Our interview with the Dean of Guildford

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Dean of Guildford

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Diocese of Guildford

Dean of Guildford, The Very Rev. Dianna Gwilliams

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Emily Horton meets the dynamic Dean of Guildford who is defying church stereotypes and helping to transform lives

The Dean of Guildford, The Very Reverend Dianna Gwilliams, is making her mark up on Stag Hill this Easter – and not just with the colour of her hair.

If the new Dean’s pillar box-coloured bob hasn’t already become a familiar sight for you – she was installed back in September as Guildford Cathedral’s chief resident cleric – then it’s high time you paid some attention to what’s going on in the community. Thanks to Dianna and her dynamic team, congregation numbers locally are on the rise.  

If anything represents the Church’s embrace of the contemporary, it’s the arrival of this diminutive lady vicar with her wacky asymmetrical hair-do, American accent (gasp!) and husband 18 years her junior (shock horror!).

She is, I suggest, a breath of fresh air. Indeed, for a Church of England Dean, being gay is about all that’s missing from her list of stereotype-defying characteristics.

Yes, she concedes, laughing politely, while protesting that her hair is not a statement.

“That’s just how it is! I went grey very young. If you’re going to have a female dean, you might as well have one with red hair!”    

Dianna’s introduction to spiritual life has little in common with that of most Surrey residents. Owing her North American inflection to California, where she was born and raised, she became involved with Christian revival megachurches during the early 1970s.

In 1978 she came to the UK for six months as a sound engineer on a Christian music tour and soon found a sense of belonging within the Church of England.

But it was losing her eldest daughter, Emily, when the little girl was just three, that cemented her calling to ordination. It also gave her an unexpected glimpse into the meaning of life and faith.

“As I realised that Emily had died, I was suddenly so aware... it was almost as if I could see Jesus, and as I looked he was crying before me. It was the strongest impression,” she says simply and without ego.

A remarkable experience; a glimpse into the paranormal, if you will. But whatever the explanation, Dianna has no doubt as to its impact.

“There are all kinds of impressions on grief and stuff. I don’t care: for me it was an anchoring of belonging to God.

“Of course, the notion of God who loves us taking my baby was not good. But the reality is that we all die, and the fact that there was someone to welcome my daughter was terrific. It changed for ever how I spoke about death.”

It also greatly enhanced her life purpose of helping others.

“Service is the heart of my job. Jesus lived a human life and, in spite of all that ‘muhrr’ that’s involved in being human, he showed us the way to serve others.”

It’s a concept of service neither limited to Sundays, nor solely about conversion to faith – it’s about helping to transform lives.

“There is far more to church than what happens inside the building,” insists Dianna, citing as examples the 17 foodbanks in the diocese and  the Street Angels who offer support to people in need. Making the Cathedral a community hub is key.

“We want to ask: ‘If there could be anything on Stag Hill that would transform your life, what would it be?’ It might be a bowling alley, an art gallery or solar panels.”

But for the Cathedral to continue serving the wider community, its own future must be guaranteed. The building is in serious need of structural repair and, to facilitate that, an enormous injection of funds. Thus the Dean has launched the Make Your Mark appeal, events for which include an abseil down the outside of the cathedral walls. Needless to say, Dianna herself will be taking part.

 It looks like being a busy tenure for this most individual of deans. We wish her Godspeed. Especially coming down those walls.

To support the Make Your Mark appeal, take part in the abseil on April 26 or sponsor the Dean, visit guildford-cathedral.org