DIOCESAN ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANISATIONS

From the second half of the nineteenth century diocesan administration broadened to take account of greater lay involvement at all levels of church life including education, social work, missionary and pastoral affairs, and increasingly complicated financial arrangements. As a result a series of bodies, - boards, funds and societies were established or re-organised from the 1860s. The diocesan conference was instituted in 1870 thus initiating lay involvement in diocesan affairs (EDM 9) and a diocesan finance association in 1873 to deal with funds of existing financial bodies (EDM 11). Further departments supervised by central boards dealt with education (EDM 3,6), missions (EDM 4) and social service (EDM 2). The diocesan conference was superseded in 1967 by the diocesan council (later synod) and bishop's councils (EDM 29) and a series of minutes devoted pastoral re-organisation (EDM 32) reflect much about church building, church closures and amalgamation of parishes. Printed reports of all these institutions are published by the Board of Finance (EDM 11).