Your answers

When the deanery synod meets in May, should the newly elected be invited or the representatives for the past triennium?

The Church Representation Rules are clear that the current triennium does not end until 31 May; so the newly elected lay members do not take office until 1 June 2014, and cannot attend in May.

Some may wonder why the commencement date is not nearer to the election, but the date is only a month after the latest date permitted for an annual parochial church meeting (APCM), and it is remarkable how much time it takes some PCCs to notify results of their elections to deanery secretaries, and they cannot work miracles.

The real question is why the deanery standing committee (DSC) arranged for a meeting to be held in May: it is common sense to schedule it for June in an election year. My attendance at the local DSC ensures that we don't fall into this trap locally.

Incidentally, where there is a casual vacancy at the time of the APCM, there is nothing to stop that meeting deciding to fill the vacancy as well as appoint for the next three years.

Harry Marsh (Lay Canon)
Chelmsford
 

Your questions

As a boy in the 1950s, I dimly remember a print hanging in our church. It showed a eucharist at the elevation. The congregation contained many (First World War?) soldiers, and beyond the altar were many more soldiers filling the sky, presumably the Church Triumphant. The picture has gone from the memory of that church, but can anyone say where it may be viewed in text or gallery? It seems very relevant this year.
P. B.

Who organised the national prayer days of the Second World War? When did they occur, and where can I learn more about them? Also, did such days of prayer also occur in the First World War?
A. E.

Are statistics available for the number of churchgoers in London diocese who live in Southwark diocese and vice versa?
M. G.
 

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