Information

One body, the church

Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it 1 Cor 12:27

We are the body of Christ. We become part of this body at our baptism, when we are welcomed into the family of faith. This is our being in Christ, which underpins everything else.

But being in Christ has consequences. Baptism happens just once, but being in Christ is ongoing. Openness to his promptings in the Spirit leads us to be active in our faith, in prayer, witness, giving and service. We live what we are.

Attending church and joining in worship feeds us and helps us grow as Christians. Giving money, time and talents contribute to the life of the Church.

Joining the Electoral Roll is a practical symbol of your commitment to your church and the common life of the Christians within it. Being on the roll allows you to take part in decisions that affect the church and parish, to vote at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting and to stand for the Parochial Church Council.

If you have joined your church in the last year, your name will not be on your parish’s Electoral Roll. We now invite you to join as a sign of your belonging.

Notes

1. The only Churches at present in communion with the Church of England are other Anglican Churches and 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 are informed so that they 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.