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Part IIE Contents and Effect of Pastoral Schemes and Orders

Team and group ministriesE

20 Establishment of team ministries.E

(1)A pastoral scheme may make provision for the establishment of a team ministry for the area of any benefice, and such a scheme shall provide—

(a)for the sharing of the cure of souls in that area by the incumbent of the benefice which, if it is not or would not otherwise be a rectory, shall be a rectory and one or more other ministers who shall have the title of vicar and a status equal to that of an incumbent of a benefice; and

(b)for the pastoral care of persons in that area by those who are to share the cure of souls therein together with all other persons who are from time to time authorised by [F1a provision contained in a licence or permission of the bishop] to serve in that area as members of the team.

The persons who are to share the cure of souls in the said area shall constitute the team chapter, and the team chapter together with the other persons referred to in the scheme by virtue of paragraph (b) of this subsection shall constitute the team.

(2)[F2The office of rector in a team ministry shall be held by each holder thereof for the specified term of years]; but the fact that the office is held for a term of years shall not affect its other attributes as a benefice and, in particular, the rector shall be a corporation sole and as such hold the property of the benefice during his term of office.

(3)The office of vicar in a team ministry shall be an ecclesiastical office constituted by the scheme and shall be held by each holder thereof for [F3the specified term of years]; and the vicar shall, during that term, have the same security of tenure of his office as an incumbent of a benefice, and shall not be affected by a vacancy in the benefice of the rector.

[F4(3A)A person ordained to the office of deacon who is authorised under subsection (1)(b) by licence of the bishop—

(a)to serve in a team ministry as a member of the team; and

(b)for the purposes of the team ministry to perform, so far as consistent with the office of deacon, all such offices and services as may be performed by an incumbent,

shall serve for the specified term of years; and any such person shall, during that term, have the same security of tenure of his office as an incumbent of a benefice, and shall not be affected by a vacancy in the benefice of the rector.

(3B)Any other person who is authorised under subsection (1)(b) by licence of the bishop to serve in a team ministry as a member of the team shall serve for a term of years to be specified in the licence, but no person shall be authorised as aforesaid unless he has been nominated for that purpose by the rector with the consent of a majority of the other members of the team and of each parochial church council concerned:

Provided that it shall not be necessary for the person concerned to be nominated for that purpose by the rector as aforesaid where that person is authorised to serve in a team ministry for a period immediately following a period of service in the team ministry.]

(4)A pastoral scheme establishing a team ministry may [F5provide for the designation or selection of] the first rector (who may be the existing incumbent) or the first holder of any office of vicar but, subject to any such provision,—

(a)the rector shall be presented or collated to the benefice, as the circumstances require, in accordance with paragraph 1 of Schedule 3 and the provisions of the scheme made thereunder;

(b)the vicar or vicars shall be chosen in accordance with paragraph 2 of that Schedule, shall be appointed to the office by licence of the bishop under seal and, unless the bishop otherwise directs, shall be publicly admitted in a church in the area.

(5)Where a pastoral scheme designates a person as the first holder of the office of vicar in a team ministry, the bishop shall offer to issue a licence appointing him to the office, and if that person does not accept the offer within one month after it is made to him, the designation shall cease to have effect.

(6)The term of years for which the office of rector or vicar in a team ministry [F6for which a deacon to whom subsection (3A) applies is authorised to serve in a team ministry] is held may, subject to any provision in a pastoral scheme, be extended by licence of the bishop under seal for a further term or further terms not exceeding, in the case of any one extension, the [F7specified term of years], but any such extension shall be personal to the rector [F8, vicar or deacon concerned] and not affect the term of office of subsequent holders.

(7)The rector in a team ministry shall have a general responsibility for the cure of souls in the area of the benefice, which may be subject to any special cure or special responsibility given to a vicar as hereinafter provided, and shall be responsible for the leadership of the team; and the scheme may make further provision as to the relationship of the rector and other members of the team ministry.

(8)A vicar in a team ministry shall by virtue of his office, but subject to his licence, have authority to perform in the area of the benefice all such offices and services as may be performed by an incumbent, and the scheme or, subject to the scheme, the bishop’s licence may—

(a)assign to a vicar a special cure of souls in respect of a part of the said area and, if appropriate, the name of vicar of a church in that part;

(b)assign to a vicar a special responsibility for a particular pastoral function;

(c)provide that any such special cure or responsibility shall be independent of the rector’s general responsibility;

(d)assign to a vicar a general responsibility to be shared with the rector for a cure of souls in the area as a whole;

and, if any such provision as aforesaid is made by the bishop’s licence, it may (subject to the scheme) be varied or revoked, with the consent of the rector and the vicar concerned, by a subsequent licence under seal. [F9Provided that a woman who is a vicar in a team ministry shall not by virtue of this subsection have authority to preside at or celebrate the Holy Communion or pronounce the Absolution in a parish to which a resolution in the form set out as Resolution A in Schedule 1 to the Priests (Ordination of Women) Measure 1993 applies]

[F10(8A)A pastoral scheme“ establishing a team ministry or, subject to the scheme, the bishop’s licence may assign to any member of the team who is not a member of the team chapter a special responsibility for pastoral care in respect of a part of the area of the benefice, so far as consistent with that member’s office; and, if any such provision as aforesaid is made by the bishop’s licence, it may (subject to the scheme) be varied or revoked by a subsequent licence under seal.]

