Distinct for a Reason

The Conference is empowered by the Constitution of the Church in Wales to co-operate with the Bishop (Chapter IV D 3). It is the duty of the Conference to:

• appoint a Board of Finance (Chapter IV A 24 (1));
• appoint a Secretary of the Conference (Chapter IV A 22);
• appoint a Standing Committee (Chapter IV A 23);
• appoint members of the Diocesan Advisory Committee for the care of churches;
• appoint clerical members of the Disciplinary Tribunal (Chapter IX 10.1 (b));
• arrange elections to the Provincial and Diocesan Boards of Nomination;
• arrange elections to the Electoral College (Chapter IV A 17);
• arrange elections to the Governing Body (Chapter IV A 16);
• arrange elections to the Representative Body (Chapter IV A 16); and
• arrange elections to the Diocesan Churches and Pastoral Committee.

The Conference also has power over its own membership, convening, business, procedure and committees, property and finances, Ministry Area Vestry Meetings, churchwarden appointments, territorial arrangements, and requiring Ministry Areas to contribute to diocesan expenditure, among other matters set out in the Constitution of the Church in Wales.

1. Membership of the Diocesan Conference

The Conference is elected triennially, taking office from 1 January and every three years thereafter, though committee members continue serving until the new Conference first meets. All members must be communicants of the Church in Wales over the age of sixteen. The Conference consists of ex-officio, nominated, elected and co-opted members, subject to constitutional limits: ex-officio, co-opted and nominated members together may not exceed one-sixth of total membership; clerics may not outnumber lay members; and there must be at least three lay members per deanery.

Elected members comprise all incumbents and clerics holding the Bishop's licence, all licensed lay workers in receipt of a Church in Wales stipend, and five lay persons elected triennially by each Ministry Area Vestry Meeting (Deanery Conference), with supplemental lists drawn up for substitutes and casual vacancies.

Ex-officio members include the Bishop (or Commissary), the Assistant Bishop (if any), the Chancellor, the Diocesan Registrar, the Chairman of the DBF, the Lay Secretary, the Diocesan Secretary, the Chairman of the Diocesan Parsonage Board, the Directors of Mission and Ministry, the Chairman of the Board for Social Responsibility, and Diocesan representatives to the Governing Body Standing Committee.

The Standing Committee may co-opt up to five clerical or lay members, appointed at the meeting preceding the triennial Annual Meeting. The Bishop may nominate up to fifteen lay persons to the Conference on the same triennial cycle.

The Conference appoints a Secretary after nomination by the Bishop, who holds office for at least four years and may resign at any time. The Secretary is responsible for taking minutes of the Conference, Standing Committee and Diocesan Board of Nomination; maintaining the membership list; inviting motions and questions 28 days before Conference (submissions due 10 days before); sending notices of meetings; and returning election results to the Governing Body, the Bishop and the clergy. The Diocesan Secretary is responsible for the administrative arrangements for all elections and the organisation of Diocesan Conferences.

The Conference meets at least once a year. The Annual Meeting is called by the Bishop (or Commissary), with date and place decided by the Standing Committee; meetings may be held in person, electronically, or a combination of both. Special meetings may be called by the Bishop at his discretion, and must be called when requested in writing by at least one-quarter of members. Notice periods are 28 calendar days for an ordinary meeting and 7 for a special meeting.

The President (the Bishop or Commissary) has a casting vote. The quorum is one-quarter of clerical members and one-fifth of lay members, together with the President; without a quorum the meeting is null and void and must be reconvened. Decisions require the assent of the President and a majority of clerical and lay members present, voting conjointly or (if demanded by thirty members) by Orders.

The Standing Committee meets at least twice a year. Ex-officio voting members include the Bishop (or Commissary), the Assistant Bishop (if any), the Dean of Brecon, the Archdeacons of Brecon and Gower, the Chairman of the DBF, the Directors of Mission and Ministry, Diocesan representatives to the Governing Body Standing Committee, and Church Hub Leaders (including the Minster Church). Elected members are two persons per Ministry Area (at least one lay), elected by the Ministry Area Vestry Meeting. The Registrar, Secretary of the Conference and Diocesan Secretary attend without voting rights.

