10 THINGS YOU MAY HAVE HEARD ABOUT A VACANCY
You have heard it said….
But we say…
1) “Long vacancies are always damaging to parish life.”
At first sight this seems to be sensible - a parish without a leader will suffer. However, experience often contradicts this. Many parishes find that they not only flourish during a vacancy but they discover new ways of working.
People have a tendency to offer their time and gifts because help is needed.
However we need to be clear what we mean by a ‘long vacancy’.
When some parishes have been vacant for a number of years people in the parish learn to be self reliant. This is often very positive but be assured vacancies that last a number of years are very unusual.
In our experience it is the parishes that are vacant for two years or more that experience problems. That is when people can get discouraged and parish life suffers.
2) “We can do nothing in a vacancy.”
This is simply not true.
There is a lot to do in a vacancy and the key element is taking stock - to think about what has happened or not during the last appointment and what your vision for the future is.
A vacancy provides an opportunity to renew and refresh your Mission Action Plan.
When you have done that, two things follow
- you may wish to stop doing some things in order to refocus on the objectives in your MAP.
- you can then think about the person you will need as your next vicar: what gifts and experience they need in order to help you achieve your vision.
3) “Business does not do it like this. When someone leaves an appointment is made straight away.”
The Church of England and the parish church is not a business. Each vicar will bring different gifts and qualities to the role and will help you flourish in the next stage of your life as a parish.
A vacancy gives you the opportunity to reflect on what sort of person you need following your last vicar. Some may say you need someone just like the last one; others may say they need someone very different. It is easy to swing from one extreme to another and reflection, discussion and prayer in a vacancy is vital for a healthy parish.
The second thing to say is that employment law does not apply in the same way in the Church as it does in business. For example, it has been known that a vicar has had a farewell service, the boxes and packed and then something happens to make him/her think again. Clergy are not deemed to have left their parish until they are licensed to their new post - so they could return! This is why we always advise you to wait until the vicar has left the parish to think about your needs in the future- both your vision and what sort of person you require as your next incumbent.
4) “Nothing can change in a vacancy.”
This is simply wrong. It is very important to signal a willingness to change and develop. If you try and keep everything as it is until the next vicar arrives you give the impression that either everything is perfect or change is dangerous and you daren’t risk it.
Take the initiative: make some changes, review your service pattern and structure. Consider if it is time to stop doing the things you have always done. Encourage fresh initiatives - take a risk.
If you are going through a period of pastoral reorganisation you will need to start meeting with the other Churchwardens and clergy in the group. Plan activities together, meet and pray together as you prepare the Parish Profile and for the interview.
One word of caution: it maybe best to involve the Rural Dean when you are planning new things just so that they can advise you.
5) “The Diocese drags its feet in getting the vacancy filled to save money.”
There are a number of things which will affect the length of vacancy:
- how quickly you call a PCC meeting to elect Parish Representatives
- how long it takes to write the Parish Profile,
- the length of time to reflect on your vision and what sort of person you need.
- Fixing dates with people who have very full diaries - Archdeacons, Bishop and Patrons.
- Whether the post is advertised and the time it takes to advertise, shortlist, seek references, interview and maybe appoint.
- Then clergy are required to give three months notice before they can leave their old post.
- Add to this moving time, settling in and a Licensing date
It all adds up.
An average vacancy can take a year. If it is longer it may be because you can’t find a suitable candidate, no one has expressed interest in the post or maybe because the first round of interviews is not successful.
Of course it may be because you have interviewed someone who really suits you but they cannot move for a few months. Because they are suitable you are prepared to wait.
This often explains why some vacancies appear to take so long.
6) “Congregations shrink during a vacancy.”
Some congregations do get smaller. Fringe people may not come as regularly but often parishes report that their congregations grow during a vacancy.
7) “Vacancies can be detrimental to finance.”
Evidence does not bear this out. If giving is planned it nearly always continues. If you are dependent upon people giving through the collection plate then maybe there will be a dip in giving but this is more a fear than a reality in practice.
In any case the 80/20 rule applies. That is eighty percent of giving will come from twenty percent of the people - people like you. The reduction in giving is often minimal unless the clergy have given substantially to the church and when they leave giving goes down. If that is the case we will be asking questions about the viability of the parish and the need for further pastoral reorganisation.
8) “We can stop giving so much in Ministry Share as we don’t have a vicar.”
The Ministry Share income is calculated in a way that means every parish has to contribute its allocated amount even if there is a vacancy. If parish share is not paid by you there is no one else who is going to offer to pay more. It simply means we will not be able to balance the books and that cannot go on for too long.
9) “We are left alone to manage ourselves.”
The responsibility to manage the vacancy is shared between the Churchwardens and the Rural Dean. It is the Rural Dean who will be your first port of call and will help you find clergy who will be able to assist you on Sundays.
If you have assistant clergy or LLMs in the parish they will work closely with the churchwardens but they are not responsible for the vacancy - the Churchwardens and Rural Dean are.
10) “The next vicar will be our ‘saviour’.”
This attitude needs to be resisted but it is hard as it is never explicitly said.
All the positive things that have happened in the vacancy need to continue and you cannot expect the new vicar to be either Wonderwoman or Superman. They cannot achieve your vision for you - you are in this together!
“We pray to be generous and visible people of Jesus Christ.”