Meeting of Parishioners

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The Meeting of Parishioners (also referred to as the Annual Vestry Meeting or (AVM)) is held yearly in every parish in the Church of England to elect Churchwardens and deputies (if any) for the forthcoming year.

The meeting must be held by 30 April and is commonly held immediately prior to the Annual Parochial Church Meeting.

The meeting

Since this is a public meeting, notice must be given in writing with the minimum period of two Sundays before the date of the meeting and the notice must be displayed publicly.

The meeting is convened and chaired by a minister (usually the Parish Priest), or if there is no minister or the if s/he is unable or unwilling to chair the meeting, the Churchwardens convene and chair it.

Agenda

Typically, the meeting's structure is as follows:

• Opening Statement by the Chair (usually the Parish Priest)
• Minutes of the Previous Annual Vestry Meeting
• Nominations for Churchwarden(s)
  • Vote – only required if there are more applicants than posts available
• Meeting Closes

As the agenda is so short, meetings typically last less than ten minutes.

Attendees and voters

The following people may vote:^[1]

• People whose names are on the Church Electoral Roll (whether or not they are resident in the Church Parish).
• People who are resident in the Parish and who are also on the register of local government electors. Note, this means any resident of the Parish and who is registered to vote – of any faith and none.

References

1. ^ "Churchwardens Measure 2001 No. 1". Office for Public Sector Information. http://www.opsi.gov.uk/uk-church-measures/2001/ukcm_20010001_en_1#l1g5. Retrieved 24 August 2008. 

External links

• Church of England Guide to the Churchwardens Measure 2001

See also

• Pitchford, J. (2008) An ABC for the PCC – A Handbook for Church Council Members, (Fifth edition), Mowbray, ISBN 978-1906286-07-1
• Parochial church council – an executive body all Church of England Parishes have.