The Standing Committee determines the date, place and agenda of the Annual Meeting, and is responsible for diocesan strategy and forward planning, co-ordinating the work of diocesan bodies, managing matters referred to it by the Conference, determining election arrangements, and recommending amendments to the Diocesan Constitution. The quorum is one-quarter of members plus the Chair, who is elected from the Committee's own membership and holds a casting vote.

Each autumn, clerical members of the Conference elect two of their number to the Governing Body, and lay members elect four lay communicant members, in a manner prescribed by the Standing Committee. Results are returned within a week to the Governing Body secretaries, the Bishop and the clergy. Those elected serve a three-year term from 1 January of the following year. The Standing Committee also nominates one clerical and one lay Diocesan member of the Governing Body to its Standing Committee, at the autumn meeting of the Standing Committee in each triennial year.

In the autumn of 2014 and every three years thereafter, the Conference elects one clerical and one lay member to the Representative Body, in a manner prescribed by the Standing Committee. Results are returned within a week to the Representative Body, the Bishop and the clergy. Terms run for three years from the beginning of the following year.

In the autumn of 2013 and every three years thereafter, the Conference elects six clerical and six lay members as Episcopal electors, in a manner prescribed by the Standing Committee. Results are returned within a week to the Governing Body secretaries, the Archbishop, each Diocesan Bishop and the clergy. Electors serve three years from the year of election.

In the autumn of 2013 and every three years thereafter, the Conference elects twelve clerics and nine lay persons (all members of the Conference) to the Diocesan Nomination Board, in a manner prescribed by the Standing Committee. Those elected take up office on 1 January of the following year for a three-year term. At the first meeting of each triennial election year, the Board elects one lay member to serve as diocesan representative to the Provincial Nomination Board for the following triennium.

• Each meeting includes an act of worship and ends with prayer.
• No member remains standing once the President has taken the Chair, except when addressing it.
• Speeches by a proposer or seconder, and all other speeches, are limited to five minutes (extendable with the leave of the meeting); this does not apply to the President's Address.
• Members may not speak more than once on the same question, except in explanation, on a point of order, or as the proposer's right of reply.
• If thirty members rise and demand an immediate vote, the Chair puts the question to a show of hands; if approved, the proposer is offered a right of reply before the vote is taken.
• Only business on the Agenda Paper is transacted, though the President may, at absolute discretion, allow routine items not listed.
• Questions and motions must be submitted in writing to the Secretary at least ten calendar days before the meeting; invitations to submit are sent at least 28 days beforehand.
• Amendments must be in writing, signed by the proposer, and handed to the Secretary; no amendment on an amendment is in order.
• A motion for the suspension of Standing Orders requires the support of a majority of members present, rising in support.
• These Standing Orders are printed and circulated with the Agenda for every meeting.

12 May 2022 (v2.0): Gender-neutral language amendments throughout; removal of "The Treasurer" and inclusion of "The Diocesan Secretary"; provision for electronic meetings of the Diocesan Conference and Standing Committee; Standing Committee Chair now elected from its own membership rather than defaulting to the Bishop.

23 March 2023 (v3.0): Sections adapted to reflect the new Ministry Area structure (1.2.2, 1.2.5, 4.2.2, 6.2–6.3, 7.1–7.3, 8.2–8.4); provision to allow a Ministry Area Council to authorise filling a casual vacancy; correction of the lay age-limit typo (eighteen to sixteen); formal invitation of questions and motions to Conference proceedings added (2.2.3, 9.10.1).

7 December 2023 (v4.0): Addition of Diocesan Representatives of the Governing Body Standing Committee as ex-officio members of the Diocesan Standing Committee.

October 2024 (v5.0): Numbering correction (4.2.1.9); addition of Hub Church Leaders, including the Minster Church, as ex-officio members of the Diocesan Standing Committee.

Reverend Canon Dr Mark Clavier introduced Dr Jane Williams, a prominent Anglican theologian affiliated with St Padarn's Institute and McDonald Professor of Theology at St Mellitus College, which she helped found. Dr Williams spoke about the Nicene Creed, formed in 325 AD when bishops convened at Nicaea, and its enduring relevance to contemporary faith and ministry. For 1700 years the Creed had shaped Christian understanding of God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one in being and action, calling us into relationship with God, each other and the world — "we believe" this.

