Churchwardens are the Bishop’s lay officers responsible directly to her for the life and work of the church in the parish. Responsibilities laid upon them from time to time by the Bishop, or by the Archdeacon and the Area Dean, include ensuring the maintenance of the building, arranging for services to be taken in an interregnum and acting as ex-officio members of the PCC.
The appointment of Churchwardens is governed by the .
Please browse the links on the right hand side of this page to find documents designed to help and support churchwardens. There is a new Churchwarden Handbook coming soon to replace these documents - watch this space.
Archdeacons' Visitations
Churchwardens and others are invited to attend these services for prayer, worship and the formal admission of Churchwardens. The visitations will be held at 7pm with the exception of 25 June which will be held at 5:30pm as part of Evensong in the Cathedral.
Ashford & Maidstone joint archdeaconries, St Mildred’s, Tenterden
Canterbury archdeaconry, Canterbury Cathedral
Ashford archdeaconry, Canterbury Cathedral
All archdeaconries, ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½Ò•îl(Evensong at 5.30 pm)
Maidstone archdeaconry, St Michael’s, Sittingbourne
These are not ticketed events and there is no restriction on numbers attending. Churchwardens should attend whichever service suits them best and will receive a warm welcome whichever archdeaconry they are connected with. It is hoped that the choice of dates and venues ensures that every churchwarden attends a service to be admitted to office.
Please note that churchwardens need to attend one of these services to be admitted. Anyone elected as churchwarden does not take up office until admitted and as you must be admitted before 31 August, please contact your archdeacon’s office if there are exceptional reasons that you cannot attend one of the visitation services above.
Churchwardens must complete and sign the registration cards available at the services. There is the option to complete the registration (Word format) in advance and bring it with you to the service. A register of churchwarden attendance will be taken at each service.
Training for New Churchwardens
Dates for churchwarden training are below. Churchwardens are invited to attend whichever date suits them best and are not confined to the archdeaconry to which they are linked.
Ashford Archdeaconry - from 3-5pm, Charing Barn (afternoon tea included). Please book through Louise Mills, PA to the Archdeacon of Ashford: Louise.Mills@archdeacashford.org
Maidstone Archdeaconry - from 6-8pm, Maidstone archdeaconry (supper included). Please book through Samantha Mann, PA to the Archdeacon of Maidstone: samantha.mann@archdeacmaid.org
Canterbury Archdeaconry - from 3-5pm, St Paul’s Parish Centre (afternoon tea included). Please book through Caroline Hemington, PA to the Archdeacon of Canterbury: chemington@diocant.org
Key documents
- Archdeacons' Visitation News
- You can order the 2024 Churchwardens Yearbook or the 2023 copy at a reduced price here.
- - from Ecclesiastical Insurance
- Church Records and Archives - guidance for incumbents and churchwardens
- Churchwardens Handbook
Maintenance Booker
is a website that gives churches a straightforward way of arranging for companies with the right experience and qualifications to carry out many routine repairs and inspections and help keep the building in good order before small issues become larger problems. Using this website, churches can book gutter clearance and repairs, lightning protection inspection, tree surveys and maintenance as well as asbestos surveys and removal. More services will be added as time goes on, such as stonework and lime mortaring, bat surveys, and grounds and graveyard maintenance.