pccs
Governance and administration must work to make this possible, to free up clergy, PCCs and others for mission and ministry.
This commitment to shared discernment matters at every level, from General Synod to PCCs and local congregations.
I have served on PCCs, been Lay Chair of the Deanery Synod for nine years, and served on the Diocesan Bishop's Council, Diocesan Synod, Vacancy in See Committee and Diocesan Board of Patronage.
I’ve served on PCCs, Deanery Synods and Diocesan Synod, and I’ve served on Bishop's Council and Finance Group since 2012.
- greater recognition of the contribution made by volunteers, churchwardens, PCCs and
Church responsibilities As a student I was invited onto the PCC of my local Anglican church in Hounslow and ever since then have served on PCCs and DCCs, with occasional breaks.
For more than twenty years I have served on PCCs in a variety of roles, including Deanery Synod Representative, Electoral Roll Officer and Honorary Secretary.
Ministry brings me great joy: gathering with God’s people at the altar, preaching the gospel, baptising new Christians, preparing for confirmation, conducting marriages, ministering to the sick, praying with the dying, comforting the bereaved and commending the departed to God; forming new links in our community, sharing ideas for mission with my PCCs, partnering with local charities, engaging with young people, offering teaching series, encouraging people to pray, to read, and to engage with the Christian faith.
I have acted as a Patron’s representative in small rural parishes since the mid-90s and have seen the dangers of central over-reach against the rights of PCCs and incumbents.
In our diocese, benefices are routinely left vacant so that parsonages can be rented out, while PCCs continue to pay Parish Share.
In our villages there is a crisis emerging in local church governance, with PCCs often lacking key officers.
● Targeted, accessible funding for parish outreach and mission. ● Streamlined grant and compliance processes so small PCCs are not discouraged by bureaucracy. ● Support for training and mentoring for lay leaders and newly ordained clergy. ● Improved communication flow to and from Synod-Diocese-Parish so Synod decisions are informed by frontline churches, and decisions are relayed back to them. ● More parity between dioceses to avoid contradictions and duplication of resources.
● Champion parish resilience - press for practical support for PCCs, sensible governance, and help with church buildings and compliance that does not overwhelm volunteers. ● Support local outreach - advocate for funding and simplified processes for foodbanks, youth work, community partnerships and other parish-led initiatives. ● Care for clergy and lay ministers - press for realistic expectations, better pastoral care, and accessible training and mentoring for both clergy and lay leaders. ● Respect local context - oppose one-size-fits-all mandates and promote policies that allow dioceses and parishes to respond to their unique circumstances.
Review team and the Living in Love and Faith Working Groups I am an experienced member of PCCs, Deanery Synods,
Priorities for the next five years Local churches, mission and sustainable ministry Clergy and PCCs are facing declining resources, increasingly complex compliance requirements, ageing buildings, volunteer shortages and significant pastoral pressures.
I have served on PCCs for many years and including as Treasurer, PCC secretary, Electoral Roll officer and currently Vice chair (during our interregnum).
Safeguarding is essential and the Church of England has been making good progress, but issues remain — among them trying to avoid imposing unnecessary burdens on hard-pressed clergy, PSOs and PCCs.
Over the past five years I have strived to faithfully represent the Diocese especially attempting to view the business being debated from the perspective of our parishes and their PCCs.
During the discussion of the Abuse Redress Measure my intervention, together with that of others, has resulted in some mitigation of the potential impact on Parishes and their PCCs with any parish contribution now being voluntary rather than mandatory, as had been proposed, and limited to 25% of the redress payment rather than the total payment involved.
I am the joint author of a resource pack entitled Wellbeing in the Parish: Helping PCCs THRIVE, part of the Church of England’s resources for wellbeing, to be published by CHP next year. [email protected]
safety, employment law, safeguarding and charity reporting requirements on churchwardens and PCCs is becoming unmanageable.
More about my background: I grew up in a Christian family, becoming a Christian at the age of 12, and since my 20s I have been (successively) a member of four different PCCs.
In the Upper Wylye Valley team, it is my privilege to have responsibility for 10 churches and 8 PCCs in this beautiful valley which has been part of my family history for five generations.
In July 2025 General Synod approved trustee training for all PCCs.
I have been particularly keen to see work taken through that helps with simplification of current structures, that seeks to create a code of conduct for PCCs and volunteers, that has moved towards stronger safeguarding structures and that sees progress on the new Mission and Pastoral and Clergy Conduct Measures.
I am a member of the Diocesan Synod and understand the struggles dioceses face in reconciling growing laws and regulations with the fact that most PCCs are small and composed of non-experts.
Trusteeships: PCCs of St
I will therefore argue for better administrative support and further streamlining of governance processes to reduce the time clergy, churchwardens, and PCCs spend maintaining their buildings, improving their safeguarding cultures, and meet necessary financial and regulatory requirements so they can invest more of their time in ministry and mission, including safeguarding the integrity of God’s creation.
Communities Funding reaches the parish floor, easing operational burdens on local PCCs and removing socioeconomic barriers to clergy vocations.
e Serving on PCCs
(2022) and Lay Conduct Group (2025) to help develop a na- tional code of conduct for PCCs.
The Parish Share: Many Churches simply cannot afford to pay the money they are asked to provide, and vital finances take money away from mission work, and PCCs worry about spending anything beyond the very basics.
Greater recognition of the contribution made by volunteers, churchwardens, and PCCs.
has also encompassed chaplaincy in higher education & building a new inclusive community And a few more… Prior experience: Whilst an elected member (2021-25), I presented a Diocesan motion calling for codes of conduct for PCCs.
