To: Parochial and District Church Council Secretaries
Cc: Incumbents and Churchwardens
Dear Secretary
2016 ANNUAL MEETINGS
Annual parochial church meeting and meeting for election of churchwardens
1. Under rule 6(1) of the Church Representation Rules (‘CRR’), the 2016 Annual Parochial Church
Meeting must be held not later than 30 April. The standard form of notice of the meeting (SG4) is
attached, as is a form of notice of the annual meeting of parishioners for election of churchwardens
to be held under the provisions of the Churchwardens Measure 2001, again not later than 30 April,
along with the relevant nomination and declaration forms.
2. Under CRR rule 7(1) and paragraph 5(4) of the Churchwardens Measure respectively, both notices
should be fixed on or near the principal door of all churches and buildings in the parish licensed for
public worship according to the rites of the Church of England, for a period including the last two
Sundays before the dates of the respective meetings. Though in practice it is usual for the two
meetings to be held on the same occasion, in legal terms they are distinct, and so it is important for
two separate notices to be used.
Revision of electoral roll
3. The church electoral roll must be revised each year in advance of the Annual Parochial Church
Meeting, except in a year in which an entirely new roll is prepared (the next such being 2019). Under
CRR rule 2(1), the form of notice of revision (SG2) attached should be fixed on or near the principal
door of every church and every building licensed for public worship in the parish, in this case for not
less than 14 days before the start of the revision. Anyone wishing to have his or her name entered
on the electoral roll must apply for entry by completing a form of application for enrolment. The
standard form (SG1) is also attached.
4. Revision of the electoral roll should be completed not less than 15 days and not more than 28
days before the date of the Annual Parochial Church Meeting. After completion of the revision, a
copy of the revised roll should be exhibited for not less than 14 days before the meeting on or near
the principal door of the parish church(es). During this period errors or omissions in the roll may be
corrected, but subject to that no new names may be added until the end of the annual meeting; the
one exception is that a person whose sixteenth birthday falls after the revision of the new roll has
been completed but before the meeting may fill out a form of application and will then be enrolled
with effect from the date of his or her birthday.
5. Under CRR rule 1(11), the church electoral roll “shall where practicable contain … the address of
every person whose name is entered on the roll, but a failure to comply with this requirement shall
not prejudice the validity of any entry”. Even where (as is usually the case) the address of every
person on the roll is recorded, it is therefore acceptable – and may indeed be felt preferable – for
the published version of the roll not to show addresses.
6. Following the meeting, a copy of the attached electoral roll certificate must be fixed for a period
of not less than 14 days on or near the principal door of every church and building in the parish
licensed for public worship, and a further copy sent to your deanery lay chair, secretary or
administrator, as appropriate, depending on practice in your deanery.
7. Not later than 1 June 2016, under CRR rule 4 your electoral figure must also be reported to me.
This can be done either by returning a copy of the certificate by post or email, or alternatively, from
Easter, by entering the figure online at http://parishreturns.churchofengland.org, along with your
parish’s Easter attendance figures. If your electoral roll figure is reported online, please note that
you do not need to send me a copy of the certificate. If possible I would therefore encourage you to
use the online system.
Deanery synod membership
8. The term of office of members of the deanery synod elected in 2014 runs to 31 May 2017. It is
very much appreciated if details of any intervening changes in parishes’ elected lay representation –
including casual vacancies as well as changes in names and/or addresses – can be submitted
promptly to the secretary of your deanery synod and copied to me.
Other actions following the meetings
9. As soon as possible, details of any changes in Treasurer or Secretary should be sent to
dorothy.beaumont@oxford.anglican.org, or by post to Dorothy Beaumont, Diocesan Church House,
North Hinksey Lane, Oxford OX2 0NB, along with a copy of the attached office holder’s data
protection form, so that the diocesan records can be kept up to date.
10. Within 28 days (under CRR rule 9(4)), copies of the annual report and financial statements as
approved at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting should be sent to Jinny Lambert in the Finance
department at Diocesan Church House, by post as above, or by email to
jinny.lambert@oxford.anglican.org.
11. Not later than 1 May 2016, churchwardens’ declarations for all churchwardens, both new and
continuing, must be returned to your Archdeacon’s office.
All the attached forms are available at http://www.oxford.anglican.org/pccanddccresources. More
detailed information on elections, conduct of meetings, electoral roll revision and other matters may
be found in the Church Representation Rules, available free of charge at
http://www.churchofengland.org/about-us/structure/churchlawlegis/church-representationrules.aspx; alternatively, the latest (2011) print edition may be obtained from all the usual sources,
including Church House Bookshop, 31 Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3BN, tel. 020 7898 1306,
www.chbookshop.co.uk. Many other useful resources, including information on responsibilities of
PCC members as charity trustees, requirements for registering with the Charity Commission,
guidance on PCC accounts and much else, are provided on the Church of England’s national
Stewardship & Resources website, www.parishresources.co.uk.
With all good wishes for 2016
Rosemary Pearce
Diocesan Secretary
Attached
SG4 Notice of Annual Parish meeting
Notice of meeting to elect church wardens
SG2 Notice of revisions to electoral roll
SG1 Application to join electoral roll