Parochial Church Council

The Anglican Context

We are an Anglican church.  That means that the way we are governed is ordered by law, and rooted in custom and practice that goes back many hundreds of years, even though brought up to date by successive revisions. So the incumbent (the vicar), the Churchwardens and PCC members have separate and distinct rights, duties and responsibilities. In turn the vicar has duties to the diocesan Bishop, who delegates charge to the vicar.

There are some things that the PCC can arrange themselves, for instance where the law is silent or allows alternative approaches; in other cases the PCC cannot make changes, for instance we cannot change the duties of Churchwardens or of the vicar.

Within the Anglican structure, parishes are organised locally into deaneries, and deaneries into dioceses. Every three years candidates are elected onto our local (Weymouth and Portland) deanery synod which meets at least twice per year. By church law Deanery Synod representatives are automatically entitled to PCC membership. So those considering standing for Deanery Synod should consult both the PCC guidelines and separate ones covering the Deanery Synod role

PCC members are also trustees, which entails various responsibilities under charity law.

Practical Matters

Under both Anglican and Charities Law PCC members have hugely important leadership roles within the church. PCC members are required and expected to work together to follow a Christ-centred agenda, and are expected individually to model the biblical principles of discipleship and servant leadership and to take an active role within the church.

The PCC is required to meet not less than four times per year.  Dates are normally set and advised at the start of each calendar year.

Certain routine business and authority is delegated to a Standing Committee, comprising the incumbent, two churchwardens, treasurer and PCC secretary appointed annually by the PCC. The Standing committee often deal with more immediate and specific issues that may arise between PCC meetings. This is intended to allow the PCC as a whole to concentrate on broader, strategic matters – of policy and direction rather than operational detail.

Officers with special responsibilities (secretary, treasurer and lay vice-chair) are elected annually.

Anyone on the electoral roll, provided they are not barred from becoming a charity trustee, is eligible to stand for election.  We follow best practice in relation to Safeguarding and this may involve PCC members being asked to apply for a Disclosure and Barring Service certificate.  We like to have a fair representation of the life of the church – by age and gender, with differing experiences as Christians in the community and workplace.