You may be wondering how we go about finding a new Vicar.  Well I’ll do my best to explain a simplified version of what happens and at the same time advise you of our progress. Like most procedures in the Church of England there is a well documented and carefully thought out way of going about it which begins when the Bishop is advised that that a Vicar wishes to resign or retire. The Bishop has then to consult the Area Council to ascertain if the living should be temporarily suspended. Once this has been decided the Bishop may move on, and the PCC Secretary officially notified, usually by the Diocesan Registrar, that there will be a vacancy for the PCC to fill. At the same time the Patron of the vacant Benefice is also advised of the vacancy. 

(I imagine that many of you did not realise that we had a Patron, or that he is in fact the Vicar of Christ Church Southgate, our mother church.) 

At this stage the PCC has to take action and have a meeting, at which the Incumbent (nor the incumbent’s spouse) may be present, to agree on the following items:-

  • To prepare a Parish Profile describing the conditions, needs and traditions of the Parish.
  • To pass a resolution if it is felt that a woman could not be accepted as Vicar.
  • To appoint two lay members to act as representatives of the council in all matters concerning the selection of a new incumbent.
  • To decide if they should ask the Patron to advertise the vacancy
  • To decide if they want to request a meeting with the Bishop to exchange views on the Parish Profile. The Bishop or Patron can also call for this meeting.
  • To decide if they would like the Bishop to provide a statement describing the needs of the Diocese and the wider Church in relation to the Parish.

 (Although at the time of writing this article in mid-August we have not been advised officially of the vacancy, Kathy and I met Bishop Peter in June, when he suggested that we could start preparing for the vacancy at once. The PCC met on the 29th June and again on the 13th of July to prepare and approve of the updating of the Parish Profile which currently runs to about 14 sides of A4, and took a four hour meeting to agree. After very little discussion the PCC saw no need to vote against the inclusion of a woman as vicar. Decisions were also made that the Patron should be asked to advertise the vacancy and there was no need to meet the Bishop and no need for a statement from him. The PCC also appointed Kathy Lawrence and I as their representatives in relation to selecting a new incumbent.) 

Following advertising of the vacancy, the Patron and the Parish representatives will confer on the suitability of the applicants and select some for interview. During the last interregnum, when we had almost 20 applications, our Patron met separately with candidates whom he then passed on to St John’s to meet the Parish representatives. At the moment I would expect him to follow the same procedure. Following these interviews we will then endeavour to form a consensus on who should be shortlisted and lastly on our choice to present to the Bishop for his final approval. 

The processes, particularly in the latter stages are by no means as clear cut as described. There is inevitably a certain amount of liaison between Bishop, Patron and representatives throughout. We may need more interviews, and anyone may object to a candidate at any time. This means re-running part, if not all the selection procedure. We hope we can avoid these complications and Kathy and I are able to announce who will be our new Vicar later this year.  

Roger Gardner.  Churchwarden                                                                      17th August 2011