Conference members moved into smaller groups to consider questions including why we believe God is as depicted in the creeds, the implications of saying "we believe" rather than "we know", why God's "almightiness" is shown to us as "fatherly", why a God like this wants a church, and whether worship and prayer life tend to focus on one person of the Trinity, or on the Oneness or Threeness of God, more than the others. Members then discussed sharing their faith with others and the responses they had received. Bishop John shared his experience of reciting the Nicene Creed aloud in churches across the diocese.

Reverend Dr Emma Whittick, Bishop's Chaplain, updated members on provincial wellbeing initiatives and developing diocesan plans.

4.1 Provincial wellbeing initiatives

• St Luke's for Clergy Wellbeing — the Advancing Clergy Reflection Programme, training independent supervisors in each diocese.
• Mid-Ministry Course, delivered by St Padarn's.
• Cynnal Counselling Service — free, confidential counselling for clergy across Wales.
• Wellbeing of Retired Clergy — a Pre-Retirement Course.

4.2 Provincial wellbeing questionnaire

Launching February 2026, initially for stipendiary clergy only. Responses strictly anonymous, geographically tagged only to diocesan level, overseen by HR at the Representative Body.

4.3 Diocesan wellbeing

Conference noted the provincial focus was largely on clergy, and highlighted the need to extend provision to staff and Licensed Lay Ministers; work was underway on a more inclusive diocesan approach.

4.4 Sources of support — current provision

Ministry Area Leaders, Archdeacons, the Bishop's Office and Diocesan Secretary; Spiritual Directors (members encouraged to seek one if not already in place); external organisations including Clergy Support Trust, GoHealth, ReSource, Sheldon, and the Gower Wonder of Wellbeing Project.

4.5 Sources of support — future developments

A single point of access for wellbeing resources on the diocesan website; a proposal to appoint volunteer Wellbeing Chaplains, ordained and lay, with training provided; and a diocesan-specific wellbeing questionnaire following analysis of the provincial survey.

Mr Geoffrey Davies welcomed Mr Ant Griffiths, Director of Safeguarding, and Mrs Meleri Cray, Safeguarding Training and Engagement Officer. Mr Griffiths reaffirmed safeguarding as a key priority, with training now returned to the provincial team and updated procedures in place. He noted a 320% rise in reported disclosures alongside significant improvements in recent years, and encouraged collaborative working and engagement with the safeguarding team. Mrs Cray reported strong attendance at Module B training (over 1,200 participants provincewide) but lower uptake for Module C, and urged leaders and Trustees to attend, highlighting the value of MASO networks. Members were encouraged to promote Safeguarding Sunday (theme: Actions Speak Louder) and engage with Safe Spaces. The session closed with the Safeguarding Prayer.

Mr Geoffrey Davies opened formal business and invited Mrs Louise Pearson, Diocesan Secretary and Lay Conference Secretary, to address Conference. Mrs Pearson referred members to the pre-circulated Diocesan Board of Finance (DBF) Annual Report and Accounts. The minutes of the 2024 Conference were accepted as a true record, and members noted the revised (2024) Diocesan Constitution approved at that Conference.

Mr Geoffrey Davies thanked all staff who had contributed to the day and those present for attending, and invited everyone into Christ College Chapel for Holy Eucharist.

During 2025 the DBF continued to support 14 Ministry Areas as they embedded recent structural changes; three further Ministry Areas registered as Charitable Incorporated Organisations, bringing the current total to ten, with work ongoing to support the remaining four. Sincere thanks were extended to Mr Jeffrey Brown, DBF Chair, who stood down on 5 May 2025 due to increased work commitments.

Ministry Share collection reduced from 75.3% in 2024 to 70.5% in 2025. The DBF funded a one-year trial of contactless giving units across Ministry Areas, and a new member of staff was employed in June 2025 to support the rollout of MyFundAccounting software.

The diocese received £225,750 in Partnership Funding, £396,390 from the Structural Resilience Fund, and £728,523 in Inception Church Growth Funding from the Representative Body in 2025. The Archdeacon for Ministry Areas, Peter Brooks, retired at the end of June 2025, and Rev'd Rachel Bunting took up a new role with Swansea Minster Church in November 2025. The diocese was unable to secure further funding for three mission staff, whose roles were made redundant at the end of 2025/first quarter of 2026; two secured new posts within the diocese and wider church family. In November 2025 the diocese was awarded £2.8m in new Church Growth Fund grant for the Stepping Stones project in Llwchwr Ministry Area, establishing a dedicated evangelism team at a Hub Church in Gorseinon.

