A former bishop has pleaded for “deeper thoughts” and more thoughtfulness from the “clerks of the community” in a poignant address to some of Waverley’s leading figures.

Mayors and council figures from throughout the borough and surrounding authorities gathered in Farnham on Sunday for the Waverley Civic service.

The Reverend Sandy Clarke gave the welcome and bidding prayer at St Thomas-on-the-Bourne, blessing all the towns and villages represented and calling for the borough’s re-elected mayor, Cllr John Ward, and his wife, Gillian, to be blessed with great strength and vision.

At the heart of the service was an address by The Right Reverend Dr Christopher Herbert which centred on the changing role of a clerk over the centuries.

He suggested the CEOs which lead the likes of Waverley Borough Council were now the “clerks of the community” before speaking about the need for greater wellbeing.

He said: “A recent report by Reuters found worldwide that almost 40 per cent of people actively avoid the news.

“In the UK, almost three quarters of people, 73 per cent, said they get their news online, compared with 50 per cent for television and just 14 per cent for print.”

“We may still have people like town clerks, councillors and CEOs who clerk their communities, but they do in a context where only a minority read a paper and where the majority get their news online.”

He added: “For those who clerk our communities: there’s an information overload. 

“There should be fewer press releases, fewer exercises in PR. I humbly suggest we should be offering more thoughtfulness, more deeper thinking and a wider narrative.”

Farnham and Haslemere town councils were represented with mayors and consorts from the likes of East Hampshire, Guildford and Runnymede sitting alongside representatives of the armed forces, emergency services, charities and other notable organisations.