A new version of the Church Representation Rules comes into force on 1 January 2020. The Church Representation Rules (CRR) are the rules for setting up an electoral roll, holding an APCM, and how lay people get elected onto the PCC and the Deanery, Diocesan and General Synods.
Alongside reorganizing the structure of the rules so that all of the material relating to parish matters is presented together, the new rules also make a number of changes designed to make life easier for parishes. One of the new rule changes provides that APCMs must be held by 31 May each year, whereas up to now the time limit was 30 April.
Another change is the introduction of time limits for lay members of Deanery Synod, who, if elected in 2020 or subsequently cannot serve for more than two successive terms of 3 years.
The Diocesan Registrar, Lee Coley, has produced a briefing note for PCCs and parish officers which can be found here. The full version of the new Church Representation Rules has not yet been uploaded to the Church of England website, but can be found using the link below:
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukcm/2019/1/pdfs/ukcm_20190001_en.pdf
Any questions about the Church Representation Rules can be addressed to Andy Brockbank: andrew.brockbank@leccofe.org 0116 261 5312. Please be patient as there may be a lot of questions about this!