The Charity's purposes are to maintain a sustainable and transforming Christian ministry across the Diocese, and to enable all to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God — expressed through the Diocesan Vision of Gathering as God's people, Growing more like Jesus, and Going Out in the power of the Spirit.

Main 2025 objectives included sustaining long-term financial stability, supporting Ministry Areas, training and supporting ordained and lay ministries, aligning projects with the Church Growth Fund and Diocesan Mission, and enabling mission projects reflecting the Diocesan Vision.

Rev'd Professor Jane de Gay was appointed Diocesan Director of Ministry in June 2025, combining the roles of Diocesan Director of Ordinands and Continuing Ministerial Development Officer, with a strategic emphasis on developing lay and ordained ministry. The DBF continued to fund Ministry Area Administrators and succession-planning posts, and awarded £83,502 in Diocesan Mission Fund grants (2024: £72,256).

Total net assets reduced by 1.1% to £6,203,102 (2024: £6,270,844). Support for Ministry accounted for approximately 63.1% of expenditure (2024: 69.5%), the reduced share reflecting the new Church Growth Funding stream for Ministry Area Projects, which added £506,934 to both income and expenditure.

Total incoming resources rose 23.2% to £5,149,661 (2024: £4,211,138), including £2,939,970 collectable Ministry Share, £225,750 Partnership Funding, £396,390 Structural Resilience Fund grants, £728,523 Inception Church Growth funding, £506,934 Church Growth Funding for Ministry Area Projects, and £147,745 investment income. Total resources expended were £5,544,804 (2024: £4,948,845), with support for ministry the largest cost at £3,497,578, including £895,540 in provision against uncollected Ministry Share (2024: £632,230).

Net realised and unrealised investment gains were £327,361 (2024: £303,740). The reserves policy requires at least nine months' operating expenditure held in reserve; at 31 December 2025, unrestricted funds of £4,632,915 represented the equivalent of 11 months' operating expenditure — above policy, reflecting RBCIW financial support and investment gains rather than underlying surplus. Without Structural Resilience Funding and investment gains, the accounts would show a deficit of £791,533 for the year.

• Sustain Diocesan Ministry by striving for financial stability and self-sustainability.
• Work with the RBCIW to invest in evangelism and grow the church using Church Growth Fund resources.
• Continue to support the transition to Ministry Areas.
• Provide training and support of ordained and lay ministries.
• Provide support and advice for Ministry Areas across all their activities.
• Monitor Ministry Share apportionment for equity across stakeholders.
• Continue to support the Diocesan Mission Fund.
• Establish a diocese-wide strategy for evangelism and outreach.

Trustees/Directors: Jeffrey Brown (resigned 5 May 2025); The Venerable Jonathan Byron Davies; The Venerable Alan Neil Jevons; Gwynfor Lewis, FCA; The Right Reverend John Derrick Percy Lomas; The Very Reverend Albert Paul Shackerley (resigned 24 May 2026).

Company Secretary: Louise Anne Pearson.
Registered office: Diocesan Centre, Unit 11 Penyfan Business Park, Ffrwdgrech Industrial Estate, Brecon, Powys, LD3 8LA.
Independent auditors: Azets Audit Services, Cardiff.
Investment managers: RBC Brewin Dolphin Limited, Cardiff.

The Governing Body is the supreme legislature of the Church in Wales — broadly, its Parliament — responsible for decisions on the Church's faith, order and worship, and empowered to make regulations for the Church's general management and government. Its business spans governance, liturgy, doctrine, mission, ministry structures and matters of social concern.

Eligibility

Clergy must hold a dignity, cathedral preferment, benefice or office in the Church in Wales, or a diocesan bishop's licence; must not be a full-time salaried employee of the Representative Body, a DBF or other provincial/diocesan body; must not be disqualified as a charity trustee under Welsh law; must not be retired or have reached 70; must not belong to a religious body outside communion with the Church in Wales; and must not be under arrest or charge for an offence that would result in disqualification, pending conclusion of proceedings.

Lay persons must be confirmed communicants aged 18–75, resident (or having resided 12 months) in a Church in Wales ministry area or on its electoral roll; the same employment, disqualification, communion and criminal-proceedings conditions apply as for clergy, with the age ceiling at 75.

