Organisation and Membership

St Mary's is a parish church in the Church of England 

Within our Parish 

There are about 50 people on the electoral roll as members of St Mary's Church. Every April, a meeting is held uring which members elect Church Wardens and members of the Parochial Church Council (PCC). The Parochial Church Council (PCC) is the governing body of a parish church. It is also a charity. The PCC is a team made up of clergy and lay members of the church. Together, they are responsible for the overall well-being, practical as well as spiritual, of the church, the church members, and the church building. The PCC also has a duty to promote the mission of the church within the wider community.The  PCC usually meets 6-8 times a year.

If you would like to become a member of our church, complete and return an electoral roll form (PDF 232kB).

The current members of the Church Council are 

Clergy

Revd Rick Williams

Church Wardens

Val Abbott, David Hatton

Deanery Synod

Representative

Patricia Broadfoot

Elected

Bob Copeland, Stella Green, Bill Howgego, Chris Wynn
Co-opted

John Green

 

Beyond our parish 

  • St Mary's belongs to the Wickwar Benefice with 4 other parishes (Charfield, Hillesley, Rangeworthy, and Wickwar). A benefice is a parish or group of parishes, normally under the care of a single stipendiary (paid) minister. The other churches in the benefice can be seen on our location map.
  • Our benefice is part of the Wotton Deanery (this includes Berkeley, Cam, Chipping Sodbury, Dursley, Thornbury, and Wotton-under-Edge). A deanery is a group of neighbouring parishes forming an administrative area. Each deanery is overseen by an Area Dean (an ordained minister) and a Lay Chairman (not ordained). Each deanery has a Deanery Synod made up of the clergy and elected lay representatives from the parishes. The Deanery Synod is a forum for the parishes to exchange views on issues affecting the Deanery. Its members also elect representatives to the Diocesan Synod and also to the General Synod, which is the legislative and deliberative body of the Church of England.