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Hi there, as Berties is still busy writing newsletters for Fr Richard, I have decided that as his older brother Eddie, I will compose this message to you all, to answer the question 'what happens now that Fr Richard has announced his departure in July?'
As you all should be aware, Fr Richard will be leaving us in July (Last Service will be on Sunday 14th July as a joint service with St Nick’s and Woosehill), but several of you have been asking about what happens next.
New Rectors are appointed by advertising the post and then selecting someone from among the applicants, much as any job vacancy would be filled. However, the process in the Church of England also has several rules and processes which must be followed. The key part of this for us is that we will only be able to advertise the post when Fr Richard starts his new job, at the beginning of September, which gives us 3 months to be ready for that.
Before we can advertise, we must prepare a ‘Parish Profile’ and a job description. The Profile gives the applicant an idea of the Parish and what to expect when they join us. In our case this covers three churches, St Paul’s, Woosehill and St Nicholas’. To produce the Profile the wardens of St Paul’s and Woosehill and the pro-wardens of St Nick’s are tasked with providing descriptions of each church. This will include the mission statement, the worship style of the church, the leadership, the services and activities, the finances, and the particular needs of each church, what we do well and also what we do less well.
These individual descriptions of the three churches will then be combined into a single Parish Profile, which will also summarize the Parish ethos and driving forces.
To help us complete this we will need plenty of ideas and feedback and a very good selection of photographs to illustrate who we are. So, if you wish to contribute, please send your suggestions, thoughts, and pictures, to Peter and David at St Paul’s, Liz and Fiona at St Nicholas, and Steven and John at Woosehill. If you can send any personal reflections and quotes about the churches or the Parish, that would really help to give an idea, in the Profile, of what people think about our community.
The process of advertising, shortlisting, interviewing, and appointing can take several months, and, in some cases, this can be more than a year! In our case, we are hoping to achieve this within six months, but we must be prepared for it to take longer, especially if we do not find anyone suitable in the first instance and need to re-advertise.
The position will be advertised in the Church Times, on the Diocesan website and in an internal information medium known as Pathway (not the magazine) which is read by priests all over the country. We will expect to short list and interview in the autumn. The interview panel will consist of a representative of the Bishop, the Lay-Chair of the Deanery Synod, and representatives from each of the three churches. During the day of the interviews, we would hope to have an informal lunch where members of the Parish have an opportunity to meet the prospective candidates.
After someone has accepted the appointment there will be a small delay to make the announcement as that has to happen simultaneously in our Parish and wherever they are leaving from. They would then be available to join us a month or two later.
The time between Fr Richard leaving and a new priest taking his place, known as the vacancy or interregnum, will obviously be a difficult time for the Parish, trying to maintain services and other activities as they are now, but with a reduced staff. Cara, Judi, and Jane will do the best they can and will need all the support that you can give them, but we will also be reliant on clergy from around the Deanery to step in and provide additional cover. It may also mean that some services need to be changed or even cancelled, so please bear with us as we try to keep things as normal as possible.
Please provide feedback to:
The wardens of St Paul's
Peter Wells - peter.wells@spauls.co.uk
David Ruddock - david.ruddock@spauls.co.uk
The wardens of Woosehill
John Hoskins - johnhoskins@talk21.com
Steven Lewis - steven.lewis2@ntlworld.com
The pro-wardens of St Nick's
Liz Gallagher - lizgallagher1952@gmail.com
Fiona Albinson - fiona@albinson.co.uk
The Wardens would all like to thank you for your help and support. |
