Dean to leave St Davids weeks after publication of critical report

Martin Shipton

The Dean of St Davids has announced she is leaving, weeks after a highly critical report said the cathedral was in the midst of a major financial crisis and could be insolvent within two years unless remedial steps are taken.

Very Revd Dr Sarah Rowland Jones is relocating to north Wales, where she will become the vicar of Harden and Broughton in Deeside.

The recent visitation report states: “The Cathedral’s financial situation requires urgent and coordinated leadership action. Developing a clear, shared sustainability strategy for beyond 2026 has yet to be developed, and this must be an urgent priority.

“The Cathedral’s financial position remains the most critical challenge highlighted during this visitation. Financial sustainability is fundamental to enable the Cathedral to fulfil its mission, maintain its historic fabric, and remain a vibrant centre of worship and outreach. Without robust financial planning and disciplined financial management, the Cathedral’s ability to sustain this role is at risk.

“A general theme can be captured in a quotation by a witness describing the relationship to financial management and oversight as ‘a cruising culture – drifting, plodding’. The current financial trajectory is unsustainable. “Unrestricted deficits have persisted for seven years, eroding reserves to a dangerously low level and leaving the Cathedral exposed to any unforeseen costs. Free reserves are very low and a cause for great concern. The planned withdrawal of episcopal and diocesan support by the end of 2026, amounting to £98,000 annually, compounds this risk.

“While we acknowledge the recent appointment of a Project Development Manager, there is currently no evidence of success in securing external funding. This reinforces the need for a comprehensive fundraising strategy. Income generation will require renewed focus and a step change in approach.

“Visitor numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels, and per capita giving remains comparatively low. Grant applications have yet to yield results and opportunities for commercial development and broader fundraising have not been fully explored.”

Development plan

News of the Dean’s departure appeared in a Facebook post by the diocese which doesn’t refer to the visitation but states: “This morning Dean Sarah announced that after more than eight years in St Davids she will hand over the baton for a successor to shape and deliver the next 5-8 year phase of the Cathedral’s development plan, which runs beyond her retirement date. She will leave in August and return to parish ministry in her home Diocese of St Asaph, closer to family, where she will take up the post of Rector of Hawarden and Vicar of Broughton and Sealand, as priest in charge within the Deeside Mission Area.”

Dean Sarah is quoted as saying: ‘I’m going to grab the rapidly closing window before I’m 70, and return to the priestly work of parish ministry for a couple of years: to pastoring, preaching, discipling, teaching and praying with and encouraging the people of God in being salt and light, day by day, in the world. This will also give more time for speaking, writing, broadcasting etc across popular theology and spirituality, international Anglican matters, and academic work than being Dean allows. All this – both the life of a parish priest, and communicating the things of God in the language of the world, to both church and world – is really my primary vocation.’

She added that she is looking forward to collaborating with Gladstone’s Library, with which she has a longstanding association.

Dean Sarah grew up in Welshpool and Shrewsbury. After reading Maths at Cambridge University, she joined the diplomatic service, and in the following 15 years had postings in the British Embassies in Jordan and Hungary. Responsibilities during London postings at the Foreign Office included energy policy, counter-terrorism and dealing with the European Union.

While in Budapest, she was made a Lieutenant of the Victorian Order (LVO) for her role in organising the Queen’s state visit to Hungary in 1993. She left the service in 1996 to pursue her Christian vocation and was awarded the OBE for services to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in January 1997.