People
(Who's Who at St. Bartholomew's)

The Vicar

Our vicar, the Rev. Michael Kingston, retired at the end of September and we are now in a period of Vacancy and we are very grateful to have the services of our curate, Stephen Edmonds, for a while longer. 

It is quite usual in the Church of England for a Vacancy to last up to 12 months. This is so that, as a church, we can reflect on our strengths and weaknesses and decide on our priorities for the future, which in turn will help us to recruit a replacement. 

Please bear with us during this period. We will be well supported from the Diocese and should be able to offer you all the usual services and support. 

The Curate

Our curate is Stephen Edmonds who was ordained at Westcott House in Cambridge. 

Churchwardens

St. Bartholomew's has two churchwardens: Nick Lloyd and Paddy Moon. In co-operation with the vicar, they have responsibilities for a number of matters and are considered to be the leading lay members of the congregation. Duties include:

• aspects of administration
• maintenance of the church building
• helping in the smooth running of the church

Churchwardens are responsible for organising an annual inspection of the building and grounds. They help to ensure that the clergy can conduct their services without interruption, that all the necessary facilities are in place, including safety requirements. They welcome guest preachers and ensure that there are people in place to fulfil the various lay roles during the service.

Churchwardens are required to respond to 'official' questions about the parish, produce reports and keep detailed records of all property, professional inspections, alterations and repairs. They are expected to attend all major meetings of the parish council and standing committees and should meet and pray regularly with the parish priest. At St. Barts the churchwardens also help with the counting and recording of collections. 

The PCC (Parochial Church Council)

The church is a charity and members of the PCC are, in effect, charity trustees. In other words, they are the 'persons having the general control and management of the administration of the charity' (Charities Act 2011).

The duties of the PCC are to:

• always act responsibility
• always take decisions for the benefit of the PCC and in accordance with the law
• not seek personal benefit
• ensure proper accounting records, accurate disclosure of information, including the proper financial statements and suitable independent auditing
• show and explain all their transactions
• only delegate decision making where it can be ensured that its wishes will be followed
• prepare the annual report and accounts and present to the Annual Parochial Church Meeting

PCC members are elected at the APCM and can stand for two 3-year terms before taking a break.

Other Committees

We have a number of sub-committees at St. Barts reporting to the PCC. Some are mandatory, while others have been set up to delegate responsibilities and encourage the involvement of other members of the congregation. They cover:

• Finance
• Building Issues
• Sydenham Life Magazine
• Social & Fund Raising
• Youth Work
• Health & Safety
• Environment
• Safeguarding
• Mission Action Planning
• Buildings Appeal Steering Group

Members of the congregation are always welcome to put themselves forward for these committees. If you have the relevant skills or interest, please do let us know!

There are many other ways you can get involved with the life at St. Bartholomew's including helping within the service itself. See Getting Involved for details or click on the link to the right.

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Call the Rev Stephen Edmonds on 020 8676 8925