ADDRESSING the House of Lords in 1874, the Bishop of Peterborough, Dr William Connor Magee, delivered a thunderous denunciation. “We know only too well the announcements of ‘eligible livings’, with ‘charming neighbourhood’, ‘good society and bracing air’ to strengthen the purchaser for the ‘light duty’ attaching to the cure, with its ‘good trout stream’ and ‘adjacent coverts’, and the ‘incumbent in advanced years’, and — worst of all — the ominous announcement of ‘immediate possession’, which means in nine cases out of ten, immediate breach or evasion of the laws against simony,” he observed.
The topic was patronage in the Church of England — the right to nominate a priest to a vacant parish post. After listening to an hour-long speech, peers agreed to the Bishop’s request that a select committee be appointed “to enquire into the laws relating to patronage, simony, and exchange of Benefices in the Church of England”.
It is a history recalled in Dr William Evershed’s doctoral thesis, “Party and Patronage in the Church of England, 1800-1945”, which recounts how patronage developed in England in the earliest years of the country’s conversion. Granting this power — advowson (Features, 5 September 2025) — to landowners and their heirs was “a pragmatic device which encouraged the founding of churches and helped to cement the establishment of the Church”.
By the 18th and 19th centuries, Dr Evershed observes, advowsons were “regarded as means of worldly influence”, with some clergy seeing themselves “primarily as landed gentry, whom the law assisted in maintaining their benefices as hereditary”. This came into conflict with the 19th-century emphasis on merit professionalism.
Among the causes of scandal, as noted by Dr Magee, were the notices placed in the Ecclesiastical Gazette by clerical agents — go-betweens in the market — which included the promise of “light duty and easy living”, with small congregations, no school, a trout stream, and good company. The congregation’s needs could take a back seat.
In the late 19th century, about 1400 parishes were “constantly in the market”, and parishioners were “confused, impotent, and angry”, Dr Evershed recounts. A system operated that “favoured those who wished to benefit friends, or make money from their patronage”.
ESTABLISHED in 1863, the Church Times was from its earliest years a player in the clergy jobs market — although it sought a higher standard than those abhorred by Dr Magee. In 1868, the front page censured the “clerical snob” and “idiot” who had advertised (in another publication) for “a Curate and his Sister — the curate to assist the rector, the sister to be daily governess to the rector’s children; the curate in time to take part in educating the children; the stipend at first to be according to the qualifications and experience of the sister”.
Adverts for clerical positions tended to be brief. “A second curate is needed for six months in an agricultural parish where the services are partially choral,” one notice placed in 1864 read.
Clergy also used the paper to seek positions. In the same year, the Revd W. H . Bernhard, of 69 Edgware Road, sought “a curacy in London or suburbs [for] a Priest of Catholic principles, age 30, single, private means, M. A. Cantab.”
It was only in the 1980s that advertisements became more expansive, going beyond the sentence or two that tended to suffice for most of the 20th century.
TODAY, the advertisement pages in the Church Times look very different from even 40 years ago. Patronage has been extensively reformed since Dr Magee’s day, and PCCs now play a part in appointments. But, if the mechanism for appointments has changed and scandal abated, debate about the recruitment content remains lively. Trout streams may have fewer mentions, but what goes in — or is left out — continues to attract debate.
When the Church Times asked online for views on adverts and parish profiles, “red flags” were swiftly listed by clergy. Phrases that raised the alarm included: “A range of strong views on many subjects are held,” “We are open to the possibility of change, subject to conversation,” and “The parishes in the benefice are still learning to relate well.”
AlamyCaricature of the Bishop of Peterborough, Dr William Connor Magee, by Carlo Pellegrini
Clergy, it seems, are accustomed to reading between the lines.
Both clergy and laity also expressed reservations about the vocabulary used. “Lots of them sound very samey, maybe because of diocesan buzz phrases, without really celebrating what makes the parish special or different from the other hundreds listed that week,” one laywoman said.
A priest deplored “anything which forgets that the parish is seeking a priest and not a leader, collaborator, enabler, manager, or youth worker”. Another encouraged parishes to ask themselves: “Why do you want a priest, rather than a social worker, architectural project manager, assistant town mayor, or events arranger?”
More than one cleric expressed the view that greater clarity about housing was needed.
