Codes of Procedure - for seeking a title post
ARRANGEMENTS FOR FIRST APPOINTMENTS
20. Bishops who ordain and Principals of Colleges and Courses share responsibility for advising about the parish where a minister or accredited lay worker will serve. Principals will normally have a more recent and intimate knowledge of the candidate; Bishops and their advisers will normally have a more recent and intimate knowledge of the parishes and their incumbents, and what they can provide by way of experience and training.
21. In placing the candidates, the over-ruling consideration should be the candidate’s need for training, not the parish’s need for staff. As a matter of good practice, the Bishop will normally offer a title post to a candidate only after studying the interim report on the candidate.
22. Candidates are not obliged to serve their title in their sponsoring diocese; but up until 31st October, candidates should only consider posts in their sponsoring diocese unless they have received, in writing, the goodwill of their diocese to look elsewhere.
23. Responsibility for the pastoral care of candidates for ordination, and where appropriate their family, remains with the sponsoring Bishop until it is accepted by another Bishop prior to ordination. During training this care is shared with the Principal of the training institution that the candidate attends.
The Principal, as indicated above, has an important role in advising the candidate about a suitable first appointment. Candidates who at or before 31st October are released by the sponsoring Bishop to look at parishes in other diocese remain in the care of the sponsoring Bishop until accepted for ordination by another Bishop.
24. If the Bishops’ Selectors do not recommend a candidate for training and the Bishop sets aside the advice, the responsibility for ensuring that a suitable training parish is found for the candidate remains with the sponsoring Bishop.
25. Issues about housing will often be handled by the prospective training incumbent. As a matter of good practice, an appropriate diocesan official should also play a role in ensuring that the accommodation needs of the incoming curate (and any family) are fairly assessed.
THE ANNUAL PROGRAMME
26. In May of each year, Bishops should ask the relevant training incumbents in their dioceses to complete profiles of their parishes, using the Parish Profile Form (Appendix C). These should be available for review at the Bishop’s Staff Meeting in July.
27. In June a year before a candidate’s likely ordination or admission, the training institution should discuss with the candidate his or her future and arrange for the candidate to complete the Personal Profile set out in Appendix B, which will be made available to any training incumbent by whom the candidate is to be interviewed.
28. By the end of June, if the sponsoring Bishop has not already been in touch, the candidate should write to him either asking for an interview to discuss the possibility of a post in the diocese or seeking his goodwill in looking for one elsewhere. The Bishop will not normally enter into such discussion before studying the interim report.
29. In September, the staff of the Ministry Division will send Bishops two comprehensive sets of address labels for Principals of Colleges and Courses.
30. By 31st October, sponsoring Bishops should:
• indicate to Principals which candidates due for ordination or admission the following year they undertake to place;
• send to Principals profiles of those parishes where vacancies remain unfilled. Supplementary or amended details may follow.
31. After 31st October, candidates not yet placed by their sponsoring dioceses are free to look at parishes in any diocese.
SEEKING A TITLE PARISH
32. Principals should not entertain direct approaches from incumbents looking for staff without having evidence that the incumbent has the permission of the Bishop. Principals should not discuss with candidates possible posts in dioceses other than their sponsoring ones before 31st October, unless such candidates have already received the goodwill of their sponsoring dioceses in looking elsewhere.
33. Candidates should see one parish at a time and should not visit a second without prior reference to the Principal and the Bishop or Bishops concerned.
34. In the same way, Bishops or Directors of Ordinands should ensure that parishes see only one candidate at a time.
35. Bishops or Directors of Ordinands should make sure that parishes are aware that it is their responsibility to pay the travelling expenses of candidates and their spouses for all visits prior to appointment.
INFORMATION EXCHANGE, VIA THE MINISTRY DIVISION
36. By the first week of January, Bishops are asked to provide details of vacancies which still remain; and Principals are asked to provide information about those candidates whose title has been arranged, and those who are still looking for a title. This information is to be sent to the Ministry Division by 7th January. As near to 21st January as possible, the Ministry Division will send brief information about unplaced candidates to Bishops and details of unfilled diocesan vacancies to Principals. This process will be repeated in the following March/April if all candidates have not been placed by then.
37. By the first week of January, Bishops are asked to inform the Ministry Division if they are not planning to take their full allocation of candidates.