CHURCH WARDEN MINISTRY DESCRIPTION

Summary

The church warden position provides the ministry opportunity for two members of the church body to be its representatives to the pastoral staff. It is a gift of ministry for someone who has the spiritual well-being of the church and its members on his or her heart. This is a ministry of prayer, listening, wisdom and love. Although there are certain responsibilities for this role, how a person carries out this ministry is also dependent upon their individual gifting. The church warden position dates back to the 13th century (see History below), as the position meets the legal requirements of having someone other than the pastoral staff able to speak to the bishop on matters of concern and additionally responsible for the church property.

The church wardens are automatically members of the church council.\\ Therefore, the churchwarden position incorporates the church council ministry description.

It is desired that the churchwarden be

• a mature and practising Christian and a member of the English Speaking Church of Grenoble
• has been baptised in the name of Jesus Christ
• is at least 21 years of age
• able to sign church’s Statement of Faith and the Church of England’s churchwarden statement

A church warden can stand for re-election by the church body every year up to six consecutive years and every churchwarden must have a break of two years between each period in office

The church warden’s roles and responsibilities

The churchwarden seeks by example and word of mouth, to encourage the members of the congregation to be faithful disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ, and especially in loving and serving one another in true unity.

The churchwarden works in cooperation with the Chaplain(s), meeting with him regularly, and representing to him the views of the congregation,

The churchwarden is to pray consistently for the Chaplain(s) and the church and be willing to play an accountability role with the Chaplain(s) as mutually agreed upon

The churchwarden is an officer of the bishop and not of the pastoral staff or Church Council. The churchwardens have the right together to contact the bishop directly about any matters of concern. This includes a special responsibility for mediation in case of a breakdown of relationship between or amongst the pastoral staff and/or and the Church members

The churchwardens are responsible for the running of the Church if there are no Chaplain(s) (during the absence of the Chaplain(s) and the Assistant Chaplain(s) on holiday or otherwise) and take the lead in the process of choosing a new Chaplain(s).

The churchwardens are the legal custodians of the moveable property of the Church, of which they keep an inventory.

The churchwardens are to produce a written report annually to the congregation for the Annual General Meeting.

The role of churchwarden can be changed and amended as approved by the council

History

The churchwarden position dates back to the 13th century established to be the lay representatives of the people, responsible for the church’s morals and church property. Although the position is a requirement of the Church of England to which the English Speaking Church of Grenoble is affiliated having been established by the Intercontinental Church Society, the overriding intent behind the position is to allow church members more involvement in the church. This ministry description allows for the legal requirements of the Church of England and has been adapted for the needs of our congregation.