An obvious tension contained within the feedback concerns the merits of honesty. Several respondents urged parishes to “say it as it is,” as Tim Pike, senior projects manager in the diocese of Portsmouth, put it. “Otherwise, the challenges will come out later in the process and people will withdraw,” he said.
Yet, one priest’s “red flag” may be a parish’s candid account of their situation. In a landscape of declining, ageing congregations, money worries, and expensive buildings, it can be tempting to gloss over hard truths.
REPORTS from those given the task of advertising vacancies vary with regard to the level of support provided.
David (not his real name) served as a parish rep for the first time when his parish entered a vacancy last year. The parish profile was published in January and attracted 14 applications. Five candidates were taken forward to interview in April and May, and an offer was quickly accepted.
The church was in a “decent position”, with an electoral roll of more than 100, a neighbouring school, and a thriving children’s and youth ministry, he says. The congregation included people working in media, advertising, and PR.
But he also recalls “a lot of back and forth” over the parish profile. The size of the “pretty chunky” PCC of about 20 people made writing something cohesive a challenge, as did different views on issues including Living in Love and Faith (LLF), women’s ordination, and priorities for the new vicar. He was struck by the fact that he had to push for a question about LLF to be included in the interview — which was not something recommended by the bishop or archdeacon.
The feedback on the parish profile was “for the most part quite helpful”, he says, although there were some instances where “their biases came out” with regard to advice on how to “soften” or “clarify” wording.
“I’m struck once more by how little concrete support is provided, especially by way of theological advice,” another layman told the Church Times. “The guidance was limited to being sent a few examples that were deemed to be good ones by the archdeacon. . . Being left without any ordained leadership or guidance at precisely the moment when you’re wondering exactly what it is you stand for and how you should present yourself, is probably not ideal for everyone— and certainly isn’t conducive to deep theological reflection.”
In another parish, a laywoman described an “unexpectedly intricate” process. “It meant that the PCC had to actually talk about what kind of church we were and had conversations that did not arise on normal Sundays,” she recalls. Some of the challenges pertained to language, as members had different understandings of what would be signalled by terms such as “inclusive”. Even the word “Evangelical” and the positioning of the word “Bible” prompted debate.
There is sympathy for the plight of those writing a parish profile among the clergy, including the Revd Neil Dally, now Vicar of St Alban the Martyr, Westcliff-on-Sea, but once a churchwarden tasked with writing a profile.
“For many parishes, the people involved in writing profiles have no experience of recruitment and often have very little experience of the Church outside of their own parish,” he says. “This can be especially so for parishes in more deprived areas that do not have lots of professional people in their congregations. And these people similarly do not always know the key words that would be the identifying elements for clergy looking at the parish. My impression is that assistance given can be very variable depending on the archdeacon or area dean involved.”
SEVERAL online resources are available, including the Church Times Guide to Happy Recruitment.
The Rt Revd Pete Broadbent, a former Bishop of Willesden, recalls always recommending How to Prepare a Church Profile, by the church consultant John Truscott. This suggests that churches focus on six areas: the heart of the church (“an overview of membership and priorities”); information about the church’s life (“a wide range of factual detail”); the area (“its features, schooling, and how it is served by other churches); a fair assessment of your church (“health, strengths, and weaknesses”); the future (“vision, prayer, and plans”); and the person profile for the new minister.
PexelsInterviews can include preaching to members of the congregation
Writing should be honest, Mr Truscott says. “A profile is no place to impress candidates with how wonderful your church is. You are seeking to be scrupulously honest, warts and all.”
The level of honesty prescribed may startle some. Mr Truscott suggests providing statistics showing numerical decline, acknowledging “negligible” children’s work, and home groups that “resist any attempt to reform them”, and providing figures demonstrating that the church is surviving on reserves. He suggests taking a look at the “Ofsted-style inspection in Revelation chapters two and three” to “gain a spot of realism”.
But it is the final section — the person profile — that tends to be weak, he suggests. “Many churches have little idea of exactly what they are looking for in a new minister. Others seem to be seeking a saviour who will single-handedly double the congregation size in a year without changing anything that is precious to existing members.”
He advises taking a more “definite” approach. Instead of seeking “someone who believes in mission”, describe “a minister with evidence of turning an inward-looking congregation round, who will lead us out to witness to those who live on our estate”.
ARCHDEACONS who responded to a Church Times request for information on support provided and the current landscape for recruitment were keen to provide examples of in-person help.
