One of the ways to get more involved with the church is to serve on the PCC – the ‘Parochial Church Council’, the board of trustees for the church.
Who is on the PCC?
The members of the PCC include our Churchwardens – Sue Tearle & James Murdoch, our Vicar – Bridget Shepherd, our Assistant Curate Chris Henriette, our elected members – Yi Baylis, Trudi Bramson, Hannah Burns, Gladys Ekpo-Daniels, Sophia Duffy, Louise Grace, Clare Johnson, Mia Hadfield-Spoor, John Murray, Angela Stebbings, Conway Tearle and Pete Burns; and our Deanery Synod representatives – Adriaan Goosen, James Murdoch and Peter Watson.
The officers of the PCC are: 
Bridget Shepherd – Chair
John Murray – Vice Chair
Hannah Burns – Secretary
Conway Tearle – Treasurer
The minutes of the APCM 2023 at which the above PCC members were elected are available here. You can read our 2023 Annual Report here, and you can see our 2022 Church Accounts here.
You can read the minutes of some of our recent meetings here:
PCC Minutes (Short meeting after APCM) May 2023
Why does the PCC exist?
The PCC exists:
- To enable the church to play its part in God’s mission to his world.
- To work in partnership with the minister in sharing leadership.
- To ensure legal compliance with charity law and ecclesiastical law, in particular in the areas of safeguarding, finance, employment and appointments.
- To care for the building and churchyard so that they are maintained and updated in keeping with the purpose of the church’s ministry and mission.
- To be a channel of consultation within the wider Church through its synodical structures on matters that affect the Church locally and nationally.
- To represent the views of congregation members.
The principle function of the PCC is:
“promoting in the parish the whole mission of the Church”.
The Church of England’s ‘Five Marks of Mission’ help us to understand that more fully. The Church’s mission is:
- To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
- To teach, baptise and nurture new believers
- To respond to human need by loving service
- To seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation
- To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth
What is the role of PCC members?
Put very briefly, the role of PCC members is to work together to ensure the effective running of the parish. This involves:
- Prayer – Members are encouraged to pray for the parish, the PCC meetings, and other members of the PCC.
- Attendance and preparation – PCC members should aim to attend meetings, and to read the papers prior to the meeting, considering how best to contribute to the items to be discussed. To help with this, papers are sent out a week in advance.
- Contribution – Each member of the PCC is valued for what they bring: their gifts, skills, experience and knowledge. We hope that everyone feels able to make their unique contribution, both as an individual and as a team member. We encourage a culture of mutual respect where we listen carefully to one another.
- Values – PCC members are part of the leadership of the church and are encouraged to champion and live out the church’s values, behaving in a way which reflects these values, both in meetings and at all other times.
- Connection – It also helps if PCC members can be aware of the breadth of the church’s mission and ministry through their participation in different areas of church life, and be familiar with worship at St. Peter’s and the Good Shepherd.
How does the PCC work together?
There are six to eight PCC meetings each year, and there is usually one PCC ‘Away Day’. PCC meetings take place on rotating weekday evenings from 8 – 9.30pm, at either St. Peter’s or the Good Shepherd or on zoom (please see the agenda for the location). Meetings begin and end with prayer.
The agenda and papers for PCC meetings will usually be sent out a week in advance of the meeting. The meeting is run by the PCC Chair, and follows a timed agenda. There are certain ‘standing items’ that will be on the agenda for each meeting e.g. safeguarding. The PCC will also receive reports from it’s sub-groups e.g. the finance team.
Some PCC agenda items will be ‘for information’, some will be ‘for discussion’ to shape the direction taken, and some will require a decision. The PCC Chair will make the purpose of each item clear.
At PCC meetings there will be a combination of discussion in pairs and small groups, as well as open discussions involving the whole group. Every member of the PCC is encouraged to contribute, and meetings are structured and run in a way that is inclusive.
PCC Policies & Procedures
Below are the PCC’s policy documents:
Policy for responding to domestic abuse
Church of England Safeguarding Policy Statement
Complaints & Grievances Policy
How do you join the PCC?
PCC members are elected at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (APCM) which takes place in April or May each year. We elect up to 12 members who each serve for a three year term. The PCC should include representatives from a diverse range of backgrounds. On top of this, each year we also elect two Churchwardens.
If you wish to stand for election to the PCC, you need to be:
- On the Electoral Roll
- Someone who attends worship regularly
- Over 16
- The PCC is a charity, the PCC are the trustees, so you must not be legally barred from being a charity trustee
If you would like to stand for election to the PCC you will need to be nominated by two other people who are also on the Electoral Roll. A PCC nomination form is available here.
If you would like to be added to the Electoral Roll, an application form is available here. Please return new applications to the Church Office, 29 Handen Road, SE12 8NP.
More information about being a trustee of the church is available here
More information about the financial responsibilities of trustees is available here
The dates of the PCC meetings in 2023 / 2024 are: