What is the church electoral roll?
Consider it this way: the parish church is one small part of a much larger institution.
At the level of National Church, Diocese, Deanery and Parish, there are bodies which take decisions about the way the mission of the church should be carried out. The members of these bodies are there by virtue of their office (e.g. Parish Priest) or as a result of being elected. The Church Electoral Roll is a register of those (over 16s) who have applied and are entitled to vote for their local representatives. It is the nearest document the Church of England has to a register of members, with each person on the list having committed themselves through baptism to following Jesus, thus endorsing and supporting the mission of the church.
So what is the Mission of the Church?
In our benefice we articulate this mission in two ways: through our own Mission Statement, and with the Diocesan initiative, “Living God’s Love.”
What is Living God’s Love?
It is the initiative in the Diocese of St Albans which helps us to focus our aims in the Christian life:
- Going Deeper into God…
through worship, prayer and study of our faith. - Transforming Communities…
through Christian service in, and beyond, our congregations. - Making New Disciples
through encouraging and building faith in the people of our communities.
This all ties in well with the benefice Mission Statement, which declares:
We aim to Know Christ and Make Him Known.
We have this aim because God in his grace has made Himself known to us through Jesus and we recognise that a love as great as this needs exploring and spreading around! Our response to God’s love is effectively three-fold:
- spiritual
(through private prayer and study of the Bible and regular participation in services of worship), - practical
(through involvement in the midweek activities which support the life and ministry of the church), - financial
(contributing money in order to resource ministry and mission in the parish and beyond).
So how can I get involved?
The best place to start is to come to church regularly and celebrate with us the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Learn with us who He is, why He came and what it means to follow Him, and then use your unique set of talents, skills and circumstances to bring honour to Him in your own life and to help us honour Him as a church family together.
Application forms for joining the Electoral Roll are available from the Electoral Roll Officer in church. If you are considering joining the roll, you might like to read the Archbishops’ “Short Guide to the Duties of Church Membership.”
I still have more questions – where can I get answers?
The Rector would be very glad to assist you. Contact him here.