1. Can a retired priest be on (a) the electoral roll and (b) PCC, and can he vote?
(a) Under the provisions of the Church Representation Rules, only lay persons are entitled to be entered onto the electoral roll. A priest ceases to be a lay person on being ordained into holy orders; a deacon, priest and bishop are clerks in holy orders. A clerk in holy orders is not eligible for entry on the electoral roll.
(b) A retired priest can be a co-opted member of the PCC. A co-opted member has the same voting rights as any other member.
2. Can a co-opted member of the PCC vote?
A co-opted member of the PCC has the same voting rights as any other member.
3. What is the minimum age of a witness at a wedding?
There is no minimum age of a witness at a wedding. However, although no minimum age is stipulated, it is imperative that the person chosen to fulfil the role of the witness is of sufficient maturity to fully appreciate and understand the nature of the ceremony of marriage.
4. Where may cremated remains be buried?
The place for the burial of cremated remains may be:
- in the existing grave of a close relative, and if none
- in an area specifically set aside by faculty for the purpose (a "garden of remembrance"), and if none
- in an otherwise unused area of the churchyard not considered large enough for burial of a body.
It is for the minister with responsibility for the churchyard to direct where the cremated remains of a particular person may be buried.
The place of burial of cremated remains should be recorded in the Register of Burials.
5. Is a faculty required (a) to fit a lightning conductor and (b) to regularly maintain it?
(a) Unless the work is considered to be of a “minor nature” and as such is included on the List of Matters Not Requiring a Faculty, permission will be needed for any work carried out to a church. The fitting of a lightning conductor is not included on this list and accordingly, a faculty is required for the fitting of a lightning conductor.
(b) Works of maintenance to a lightning conductor by contractors who are members of the National Federation of Master Steeplejacks and Lightning Conductor Engineers and work to earth bonding by approved contractors are included in the List of Matters Not Requiring a Faculty. The work must be recorded in the church log book.
The List of Matters Not Requiring a Faculty (Practice Direction 2005 No. 1) can be viewed in the faculty matters page.
6. Can clergy (a) serve as Justices of the Peace (b) be called for jury service or (c) serve as a Member of Parliament?
(a) There is no legal prohibition of a Church of England clerk in holy orders accepting an invitation to be a Justice of the Peace. There is, however, a potential difficulty should a clerk in holy orders serving as a JP have to deal with the situation where a member of their congregation appears before them. Consequently, although a clerk in holy orders may undertake this role, the possible ramifications of this should be carefully considered.
(b) The Criminal Justice Act 2003 removed clergy from the list of persons disqualified from serving as a member of a jury and accordingly clergy can now be called to serve as a member of a jury. Clergy jury service is on the same basis as any other person and hence clergy can only seek excusal or deferral if they have good reason, for example, where the demands placed upon their time by jury service would prevent the proper exercise of their pastoral duties.
(c) The House of Commons (Removal of Clergy Disqualification) Act 2001 removed any disqualification from membership of the House of Commons that arose previously by reason of a person having been ordained to the office of priest or deacon. (The House of Commons (Clergy Disqualification) Act 1801 had previously disqualified clergy from such membership). However, Lords Spiritual continue to be disqualified from such membership.
7. Is a licence required for (a) the sale of alcohol in a church hall or (b) the provision of entertainment in a church hall?
The Licensing Act 2003 introduced an entirely new regime for liquor and public entertainment licensing. "Licensable activities" relevant to lettings and events in Churches and Church Halls are the sale of alcohol and the provision of "regulated entertainment".
(a) If an event within a Church Hall includes the sale of alcohol, a Temporary Event Notice will be required or, if more than 12 such events will be held in any year, a Premises Licence will be required.
(b) If an event within a Church Hall includes entertainment that is not part of a religious meeting or service, a Temporary Event Notice will be required or, if more than 12 such events will be held in any year, a Premises Licence will be required.
Applications for Temporary Event Notices and Premises Licences are made to the local authority. Further advice is available from the liquor licensing section of the local authority.
8. How many godparents or sponsors does a person to be baptised require?
The role of godparents is to speak on behalf of the infant being baptised during the baptism service itself and to support the parents in bringing the child up as a Christian within the family of the Church.
Godparents need be able to make the declarations and promises in the baptism service, which is why the Church of England requires all godparents to be baptised themselves and normally to be confirmed as well. It is not possible for a member of another faith to be a godparent.
Those who are baptised as infants normally have to have at least three godparents. At least two of them have to be of the same sex as the infant and one has to be of the opposite sex. If it proves impossible for there to be three godparents it is possible for a baptism to take place with one godfather and one godmother. Parents can be godparents to their own children providing there is at least one other godparent as well.
Those who are older when they are baptised have sponsors rather than godparents. The role of the sponsor is not to speak for the person being baptised, but to formally present them for baptism and to help them in their growth as Christians after they have been baptised. There need to be at least two and preferably three sponsors and they are chosen by the candidates for baptism themselves. Like godparents they need to be baptised and normally also confirmed.
Further guidance on baptism can be found in Canons B21 - B25.
9. What are the guidelines to be applied by the minister in charge of a churchyard when considering a request for a memorial?
It is important to recognise that the next of kin of the deceased do not own the land in which a body is buried. The family of the deceased has no proprietorial rights over the grave and lawful authority must first be obtained before a memorial is placed upon the land. This lawful authority is in the form of a faculty granted by the Chancellor or by permission under the Churchyard Memorial Rules 2005 given by the minister in charge of the churchyard.
Further information can be found in The Churchyard Memorial Rules 2005 and in the document "Guidance on Various Churchyard Matters from the Chancellor of the Diocese" which are both in the faculty matters section.
10. By whom and when are churchwardens chosen?
Churchwardens of a parish are chosen annually not later than 30 April in each year, by election by a meeting of the parishioners.
A meeting of the parishioners for this purpose is a joint meeting of:
(a) persons whose names are entered in the church electoral roll of the parish; and
(b) persons resident in the parish whose names are entered on a register of local government electors by reason of such residence.
The rules relating to churchwardens are found within the Churchwardens Measure 2001.
