St Luke's Church Eccleshill - Articles from "The Link"

Keeping us decent and in order

Following the election of our churchwardens in April, I have been asked some questions about who does what in church? So here’s a run-down on what goes on.

The church building and the churchyard “belong” to the vicar - they are part of his “freehold” (but of course he can’t sell them!). No-one is allowed to make any alterations to the building or graveyard without planning permission, which in churches is called a “faculty”, and the vicar and churchwardens are jointly responsible for making sure no-one does. The moveable property in the church “belongs” to the churchwardens (but they aren’t allowed to sell it either!).

The churchwardens are the “Bishop’s Officers” in the parish, which means they are responsible to the bishop for keeping an eye on things. It’s up to them to rein the vicar in if they think he’s acting wrongly, and to bring in the diocese if they can’t sort out the problem. They are supposed to be foremost in cooperating with the vicar, helping the vicar and people to work together to deliver the ministry of the parish church to the people of the parish, and making sure that decency and order are preserved during church services.

For this last job the church appoints “sidesmen” to help the churchwardens. And that’s what I’ve been asked about recently.

There are some people who think the churchwardens should be there at every service to keep order - but I don’t: I think that’s the sidesmen’s job.

The sidesmen’s duties up to now have been:

make sure the building is ready for the Sunday service,
welcome people and give them the books they need,
watch for latecomers and welcome them too,
take the collection and make sure it gets locked away,
at communion open the choir vestry doors and ‘usher’ people up to the communion rail,
make sure the silver gets washed and locked away,
put books away afterwards and generally tidy up.

And these are the new duties we are asking them to do too:

keep an eye on sound levels (at the sound desk),
count the congregation and record the attendance,
check the people who present the bread and wine are there, and if not ask people to stand in,
secure the main door before going home.

All sidesmen have been invited to a meeting about their duties, and they will all get a list of them for everyone to refer to. We’re very grateful to everyone who helps our services run smoothly.

John Hartley

	*St Luke's Church, Eccleshill - The Link* magazine** The Link is published monthly at 40p (Senior Citizens 35p), and we deliver free within the parish and post copies (at the reader's expense) to those who request it. Please contact us if you would like a free copy for a trial period. June 2007, Page 2.
Home Page. Index of articles: by subject, by date. In this issue: (June 2007) Trinity, Sidesmen, Pray for the sick, DCF, Hymn. Other articles on church organisation.	Keeping us decent and in order Following the election of our churchwardens in April, I have been asked some questions about who does what in church? So here’s a run-down on what goes on. The church building and the churchyard “belong” to the vicar - they are part of his “freehold” (but of course he can’t sell them!). No-one is allowed to make any alterations to the building or graveyard without planning permission, which in churches is called a “faculty”, and the vicar and churchwardens are jointly responsible for making sure no-one does. The moveable property in the church “belongs” to the churchwardens (but they aren’t allowed to sell it either!). The churchwardens are the “Bishop’s Officers” in the parish, which means they are responsible to the bishop for keeping an eye on things. It’s up to them to rein the vicar in if they think he’s acting wrongly, and to bring in the diocese if they can’t sort out the problem. They are supposed to be foremost in cooperating with the vicar, helping the vicar and people to work together to deliver the ministry of the parish church to the people of the parish, and making sure that decency and order are preserved during church services. For this last job the church appoints “sidesmen” to help the churchwardens. And that’s what I’ve been asked about recently. There are some people who think the churchwardens should be there at every service to keep order - but I don’t: I think that’s the sidesmen’s job. The sidesmen’s duties up to now have been: make sure the building is ready for the Sunday service, welcome people and give them the books they need, watch for latecomers and welcome them too, take the collection and make sure it gets locked away, at communion open the choir vestry doors and ‘usher’ people up to the communion rail, make sure the silver gets washed and locked away, put books away afterwards and generally tidy up. And these are the new duties we are asking them to do too: keep an eye on sound levels (at the sound desk), count the congregation and record the attendance, check the people who present the bread and wine are there, and if not ask people to stand in, secure the main door before going home. All sidesmen have been invited to a meeting about their duties, and they will all get a list of them for everyone to refer to. We’re very grateful to everyone who helps our services run smoothly. John Hartley
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