Diocesan Office Resources: Vestry Business

VESTRY BUSINESS

Vestry Officer Update

Inform us of changes in the membership of your Vestry by using the form HERE.

Please remember to provide the Diocese with up-to-date details of your vestry officers whenever there is a change, not just in your annual report.

Constitutions

Click here to view a ‘Model Constitution’ for a Single IncumbencyDownload
Click here to view a ‘Model Constitution’ for a Joint IncumbencyDownload
Process for amending constitutionsDownload

Resources and Training Events

Training: Trustee training for all Vestry Members (Trustees) takes place every 6 months, approximately. The training dates for 2025 are Saturday 15th March in St Ninian’s, Comely Bank, and Saturday 27th September in the Trinity Centre, Haddington. If you wish to attend one of these sessions, please register here. For any further information, please contact Joanna Appleby.

Detailed information on Vestry responsibilities, generic and office-specific, can be found on the SEC website. OSCR also provides a detailed document entitled ‘Guidance and Good Practice for Charity Trustees‘. If these feels a little overwhelming, start with the following document, which outlines the key Vestry roles and responsibilities, with some additional notes and links:

The key points of charity law that all vestry members should know can be found in this document:

Charity Law: Key PointsDownload

When recruiting new members of Vestry, it is important that they know what is expected of them ahead of time. This document offers an example of a “Roles and Responsibilities” or “Job Description” for vestry members. NOTE that the exact detail will depend on each congregation’s constitution.

Roles and Responsibilities for Vestry MembersDownload

All Vestry members must sign 2 documents when they become trustees: a Declaration, and a Fit and Proper Person statement. These are then held by the Vestry Secretary for the duration of tenure. Form templates can be found below under the “Vestry Secretary” heading.

You may wish to agree how the Vestry and its members will conduct their business. The General Synod Office has produced a template “Vestry Code of Conduct”, which can also be accessed here:

Code of ConductDownload

At our training events, we receive a number of questions. We are collating them in this document, as it might help answer a question you have. These are collated under the following headings: Trustee Eligibility; Running Meetings; Best Practice; and When Things Go Wrong.

Trustee FAQsDownload

Each year, the vestry is appointed anew by the congregation. It may be appropriate for that vestry to be commissioned into this role, and for the whole congregation to pray for them as they embark on this important ministry. A sample liturgy for such a commissioning is below.

Sample Commissioning LiturgyDownload

Please contact Joanna Appleby if you would like a Word-version of any of these documents.

Vestry Secretaries

Vestry Secretary ResponsibilitiesDownload
HMRC Fit and Proper PersonDownload
Charity Trustee DeclarationDownload
Sample AGM Agenda and NotesDownload

Please contact Joanna Appleby if you would like a Word-version of any of these documents.

GDPR

The advice for charges has been provided by the Province, and you can click here for the relevant page on the SEC website.  However, we have endeavoured to put together a page of “Frequently asked questions” for you, as queries arise.  As well as the links below, you may find the answers in this FAQ section:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

INVENTORIES

Church Inventory pro-forma (Word Version) – click here

Church Inventory pro-forma (PDF Version) – click here

Link to Annual Forms page

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