| The Parish Church of St James | |
| 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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The
office of churchwarden is a very ancient office going back to the 13th
Century. The primary function of the office at that time was taking
care of the Church building and its contents on behalf of the parishioners.
As time went on other duties were added, and churchwardens became the
local officers of the Bishop of the diocese, responsible to him for
the proper carrying out of their responsibilities. |
| The two churchwardens are members of the Parochial Church Council. In this parish, each churchwarden is expected to continue in office for five years but must be reappointed every year at the Annual Meeting of Parishioners, by the parishioners, whether on the electoral roll or not. They are also ex-officio members of the Standing Committee. |
Churchwardens have
several formal duties but most importantly they must assist the clergy
in their work of ministry. Among other things, this requires that the church buildings and their contents are kept in a fit condition for Services of worship and maintained as part of our heritage. They are assisted in this by the Properties Committee. Detailed records of all property, professional inspections, alterations and repairs are kept. Now, in addition to all their Canon Law responsibilities, they are responsible for all the moveable things in and around the church, but the vicar owns the buildings. |
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Churchwardens also have a duty to make sure that the clergy can conduct their Services and other meetings without hindrance. This requires that any visitors or newcomers are welcomed and assisted, that there is adequate seating, proper lighting and heating, and that all other facilities required are in place, including safety requirements. As members of other parish committees and groups, churchwardens are often able to offer advice and assistance. Each churchwarden will have her or his own particular areas of knowledge and interests; between them they should not only fulfil their formal duties but also deal with unexpected problems and add to the general wellbeing of the parish. |
| Further Information |
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| Associated pages on this website: Parochial Church Council | Properties Through the Years: On Becoming Churchwarden (2002 April) |
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