[7]. The appointment and duties of the parish clerk vary in old and new parishes, and depend in some cases on custom. In old parishes the office is a freehold, and the right of appointment usually rests with the incumbent, who can exercise it even when the living is sequestrated owing to his bankruptcy; but in case of his being under suspension, it devolves on the curate in charge. The right, however, may by custom belong to the parishioners in vestry. An old writer compared the parish clerk to a bat, as being half-bird, half-beast, or half-clerical and half-lay, though he considered that his clerical wings outbalanced his lay body. But it is now held that the office is temporal, and not spiritual.[152] A person in holy orders may, however, with the consent of the bishop, be appointed parish clerk under the Lecturers and Parish Clerks Act, 1844, and, if so appointed, he is removable in the same way as a stipendiary curate. The same Act provides for the suspension or removal by the archdeacon, of a parish clerk not in holy orders, who has been guilty of neglect or misbehaviour in his office, or of misconduct which renders him unfit to hold it.[153] In all new ecclesiastical parishes, on the other hand, the appointment of the clerk rests with the incumbent, and, in the case of churches and chapels provided under the Church Building Acts of 1818 and 1819, is made annually; while in the case of those provided under the New Parishes Acts of 1843, 1844, and 1856, the clerk does not vacate his office at the end of each year, but may at any time be removed by the incumbent, with the consent of the bishop, for misconduct.[154]
[8]. There is no universal rule as to the appointment, duties, and tenures of office of the sexton or sacristan. Where, in accordance with the etymology of his name, his duties are confined to the custody of the sacred vessels and vestments, the care and cleaning of the church, the opening and closing of the doors, and the ringing of the bells, his appointment, in the absence of a contrary practice, will naturally rest with the churchwardens. Where, on the contrary, he has only to do with the churchyard and grave-digging, his appointment will be presumed to be in the hands of the incumbent. If, however, he is charged with both sets of functions, the incumbent and the churchwardens jointly will be presumed to have the right of appointing him. On the other hand, in some few ancient parishes he is elected by the vestry. The office may be held by a woman, and in some places is a freehold for life; but usually it is held during pleasure, and the power of removal rests in the same hands as that of the appointment.[155] In new ecclesiastical parishes the sexton is to be appointed by the incumbent, and, with the consent of the bishop, is removable by him for misconduct.[156]
[9]. Another old parochial office was that of beadle—the bidder, crier, or messenger of the parish—whose duty was to attend in that capacity on the incumbent, churchwardens, and vestry. His position and duties were rather civil than ecclesiastical, but the vestry could sanction his salary being paid out of the church rate. He was also frequently employed to keep order in the church and churchyard during Divine service; and the Church Building Act, 1831, enumerates the payment of the salaries of beadles and pew-openers as well as of the clerk, as one of the expenses incidental to the performance of Divine service, to be paid out of the rents of pews in churches built under that Act.[157]
[10]. The organist and choristers, and any other lay officials beyond those already mentioned, who may be employed in or about the church or churchyard, are under the exclusive control and direction of the incumbent, and, as a rule, are appointed by him. But in some parishes the organist is, or was, when paid out of the church rate, selected by the vestry. Whether he is appointed by them or by the incumbent, his office is not a freehold; but he as well as the other officials now under consideration may be dismissed from office on proper notice, the length of which should be laid down at the time of appointment. If no time is then fixed, the proper length of notice may, in case of dispute, be a very difficult question to decide. It will depend in part on the terms of the engagement, and of the salary. If the salary be so much per month, probably one month's notice of dismissal would suffice. Not less than three months' notice would be requisite if the salary is so much per quarter; while if the salary is an annual sum, even this notice might perhaps be insufficient. Whatever be the mode of appointment and terms of the engagement of the organist, the incumbent has, within the bounds of legality, and so far as he does not voluntarily surrender it, the absolute right to control the use of the organ and the performance of music in the church, both during Divine service and at other times.[158] But, unless he is prepared to defray the cost out of his own pocket, this right must, of course, in practice, be limited by the extent to which the parishioners or congregation are willing to give the necessary financial support to his arrangements.
[11]. The old rank of reader, which was formerly one of the minor orders, was temporarily revived after the Reformation to supplement the lack of clergy, and seems to have been continued in some remote districts till the close of the eighteenth century.[159] It has in recent times been resuscitated as a lay office.[160] Moreover, the practice has of late years increased of the lessons being read in church by laymen at the request of the incumbent, without the express sanction of the bishop. But an incumbent ought not, without that sanction, to permit a layman to take any other part in any service in a consecrated building. The officiating of a layman in an unconsecrated building does not stand quite on the same footing; but, as a matter of Church order and regularity, the approval of it by the bishop should be procured, through the layman being expressly authorised as a lay reader, or in some other manner, especially if the building is licensed for Divine worship. All such laymen must, of course, act with the consent, and under the direction, of the incumbent of the parish.
[12]. Laymen and women engaged in less formal kinds of parochial work (among which is the visiting of the poor and sick contemplated by Canon 13 as one of their occupations on Sundays and other holy days) are responsible to the incumbent alone, and should act with his permission and under his directions. The Sunday schools, with their superintendents and teachers, are under his sole control. His powers with regard to the religious instruction given in any Church elementary school in the parish depend upon the terms of the trust-deed or scheme (if any) regulating the school, and upon the subsection in the Education Act, 1902, that religious instruction given in a public elementary school not provided by the local authority shall, as regards its character, be in accordance with the provisions (if any) of the trust-deed relating thereto, and shall be under the control of the managers; provided that nothing in the subsection is to affect any provision in a trust-deed for reference to the bishop or superior ecclesiastical or other denominational authority, so far as such provision gives to the bishop or authority the power of deciding whether the character of the religious instruction is or is not in accordance with the provisions of the trust deed.[161]
[13]. Parochial church councils, where they exist, like ruridecanal and diocesan conferences, rest at present on a purely voluntary basis. Whatever, therefore, may be their advantages, and however desirable may be their incorporation into our regular Church system, the parish clergy stand as yet in no legal relation to them.