clergy of the new pastoral Areas and I have been very encouraged by the generally positive and enthusiastic response. I asked the areas to come up with a name for themselves.

You'll find the names of all these areas here. These namings are descriptive of the geographical area and of the worshipping communities which make up each Pastoral Area, as I would have expected. This marks the latest stage in the implementation of the Pastoral Plan.

I will be continuing my visits to the clergy for the rest of the year and I hope to be celebrating Confirmation in many of the Areas in the coming summer and autumn. I love these visits and I  look forward very much to being with as many of you as possible.

Announcing the Pastoral Areas (September 2006)

I am delighted to present to you now the decisions I have reached about the shape of the Pastoral Areas in the diocese. These come as the fruit of your labours and that of the Implementation Steering Group which has worked hard to incorporate the suggestions and observations you have sent to us during the past couple of months.

In these Pastoral Areas we have an arrangement for the diocese which takes account of the constant demand that we should be an evangelising community, imbued with a strong sense of communion and mission. At the same time, this linking together of communities in Pastoral Areas will enable clergy to support one another in the vital role they have in the life of the diocese. With fewer priests than we have had in the past, this connection within Pastoral Areas is extremely important for their sake and for the sake of the people they serve.

The establishment of Pastoral Areas provides an opportunity for renewal in the pastoral plans that we make. Within each Area it will be important for communities to discern and address the pastoral needs which exist and so to enable faith to grow, be celebrated and be spread as we proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. I also urge you to build on and further develop relationships within your Pastoral Area at all levels. Vibrant Eucharistic communities will, I am convinced, provide the context within which vocations can be discerned - including those to the priesthood. If we are confident in our faith then that will communicate itself to others: we will 'Go Out and Bear Fruit'.

On that first Pentecost the disciples were gathered in the Upper Room. Each one of them will have felt a mixture of concern, anxiety about the future, insecurity in the face of a future they could not imagine. Then the Holy Spirit descended, filled them and transformed them. Without hesitation they began to move outwards from where they were gathered. The Pastoral Plan has challenged us to go out and bear fruit. The Pastoral Areas are an important tool for us to answer that call that the Lord puts before us. I ask you all now to put your trust in the Lord who calls us into His vineyard to gather the fruits of his harvest.