Parochial Church Council
The Parish of the Holy Cross, Shrewsbury
The Abbey is the parish church for the ancient parish of the Holy Cross, Shrewsbury. The parish is large, some 1.4 square miles outside and to the east of the loop of the River Severn in which the town centre is placed. Over 11000 people live in the parish
In 1939 a second church (St Peter’s) was built in the Monkmoor area of the parish
The PCC and its role
PCCs have overall responsibility for the governance of the ecclesiastical parish (as distinct from the civic parish which is entirely separate). They work with their minister in promoting the mission of their church(es). PCCs:
- Have a duty to consult on matters of general concern and importance to the parish, and its relationship with the deanery and diocese
- Are responsible for the maintenance of each church, churchyard and moveable objects
- Have overall charge of spending
Each PCC is a charity, and each member of the PCC is a trustee with specific responsibilities under charity law. The PCC for the Parish of the Holy Cross is also registered with the Charity Commission
Membership of the PCC
PCCs’ membership is set out in formal Church of England rules (The “Representation Rules”) and the general principle is that lay members will be in the majority
This is the required membership:
- All priests, deacons, layworkers and readers licensed to the parish
- Churchwardens – who are elected by the parish congregation
- Lay parish members of the deanery, diocesan or general synod
- Lay representatives of the parish elected annually. The number of lay representatives is dependent on the number of parishioners on the formal Electoral Roll
- Co-opted members
The PCC will also appoint officers (Treasurer, Secretary and Electoral Roll officer)
Annual Parochial Church Meeting (the “APCM”)
There is an annual meeting of parishioners (the APCM) to elect the churchwardens and lay members of the PCC. There will also be reports on the business of the PCC, and accounts for the preceding year will formally be adopted
Minutes of meetings
Minutes are kept for all formal meetings of the PCC and its committees. Following each PCC meeting, a precis of the business is circulated to each congregation. Any member of the congregation can also ask the PCC Secretary for the minutes of each meeting (though the minutes generally available exclude any confidential detail)
Core Policy Documents
PCCs as charities with responsibilities for parish governance, employees, visitors and contractors, will have a range of important core policy documents
The Holy Cross PCC is in the process of drafting and adopting such policy documents. Already it has adopted a privacy policy in response to the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). It also has a policy statement for Health and Safety. Copies of these policy statements can be requested from the PCC Secretary
Contact
The PCC Secretary can be contacted via the Shrewsbury Abbey office or by email on
