In the Church of England and other Anglican churches, a deanery synod is a synod convened by the Rural Dean (or Area Dean ) and/or the Joint Lay Chair of the Deanery Synod, who is elected by the elected lay members. The Synodical Government Measure 1969 makes it a statutory body.
30-725: A Deanery is a group of parishes within an Archdeaconry (an Archdeaconry forms part of the larger Diocese); members will elect the Diocesan representatives to the Houses of Clergy and Laity at the General Synod. All Licensed Clergy in the Deanery area are automatically members of the Deanery Synod. Deanery Synods also have Lay Members who are elected every three years. The Synod acts as an intermediary between
60-472: A citizen's arrest until police arrive, if appropriate. Until 2003, the offence was punishable by up to two months' imprisonment. However, caution is advised in the use of this power. Historically, there are two main types of warden: the people's warden(s) (and assistants, if any) are elected annually by the congregation as a whole (at what is called the Annual Vestry Meeting or "meeting of
90-568: A PCC is prescribed by the Church Representation Rules, Part 9. A PCC consists of (i) the clergy of the parish, (ii) certain lay people licensed to the parish, (iii) the churchwardens of the parish, (iv) members of the General Synod , diocesan synod or deanery synod who are on the roll of the parish, and (v) representatives of the laity elected at the annual parochial church meeting. To be qualified for election as
120-703: A PCC – to promote "the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical" – to be charitable, so all PCCs have charitable purposes, regardless of whether they are registered with the Charity Commission. Members of a PCC are trustees of the charity. PCCs with income of more than £100,000 must register with the Charity Commission; those with lower incomes are "excepted charities" which means that they do not have to register or submit annual returns, but otherwise are regulated just like registered charities. Churchwarden A churchwarden
150-434: A few churches which retain four churchwardens with St. Mary's, Ecclesfield, Sheffield , as an example. Some churches may appoint Assistant Churchwardens to help them. These are distinct from Deputy Churchwardens who have a precise role in certain limited cases. The terms "Honorary Churchwarden" or "Churchwarden Emeritus" are sometimes bestowed on retiring churchwardens; these are purely honorary terms and do not allow such
180-585: A holder to continue to sit unelected on the PCC. One Church Warden is appointed by the incumbent, whilst another is elected by the Easter General Vestry . Both serve for one year terms, during which they are ex officio members of the select vestry . As well as performing some logistical functions normally associated with a sexton or verger , church wardens have certain constitutional rights and responsibilities: they may convene and chair meetings of
210-401: A parish temporarily has no priest, is not self-supporting, or in which the parish board has been dissolved, wardens are appointed directly by the bishop and are called "bishop's wardens". The only areas in which wardens almost always have no authority, often proscribed by canon, are music and liturgy, which are considered to be under the exclusive authority of the priest or bishop in charge of
240-476: A regular rota of a few volunteer clergy from amongst either Non-Stipendiary Ministers from within that diocese or in some cases retired clergy living in or near the parish. The bishop will tend to consult the churchwardens before appointing a new priest to take over the parish; in England there is a set process to follow which also involves representatives of the congregation. Churchwardens' duties may vary with
270-511: A representative of the laity, a person must be of the laity, an actual communicant, aged 16 or over, and not disqualified (e.g. by conviction of certain offences, disqualification as a company director or entry on a "barred list"), and must be on the church electoral roll (and, unless under 18, have been on the roll for at least 6 months); he or she must be nominated and seconded by persons on the roll, and be willing to serve. Churchwardens are elected at an annual Meeting of Parishioners pursuant to
300-455: A voice in the forms of service used by the church and may make representations to the bishop and deanery synod on matters affecting the welfare and pastoral care of the parish. The PCC is required to appoint a church electoral roll officer who maintains the church electoral roll of lay members entitled to take part in the annual parochial church meeting. A new roll must be prepared every 6 years, and revised annually. The constitution of
330-547: Is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion or Catholic Church , usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ex officio members of the parish board, usually called a vestry , parochial church council , or in the case of a Cathedral parish the chapter . Churchwardens have a duty to represent the laity and co-operate with
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#1732773133845360-407: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Parochial church council A parochial church council ( PCC ) is the executive committee of a Church of England parish and consists of clergy and churchwardens of the parish, together with representatives of the laity . It has its origins in the vestry committee, which looked after both religious and secular matters in a parish. It
390-478: Is a corporate charitable body. Legally the council is responsible for the financial affairs of the church parish and the maintenance of its assets, such as churches and church halls. It also assists the clergy in the management of church affairs in the parish, and promoting the mission of the church. Until 1894, the vestry committee managed both the secular and religious business in a parish. The 1894 Local Government Act took away its secular duties and gave them to
420-433: Is done by someone". In England, churchwardens have specific powers to enable them to keep the peace in churchyards. The following are punishable with a £200 fine: The churchwarden of the parish or place where the offence was committed may apprehend a person committing such an offence, and take them before a magistrates' court . In practice this means they should be aware of these offences and may be expected to conduct
450-491: The incumbent (or, in cases of vacancy, the bishop). They are expected to lead the parishioners by setting a good example and encouraging unity and peace. They have a duty to maintain order and peace in the church and churchyard at all times, and especially during services, although this task tends to be devolved to sidesmen . Churchwardens in many parts of the Anglican Communion are legally responsible for all