(9)The Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measures 1963 and 1974 shall apply to vicars in a team ministry [F11and deacons in a team ministry to whom subsection (3A) applies] as if they were incumbents of the benefice for the area of which the team ministry is established.

[F12(9A)The M1Ecclesiastical Offices (Age Limit) Measure 1975 shall apply to deacons in a team ministry to whom subsection (3A) applies as if they were vicars in the team ministry and, accordingly, no person shall be capable of being authorised by licence of the bishop to serve in a team ministry as such a deacon if at the time of the issue of the licence he has attained the age of seventy years.]

(10)The rector in a team ministry shall convene meetings of the team at regular intervals for the purpose of discussing and reaching a common mind on all matters of general concern or special interest to the team ministry and [F13, unless a pastoral scheme otherwise provides, the rector shall preside, except that if he requests otherwise or is absent a deputy chairman appointed by the meeting shall preside.]

[F14(10A)Any member of the team in a team ministry may, by notice in writing, request the rector to convene a team meeting under subsection (10) to be held within the period of twenty-eight days following the service of the notice; and, if the rector fails to comply with such a request, that member may himself convene the meeting.]

(11)Sub-paragraphs (1), (2), (3), (5) and (6) of paragraph 4 of Schedule 3 shall apply to parochial church meetings and parochial church councils in the area of a benefice for which a team ministry is established, and for the election of district church councils and churchwardens, and, if the area comprises more than one parish, for establishing a team council and empowering that council to exercise certain powers.

(12)Where two or more benefices are, or are to be, held in plurality, and a team ministry is established or is to be established for the area of one of those benefices, a pastoral scheme may provide for extending the operation of the team ministry, so long as the plurality continues, to the area of any other benefice so held, and subsections (7), (8) and (11) and the provisions of Schedule 3 therein referred to shall have effect as if the references to the area of the benefice were references to the combined area of the benefices concerned.

[F15(13)Where the rector in a team ministry established for any benefice receives a statutory notice concerning ecclesiastical property in the benefice, he shall—

(a)keep every member of the team informed of matters arising from the notice;

(b)afford every member of the team an opportunity to express views thereon before taking any action in response to the notice; and

(c)have regard to those views before taking any such action.

(14)Where a benefice for which a team ministry is established becomes vacant the bishop may appoint a person holding the office of vicar in the team ministry to act as rector in the team ministry for the purposes of subsections (3B), (7) and (10), and any person so appointed shall be deemed to hold the office of rector in the team ministry for the purposes of those subsections while the benefice remains vacant.

(15)In this section “specified term of years” in relation to a team ministry means such term of years as may for the time being be specified for the team ministry for the purposes of subsections (2), (3) and (3A) by a pastoral scheme or pastoral order; and in the case of a team ministry for which no term of years is so specified seven years shall be deemed to be the specified term of years for the purposes of those subsections.

(16)In this section—

Textual Amendments

F5Words in s. 20(4) substituted (11.6.2008) by Dioceses, Pastoral and Mission Measure 2007 (No. 1), s. 66(2), Sch. 5 para. 4 (with Sch. 6 paras. 1-5); 2007 No. 3, Instrument made by Archbishops

Marginal Citations

[F1620A Team ministries established under 1968 Measure.E

(1)Subject to the following provisions of this section, in the case of a team ministry established for the area of any benefice under a pastoral scheme made and confirmed by Order in Council under the M3Pastoral Measure 1968 (referred to in this section as “a 1968 Measure team ministry”), the scheme shall be deemed to contain provisions of the kind referred to in section 20(1)(b), that is to say, provisions for the pastoral care of persons in that area by those who are to share the cure of souls therein together with all other persons who are from time to time authorised by licence or permission of the bishop to serve in that area as members of the team.

(2)The persons who are to share the cure of souls in the said area shall constitute the team chapter, and the team chapter together with the other persons deemed to be referred to in the scheme by virtue of subsection (1) shall constitute the team.

(3)The pastoral committee of each diocese shall, as soon as possible after the passing of the Team and Group Ministries Measure 1995, send to the secretary of the parochial church council of every parish comprised in the area of a benefice in the diocese for which a 1968 Measure team ministry is established a notice stating that written representations to the effect that subsections (1) and (2) should not apply to the team ministry may be made to the pastoral committee within the period of six months immediately following the date on which the notice was sent, and require him to affix a copy on or near the principal door of every church in the parish and every building licensed by the bishop for public worship in the parish.

