The Parish Church of St James
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St. James's Road, Hampton Hill, TW12 1DQ (Parish Office 020 8941 6003)
 
RUNNING THE CHURCH
Section Contents: Bellringing | Behind the Scenes | Churchwardens | Cleaning | Clergy | Electoral Roll | Finance | Flowers | Parish Breakfast | Parochial Church Council | Planned Giving | Properties | Running the Church Through the Years | Servers | Sidespersons | Social Events

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Behind the Scenes Contents: Introduction | Preparing the Church for Worship | Welcoming | Worshipping | Running Smoothly | Building Community | Reaching Out | Keeping in Touch

Behind the Scenes - Running Smoothly

Behind the Scenes

Our work as members of the parish is primarily that of mission. This is summarised in our Mission Action Plan, and is perhaps most obvious in our formal worship.
If a Sunday morning service were all that happened in our church, the vicar could run the parish single-handed, but there is a great deal more to mission than that.


Day by day, a wide range of people come to the church and the church hall - to worship, for advice, to arrange or attend a baptism, a wedding or a funeral; or perhaps to join the nursery school sessions, classes or evening meetings. All of them assume that they will find the buildings in good repair, the services as timetabled and the hall appropriately equipped. They expect to find an organisation running smoothly.

The Vicar
Responsibility for this smooth running rests with the Vicar and the Churchwardens, supported by the Parochial Church Council (PCC). The churchwardens are elected by the parishioners, normally for a five-year period of office. Parishioners on the electoral roll also elect the 12 ordinary members of the PCC, who normally serve for three years. The PCC consists of the vicar, who chairs the meetings, the churchwardens, four members of the Deanery Synod, and the 12 ordinary members.

The vicar at work

Emergency decisions may be taken by a small Standing Committee, but these must be reported to the next PCC meeting.

• See our Our Vicar page which includes details of contacts.

The Churchwardens

The Churchwardens
The Churchwardens are responsible directly to the Diocese for the protection and upkeep of all the property of the church, its buildings and all their contents.

They also advise and assist the vicar in his work. They are ex-officio members of the Standing Committee.

• See our Churchwardens page which includes details of contacts.


The Parochial Church Council (PCC)
The PCC advises on, and authorises, the major decisions taken by the vicar and churchwardens.

They normally meet ten times a year and elect a Secretary and Treasurer from the membership.

• See our PCC page.

Parochial Church Council


Money matters

The Secretary
The Secretary is responsible for circulating the PCC agendas, keeping the minutes, and organising the PCC business. She also organises the Annual Parochial Church Meeting held each April, when elections take place, the accounts are approved and reports from sections of the church are presented. She ensures that the Child Protection Policy is annually updated, and liaises with our Children’s Advocate.

The Treasurer
The Treasurer is responsible for keeping the parish accounts and preparing financial statements for the PCC and the independent external audit required by the Diocese.


She deals with the Sunday collections and is a member of the Standing Committee.

Other committees are given some authority of their own, but must get approval for major decisions and report regularly to the PCC.

The Finance Committee
The Finance Committee, chaired by the Treasurer, discusses the financial situation and how major items should be funded. In particular the Treasurer is concerned with the planned giving income and the decision of the amount of the Common Fund allocation to the Diocese and the allocation to charities. The committee also discusses where to invest PCC funds.
• See our Finance page which includes details of contacts.

The Planned Giving Committee
The Planned Giving Committee is responsible for the running and development of the scheme. The Recorder keeps confidential records and reclaims the tax on Gift Aid donations.
• See our Planned Giving page which includes details of contacts.

The Charities and Links Committee
The Charities and Links Committee recommends to the PCC the allocation of our giving to local, national and international charities. Our total giving each year is at least one tenth of our income. The committee also considers any special needs, in particular disaster funds.
• See our Charities and Links page which includes details of contacts.

The Properties Committee
The Properties Committee is responsible for the upkeep of the church, church hall and churchyard. Much of our maintenance is done by committee members, but when specialist workers are used members try to ensure that the work is done properly.
• See our Properties page which includes details of contacts.

The Hall Committee
The Hall Committee supervises the maintenance and letting of the hall. Bookings for the hall are dealt with in the Parish Office, and there is also an online booking diary which hirers can consult.
• See our Church Hall page which includes details of contacts.

The other committees which meet regularly and report to the PCC are: Music and Worship, Ecological, Social and Magazine. See the appropriate pages which include details of contacts.


The Church Administrator
The Church Administrator works in the church office on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings from 9am-12pm. Responsible to the vicar, she takes incoming phone, email and personal enquiries, and types pew sheets, service sheets and other notices.

She is responsible for the administration and fees for baptisms, weddings and funerals. The Electoral Roll lists nearly 300 people who have registered as church members, and this is kept up to date in the office.

In the office


Further Information
Contacts
Contact the Parish Office 020 8941 6003 or go to the individual pages named above

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