Church Newspapers

For the next few weeks, you can pick up a free copy of the weekly Church of England Newspaper from St Paul's. Some people have asked about other church newspapers, so in the interests of fairness, I'd better point out that the Church Times is also available as a weekly.

The roles of Churchwardens and Deputy Churchwardens

From the flyer accompanying the nomination forms for this year's elections:

The role of a churchwarden is extremely varied and demanding, both in terms of time and responsibility. In the Parish of Oadby, we have two churchwardens, elected from the membership of St Paul’s and St Peter’s Churches. The Churchwardens share their responsibilities with deputies. They play a key role in the leadership of the parish, as well as in the church in which they belong.

The churchwarden should be someone who the congregation respects as a leader and who can take charge when needed. A churchwarden may have to take a service at ten minutes notice, or deal with the press when some major issue occurs. He or she needs to help the PCC to make the right decisions. Above all, Churchwardens should be prayerful, wise, and if needed, firm. They should not be nervous of dealing with senior clergy.

While a vicar is in post, many of the churchwarden's responsibilities are connected with maintenance. With a light touch, they are responsible for a necessary order in worship and for collecting the church offerings. The Churchwarden leads the team of Sidespeople and Welcomers, whose contribution to a friendly and worshipful atmosphere in church is vital. Churchwardens have to make reports each year to the annual parochial meeting and to the archdeacon. They have to go to all the meetings of the PCC, DCC and the standing committee, and should meet and pray regularly with the clergy. Their work is not just the maintenance of the church building, but helping the smooth running of the church.

Churchwardens also exercise an important pastoral responsibility in caring for the parish clergy and in encouraging church members in their Christian faith, and to help heal any quarrels or disagreements that arise.

Churchwardens are elected annually by a meeting of Parishioners and may serve for a maximum of six consecutive terms. Deputy Churchwardens are also elected annually.

The role of Deanery Synod Representatives

From the flyer accompanying the nomination forms for this year's elections:

The Deanery Synod is a tier of church synodical government, regulated by national rules. Every parish belongs to a Deanery (the Parish of Oadby belongs to Gartree 2 Deanery and sends five elected representatives to the Deanery Synod, in addition to the clergy).

Deaneries are consulted by the Diocese of Leicester on matters of policy and the most significant discussions in the year 2006/7 related to the formation of new Mission Partnerships. With the advent of Mission Partnerships, it is unclear how much business and responsibility will remain with the Deanery Synod. It is also likely that the size of the Deanery and the scope of its responsibilities will be redefined at some time in the coming years.

Deanery Synod Representatives should be informed about the life of the parish, the opportunities for mission that exist in and beyond Oadby, Wigston and the surrounding villages. They should also appreciate and contribute to the issues that affect the mission of the Church of England in Leicester Diocese and beyond.

Deanery Synod Representatives are elected for three-year terms at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting. There is one vacancy in the parish for a Deanery Synod Representative at present.

The role of Parochial Church Council Representatives

From the flyer accompanying the nomination forms for this year's elections:

The Parochial Church Council (PCC) is responsible, with the incumbent, for the life and mission of the parish. In Oadby, the chief responsibilities of the PCC are in relation to agreeing policy affecting both St Peter’s and St Paul’s, and the authorisation of projects that involve substantial sums of money.

The PCC is responsible for all parish finance and property, though smaller decisions about these are delegated to the District Church Councils.

PCC Representatives should be regular worshippers and be willing to offer their particular skills or insights to decisions. An understanding of how members of congregations feel about issues is very valuable, as well as the commitment to work in between meetings to make things happen.

The clergy, Readers, Churchwardens, Deputy Churchwardens and Deanery Synod Representatives are all ex-officio members of the PCC. In addition, two representatives are appointed by election each year at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting, each serving a three-year term.

The role of District Church Council Representatives

From the flyer accompanying the nomination forms for this year's elections:

The District Church Council (DCC) is focussed on the mission of the church community. There is a DCC for St Paul’s Church and a DCC for St Peter’s Church.

The DCC helps shape and develop the local church and its life, witness and service to the people of our neighbourhood. The DCC is the key decision-making body in relation to buildings and activities that take place in them,

DCC Representatives should play a full part in the life of the local church and be thoughtful and prayerful Christians. They should be willing to take responsibility for seeing decisions turned into practical action between meetings, and to work and pray for the flourishing of church life.

All members of the PCC are automatically members of both District Church Councils. In addition, at St Paul’s we elect three church members at the Annually Parochial Church Meeting, to each serve a one-year term of office.

The role of Sidespeople

From the flyer accompanying the nomination forms for this year's elections:

Sidespeople have a very important role in making the church ready for worship and for assisting people who come to our services. Under the supervision of the Churchwardens, their ministry is about ordering the church for worship. They should be prepared to be in church before anyone else, to set out the books and anything else that is needed. They share with the Welcomers, the crucial responsibility of greeting newcomers and established church members. If anyone needs assistance during a service, the sidespeople must beready to help at a moment’s notice. Sidespeople may notice when someone needs attention or an invitation to stay, talk or pray with others. At the end of the service, they must be prepared to stay behind to ensure that the church is in good order and that everything is put away tidily and safely.

Sidespeople need excellent people-skills, ready to engage and to serve the people who come to church. Research shows that for many people, the experience of being greeted and made welcome is as important as the preaching or the music in helping them to draw close to God. They also need to be prepared to offer the time that is needed on the Sunday mornings that they are on duty, as their responsibilities require up to an hour before the service and an hour afterwards.

Sidespeople are therefore on the front-line of evangelism and pastoral care. They are elected annually at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting.

General Synod 2007

General Synod is one of the key decision-making bodies of the Church of England. It usually meets twice a year to consider pressing issues and to make and amend the legislation that governs the Church.

The Synod is currently meeting in Westminster, and you can keep up with its debates and news at http://www.cofe.anglican.org/news/gspm2602.html

The Archbishop of Canterbury gave his presidential address to Synod, available here, in which he responded to developments at last week's meeting of national church leaders in Tanzania. These are uncertain times, and our prayers for Synod are needed, especially as contentious issues are to be debated in the coming days.

Email Epistle

Our weekly news-sheet, the Epistle, is available by email. Church members can keep in touch with goings-on, even if they miss the service. If you'd like to receive a copy, please email me.

Find Common Worship Liturgy and Texts

For those of you interested in liturgy (I know, it's not everyone) it's possible to access all the major texts from the Church of England Common Worship pages.

Common Worship is the name of the series of services that are used across the Church since 2000. At St Paul's, we use seasonal service booklets for worship (except for Parade services) that use this Common Worship material.

Oremus bible browser

Some of the best web sites do just one thing, really well. The Oremus Bible Browser is one of these. I use it all the time, to provide a text from a bible reference, or series of references.

It's all very straightforward. Choose your bible version (we use the Anglicized New Revised Standard Version at St Paul's), enter the reference (John 4.2-6 or Jn 4: 2 to 6 - it's very tolerant of different formats).