Electoral Roll renewal in 2013

21 November 2012 By Robert Hargrave

Information from Andy Brookes, General Secretary, regarding the renewal of electoral rolls in 2013:

Many of you are well versed in the six yearly renewing of electoral rolls. If so, skip ahead a few paragraphs to the changes we are making in 2013.

For those who are new to this, some background.

Each year around APCM time individuals have the opportunity to join the electoral rolls of our churches (with a small number resigning if they take the trouble). Every six years each church’s electoral roll is redone from scratch, with all members having to sign up afresh. You need to make this happen in early 2013, getting all your flock to sign anelectoral roll form.

This is more than just a statistical clean-up.

In the past 20 years, electoral rolls in the London Diocese have grown 60-70%. (The exact number depends on the base year; see Another Capital Idea for more details.) Any of you who have used this statistic with your congregations will know the encouragement and surprise it generates. However, we can only make this statement because each church does the collection work – thank you; and it is important to ensure that electoral rolls are realistic.

Under London Challenge many of the successes were achieved through our working together: on Fairtrade, the environment, the2012 and much more. Our Capital Vision 2020 will build on this theme. We need to continue to do more together.

Changes in 2013

Many participants in Capital Vision engagement workshops asked us to raise our communications game. The ability to communicate further encouragement direct to members of electoral rolls will aid that objective.

The statutory electoral roll application form does not collect email addresses or phone numbers, but to enable that improvement in our communication to happen, a new box headed ‘Additional Information’ has been added at the end of the form. This contains an invitation to the electoral roll applicant to provide their email address and telephone number.

As you know, this information is vital to the smooth functioning of a parish. We also want to be able to use these email addresses to share, on behalf of the Bishop of London, important news and events in the life of the Church in the Diocese of London.

You should note that the request for ‘Additional Information’ has been worded to reflect best practice and covers use of the information provided both by the parish and by the Bishop.

Please use the new form, which should replace any used in the past, or if you prefer you can simply copy and paste the new box on to the end of your existing statutory form.

The mechanism for transferring electoral roll information to us will be a straightforward upload of a simple spreadsheet through a secure website. But this is for another day. The important thing is that your church include the new box for ‘Additional Information’ provided on the electoral roll form.

Documents to help with the preparation of your new electoral roll are attached: the application form, a notice to be displayed, plus a quick guide and a more detailed guide to the process. These documents – and many more relating to APCMs – are available on the diocesan website.

Filed Under: Information, PCCs, Synod

Church Representation Rules – online for first time

25 June 2012 By Robert Hargrave

The 2011 edition of the Church Representation Rules – a vital tool for clergy, churchwardens and PCC, deanery and diocesan synod members – is now available free on the Church of England website.

The free online version of the Rules – which govern matters such as the preparation of the church electoral roll, the membership and election of parochial church councils – mirrors the 2011 edition of the book – published in print and Kindle e-book format by Church House Publishing.

Making the Rules freely available online was a recommendation of the House of Bishops’/Archbishops’ Council’s Simplification Group, who are committed to reducing the time spent by clergy and church members on the management of structures and processes.

Mary Chapman, chair of the Simplification Group, said: “The online publication of the Church Representation Rules is welcome early fruit from work in response to requests for easier access to important information. Digital developments enable us to offer e-book, print and free download versions simultaneously and improve the prospect of more timely updates in the future.”

The online version of Church Representation Rules follows the recently published seventh edition of the Canons of the Church of England – the first full revision since 2000 – which can be found at www.churchofengland.org/about-us/structure/churchlawlegis/canons/canons-7th-edition.aspx

An easy-to-use binder with reference tags containing the Canons may be purchased from the Church House Publishing website, www.chpublishing.co.uk. A Kindle edition of the Canons is also available.

Filed Under: PCCs, Synod

Annual return 2012 information

23 March 2012 By Robert Hargrave

The Annual Return is the means of collecting from parishes/churches information required by the bishops, archdeacons, diocesan officers, and the committees of the Archbishops’ Council, to assist in their various responsibilities for planning and administering the affairs of the church at its different levels.

It is essential that the senior clergy and diocesan staff know the details of the appropriate contacts for any matter about which they may have dealings with your church, and accurate information on the life and finances of the parish/church is essential in reaching the right decisions to further the mission of the Church in your locality, and in the Diocese as a whole.

(The information is also statutorily required to comply with the provisions of the Churchwardens Measure 2001, the Synodical Government Measure 1969 and the Church Accounting Regulations 1997, as amended in 2001.)

Using the last 10 years’ returns to help you plan in your parish

The information provided through the annual return also helps churches plan for the future. A project has started to provide each parish, on request, with analysis of the last ten years’ annual return data. For more information, visit here.

Completing the annual return

People who hold a “principal minister position” (incumbent, priest in charge, minister in charge, team rector, team vicar, pioneer minister) or have an official parish role (churchwarden, PCC secretary, PCC treasurer, parish administrator) will be emailed separately by Area/archdeaconry offices with details of how to log in.

Other people can be given access to the online annual return. Instructions for doing that are on the annual return help page.

The online facility will be available straight after Easter – from Tuesday 10 April. Annual returns should be completed by 1 June.

Useful information and getting help

Help is available on the diocesan website, both for completing the annual return and for conducting APCMs:

Filed Under: DCG, Featured articles, PCCs, Synod

Brighter picture of church energy use

23 November 2011 By Robert Hargrave

This article is written by Michael Bye, Director of Property

Parish Annual Returns: energy use in churches

I’m writing to report on the energy results from our annual returns.

Results

In 2011, 40% of parishes returned energy figures for 2009 and 2010. That’s another great response. We’re very grateful for the efforts of so many volunteers in parishes around the Diocese. Not everyone found the online system easy to begin with – but you persevered, thank you! Next year it will seem much simpler, now we’ve gained experience in using the new system.

We’ve now reviewed the six years since we started – 2005 to 2010. We’ve refined our analysis and improved the resolution. It’s an encouraging picture, as I’ll explain. But first -

What have we learnt?

What have we learnt, and what are the key messages for us to take from all this effort?

Well, we have good reason to persevere, saving energy, and costs, and carbon emissions too.

We’re even within striking distance of our target of 20.12% savings by 2012, so what should we do now, to meet our target? [Read more...]

Filed Under: Featured articles, PCCs, Shrinking the Footprint

Health and safety in churches

20 August 2010 By Robert Hargrave

The Chair of the Church Buildings Council has written to every diocese to highlight some sources of health and safety advice.

The full letter can be downloaded below. In summary:

PCCs and incumbents are responsible for safety in churches and churchyards, with particular duties if a PCC employs people. This sometimes applies to volunteers
EIG recommends that each PCC appoints someone with a specific responsibility for health and safety. Guidance is available from EIG on a wide range of topics
If in doubt about how the regulations apply to a specific church, contact the Diocesan Registrar.

Other resources include: