Editor
A vacancy is the time between one incumbent leaving and the next starting.
Vacancies are an integral part of the life of all parish churches.
They can be a time for opportunity and growth, but may also be a time of anxiety and difficulty.
These FAQs are for parishes approaching or embarking upon a vacancy and are intended for those who have particular responsibilities during vacancies, including PCC members and churchwardens.
During a vacancy the area dean and churchwardens legally become ‘sequestrators’, i.e. the bishop’s officers in the parish.
The area dean will be the first point of contact for churchwardens and others seeking advice and support in the day-to-day running of the parish.
The wardens with the PCC will need to decide whether the wardens, ministry team or standing committee are the core working group for overseeing the life of the parish during the vacancy.
Other licensed and authorised ministers and those with leadership roles in the church also have a part to play in the practical aspects of church life.
► How to find cover for services during a vacancy
It will be important to publicise the list of who is going to look after (not singlehandedly running) different areas of church life – enquiries about baptism, pastoral visiting, home/study groups, church rotas etc.
A vacancy is not just a period of ‘marking time’ but may be a time of creative discovery and for enjoying the benefits of co-operative ministry within the church and with neighbouring parishes.
You area dean and archdeacon can help you with this.
Please also see the Vacancy Process flowchart.
FAQs
-
How long will we have to wait before we get a new vicar? +
This is going to vary considerably from one vacancy to another, but it is best to plan on an absolute minimum of a year. This is because, due to the pandemic, there are a high number of vacancies awaiting recruitment. Even when a successful candidate has been found, they will have to give three months' notice in their current diocese. It is also worth bearing in mind that the drop in common fund payments has meant that it is not always possible to recruit on a ‘like-for-like’ basis. Thoughts and possibilities will be discussed with you at the initial vacancy meeting, but thinking creatively is the name of the game. -
How do I cover church services whilst we have no vicar? +
Please bear with us, we are looking at how we can produce lists of people you can approach for cover without contravening GDPR guidelines. However, you can always ask your archdeacon and the bishops if they have any capacity to help out with a service or two. Your deanery administrator may also know of likely people for you to approach.
-
Is there anything I can read to help us out in the meantime? +
Here is a very useful publication which is readily available – So the Vicar's Leaving: The Good Interregnum Guide: Amazon.co.uk: Alexander, Mike, Martineau, Jeremy, Wood, Ron: 9781853115059: Books
-
We are undertaking some building work - what permissions do we need? +
Nigel Sherratt and Kat Alldread in the DAC office are always happy to help and advise:
Nigel Sherratt: nigel.sherratt@derby.anglican.org
Kat Alldread: kat.alldread@derby.anglican.org
For help finding a reputable tradesperson, see: nationalchurchestrust.org/Maintenancebooker
To discuss the possibility of a grant to help with your work: Gareth Greenwood: Gareth.Greenwood@derby.anglican.org -
We have a query relating to a churchyard / marriage / death is there a guide available on this? +
Yes, there is.
For churchyard questions, please see the latest Churchyard Regulations.
And there is further information on these subjects on our the; Derby Diocesan Registry website.
-
What process will we need to follow to fill our vacancy? +
To give you an idea of the process and steps to follow in recruiting a new incumbent, please see here.. They will be small variances depending on local circumstances. -
Who gets involved with advertising and recruiting a new vicar? +
Your parish(es) will nominate either one or two representatives who will form a panel, together with the local area dean, archdeacon and patrons, if appropriate. If you are in a larger, multi-parish benefice, the number involved from each church would usually be tailored to ensure proportional representation. Together, this panel will make decisions relating to how to advertise and interview and will be involved on the interview day itself. The bishop will also wish to see the application forms relating to any possible candidates, and will have an informal chat with your preferred candidate prior to an offer letter being issued. -
What documents will be required to advertise? +
The benefice/parish(es) concerned will work together to create a profile and advert, whilst the area dean and archdeacon will work on job and role descriptions, plus source a letter from the Bishop to include for potential applicants. Cathy in the archdeacons’ office has lots of examples of all of these, plus interview question templates, so please contact her if you wish to have some emailed across to you (cathy.luffman@derby.anglican.org ).
-
Where should we advertise? +
It is down to the parishes, but the choices are:
- Diocesan website (free of charge)
- Church Times (Approx £1000 to advertise ‘until filled) in a succinct advert in both paper and on their website
- Pathways (Church of England recruitment tool). Approximately £80
- Networks such as New Wine
- Patronage websites, e.g. the CPAS one. -
What happens at the interview? +
It is common to have both a formal interview (which will usually include a 10-minute presentation) before the formal panel, plus an opportunity for the candidate(s) to visit the parishes, possibly have lunch with people from the wider church or local school communities, and also be able to have a viewing of the vicarage. This process can be done over a day, two days, or sometimes more.
-
Who do I ask for help if we don’t know the answer to something? +
If you are stuck for an answer, please do shout up to your local area dean or archdeacon and they will do their best to help.
-
What is ‘pastoral reorganisation’ and how does that affect our vacancy? +
The term ‘pastoral reorganisation’ refers to the processes that occur when there are proposals which require legal changes, such as re-drawing of parish boundaries, a change to which property to use as the vicarage or the re-configuration of parishes to modify the benefice structure.
-
I have received a letter referring to ‘suspension of presentation’. What does that mean? +
Suspension of presentation is the temporary removal of a patron's right to present an incumbent to a benefice. Where churches have patrons, whether parishes are ‘in suspension’ or not, we would usually involve them in the process anyway, as a matter of courtesy. The bishop will remain responsible for the cure of souls which she/he will normally exercise by licensing a priest-in-charge.
-
Who pays the advertising and interview costs? +
This is usually split (fairly) between the parishes concerned. Anticipated costs which may be incurred:
- Advertising
- For interviews, the parish would usually offer to pay reasonable travel and accommodation expenses. -
How many applications should we expect to get? +
At the moment, we are looking at anything from six down to zero. Confidence for a move is still fairly low, although we are hoping things will gradually improve as and when we return to ‘normal’.
- 1
Bishop Libby and Bishop Malcolm are inviting all those engaged with and/or concerned for youth and children’s ministry across the diocese together on Zoom to pray for our children and young people as they face these challenging times, as well as for our churches and schools as places of worship, welcome, and belonging.
We will host this Zoom prayer gathering on Tuesday, 11th January, 7.30pm.
We will send the Zoom link to any who get in touch before that date via Bishop Malcolm’s office, bishopofrepton@derby.anglican.org.
How to use Amazing GRACE
The website is designed to support those facilitating or leading the Amazing GRACE course.
Here you can access and download all the resources you need:
course booklet, prayers, videos and transcriptions, etc..
Each week we also tell you what you need to prepare in advance of the following week's session.
Read the welcome from Bishops Libby, John and Malcolm.
Get started
If you plan to lead this course in your context, get started by downloading the Leaders' Introduction Manual.
Or first read through some of the information below.
Information + all the resources for the six weekly sessions
- 1
At the heart of Christmas
Last year, many of the familiar experiences that bring Christmas to life for all of us were lost because of the terrifying spread of the deadly Coronavirus throughout the population.
School nativities, office parties, carol singing, pantomimes, family gatherings for Christmas dinner, and much more that brings joy to so many, were often cancelled.
This year, the emergence of the new, highly-transmissible Omicron variant means the infection rate is, once again, rising alarmingly.
Despite the incredible effort being made to supply booster vaccines to all adults by the end of December, our celebrations again feel threatened and fragile.
That has focused my mind on what really matters.
At the heart of Christmas is the good news of God’s saving love revealed in the birth of Jesus.
What matters to me therefore, is echoing that generous love of God.
This year, I am determined to ensure that generosity to others lies at the heart of my Christmas.
That means I have given especially careful thought and attention to the gifts I buy for family, friends and colleagues this year but without forgetting that generosity is so much more than the material things we give to one another.
Generosity is about being available to others, making time for them and doing the things that matter to them rather than just the things I want to do.
It means stepping up to help with all the mundane but essential practical jobs at home like washing-up and taking out the recycling and rubbish for collection.
It means listening, paying proper attention and allowing others to disturb me, even when I want some peace and quiet.
It means looking beyond myself and my own family - to those who will be without shelter, food or care this Christmas and asking myself 'what generosity can I show them whether financially, through my attitude, or with my time'?
That first Christmas, Mary was overwhelmed by the generosity of the innkeeper offering shelter, the shepherds who left their flock to the mercy of the hillside, the wise men who travelled from afar to bring precious gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
She treasured these amazing things in her heart and pondered on them, wondering what those extraordinary events of the first Christmas might mean for her and her family then and in the years ahead.
As we reflect upon the generosity of God’s love for us, and see it reflected in the behaviour of those around us, may we too treasure the real gift of Christmas and take its spirit forwards into what will almost certainly be a very challenging 2022.
God’s love is not just something to be unwrapped for Christmas, shared for a few days and then put away for another year.
It is something we can draw on each and every day.
We can all commit ourselves to living a life that shows, in real and practical ways, that whatever else is cancelled in the months ahead, whoever we are and whatever our circumstances, God’s love is always available and ready to be shared generously with those around us.
Merry Christmas
Bishop Libby Lane
Bishop of Derby
This course has been designed for Readers and Clergy who hold Permission to Officiate (PtO) who are not heavily involved in ministry.
In Person
There are currently no dates available for this type of training
Online via Zoom
PTO/26D1 - Monday 29th June - 9.30 - 12.15 - Zoom - Book Here
Please email safeguardingtraining@derby.anglican.org if you require any further assistance.
November 2021 saw our first-ever Diocesan Churchwarden Network events.
Churchwardens from across the Diocese made the journey to Danesmoor and Chellaston, one even coming all the way from the north of the Peak Deanery by train and taxi.
The aim of these events was to say thank you and acknowledge the huge contribution that our churchwardens make.
It was also to provide wardens with the opportunity to tell us what they felt we needed to hear and, more importantly, for us to listen.
Following opening worship and a personal thank you from the archdeacons, our partners from Ecclesiastical Insurance undertook a listening exercise where they asked the wardens:
- What is church like post-pandemic?
- What do you think the future of the church will look like?
- What can Ecclesiastical Insurance Group (EIG) do to help best support your parishes?
https://www.ecclesiastical.com/
https://www.ecclesiastical.com/church/church-insurance-consultants/lynne-ingham/
Ecclesiatical's Lynne Ingham leads a listening session
We then went on to begin the conversation around how the diocese can help when your church is in vacancy and to look at some of the challenges and opportunities about being in vacancy.
We finished the morning by sharing lunch together.
Being present at these two events only increased our admiration for all that the wardens do.
The level of expertise and knowledge in the room was overwhelming and it was a joy to be told from churchwardens who had arrived with queries about things to do with their own churches, that they had found answers in the guidance and advice given by other churchwardens present, who had experienced similar situations.
What has happened since
Those of us from the diocese and Ecclesiastical came away with a list of things to action and feedback.
A request was made for the equivalent of a ‘supply list’ of priests and readers who would be available to take services for churches in vacancy. This is being followed up.
We had hoped this would be a quick and simple task, but we are checking with our legal colleagues that to produce such a list is compliant with GDPR.
Communication difficulties were identified as being a major point of contention with the complexities of the current Church House telephone system being singled out for particular mention. This has been passed on to Senior Management.
The national churchwarden Facebook group was advertised https://www.facebook.com/groups/churchwardens and between our first and second events, our Comms team have created our a Facebook group specifically for churchwardens in the Diocese of Derby: https://www.facebook.com/groups/derbyshirechurchwardens
Questions were asked about finding reputable tradespeople when church repairs need doing and a good starting point is National Churches Trust maintenance booker:
https://www.nationalchurchestrust.org/Maintenancebooker
Environmental Questions were asked and the link below offers some helpful suggestions
https://www.churchofengland.org/resources/churchcare/net-zero-carbon-church
Other suggestions and requests are being looked at.
Over 92% of those present said that they’d be extremely likely to attend another event, so please hold Thursday, 30 June 2022 in your diary.
There will be a follow-up letter in the New Year with more details and other information from the two events.
Discussion time at the Chellaston networking event
Saints of Derbyshire, the book by Revd Simon Taylor and Josephine Simister, is now available to buy.
The illustrated book tells the stories of more than 50 saints associated with Derbyshire and is published by Derby Cathedral, which will also receive all profits from the sale of the book.
At the launch of the book, Simon, formerly area dean of Derby City Deanery, revealed that the idea for the book came during a family trip to Repton.
He said: "We were looking around the parish church there and there are loads of saints associated with Repton, with this magnificent crypt for St Wystan and nowhere could I find enough information about the saints.
"And after that I just started collecting the stories, not just for Repton but for the whole of the county.
"It tells the stories of the saints. I remember some years ago reading a dictionary of saints that said 'the stories of this saint are legendary' and feeling that wasn't very helpful, I wanted to know what the stories were, however legendary and far-fetched because, they're fun and I wanted to know what made the story come alive.
