churchwarden

A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion or Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ex officio members of the parish board, usually called a vestry, parochial church council, or in the case of a Cathedral parish the chapter. Responsibilities of office Churchwardens have a duty to represent the laity and co-operate with the incumbent (or, in cases of vacancy, the bishop). They are expected to lead the parishioners by setting a good example and encouraging unity and peace. They have a duty to maintain order and peace in the church and churchyard at all times, and especially during services, although this task tends to be devolved to sidesmen. Churchwardens in many parts of the Anglican Communion are legally responsible for all the property and movable goods belonging to a parish church. If so, they have a duty under ecclesiastical law to keep an up-to-date inventory of the valuables, and if applicable a "terrier of the property" (a listing and/or map of the church's lands, known as glebe, some of which may be let). Whenever churchwardens authorise work on the church building having obtained a faculty or to carry out work recommended in the church's Quinquennial Inspection Report, they must record this in the Church Logbook; it is inspected with the inventory. The churchwardens must ensure these logs are ready for inspection in case of a visitation and for periodic inspections. Priests and their equivalent tend to devolve day-to-day maintenance of church buildings and contents to their churchwardens.