The Church of England

My youngest brother will soon be sixteen, which means he will have come of age in the eyes of the Church of England. He was given a form to register on the church’s electoral roll, meaning he can attend and vote at PCC meetings, and probably entitles him to hold other positions of responsibility too.

However, I just glanced over the form and it seems so antiquated and difficult to follow that I am really not surprised that attendance is falling at Anglican churches!

A note for those of you who aren’t familiar with churchy stuff: church with a lower case C refers to a physical church building, or a single church. Church with a capital C means the wider Church; e.g. the Church of England. Confused?

APPLICATION FOR ENROLMENT ON THE CHURCH ELECTORAL ROLL

Full name: _________________

Preferred title: ________

Full address: _______________________

I declare that:

1. I am baptized and aged 16 or over (or, become 16* on ___)
2. I am a member of the Church of England (or of a Church in communion with the Church of England) and am a resident in the parish, or
3. I am a member of the Church of England (or a Church in communion with the Church of England) and, not being resident in the parish, I have habitually attended public worship in the parish during the period of six months prior to enrolment, or
4. I am a member in good standing of a Church (not in communion with the Church of England) which subscribes to the doctrine of the Holy Trinity and also declare myself to be a member of the Church of England and I have habitually attended public worship in the parish during the period of six months prior to enrolment.

I declare that the above answers are true and I apply for inclusion on the church electoral roll of the parish.

Signed: ______________ Date: ________

Notes

1. The only churches at present in communion with the Church of England are other Anglican Churches aand certain foreign Churches.
2. Membership of the Electoral Roll is also open to members in good standing of a Church not in communion with the Church of England which subscribes to the doctrine of the Holy Trinity where those members are also prepared to declare themselves to be members of the Church of England.
3. Every six years a new roll is prepared and those on the previous roll can re-apply. If you are not resident in the parish but were on the roll as an habitual worshipper and have been prevented by sickness or absence or other essential reason from worshipping for the past six months, you may write “would” before “have habitually attended” on the form and add “but was prevented from doing so because” and then state the reason.
4. If you have any problems over this form, please approach the clergy or lay people responsible for the parish, who will be pleased to help you.
5. In this form, “parish” means ecclesiastical parish.