Members serve an initial three-year term. The Governing Body meets at least once a year, usually twice, over two days, alternating venues across the province. Accommodation and meals are provided at in-person meetings, and reasonable travel costs reimbursed. Further information: John Richfield, 02920 348 229 / johnrichfield@churchinwales.org.uk.

The Representative Body is the financial arm of the Church in Wales, holding the province's assets — around 1,300 churches, 900 parsonages, glebe land and an investment portfolio of approximately £900 million — on behalf of the Archbishop, bishops, clergy and laity. As a registered charity it is regulated by the Charity Commission and operates under trust and charity law, balancing prudent asset management with supporting present-day mission and ministry, and providing annual grants to dioceses.

Membership

The Chair of each diocese's DBF; the Chair of the Governing Body Standing Committee; the Archbishop; one cleric and one lay person elected by each Diocesan Conference; up to four members nominated by the Bench of Bishops in consultation with the Standing Committee; and up to two co-opted members.

Eligibility

Clergy must not be a current or recent (within 12 months) full-time salaried employee of the Representative Body, a DBF or other provincial/diocesan body; must not be disqualified as a charity trustee; must not be retired or have reached 70; and must not be under arrest or charge for a disqualifying offence pending conclusion of proceedings. Lay persons must be confirmed communicants aged 18–75, with the same employment, disqualification and criminal-proceedings conditions.

Members serve an initial three-year term. The Representative Body normally meets three times a year, plus committee meetings (a further two to four annually), predominantly online or hybrid; joint meetings with the Standing Committee are usually in person. Helpful expertise includes investments and banking, financial management, pensions, charity governance, audit and accountancy, property, safeguarding, and human resources; meals are provided and reasonable travel expenses reimbursed. The gender balance on the Representative Body has not been ideal, and women are particularly encouraged to put themselves forward. Further information: Rhys Jenkins, provincial office, rhysjenkins@churchinwales.org.uk.

The Electoral College is the Church in Wales body which elects the Archbishop of Wales and diocesan bishops, convened shortly after an episcopal vacancy arises. When electing a diocesan bishop, the vacant diocese is represented by six lay and six clerical electors; each other diocese by three lay and three clerical electors, plus its diocesan bishop. Meetings may run up to three consecutive days, concluding whenever an election is made, and begin each day with an act of worship. The Electoral College to elect the Archbishop follows the same format, with all dioceses equally represented (three lay and three clerical electors each, plus the six bishops), taking place at Holy Trinity Church, Llandrindod Wells.

Diocesan electors

Each Diocesan Conference elects six lay and six clerical electors, plus a supplemental list of up to nine lay and nine clerical electors, ranked in order of votes received. When an Electoral College is convened, electors are called from these lists in rank order.

Eligibility

An episcopal elector must be either a lay person under 75, qualified for Governing Body membership, continuing only while resident in the appointing diocese (unless holding diocesan office or on a Ministry Area's electoral roll); or a cleric under 70, qualified for Governing Body membership, continuing only while licensed and resident in the diocese.

Commitment

All proceedings are strictly confidential, with a declaration of confidentiality taken at the start of each meeting. Meetings are arranged as three-day in-person events, with electors also meeting online beforehand to agree conduct regulations and consider vacancy advertising and shortlisting. Electors serve a three-year term and may be re-elected; some three-year terms may include no College meetings at all, others several. Accommodation and meals are provided and reasonable travel costs reimbursed.

The Standing Committee is appointed by the Governing Body with a broad remit spanning certain constitutional amendments, stages in the passage of Bills, legal and constitutional matters, and monitoring progress on the Governing Body's behalf between meetings. It ordinarily meets three times a year, advises on policy and resources, approves the budget prepared by the Representative Body, and manages Governing Body meeting agendas.

Membership

The diocesan bishop and two members (one clerical, one lay) from each diocese, nominated by that diocese's Standing Committee from among its Governing Body members; the Chair and deputy-Chair of the Representative Body; up to two Governing Body members appointed on the Standing Committee's nomination; and up to two co-opted members.

Sub-committees

Appointments & Business; Safeguarding; Drafting; and Legal, plus other working groups as required. Only Governing Body members are eligible for election to the Standing Committee. Meals are provided and reasonable travel expenses reimbursed for in-person meetings. As with the Representative Body, women are particularly encouraged to put themselves forward given the current gender balance. Further information: John Richfield, provincial office, 02920 348 229 / johnrichfield@churchinwales.org.uk.