The Wardens at St. Johns Church are Roy Pollitt and Ken Barton.
The role of warden is defined as a keeper or custodian. Perhaps the most common image is that of the ARP warden in Dad’s Army. ‘Put that light out!’ Well we don’t actually go around the church drawing curtains or extinguishing candles.
The wardens are custodians of the fabric and possessions of the church. They should also be aware of the past history and have access to records held in the Parish, such as registers of births, deaths, and marriages.
In the Greater Manchester area most Parish records are now held on microfilm in the Local History section of the Central Library in St Peter’s Square, Manchester. Access to these records is free and available to all. However, it is wise to make an appointment as some records may take a day or so to be brought from the archives.
At St John’s the wardens hold a surgery for those people wishing to arrange baptisms or weddings. They are ably assisted by other church members. In fact, St John’s is so popular that dates for weddings are well into the future. This surgery is held most Friday nights in the church starting at 7.30 pm.
Electoral Roll Officer - Christine Booth
The Electoral Roll is the list of names and addresses of a church's membership. Every person listed on the Roll is eligible to attend the Annual Parochial Church Meeting. A new roll was created in 2007 and is renewed every 6 years. This year and subsequent years upto 2013, the electoral roll will only be amended with any new names that have been added or names of those who are no longer members taken off.
Notices of revision should be advertised 5-6 weeks before the APCM. Anyone who is not already a member and wishes to be entered onto the Roll should fill out an application form. The appropriate changes will then be made. The amended Electoral Roll is then displayed between 15-28 days before the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM). Some parishes have an Electoral Officer who will organise this.
No-one over 18 can be elected to the PCC until they have been Electoral members for 6 months. People under the age of 18 can be elected to the PCC from their 16th birthday.
Child Protection Co-ordinator - Mary Still
As the parish child protection co-ordinator, I am required to report to the AGM meeting on anyone who has volunteered to work with children and on any training that might be considered necessary. I am happy to say that St. John's has an extremely competent teaching force working with children and young people in four areas of the church - the crèche, the Sunday school, Pathfinders and the tea and tots. All the Sunday school teachers, crèche, tea and tot workers and pathfinder leaders have all been police checked and are qualified to work with children and young people. Here is a reminder of the policy reviewed and agreed at the last PCC meeting.
Policy Statement on children, young people and the Church.
The aim of St John's child protection policy is to promote good practice. The welfare of the child is paramount. All children whatever their age, culture, disability, gender, language, racial origin, religious beliefs and/or sexual identity have the right to be protected from abuse. All suspicions and allegations of abuse will be taken seriously and responded to swiftly and appropriately. St. Johns has a duty of care to safeguard all children involved from harm. All children have a right to protection and the needs of disabled children and others who may be particularly vulnerable must be taken into account. A child is defined as under 18 - The Children's Act 1989. Providing children and young people with appropriate safety and protection whilst in the care of St. John's. Allow all staff/volunteers to make informed and confident responses to specific child protection issues. St John's is committed at all times to the physical and emotional well being of its children and young people. We are committed to creating an environment in which children and young people feel secure, where they are encouraged to express their views and where they are listened. It is the responsibility of each one of us to prevent the physical, sexual and emoitional abuse of children and young people and to report any abuse discovered or suspected. We recognise that our work with children and young people is the responsibility of the whole church. The church is committed to supporting, resourcing and training those who work with children and to providing supervision. The church is committed to following the guidelines and procedures published by the Diocese of Manchester in the document "Children First". Each worker with children and young people must know the recommendations and udnertake to observe them. Each shall be given a copy of the parish's agreed procedures and Good Practice guidelines. As part of our commitment to children and young people, the P.C.C. has appointed Mary Still to be the parish co-ordinator.
As I said all of our teachers are fully competent and trustworthy but changes in the law requires that the church does not engage people who are unsuitable as volunteers to work with children or some vulnerable adults. If the church does not exercise due care it may be liable to prosecution or other legal action, and loose insurance cover. As I reported before, police checks have been made and I am glad to say that all of our volunteers are suitable for working with our children. I am sure you are aware through newspapers and television of the abuse that is going on to some unfortunate children so it is good to know that we as a parish are doing our best to protect the children left in our care.