New Vicar????

[dorisday]

Why does it take so long to find a new vicar? Our last vicar handed his notice in last June and left the parish in September. I was told by our church warden yesterday that(for some reason), the Diocese cannot advertise the position for three months after the vicar has left. That means we can only start trying to replace him NOW!! Its is going to be a least Easter at the earliest before we have a new vicar. In the mean time the services are being taken by church warden, who cannot take Holy Communion. No wonder no one goes to church. We have also had two deaths in the village over Christmas and no vicar to turn to. In this day and age I find this all incredible.

[Octavius]

I would suggest that you contact them directly about your grievance, maybe lobby them with a petition from all the parishoners.  There is a shortage of vicars nationally, and local vicars are expected to take turns celebrating mass at vicar-less churches in their vicinity/diocese.

 

http://www.cofe.anglican.org/

[jenstar]

In this day and age I find it incredible that anyone wants a vicar, except possibly for making fun of.

[StarCatcher]

Most churches say that it is good to have an interregnum period in-between one vicar and the next. During this time the church refocuses and re-evaluates its priorities. It is a time when the congregation can look at the skills they possess and they can use these in church life and not need to rely on a vicar to do everything; therefore it is during the interregnum that the church will normally see the most volunteering and the congregation can come together.

At the same time it is a time when the church can decorate/do up the manse to make it ready for the next vicar to move into.

If the church has a funeral it is normal to invite the old vicar to come back specially to do it, unless there are other vicars in the area who have a special link with the church.

My church had an interregnum of three years, and it is generally held that it was a very strong time for the church, and was actually a time of growth. On the other hand a local church had a very short interregnum, chose the wrong vicar and were very unhappy for the short time the vicar was with them, now he has left they are having a longer interregnum.

The timescale will however depend largely on your denomination, if you are a church who chooses their own vicar it will be a longer interregnum than if you are a church assigned a vicar from central office.

Hope I've been helpful.