This is a page specially for people who like to know what goes on behind the scenes…
St Mary’s is a community of people, each with different needs and gifts. To ensure the smooth running of the church we have a number of committees and teams with different responsibilities.
The key committee is the Church Council (also known as the Parochial Church Council or PCC for short). This is chaired by the Rector, and includes ex officio the Church Wardens, the PCC Secretary and the Treasurer. Most of the members are elected by the Annual Meeting held in May, for a period of three years. The three-year terms of office are staggered, so that there is a partial change of membership every year. There is also an agreement that PCC members take a break of at least one year when their three years are over, so that there is always scope for new people to have a chance. The Church Council meets six times each year, usually on a weekday evening in the third week of each odd-numbered month.
Standing Committee is a subset of PCC, elected by PCC and comprises the Rector, the Church Wardens, Deputy Church Wardens the PCC Secretary and the Treasurer. Standing Committee deals with urgent, detailed and confidential matters and often prepares ideas before PCC discussion. However, it cannot make important strategic or financial decisions without the agreement of full PCC.
If you have any questions or concerns about our committees or you would like to get involved or volunteer please contact the Church Office in the first instance.
We have many teams who work together to plan, pray and make the different aspects of church life happen.
From time to time the PCC sets up working groups to explore or review particular issues.
The Memorial Hall is a charity separate from the church, and is governed by its own Trustees – seven of whom are appointed by the church community and two of whom are co-opted and come from the wider community. An annual report is shared with the PCC.
The West Roding Mission Partnership has its own Partnership Committee, on which St Mary’s is represented by the Rector and two representatives appointed by the PCC (who need not be members of the PCC).