(0.5) Rector of Cocking with West Lavington, Bepton and Heyshott

The parish of Cocking with West Lavington, Bepton and Heyshott is in the South Downs National Park of West Sussex at the foot of the downs in an area of outstanding natural beauty.

The Acting Bishop of Chichester and the Lord Chancellor as Patron seek to appoint a Rector for this benefice.

We are praying for a priest who

• thrives on building relationships with people of all ages and stages of life and faith
• who has the spiritual gift of preaching and teaching, with a proven ability to nurture both those new to faith and committed Christians
• a priest comfortable in the modern catholic tradition of the church, and confident with leading a range of worship styles and expressions
• a priest with a fruitful record in ministry to children, young people, and their families

Our new priest would be provided with a large Rectory with beautiful views out over the Downs and would be warmly welcomed by all our communities and supported in their ministry by the congregations from our three churches.

This is a 0.5 part-time stipendiary post, with an expectation that the office holder will give the equivalent of 3.5 days per week, including all or part of Sunday.

For details of our community and churches please see the Parish profile.

For an informal conversation about the role, please contact the Rt Revd Ruth Bushyager, Bishop of Horsham at Bishop.Horsham@Chichester.Anglican.Org or the Ven Dr Tom Carpenter, Archdeacon of Chichester at ArchChichester@chichester.anglican.org

Please apply through the CofE Pathways Website

Closing date: Thursday 3 December 2026

Interview date: Thursday 7 January 2027

The Diocese of Chichester is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All post holders and volunteers are expected to share this commitment. For further information, please read our full safeguarding policy.

All appointments are subject to acceptable pre-appointment checks, including a satisfactory Enhanced DBS Check and completion of the Church of England Confidential Declaration Form.

To understand how the information you supply in your Confidential Declaration Form is used and your rights with respect to that data please read our privacy notice.

Please note: we reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role.