The Parochial Church Council, or P.C.C., is an executive committee of the parish with powers and duties defined by certain Acts of Parliament. The membership consists of the clergy and churchwardens of the parish, together with a number of representatives of the laity elected by the annual parochial church meeting of the parish. The P.C.C. secretary and the treasurer are elected from the PCC. In addition there are three ex officio members who are the elected members of the Deanery Synod.

In addition to their formal duties, P.C.C. members act as representatives for all parishioners in the affairs of the church. Apart from the vicar, who is ex-officio chairman, all P.C.C. members are elected directly or indirectly by the parishioners.

Statement of PCC Members' Responsibilities
Charity law requires the P.C.C. as trustees of the church to prepare an annual report and financial statements for each financial year that gives a true and fair view of the Church's financial activities during the year and of its financial position over the year. The P.C.C. is also required to ensure that these are subjected to an annual independent examination or audit and to present these to the Annual Parochial Church Meeting in accordance with the Church Representation Rules.
In preparing these financial statements, the P.C.C. are required to:
• Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently.
• Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent.
• State whether application accounting standards and statements of recommended

The P.C.C. has the responsibility of co-operating with the incumbent in promoting in the ecclesiastical parish, the whole mission of the church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical. Formally, the P.C.C. is responsible for the financial affairs of the church and the care and maintenance of the church fabric and its contents. It also has a voice in the forms of service used by the church and may make representations to the bishop on matters affecting the welfare of the parish.

 The P.C.C. Committees
The P.C.C. operates through committees, which meet between full meetings of the P.C.C. and feed back to the next full meeting. There is one specialist committee, with its own designated responsibility:

 • The Finance Committee is responsible for preparing budgets and accounts for consideration by the full P.C.C., and for developing financial processes for all P.C.C. activities. The chairman of the Finance Committee is a co-opted member of the PCC.

The P.C.C. and the parish also have representatives on a number of outside bodies. These include Churches Together In Malvern, The Chaplaincy of Long Lartin and, The Chaplaincy for Rural and Agricultural Life.

 The Meeting of Parishioners for the Election of Churchwardens and the Annual Parochial Church Meeting
The Meeting of Parishioners for the Election of churchwardens and the Annual Parochial Church Meeting must take place by April 30th each year. The business of the Meeting of Parishioners is to elect two churchwardens for the following year. All parishioners on either the church electoral roll or the civil Electoral Register can vote at this meeting. There then follows the Annual Parochial Church Meeting (A.P.C.M.). All on the church electoral roll can take part in and vote at this meeting. There are reports from the vicar, the treasurer and other officers of the Parochial Church Council, on the events of the last year.

At this meeting, three representatives to the Deanery Synod are elected for three years. They become ex-officio members of the P.C.C. A further election for ordinary members of the P.C.C. as representatives of the laity is then held. The number of representatives depends on the number on the electoral roll. Ordinary P.C.C. members must be elected annually. From their number they elect the secretary and the treasurer. The ordinary members serve for up to three years, so some new members are elected each year along with those re-elected for a further year. An auditor of the P.C.C.’s accounts has to be appointed. The auditor must not be member of the P.C.C.

The A.P.C.M. is always interesting and offers an opportunity for anyone on the electoral roll to voice opinions on the way the church has been or is being managed. Do come and support your church, your parish and your representatives.