GOVERNANCE

St Luke’s is part of the Church of England, and we are therefore partners together with many other churches in this mission beyond ourselves, giving us a wider sense of what we are a part of and who we are accountable to. We recognise that the Anglican Church, though global, is just one part of God’s Kingdom that Jesus is growing to fulfil His mission.

The Church of England is made up of 41 dioceses (regional areas) and each diocese is divided into numerous smaller patches called parishes. The parish of St Luke’s is in the Diocese of London. The Diocese of London, overseen by Bishop Sarah Mulally, is “a patchwork of parishes covering 277 square miles of Greater London north of the Thames, from Staines in the west to the Isle of Dogs in the east, and as far north as Enfield.”

As the diocese is so large, it is divided further into areas of oversight, each overseen by an Area Bishop. One of those areas is the Edmonton Area, which covers the four north London Boroughs of Barnet, Camden, Enfield and Haringey, a population of some 1,144,000. Our Area Bishop is Bishop Rob Wickham.

St Luke’s is also a part of the Holy Trinity Brompton network of churches, having been planted from HTB in 2011.

Each church within the CofE is run by a dual arrangement of leadership and governance. The leadership is carried out by the Vicar, and the governance by the Parochial Church Council (PCC). The relationship between the two is akin to that of an Executive and a Board of Trustees, and should be a collaborative partnership and a shared ministry. Whilst the Vicar is appointed, members of the PCC are elected from within the congregation each year at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM). Brief summaries of the responsibilities of the two are given below.

VICAR • The primary focus of the Vicar is spiritual, theological and operational leadership. This involves initiating vision, developing culture and direction, implementing the decisions of the PCC, and overseeing the day-to-day management of the staff team and pastoral leaders of the church. They also hold the teaching and doctrine of the church, chair the PCC, lead the staff team and are the representative of the church to the community and neighbourhood. The Vicar often shares these responsibilities with a small leadership team made up of staff and elected leaders, particularly the Churchwardens and other clergy.

PCC • The primary focus of the PCC is governance and strategy, and to represent the voice of the congregation. It works with the Vicar in upholding the vision, ethos and framework of the church. It monitors the church to make sure it is fulfilling its mission and ensures it is adhering to charity and ecclesiastical law, implementing good policies and procedures. It ensures financial accountability and transparency so the church remains solvent and sustainable. Members of the PCC listen to and represent the interests of the congregation to inform effective feedback and advice to the Vicar. The Council is an elected body and members of the congregation can stand at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) if they have been on the Electoral Roll (church membership) for at least 6 months. For more information on standing for the PCC, see below. PCC meetings must take place at least 4 times per year, and the minutes from the meetings, once approved, are publicly available upon request.

The key offices that are held on the PCC are as follows: the Churchwardens, Deptuty Churchwardens, Treasurer, Secretary and Safeguarding Officer. Here’s a short description of each:

CHURCHWARDENS • The senior elected lay leaders of the church, assisting the Vicar in the day-to-day leading of the church. They give feedback and perspective as representatives of the views of the congregation, and they are key in helping the Vicar shape the direction of the church.

DEPUTY CHURCHWARDENS • Appointed by the PCC, they assist the Churchwardens with any of their duties.

TREASURER • Appointed by the PCC, they oversee the financial governance of the church, monitoring income and expenditure and reporting on the financial status to the PCC and the congregation.

SECRETARY • Appointed by the PCC, they implement good record-keeping for all the meetings held by the Council and ensure good communication between PCC members.

SAFEGUARDING OFFICER • Appointed by the PCC, they ensure that all safeguarding procedures are being followed and are the backstop for any safeguarding issues that arise

Many hands make light work! For the Vicar and the PCC to carry out the vision of the church, they need to give lots of people different areas of leadership and responsibility. The people that hold these positions are those on the Staff Team and Lay Leaders.

STAFF TEAM • The Staff Team is made up of clergy, ordinands, contracted employees and placement students. Their primary role is to support the ministries and the members of the church who serve those ministries by fulfilling their roles according to their job descriptions or working agreements. Each staff member is line-managed, ultimately under the Vicar. Clergy and ordinands are paid or supported by the Diocese, whereas contracted employees are employed and paid by the charity of the PCC. They each hold different areas of responsibility, some more directly involved with ministries, others supporting the background operational aspects of a well-run church.

LAY LEADERS • Lay leaders are non-ordained members of the congregation that are appointed by the Vicar to fulfil particular roles for the church’s ministries, such as Small Group leaders or Worship leaders. They are overseen and accountable to either someone on the staff team or another lay leader.

The Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) is much like the AGM of other organisations. It is an annual meeting for the church to vote in new PCC members, get updates on church life and the finances, and to publish the previous year's financial accounts and Annual Report. There is also an opportunity for church members to raise any matters related to the life of the church. It's an important moment in the year for the church to come together to hear about and discuss what's happening in the church.

If you're interested in being on the PCC, you would stand for election at the APCM.

Those who are on the church's Electoral Roll are able to attend and vote at the APCM. The Roll is open to anyone from our congregation who has been attending regularly for at least 6 months (if only via digital means), or from within the parish. You can sign up anytime by filling in this form, though the Roll is only updated and re-published twice per year, usually in April and October. Do join if you feel you are a part of our church!

Sign up for Electoral Roll here.

The Parochial Church Council (PCC) is an elected body of members of the congregation and holds significant responsibility for the excellent governance and oversight of the church life. Not only does a member need to represent a portion of the congregation, but they also need to strive to embody the character and wisdom of Jesus as they help to lead the church.

New PCC members are elected by members of the church each year at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM), usually held in April. They have to have been on the Electoral Roll (church membership) for at least 6 months, and must be proposed and seconded by two members of the congregation who are also on the Electoral Roll. We encourage congregation members from a variety of backgrounds to consider standing!

Here are a few good questions for you to consider:

CHARACTER • Are you growing in your relationship with Jesus and in godly character? Are you playing a full part in the life of the church and serving on a team? Are you passionate about prayer, scripture and worship? Are you nurturing humility and generosity? Is your primary motivation to see St Luke's grow, thrive and fulfil Jesus' mission for the church?

COMPETENCE • What skill or knowledge are you able to bring? Can you commit to the administrative and time requirements of the role? Are you teachable in areas of weakness?

COMPATIBILITY • Are you an encourager and able to work well as part of a team? What part of church life or the congregation will you represent? Can you subscribe to Church of England’s values and guidelines in all matters?

If you’d like to pursue this further, as the next step please get in contact with Jon March: jon@slkt.org.uk.

VICAR: Jon March, jon@slkt.org.uk

CHURCHWARDENS: churchwardens@slkt.org.uk

TREASURER: treasurer@slkt.org.uk

SECRETARY: pccsecretary@slkt.org.uk

SAFEGUARDING OFFICER: safeguarding@slkt.org.uk