Churchwardens' Manual / their duties, powers, rights, and privilages

by George Henry Sumner

Nothing can be clearer or stronger than this.

So too with regard to the Church bells. The Churchwardens have the custody of the bells, and the bell ropes are in most cases Church property placed under their charge, but the law with reference to the ringing of the bells is undoubted; that for any occasion except that of Divine Service the permission of the Incumbent is absolutely necessary for the ringing of the bells. Without that permission they cannot be rung. [54]

There is one further point on which a question sometimes arises in connection with offertories and collections in church. With reference to offertories gathered at the time of the celebration of Holy Communion at an ordinary Service the Churchwardens and Incumbent are expressly directed by the rubric to dispose of them to such pious and charitable uses as they shall think fit, wherein if they disagree it shall be disposed of as the Ordinary shall appoint. The Incumbent has the responsibility of arranging with reference

to collections made not in connection with the celebration of the Holy Communion. Incumbents are thankful when the Churchwardens help them with their advice as to what objects shall be brought before the congregation. In the case of all collections, for whatsoever purpose they be made, it is most desirable for the avoiding of any possible difficulty that a written statement should be put upon the Church door on the Sunday after, stating the amount of the collections made on the previous Sunday. If the collection be made for any charitable or missionary society the official receipt for the money collected and sent should also be affixed to the church door.

This leads me to mention another point of considerable importance. In these days of monetary difficulties and agricultural depression the frequency of offertories is often a question difficult of solution. It is perhaps still more difficult wisely to decide the objects for which the offertory shall be made. With regard to local objects there can of course be

no question. We recognise in these days the power of the pence, and no one grumbles at the collection of money for purely parochial purposes. But it is when our people are asked for money for objects outside the parish that the difficulty really arises. But it ought to be remembered that we do not lead individual isolated lives apart from our fellows. The parish is not the centre of the universe. The tendency of the uneducated mind is to isolate itself from the interests of others, and to look at all matters from a purely selfish point of view. The parish is an accidental collection of individual souls in a particular diocese. The diocese is an aggregation of separate parishes scattered through an assigned area. The members of the Church in a particular parish and diocese are members of the Holy Catholic Church, which by its very nomenclature abrogates individual isolation. It follows, therefore, that parochial interests must not absorb attention to the exclusion of larger and less personal objects. The Body is one, and the members of the Body should work together

for the good of the whole. Corporate as well as individual life is a reality, and this fact must not be lost sight of in connection with our offertories. I venture to say that a parish which confines its offertories to local and parochial purposes will lose by the very contraction of its sympathies. The duty that lies upon us as trustees of God’s gifts to utilize them for His honour and glory, should be pointed out. The privilege of being allowed to help with our substance, those who stand in need of our assistance, should be duly urged; and the warmth which is thus kindled in the heart towards others will react in infusing fresh life into the support of parochial institutions. The habit of giving grows by use. The blood must not stagnate round the heart, or the extremities will soon suffer. Your fingers die because the action of the heart is weak. The promise is that “He that watereth others shall be watered also himself.”

I have no intention of entering into many details in this matter, but I cannot be wrong in enforcing this principle. Church work at

home and abroad, as distinct from parochial organizations, should be systematically brought before all congregations however small: Church work at home, including home missions; and Church work abroad, including foreign missionary societies.

Let me give very emphatically this caution. If aggrieved parishioners come to a Churchwarden and endeavour to persuade him to join a cave of Adullam, he should be careful not to be rash or hasty in his answer. He must not take all for granted which heated partisans may allege, but remember there are always two sides to every question. We are none of us infallible in our judgment, and many matters after consultation with others assume a very different aspect to that which at first sight they seemed to present. If difficulties arise he must not threaten. It does more harm than good. Let him try what conciliation will do. Let him see whether common ground of action cannot be found. Certainly it is unwise to rush into print; it only tends to inflame the smouldering