The time without a rector will be longer than hoped

As you will probably remember, the timetable for interviews for the new rector of the parish had shortlisting at the beginning of April and interviews at the end of April.  We received one application for the post which was duly discussed at the shortlisting meeting and, after careful consideration, the shortlisting group unanimously agreed that the applicant was not suitable to take forward to interview.

This means that we move to a second round of advertising and interviews. The Church of England has some particular rules about how the process runs, including timescales, and our next round runs into the summer holiday season.  This means the agreed timescale for the second round is:

Advertise in Church Times: Mid-June through late July.
Applications close: 7^th August
Short-listing: 14^th August
Interviews: 9^th & 10^th September
Earliest likely start: January 2025

The vacancy will continue to be advertised on the parish and diocese websites.

While this is disappointing, the PCC was always aware that the vacancy could last a year or more, so we have plans in place to cover this period. We are already revisiting those plans to check that they are fit for purpose. One of the key factors that makes our planning easier is that we are looking forward to David Camp being ordained as priest at the end of June. This will give us one additional person to lead communion services.

Any questions please do speak to your church warden, to me, or to Stella.

Dave Walter, PCC Lay Vicechair