480-500: The parochial church councils of each parish in its deanery and the synod of the diocese as a whole . In England its lay members also elect the deanery's lay representatives to its diocese's synod (every three years by either plurality or Single Transferable Vote ) and its diocese's members of the House of Laity in the General Synod of the Church of England , every five years by a system of STV. This Anglicanism -related article
510-534: The Churchwardens Measure 2001. Churchwardens are ex-officio members of the PCC and its standing committee . Other parish post-holders, such as the secretary , treasurer and sidesmen , are appointed by the PCC. Many PCCs are registered charities . "The advancement of religion" is a charitable purpose under the Charities Act 2011 . The Charity Commission considers the legal duty of
540-557: The General Vestry or Select Vestry (but only under certain circumstances), and their consent is required for the use of any experimental forms of service and for any visiting ministers who are not in full communion with the Church of Ireland. Church Wardens are also responsible for overseeing the collection during the Offertory , for the presentation of the bread and wine to the officiating priest during Holy Communion , and for
570-705: The Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1921. (Measures passed by the Church Assembly, now replaced by the General Synod of the Church of England , are given the force of law by Act of Parliament, the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919 .) PCCs are constituted under the Church Representation Rules (Schedule 3 to the Synodical Government Measure 1969 ). The powers and duties of PCCs are laid down by
600-588: The Parochial Church Councils (Powers) Measure 1956. They include the duty to co-operate with the minister ( rector , vicar or priest in charge ) "in promoting in the parish the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical." The PCC is responsible for the financial affairs of the church, and the care and maintenance of the church fabric and its contents, including demanding chancel repair liability , if applicable, from local property owners. These responsibilities are executed by churchwardens , paid staff or other volunteers. The PCC also has
630-540: The bishop (or the Archdeacon acting on his behalf) will usually appoint the churchwardens as sequestrators of the parish until the bishop appoints a new incumbent. The sequestrators ensure that a minimum number of church services continue to be held in the parish, and in particular that the Eucharist continues to be celebrated every Sunday and on every Principal Feast . This duty is usually discharged by organising
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#1732773133845660-469: The church's Quinquennial Inspection Report, they must record this in the Church Logbook; it is inspected with the inventory. The churchwardens must ensure these logs are ready for inspection in case of a visitation and for periodic inspections. Priests and their equivalent tend to devolve day-to-day maintenance of church buildings and contents to their churchwardens. If an incumbency is vacant,
690-437: The customs of the parish or congregation, the canons of the diocese to which the parish belongs, the desires of the priest, and the direction of the parish board or the congregation as a whole. A definition of their duties is that they are "ultimately responsible for almost everything in a church which does not have to be done by a priest. If the churchwarden does not do it himself, then he is responsible for making sure that it
720-629: The newly created civil Parish Councils . Church business continued to be managed by the vestry committee until 1921, when PCCs were created after the "Rules for the Representation of the Laity" was adopted in 1919 by the Convocations of Canterbury and York . Most of the remaining functions of vestry meetings of parishes, and of the churchwardens of parishes, which had not been transferred to civil local authorities were transferred to PCCs by
750-530: The parish. Nevertheless, in England churchwardens have authority to officiate at Morning and Evening Prayer if a priest or licensed lay person is unavailable. In the Church of England , churchwardens are officers of the parish and officers of the bishop . Each parish elects two churchwardens annually (unless an existing custom in place on 1 January 2002, and which has continued since before 1 January 1925, states otherwise) and they are elected on or before 31 May and are sworn in between being elected and 31 August
780-454: The parishioners"); the rector 's warden(s) (and assistants, if any), are appointed by the incumbent. However, this distinction has been abolished in several areas of the Anglican Communion in favour of both wardens being appointed jointly (notably in England, although the incumbent retains the right in some circumstances to appoint one warden). In some jurisdictions (but not in England) where
810-528: The people's warden is elected by the congregation. Wardens serve for a fixed term, normally one to two years, and are usually automatically members of the parish canonical committee, commonly called the " vestry ", and sometimes automatically delegates to the diocesan synod , or convention, as well. The duties of churchwardens in the Anglican Church of Southern Africa (ACSA) are detailed in Canon 29 of
840-418: The property and movable goods belonging to a parish church. If so, they have a duty under ecclesiastical law to keep an up-to-date inventory of the valuables, and if applicable a "terrier of the property" (a listing and/or map of the church's lands, known as glebe , some of which may be let). Whenever churchwardens authorise work on the church building having obtained a faculty or to carry out work recommended in
870-408: The safe custody of church plate . The canons of some US dioceses permit or mandate the election of all wardens, in which case they are usually referred to as the "senior warden" and the "junior warden". Sometimes, however, the senior warden is known as the "rector's warden" and the junior warden, the "people's warden". In some of the latter cases, the rector's warden is chosen by the rector, while
900-505: The same year. Churchwardens are (re-)elected annually at the Meeting of Parishioners and can serve a maximum of six years followed by a two-year break unless the rule is previously suspended by the Meeting of Parishioners . A few Anglican churches, for historical reasons outlined above, have three churchwardens instead of the usual two; two such examples are All Saints, West Ham and St Margaret's, Barking . Historically, there are also
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