Whilst the role of Parish Administrator can be very rewarding, it can also be stressful and, at times, rather isolated. This section contains resources relevant to those who hold an Administration role in our parishes. It is not exhaustive but contains some helpful and key resources and information. If there are key pieces you believe are relevant to this page, please contact the Comms Team.
Networks to join
Networks are extremely helpful to share resources, learnings and struggles. We highly recommend connecting with the UK Church Administrator Network (UCAN) which exists to support the church and promote the Spiritual gift of administration by bringing administrators together, sharing excellent resources and providing high-quality training opportunities and accredited courses.
Below are some local online networks you may find helpful to be a part of:
Specific to your role
HR
The HR Toolkit, and other resources in the section below, exist to support parish HR policy and the documents contained within are for you to use and adapt to suit your parish. They are not intended to replace good practices and documentation that you already have in your parish.
It may be that your working situation is such that you find yourself working alone in a setting that is open to the public. If this is the case, then it is sensible to have considered what measures can help to reduce your vulnerability.
Baptism & Confirmation Certificates
Many parishes produce their own certificates for baptism and confirmation, this allows for them to be unique to the parish and to include the parish website and/or contact details. A baptism or confirmation certificate may be the one communication from a parish church that is kept for years to come, therefore, a discreet website address may provide a prompt in the future. Many Christian online sellers also produce ones for purchase. If neither of these options are available to you Church House Guildford can supply them. Please contact Church House Guildford.
General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR)
Information Commissioner's Office
Keep or bin...? The care of your parish records
Parish Administration Resources and Links
Clergy and services support
In times of vacancy, leave or sickness you may require cover for Sunday and midweek worship services. This can be organised through the Clergy On-Call Register.
The Diocesan Resource Centre
Find out more on the Guildford Diocesan Resource Centre here.
Digital Giving
Many churches now use online donation platforms, card readers and/or text giving. If your church doesn't use any of these methods, they may risk missing out on much-needed donations.
Further information on digital giving.
Eco Church
Eco-Church is A Rocha UK's award scheme to encourage and recognise churches in England and Wales that demonstrate the gospel is good news for God's creation.
To become an Eco-church each church completes a simple, free, online Survey about how they are caring for God's earth in different areas of their life and work. The answers a church provides will collect points towards an Eco Church Award. If the score doesn't gain an Eco-Church Award straight away this isn't a problem - further actions can be completed and added to the survey response in order to gain the points necessary for an Award. The survey takes churches through five key areas of church life:
- Worship and teaching
- Management of church buildings
- Management of church land
- Community and global engagement
- Lifestyle
There are three levels of Eco Church Award - Bronze, Silver and Gold.
Becoming an Eco-Church
To become an Eco-Church all that needs to happen is to take the Eco-Church survey. To access the survey please register with the Eco-Church website and then take the survey - this should take less than an hour and may be returned to at any time.
Further information on caring for the environment.
A Church Near You
A Church Near You lists every Church in the Church of England, with contact details and maps.
Church Print Hub
The Church Print Hub can supply customisable cards, bookmarks, fliers, leaflets and more to support ministry and mission.
Church Support Hub
The Church Support Hub was developed to offer research, free downloads, shared ideas and articles, plus commonly-asked questions about any aspect of ministry around the baptism of children, weddings and funerals.
Churchcare
Churchcare is the comprehensive source of information for everyone managing a church building.
Maintenance Booker
Book accredited contractors experienced in church and historic building maintenance via Maintenance Booker.
Parish Resources
The Parish Resources website is provided by the Church of England’s National Stewardship & Resources team and offers over 400 pages of resources (web & pdf) to support all aspects of stewardship, administration and management in the local church, as well as links to other sites and pages of interest.
Pathways
Pathways has details of jobs within the church of England around the country.