How Do We Get a New Vicar?
This is a simple guide to the process in the Diocese of Swansea & Brecon. (The official Church in Wales guide to Appointments and Nomination is found in the Constitution, especially volume I chapter VII).
When a Vicar (or Rector - there is no distinction) announces his/her retirement or move to another post, the first question is whether another cleric will be appointed to the same job. Sometimes it is necessary to change the working groups of Parishes, or to combine responsibility for some congregations with some other responsibility.
If the Bishop and others decide to appoint a new Vicar, it will be the responsibility of the Diocesan Nomination Board, the Provincial Nomination Board, or the Bishop. [The Nomination Boards were known until 2002 as "Patronage Boards"]. This description is of the procedure of the Diocesan Nomination Board.
The Parish (or Group of Parishes) has two main contributions to make to the appointment process. Firstly, the PCC will be asked elect Representatives, who will be part of the selection process. Secondly, the PCC must draw up a description of the Benefice, often called a Parish Profile. This is to give clerics who might be interested the basic information they need to know what happens in the Parish, what parishioners are wanting to do next, and what it would be like to live and work there. There is a list of questions to help you create the Profile.
This document will normally be drawn up with the Area Dean or Archdeacon. While the outgoing Vicar may help supply facts, he/she should not write the profile. This Profile could be placed on a Parish website; alternatively it will be made available to potential applicants on the internet and if necessary on paper.
Sequence of Events
When the Vicar has left, the Parish Representatives may be asked to meet the Nomination Board, and the vacancy will be advertised. The Area Dean and the churchwardens look after the Parish, and the Clerical Secretary supplies interested clergy with the Parish Profile, an Application Form, and the closing date for applications.
When there are candidates to consider, Parish Representatives join the Board for confidential discussions. The names of applicants are not disclosed outside the Board. Applicants may be interviewed (and may visit the parish informally). If the Board "nominates" a candidate, the cleric's identity remains secret until he/she has accepted (and if necessary, until references are taken up). We usually try to arrange for an announcement to be made in the Parish and in the place where the cleric has been working on the same Sunday. The new Vicar will arrive and begin work at an agreed time, depending on the need to give notice in their present position, and other responsibilities.
But Why? - Questions we often get asked.
1. Why the secrecy?
Strict confidentiality is required because a cleric's ministry in one place can be upset if it becomes known they have applied for another post. There may be good reasons apart from their work (eg family needs, health problems) for the application, or special needs causing another applicant to be preferred, but the last thing a cleric wants to deal with is comments on the lines of "I hear you want to leave us then, Vicar" or "What a surprise that Mr Jones beat you!"
2. Why can't a Parish choose their Vicar?
The wider needs of Deanery and Diocese are also important. With fewer clergy available, it is more important than ever to have them in the right places with the right responsibilities. The wider view is vital, though the clergy and laypeople elected to the Nomination Board try very hard to understand the needs of the Parish, and to find the most suitable person to meet them. The Board, including the Parish Representatives, works together to make the best appointment.
3. What if there's nobody suitable?
Sometimes there may be no applicants. Even for "key" positions, the numbers recently have been small. In any case, the Board can decide not to nominate anyone. If there is no nomination 6 months after the vacancy occurs, the right to appoint passes to the Bishop.
4. Why the delay; can't the new Vicar start when the old one leaves?
There are practical reasons, such as the need to inspect and renovate the Vicarage. There is also a need for the Parish to say farewell and, while temporary arrangements for services are in place, come to understand that a new person will bring at least a different personality and possibly other changes as well. The "gap" can be a time when people grow to meet the needs and discover new gifts.
5. Why is a "Priest-in-Charge" sometimes appointed, not a Vicar?
This is done for a number of reasons, including allowing for flexibility in future changes in patterns of Pastoral care in an area, and to allow a less experienced cleric time to "settle in". When a Priest-in-Charge is appointed, the Parish is said to be "suspended" - but the difference in practice is small.
6. Who is on the Diocesan Nomination Board, and how does it work?
The Board members are: the Bishop (chairman), the Archdeacon, two* elected clerics and three elected laypeople (the elections are held every three years, and members of the Diocesan Conference nominate and vote for candidates), and the two* Parish Representatives. [The *numbers can be increased when there are more than two Parishes in a vacant Group].
The Board is allowed to determine its own procedure, but in considering a vacant Parish usually begins by considering the needs of the Parish, then makes a careful review of all applicants (copies of their applications are available on the day, but collected and shredded after the meeting), and hopes to come to a common mind (or at least a substantial majority opinion) about the action to be taken.
7. What are "Triennial" Elections?
Every third year (most recently in 2010), members of the Diocesan Conference elect three laypeople and two clergy (with a "supplemental" list of reserves) who form the majority of the Diocesan Nomination Board.
Please note that this is not an official guide; it is supplied by the Revd Jonathan Davies as a simple "layperson’s" description of the process, and neither he nor the Diocesan Nomination Board accept any liability for inaccuracies or omissions. If you would like every detail, please read the Constitution of The Church in Wales.
Jonathan Davies
4/02, 3/04, 1/05 ,9/05 and Feb10