Where do we go from here?

It was just another Sunday morning, much like any other as you set off for church.  Most of the regular congregation was there.  The service went well and then the announcement that David and Pixie were to take up their exciting new roles at Lee Abbey.  Every member of the congregation will have experienced the pain, joy, challenge, loss and gain of the announcement.  They will have reflected on David and Pixie's ministry in Wilford over the last eight years and also wondered about what happens now and what part will we have in it.

The period we will go through from the middle of September is known as an interregnum (between reigns).  The Church of England, as you might guess, has a well-established, documented, tried and tested process for the interregnum and for the stages the parish has to go through to get a new vicar.

The first step was completed last Tuesday when Archdeacon Peter Hill attended a church council meeting to advise on the process that the parish must follow.  It's worth saying at this point that the parish is quite unique in having two church schools with pioneer curates, a priested curate in Megan and terrific children and youth work (typified by our holiday club).  The parish and our work over the last eight years has made its mark and the challenge Peter Hill has set us is not just to maintain this but to build on it.  Selecting a new vicar is part of that challenge.

Over the coming months the church council plays a vital part in running the parish.  It also has the responsibility to set the requirements of the parish and to ensure that the right person is found to meet those requirements.

The first step is to determine the parish profile.  Basically this is what the parish and its population looks like, our mission goals and what we do as a church.   The church council cannot do this in isolation and we need the input of the whole congregation - both to determine the type of vicar we need and also to build on the work already started.

During the early part of September you will be invited to join the church council in a structured, participative event that will build towards a specification for the new person at the helm of our church.  It would be great if you can attend and have your say in this.  There will be more notices on the event nearer the time.

We will not go into the detailed process here but the basics are that the post will be advertised, with a short list being drawn up from suitable applicants.  Two members of the church council will undertake interviews of the applicants, with the help of the archdeacon and the lay chair of the deanery.  These candidates for the job will meet the church council informally and also be shown around the parish.  At the end of the interviews one of them will be offered the position.

Because of periods of notice (often three months) the whole process will take five or six months, so a new vicar is expected to be in post by January or February.

In the meantime we need to pray for the parish and that, with God's help, we can build on the fantastic work David has done.  We need to pray for our whole ministry team and for the church council for the work they have to do over the coming months.

If you have any questions on the interregnum or any other queries, please do not hold back but speak to a member of the church council or to one of us.

Eddie Mason and Simon Massarella
Church wardens