"So we've kept in the monsters and the far-fetched and the supernatural because that's the funa and the joy of these stories.
"It's also a book that we hope people will take out into Derbyshire and go and visit some places and find the saints associated with places.
"And, yes, there are prayers and it is a book that, through the lives of the saints, will connect folk to God - the god that the saints in their very different ways were all trying to find."
The book is also laden with beautiful lino-print illustrations, lovingly created by Jo Simister, deanery administrator for Derby City Deanery.
Jo said: "I think the most lovely thing about this project was that it got me back in touch with my art teaching roots from 40 years ago.
"Just doing the refresher workshop to produce the Repton crypt print was such a joy that I really couldn't resist thinking that maybe I could do one lino print for each of the chapters - not realsiing that there would be 20 chapters!
"I loved doing the research for the different subjects, so for example when it came to doing the design for the hermit who lived in Deepdale and Cratcliffe, I decided to see what the local museums had in the way of cooking pots from that era and I also had a Tudor herbal at home and I scanned some of the photos from that - simple, primitive pictures of daisies and clover that I used in the design.
"And then there were others that were really quite obvious."
Among the church artefacts that are included are the Wirksworth Stone (the lid of a stone vault found buried in Wirksworth Church in 1820), which was used for one of the chapters, and the Saxon font at Ilam, used for the story about Bertrand and the monsters eating his wife!
An exhibition of Jo's lino prints is in Derby Cathedral (until 20 December 2021) and the book, priced £12.50 (plus 4.50 p&p if required) can be ordered by emailing office@derbycathedral.org
What are the Parish Dashboards?
Safeguarding practice within the Church of England has developed significantly in recent years and is expected to continue evolving. While the introduction of new policies and procedures has strengthened safeguarding and made our churches safer, it has also increased the administrative responsibilities for Parish Safeguarding Officers (PSOs), incumbents, and PCCs.
Safeguarding Dashboards were designed by Clearly Simpler to help address this challenge by streamlining and simplifying safeguarding administration, supporting those responsible to manage their duties more efficiently and effectively.
What cost is involved?
It is free for Parishes.
How do I get access to our Parish Dashboard?
For existing users you can access the website by typing https://www.parishdashboards.org.uk/ into your browser, or click here for access.
If you are yet to register, you can only gain access by invitation. Please contact the Diocesan team on safeguarding@derby.anglican.org where a member of the team will assist.
Where can I get assistance using the Dashboard?
Detailed information and FAQs about the Dashboard are provided by Clearly Simpler, details can be found here; Parish Dashboard Support
I would like more information
You can access further information by typing https://safeguardingdashboards.org.uk/ into your browser, or clicking here.
As we enter Advent, we look for the coming of Christ and of his kingdom, and the hope that gives us.
Between 29 November 2021 and 23 December 2021, Bishops Libby and Malcolm invite you to join them each week on zoom for 45 minutes of prayer and reflection together, based upon seasonal Bible passages.
Advent Hope is open to all and will be held on Monday morning from 7:30-8:15am and repeated on Thursday evening from 7:30-8:15 pm.
Both sessions will be on Zoom.
Do pass this invitation on.
Please email reply@bishopofderby.org for the access link.
Bishop Malcolm writes:
In Covid times we have had to learn to be fleet of foot, and ready to change plans at the drop of a hat.
Those of you who attended the clergy conference back in September will remember that Lusa Nsenga-Ngoy was unable to join us on the Wednesday as he had succumbed to Covid.
I am now pleased to say Lusa has fully recovered, and that he has agreed to give us an Advent address, on Zoom, on Monday, 6 December from 7 pm to 7.45pm, followed by a discussion in breakout groups, a Q&A session with Lusa - leading up to Night Prayer.
This is now opento anyone in the diocese, lay and ordained, but please do book in via this link.
Lusa will be speaking to the title, ‘Threads of hope’, with an Advent theme.
The Revd. Lusa Nsenga-Ngoy is BAME Mission and Ministry Enabler for the Diocese of Leicester.
He recently served on the Archbishops’ Anti Racism Task Force, which produced the report, ‘From Lament to Action’.
He is also a Trustee of Initiatives of Change, a global organisation working to inspire, equip and connect people to play their part in building a better society.
I realise this is rather short notice for such a significant talk, but it is offered in the hope that it may be an encouragement and inspiration during the Advent season.
Please book in right away if you possibly can.
