Written by the team behind Puzzlify. Puzzlify is our product, so weigh what follows with that in mind. We've tried to make this useful even if you never use it. We're not affiliated with any diocese, deanery, parochial church council, church, chapel, charity or community organisation.
Most people in the pews have never been to a deanery synod, and quite a few couldn't tell you what one is. A few times a year, though, one or two people from your church put on a coat after supper, drive to a church hall in the next parish, and sit on a stacking chair for two hours while the area dean works through the agenda: parish share, mission plans, a talk from the diocese, a vote or two, and a cup of tea at half time. Then they come home and try to explain it at the next PCC meeting. Those are your deanery synod reps.
This is a short guide to thanking them, with an honest look at whether a photo puzzle is a good fit.
Who we mean
- the lay members your annual meeting elects to represent the parish at the deanery synod
- the person who reads the papers before the meeting, including the long ones about money
- whoever reports back to the PCC, and puts a few lines in the newsletter
- the rep who offers a lift to the other rep, and to anyone else going
- the people who stand up at the synod and say how things really are in a small parish
- those who also sit on the diocesan synod or a deanery working group
Why a thank-you matters here
Being a synod rep is one of the least visible jobs in a parish. It's mostly evenings, reading and listening, and the results show up slowly, if at all. But it's how a small church's voice reaches the wider Church, and how decisions about clergy, money and buildings are shaped. A short thank-you tells your reps that someone noticed the wet Tuesdays.
A little honest background
The reps usually serve a three-year term after the annual parochial church meeting. Good moments to say thank you are the end of a term, the annual meeting itself, or the week after a long synod evening. Keep it small and personal. "Thank you for speaking up for us" is plenty.
Photos that work
- the church hall set out with rows of chairs and a table at the front, before people arrive
- the tea hatch at half time, with the urn steaming and a plate of biscuits
- the car park outside the hall on a dark autumn evening, with the windows lit
- your own church, seen from the road on the drive home
- a pile of agenda papers, a pen and a mug on a kitchen table (with no readable details)
- the deanery's churches on a map, or a view across the parishes they represent
Keep faces out unless people are happy to be in it, and avoid readable names or figures on any papers.
Choosing pieces
| Pieces | Good for |
|---|---|
| 24 | a quick, easy puzzle on a phone |
| 48 | about the length of a tea break at synod |
| 80 | a proper evening's puzzle |
| 130 | a detailed photo, like a hall full of chairs |
| 252 | a long project for a keen puzzler with a tablet |
If in doubt, choose 48.
Notes you could write
- "Thank you for all the Tuesday evenings."
- "Thank you for reading the papers so we didn't have to."
- "You made sure a small parish was heard."
- "Thank you for every lift, every report and every cup of synod tea."
- "Three years of agendas. Thank you."
How it works, and what it costs
You upload the photo, choose the number of pieces and write a note that appears when the puzzle is finished. The preview is free. Publishing the link costs one credit (€3.99), and the person you send it to doesn't need an account or an app. It's a digital puzzle, not a cardboard one, so nothing arrives in the post. You can send the link by email, by message, or as a QR code inside a card.
Other ways to say thank you
- a card signed by the PCC
- a mention at the annual meeting or in the Sunday notices
- offering to drive them to the next synod
- a box of biscuits to take for the half-time tea
- simply asking them, with real interest, how the last meeting went
About Puzzlify
Puzzlify turns a personal photo into a private digital jigsaw that you send as a link. It isn't a printed puzzle or a public puzzle board, and it's not the same as puzzlify.io, Puzzlit, Puzzly or Puzzify. It's one option among many; a card and a few honest sentences are often all that's needed. If a puzzle feels right too, you can make one here.
Written by the small team behind Puzzlify (info@puzzlify.app). Not legal, religious, church governance, data protection, photography permission or gift policy advice.