Through CYFA leadership, PCCs, many years in music ministry, becoming a lay pastoral minister, preaching and leading a call was discerned and I trained on the Yorkshire Ministry Course (now St Hild) becoming ordained in 2014.
• I have served on various PCCs and am also
We need to free clergy (and PCCs!) from bureaucracy, so every call to serve finds an open door.
In a nutshell Lived in Kent for sixty years Married with children and grandchildren Became a Christian whilst a teenager Served on PCCs in both town and village parishes An LLM (Reader) for over thirty years Served with a missionary organisation and led a church plant A specialist in historic buildings Chaired the UK’s accreditation body for conservation engineers Sixteen years on the Fabric Advisory Committee at Guildford Cathedral Now retired (from paid work, that is…)
improvement of the electronic voting system for these elections, and reformed the rules for elections to and by General Synod and which govern diocesan and deanery synods and PCCs
As I currently work on the front-line at four parishes in London, I see first-hand the difficulties faced by clergy and PCCs in the running of parish churches in London.
We must not allow power to be stripped any more from local congregations and PCCs.
As a small rural parish member, I am only too aware of the strain on vicars having to juggle multiple churches, of an ever-diminishing number of volunteers trying to raise funds to maintain ageing buildings and of PCCs unable to pay their Parish Share.
My ministry has included parish leadership, PCCs, safeguarding, pastoral care, mission and outreach.
I understand the pressures facing our clergy and PCCs, including falling numbers in some places, threat of closure for some, alongside ambitious church planting in others.
Whereas the promise of easing the administrative burden appeared at first blush attractive, I spent some time considering the difficulties it posed (not least the loss of control by PCCs, parish identity and the ability to reverse the position).
I will speak up for a clear, victim-centred approach that enables local PCCs to discharge their responsibilities in an excellent and manageable way Living in Love and Faith: This has been a challenging time for many, and I want to see a church that is welcoming to all while upholding traditional Christian views of marriage and the family.
Having spent 30 years serving on PCCs, from inner city to rural, often as Treasurer, I have a passion to help grow our churches and congregations.
Interregnums cause untold amounts of stress, division and uncertainty for PCCs, and to use a biblical metaphor, sheep who are left shepherd-less are prone to wandering off.
Having served on the staff teams/PCCs/councils of four churches across three counties, I’ve already gained a breadth of experience of the challenges of church life, and have (God-willing) many years ahead of me to bring forward progress in our national church.
These experiences have given me a deep appreciation of parish ministry, and an understanding of the realities faced by clergy, churchwardens, PCCs and congregations.
In my current role as Pastoral Support and Closed Churches Officer in the Diocese of York, I work with clergy, church wardens, PCCs, and communities facing change, helping care for our historic churches and the people connected to them.
The current system is under real strain as Clergy and PCCs face ever-increasing administrative demands while multi-parish and multi-church posts are becoming more common.
I had the privilege of serving as acting Archdeacon of Chichester last year, and my interactions with clergy, PCCs and parishes gave me optimism that God is still at work, building his kingdom.
they do a fantastic but often thankless job and I have asked questions at GS about some of the mad net zero rules affecting church heating and trying to reduce the burdens of compliance and faculties, so that PCCs can focus on mission and doing church well.
My work in the Church of England I have served on 3 PCCs in the span of 6 years: St. Nicholas, Haxey; All Saints, Monks Road; and St. Mary-le-Wigford.
I would stress the importance of supporting parishes and their PCCs, which I know from my own experience can be difficult.
I was confirmed by Bishop Graham Leonard, and since then have been an active church member, serving on PCCs, and always seeking to strengthen the life of the local church.
First, there was a need to bring the Church Representation Rules into line with Safeguarding, strengthening protection for PCCs and synods.
I have served on three very different PCCs: St Mary Abbots (large catholic), leading to
(PCCs) and working as a parish choirmaster for many years (retiring as a choir conductor in December 2025).
I have been active on PCCS and Deanery Synods in both Greater Dudley and Malvern and Upton Deaneries.
I am committed to equality for everyone, at all levels and roles within the church, regardless of disability, economic power, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, learning disability, mental health, neurodiversity or sexuality. “Getting things done” Through my experience at deanery, diocesan and national synods, PCCs and Cathedral Chapter, Bishops Council and Bishops Core Staff as well as a variety of diocesan committees, I have developed a broad understanding of how the Church of England operates, strategically, financially and legally.
I am also an advocate of facilitating Church Revitalisations across our diocese where PCCs decide they need help to make a step change in mission and ministry.
PCCs and Standing and Finance Committees for over 30.
More funding support for PCCs and church schools is required if the Church is to succeed in its drive towards carbon net zero.
Thirty years on PCCs and 15 as a school governor have taught me that patience and paperwork achieve more than indignation.
PCCs
I seek common ground in forming pastoral relationships with PCCs and have a passion for shaping a generous, faith-sharing culture in all churches.
Much of General Synod’s work is concerned with legislation; as a Surrogate for Marriage Licenses, I have had experience working with legislative texts in detail, and I also have experience of using provisions in Church Law to create Joint Councils for groups of our benefice’s PCCs.
This has given me first-hand experience of considering in detail how Church Law currently creates more obstacles than necessary for multi-parish benefices and their PCCs and Incumbents.
I helped protect PCCs by proposing an amendment that resulted in changes to the Church Representation Rules.
• served on the PCCs of three different parishes