(4)Subsections (1) and (2) shall not apply to any team ministry until the expiration of the period of six months immediately following the date on which the notice referred to in subsection (3) was sent to the parishes concerned and if, within the said period of six months, written representations as aforesaid with respect to a 1968 Measure team ministry are received by a pastoral committee—

(a)the pastoral committee shall forthwith refer the representations to the Commissioners, and the Commissioners shall then as soon as possible consider the representations and determine whether or not subsections (1) and (2) are to apply to the team ministry; and

(b)subsections (1) and (2) shall not apply to the team ministry unless and until the Commissioners determine that they are to apply to it.]

Textual Amendments

Marginal Citations

21 Establishment of group ministries.E

(1)A pastoral scheme may provice for establishing for a group of benefices specified in the scheme a group ministry to which the following provisions shall apply:—

(a)each of the incumbents of the benefices in the group shall have authority to perform in the area of every such benefice all such offices and services as may be performed by the incumbent of that benefice;

(b)the incumbent of any such benefice shall, in performing such offices and services in the area of another benefice, act in accordance with the directions of the incumbent of that other benefice;

(c)it shall be the duty of all the incumbents to assist each other so as to make the best possible provision for the cure of souls throughout the area of the group ministry.[F17Provided that a woman who is the incumbent of a benefice shall not by virtue of paragraph (a) above have authority to preside at or celebrate the Holy Communion or to pronounce the Absolution in a parish to which a resolution under section 3(1) of the Priests (Ordination of Women) Measure 1993 applies]

(2)Where a group ministry is established, the rights and duties aforesaid of each incumbent shall attach to his office, and accordingly, so long as the group ministry continues and the benefice is included therein, the incumbent shall not be entitled to resign or withdraw from those rights and duties, except by resigning the benefice, and on a vacancy the new incumbent shall be admitted to the benefice as an office in the group ministry, with the rights and subject to the duties thereof.

(3)A pastoral scheme establishing a group ministry may [F18provide for the designation or selection of] the first person (who may be the existing incumbent) to hold any benefice as a benefice in the group, but subject as aforesaid the incumbent of any such benefice shall be presented or collated to the benefice by the patron thereof, with the approval of the bishop (in the case of presentation) given in accordance with paragraph 3 of Schedule 3.

(4)The incumbents in a group ministry shall meet as a chapter for the purpose of discussing and reaching a common mind on all matters of general concern or special interest to the group ministry; and a pastoral scheme may provide for the chairmanship of the chapter and, in default of such provision, the members shall elect a chairman, normally for a term of three years; and the chairman shall convene meetings of the chapter at regular intervals and shall preside when present, and in his absence a deputy chairman appointed by the meeting shall preside.

(5)Paragraph 4(4) of Schedule 3 shall apply for the establishment of group councils and for conferring certain powers on such a council.

(6)A pastoral scheme may include in a group ministry a benefice for which a team ministry is established, and in that case the foregoing provisions of this section shall apply to all the vicars in the team ministry, as well as to the rector, in like manner as they apply to the incumbents of the other benefices in the group, except that directions to those incumbents in respect of their ministry in the area of the benefice for which the team ministry is established shall only be given by the rector.

(7)In this section, except subsections (2) and (3), “incumbent” includes a priest in charge.

Textual Amendments

F18Word in s. 21(3) substituted (11.6.2008) by Dioceses, Pastoral and Mission Measure 2007 (No. 1), s. 66(2), Sch. 5 para. 5 (with Sch. 6 paras. 1-5); 2007 No. 3, Instrument made by Archbishops

22 Termination and alteration of team ministries and group ministries.E

(1)Without prejudice to the generality of the powers of revocation and amendment of pastoral schemes, a pastoral scheme may—

(a)terminate a team ministry by abolishing the offices of the vicars and restoring the rectory, if it is held for a term of years, to the status of a freehold office;

(b)alter a team ministry by abolishing one or more of the offices of the vicars or increasing the number of such offices;

[F19(bb)alter a team ministry by providing for the right of presentation of the rector to be transferred to a patronage board constituted by the scheme or to the diocesan board of patronage;

(bbb)alter a team ministry by providing for the vicars therein to be chosen by the body entitled to present the rector, in accordance with paragraph 2(1) of Schedule 3;]

[F20(c)with the consent of the rector or vicar concerned, change the office of a rector in a team ministry from a freehold office to an office held for the specified term of years or alter the term of years for which an office of rector or vicar in a team ministry is held to accord with the specified term of years;]

[F21(cc)specify the term of years (for which certain members of a team are to hold office or serve) for the purposes of section 20(2), (3) and (3A);]

(d)terminate a group ministry by abolishing the rights and duties attaching to the benefices in the group under section 21;

(e)alter a group ministry by reducing or increasing or changing the benefices in the group;

(f)provide for such supplementary, consequential or transitional provisions as may be necessary or expedient, including in particular the provision relating to patronage required by paragraph 1(12) of Schedule 3 and provisions relating to the matters mentioned in paragraph 4 of the said Schedule.

(2)If a benefice for which a team ministry is established is dissolved by a pastoral scheme, the offices of the vicars in the team ministry (as well as the office of rector) shall cease to exist, without prejudice to the creation of such offices for any benefice created or altered by the scheme.

[F22(3)In this section “specified term of years” has the same meaning as in section 20.]

Textual Amendments