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About Us

Broken Rites is an interdenominational group offering mutual support and information to separated and divorced spouses and partners of clergy and recognised ministers

Our Aims

  1. Peer support for clergy spouses and partners who are experiencing difficulty in their relationships or situations.
  2. To create and sustain awareness within churches and the wider community of the problems of clergy marriage and partnership breakdown.
  3. To raise awareness of the need for the provision of pastoral and practical care for clergy families; and to campaign for consistency in this.

Our Achievements Include

  • Friendships forged, wellbeing improved, lives rebuilt
  • Widespread recognition of Broken Rites, including members across the UK and in the Irish Republic, the Diocese in Europe and further afield;
  • Growing awareness and appreciation of our problems and the support needed for divorced and separated clergy spouses/partners and their children;
  • Every Anglican Diocese now has a Bishop’s Visitor; other denominations are gradually putting structures of support in place
  • Members enabled to access support from various charities;
  • Access to church housing schemes;
  • Introduction of pension sharing at divorce.

“Welcome to the lovely group none of us wanted to join!”

View from behind of a woman in a red dress and sunhat chatting to another in t shirt and shorts. They are on a stony beach at the edge of the sea with their shoes in their hands.

We have over 150 members from many different denominations and a committee which meets three times a year to discuss issues and determine policy. An Annual General Meeting is held in April or May, with input on a topic pertinent to us. It’s always a great chance for new members to meet old. Our regular newsletter, “The Rite Lines”, connects us to our supporters. Our work is all volunteer-led and funded by membership subscriptions and donations.

Associate Members are those who support our work but are not eligible to join as Members. Please click to find out more about associate membership. And please consider it; we value our associates highly.