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Electoral Roll 2025

What is the Electoral Roll?

It is your parish church’s register of electors. In the same way that being on the civic electoral roll allows you to vote in parliamentary and local elections and referenda, joining the Church Electoral Roll means that you can vote on Church matters, attend the Annual Parochial Church Meeting and stand for election to the PCC. Being on the Electoral Roll does NOT make you a “member” of the Church; simply regarding St Bartholomew’s as your spiritual home does that. 

 

Do I have to join?

You can, of course, be a full and active member of St Bartholomew’s without joining the Roll. Being on the Electoral Roll does not entail signing up to any additional commitments, however, it does help the Church show its strength. Representation on the governing bodies of the church depends on the number on the Electoral Roll.
Joining the Roll is compulsory if you wish to:

  • Stand for election to the PCC or other synodical council (such as the Deanery, Diocesan or General Synod)

  • Attend the APCM and participate in votes

 

What does the Electoral Roll affect?

The maximum number of PCC lay members. If the Roll is not representative this means that the PCC is too small for the workload involved, putting heavy strain on the members. Representation on the governing bodies of the Church. 

The Church of England is governed by a synodical system which joins with the Bishops to make decisions. Being on the Electoral Roll is the entry point and Christians share an individual responsibility to be part of the “Body of Christ” and to participate fully in our part of His Church. This system is intended to enable church people at every level to be in touch with the Church as a whole and to play their part in decision making. Also, the system is intended to ensure that the laity have their place in every aspect of church life, including doctrine and services. The Electoral Roll does NOT have a direct bearing in the way the Parish Share is assessed – it is based on estimated membership and socio-economic factors. 

 

Do I qualify for the Roll?

To apply for the Electoral Roll you must meet ALL the following conditions:

  • You must be aged 16 or over (though you can apply in the year you become 16 and your name will be entered once your birth date has passed).

  • You must be baptised.

  • You must be a member of the Church of England* and EITHER live in the parish OR have attended a church in the parish regularly for at least 6 months.

 

Why join the Electoral Roll?

Joining the electoral roll is an important way of confirming your commitment to St Bartholomew’s community and to the vision of the church. But it also opens up the way for greater involvement in the life of the Church of England, at Deanery, Diocesan and national levels. By joining, you become entitled to participate in the government of the church and to vote at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting, where the elections take place for:

  • the Parochial Church Council

  • the parish’s representatives on the deanery synod.

Any person entitled to attend the APCM may raise any question of parochial or general church interest.

In addition, those who live outside the Parish but are on the Electoral Roll enjoy all the rights and privileges that go with being resident in the parish (for example, baptisms and weddings). However, if you live outside the Parish and want to be on the Electoral Roll, you have to have been worshipping at St Bartholomew’s for a minimum period of six months.

Joining the roll is an important statement of witness and a step along the path of discipleship. With your name on the electoral roll, the strength of the Church can be seen in our local area, and across the Diocese. If you’re a regular at St Bartholomew’s, you should be on the electoral roll!

Electoral Roll Form

APPLICATION FOR ENROLMENT ON THE CHURCH ELECTORAL ROLL

See bottom of page for accompanying notes.

My personal information

  1. I declare that...

Section 1
(1A) I am baptised, am a lay person, and am aged 16 or over.
(1B) I am baptised, am a lay person, and become 16 in the next twelve months.
I am not baptised.

Those who become 16 in the next twelve months may complete the form and become eligible to be entered on the roll on their sixteenth birthday

  1. I declare that...

Section 2
(2A) 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.
(2B) I am a member of the Church of England (or of a Church in communion with the Church of England), am not resident in the parish, but have habitually attended public worship in the parish during the preceding six months.
(2C) I am a member in good standing of a Church which is not in communion with the Church of England but subscribes to the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, am also a member of the Church of England and have habitually attended public worship in the parish during the preceding six months.

If you have been prevented from attending worship regularly over the preceding six months, please select (2B) or (2C) and provide details of circumstances below. Those eligible for (2A) need not provide details.

Declaration

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

Notes

General matters

  1. The only Churches at present in communion with the Church of England are other Anglican Churches and certain foreign Churches, as listed in the Supplementary Material to the Canons (but note Rule 83(3) of the Church Representation Rules, which provides for any

    question as to whether a particular Church is in communion with the Church of England to be decided by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York acting jointly).


  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 reapply. If you are not resident in the parish but were on the roll as a habitual worshipper and have been prevented by illness or other sufficient cause from worshipping for the past six months, you should complete declaration 2B or 2C as follows:

    (a) delete the first set of words in square brackets and

    (b) at the end of the second set of words in square brackets, briefly state the reason for not having worshipped as mentioned.


  4. If you have any problems with 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.


Use of email addresses and other personal data


  1. You do not have to provide an email address on this Form. If you do provide one, the Parochial Church Council and the electoral roll officer are entitled to use that email address to communicate with you in connection with the maintenance or revision of the Roll or the

    preparation of a new Roll or with elections to or membership of the Council.


  2. The Church Representation Rules impose certain requirements for your name and address to be given to a third party, such as the diocesan electoral registration officer, in connection with elections to or membership of a deanery synod, diocesan synod or the House of Laity of the General Synod. If you provide an email address on this Form, it will be given to the third party along with your postal address.


  3. A third party to whom your name and address have been given under the Church Representation Rules is in certain cases required by the Rules to pass them on to another person, such as the presiding officer in a synodical election. If you provide an email address on this Form, that email address will be given to the other person along with your postal address.


  4. Any person to whom your email address or other personal data is given under the Church Representation Rules is required by those Rules to hold the data securely. Furthermore, if you do provide an email address on this Form, that does not give anybody the right to use it for any purpose other than those permitted by the Rules; so it cannot, for example, be used for social matters or fund-raising unless additional permisson is given.


  5. The roll is published after each annual revision and after the preparation of a new roll. The published roll will include your name (as well as the name of every other person on the roll) but none of your other personal data (as defined by the Data Protection Act 2018) will be made public as a result of your inclusion on the roll.

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