The Diocese of Winchester

Who we are

Our Diocese is not only the people, churches and schools that make it up, but an organisation that supports those communities and governs the Diocese.

The diocese is a mixture of rural and urban, new and old, innovative and traditional, serving a population of 1.27 million, of whom over 20,000 regularly attend worship in one of the 375 church buildings across our 255 parishes, led by our 202 ordained clergy, 87 Licensed Lay Ministers and a growing number of lay people commissioned for ministry

They are supported by the Diocesan Office handling things like training for ministry, finance, safeguarding and property issues. Holding all this together is a structure of senior clergy including our two Archdeacons and three Bishops.

Our culture and values

Our culture and values

‘Walking the Wessex Way’ is a story and vision for the Diocese of Winchester, offering four lenses – Loving, Serving, Learning and Growing – through which we can reflect on where God is leading us.

Serving: Prioritising the common good. Being humble ourselves, looking to the needs of others, especially those on the margins and where their need is greatest. Paying attention to the local, within a care for the whole.  

Learning: Open to ideas and the gifts of others in collaboration. Looking for mutual learning opportunities and growth in wisdom and excellence. Honouring the past whilst focusing on a sustainable future for all. 

Growing: Recognising our potential both personally and for mutual flourishing. Seeking to equip and encourage others, enabling them for the challenges of this generation and beyond. Recognising and wanting to make best use of the experience, wisdom and talent across our parishes.

Loving: Acting as good stewards of all that is entrusted to us. Respecting & valuing every person; seeing God’s image in others. Engendering a sense of mutual care, community and interdependence. 

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

Our teams are made up of brilliant people. Each of us is unique, whether in terms of our background, personal characteristics, experience, skills or motivations. And we value our people for the differences they bring to the table. These differences - this diversity - is powerful. 

Fostering an inclusive culture helps each of us to benefit from a wider range of these different perspectives, experiences and skills. We believe that this creates a happier, more productive working environment for us all. 

To support this inclusive culture, our EDI policy: 

• outlines our commitment throughout the employment lifecycle to equality, diversity and inclusion and sets out how we put this commitment into practice; 
• explains the behaviours we expect of our people in support of this commitment; and 
• sets out the key steps we take to make our culture as inclusive as possible, including our diversity and inclusion framework and how we ensure equality of opportunity throughout the employment lifecycle.