Parish Leadership

The skills and experiences of members of our congregations are essential for the running of the parish. As with all large organisations, we have a number of structures in place to help with the running of all our activities and there are a number of ways that you can get involved.  

Parochial Church Council (PCC)

The main church committee is the PCC, which consists of clergy, officers, and up to 15 elected lay members. In general terms its function is to work with the clergy to promote the whole mission of the church. 

PCC members are the legal Trustees of the parish (as a recognised charity) and are responsible for the maintenance of the church buildings and churchyard, and, with the incumbent, for deciding how the church’s money is to be spent. The PCC is formally the employer of any paid workers. The PCC has the right to be consulted about major changes to the forms of worship used in the parish and about the appointment of a new incumbent.

PCC Committees and Working Groups

Given its wide responsibilities and size, the PCC on its own may not be able to do everything that is needed in the parish. Some tasks need detailed research or thought that can’t be done in a meeting with up to 24 people. We therefore have a set of committees which each report back to the PCC. These are not legally required and may change from year to year. Each committee has at least one PCC member on it and may include other members of the congregation according to the skills needed.  Currently our committees are: Finance, Fabric (what we would normally call buildings and surrounding grounds), Children & Young People, 2020 Projects (plans for upgrading our ancient churches), 2020 Events (to celebrate the 800th anniversary for two of our churches – now postponed), Kidlinks Management.  We also have smaller working groups as necessary, such as the Communications Group and the Eco Team.

Church Committees

Each of the three churches has its own committee which deals with the issues specific to their church, again reporting back to PCC.  These committees will consider matters such as fabric, pastoral care and special events. Often joining a specific church committee is a good grounding for becoming a PCC member later.

For more information about any of these, please talk to one of the clergy or contact the Parish Office.