So the Vicar is Leaving. Mike Alexander

      The Churchwardens were not caught entirely unprepared

      Communication

      Good communication is essential to ensure the smooth running of parish life, particularly when the vicar, one of the main channels of communication, is no longer there. The churchwardens should begin to draw up a list of key people, including addresses, telephone and fax numbers and E-mail addresses. This list is likely to include the patron, bishop, archdeacon, area/rural dean, diocesan staff, PCC officers, church members with specific responsibilities, clergy and licensed readers on the service rota, organist, verger, undertakers, architect, local builders and others.

      The churchwardens and the PCC members take on a key role in this period. The churchwardens and the PCC officers should meet regularly. PCC members need to take responsibility for different aspects of the church’s life during the time when there is no vicar and to ensure that jobs are done. Good communication with the regular members of the church is essential, encouraging their involvement in the life of the church. They also deserve to be kept informed, without breaching confidentiality, on progress in the search for a new vicar.

      The weekly notice-sheet is an important part of the communication with church members. The parish magazine provides an opportunity to show that the church’s worship and life are continuing and that it is worth becoming a part of it. At all costs, avoid putting over the message that “without a vicar, there is no church”. It also offers the opportunity to communicate information on practical arrangements while the parish is without a vicar. This might include a list giving the names, addresses and telephone numbers of those responsible for different areas of the church’s work.