Some changes in Bishop's Senior Staff

Archdeacon Potter (l) with Archdeacon of France Ian Naylor

There are some changes happening in membership of the Bishop's Staff Meeting. Before long Archdeacon Peter Potter will retire from his post as Chaplain of St Ursula's Berne and as Archdeacon of Switzerland. He is the longest serving Archdeacon in the diocese at present and also covered as Archdeacon of Germany and Northern Europe when that post was vacant for about a year. Last week's meeting of the Bishop's Staff was his final one. Meanwhile it was Archdeacon Vickie Sims's first such meeting. In February she took up her duties as Archdeacon of Italy and Malta, in addition to her responsibilities as Chaplain of All Saints, Milan.

The Bishop's Staff Meeting is not a synodical body like the diocesan synod or the Bishop's Council, but an operational committee, bringing together the senior staff who hold particular responsibilities sharing in the day to day oversight and care of the clergy and people. The members, besides the bishops, are the dean, the archdeacons, the registrar, the diocesan secretary, the appointments secretary, the Director of Ordinands and the Director of Ministerial Development and the bishops' respective chaplains.

Archdeacon Vickie Sims (r) with Canon Ulla Monberg, Director of Ministerial Formation