The Archdeacon of Lancaster, the Ven. David Picken, describes a monthly meeting of bishops, archdeacons, and other staff members to consider vacancies and develop a “bespoke plan” for each parish. “We also have an aspiration to seek to keep vacancies to a maximum of nine months,” he says. “Though this does not always work, it keeps us working at a pace to stop discouragement setting in locally.”
Before an archdeacon visits, parishes are in touch with a clergy appointments officer who provides a profile template and good recent examples. Parishes are also offered accompaniment from a “vision partner” — typically a parish priest with a gift for helping a parish focus on its needs and a vision for the future.
“The most difficult issues can be when we get to our pre-vacancy meeting, to find parishes have already done most of the work without any of the above advice because they remember ‘last time’,” he says. “This may have been some time before and may take some unpicking.”
The Archdeacon of Huntingdon and Wisbech, the Ven. Richard Harlow, says that some parishes — single-church benefices in particular — can be filled in as little as six months, but that larger multi-parish benefices can take a year to fill.
While there are “obvious variables”, such as location and parish finances, it is “spirit and culture issues” that most interest clergy who make enquiries to him, he says. “Is the profile hopeful?”
When it comes to multi-parish benefices, PCCs should avoid each parish making its own wish list, he says. “The profile needs a strong unifying theme. Clergy want to know they are doing one job, not five.” Another common mistake is to offer “too much history and not enough vision”. He continues: “Clergy want to know about the culture of a place, but that is about which way you are facing, not where you came from.”
He cautions against “assuming that you can pay for an advert in CT and that is all. Successful recruitment needs multiple channels: social media, other websites, and word of mouth. Prayer is essential.”
In Ely, the diocesan synod has passed a resolution favouring starting the recruitment process before an incumbent leaves. “Our aim is for shorter, better supported vacancies, which means newly appointed incumbents find places in good heart and not exhausted,” he says.
In the diocese of Exeter, a “vision evening” is held early on in a vacancy. This “creates space to reflect honestly on where the church is, what it does well, where more energy may be needed, and what its priorities are for the next incumbent”, the Archdeacon of Exeter, the Ven. Andrew Beane, reports.
When it comes to the writing process, patterns that have come to his attention include “too much focus on the building rather than the community, photographs that don’t reflect the current life of the church, including the previous incumbent, images of fixtures rather than people” and poor presentation.
“One of the biggest challenges, but also opportunities, is helping parishes to be honest and clear about who they are,” he says. “When done well, that can be quite transformative and vacancies can be really positive times for reflection and growth.”
WHILE clergy report a desire to see practicalities and facts set out in ads and parish profiles, it is an absence of mentions of Jesus which concerns some. “At one time, I was tempted to do a spreadsheet giving the number of mentions of ‘Jesus’, ‘God’, ‘coffee’, and ‘community’ in parish profiles,” one commented online. “Often, Jesus and God are simply not mentioned at all.”
“Please mention Jesus and the Gospel,” requested another. “It doesn’t need to be profoundly theological — the priest can help with that — but a sense that ‘we have good news and know what it is and that it is the basis of everything else’ is key.”
It is an analysis that chimes with observations made by the Archdeacon of Berkshire, the Ven. Stephen Pullin. PCCs, and those writing profiles, are “more likely to have an institutional understanding of themselves — corporately — rather than as a mission agency” and “think of themselves — personally — as friends of other members (not a bad thing) rather than as followers of Jesus”, he suggests.
“The net effect is that profiles — in their early iterations — tend to be inward-looking, biased towards preserving what currently exists, and are unlikely to mention Jesus. There will be more mentions of cake. The problem is not with a lack of knowledge about how to write a profile. The problem, and it’s a much deeper one, is more likely to be with the PCC’s or profile writer’s inadequate understanding of their identity as followers of Jesus, and their primary purpose, which is to help people come to faith in Jesus. What takes the time, and extends the vacancies, is the amount of time we have to invest in helping people grow in their understanding of identity and purpose.”
IF THE recruitment process has changed dramatically since Dr Magee’s day, so, too, has the wider ecclesial landscape. The steep decline in numbers of stipendiary clergy is among its most salient markers. In 2024, the Bishop of Sheffield, Dr Pete Wilcox, drew on projections by the National Ministry Development Team to warn that, without a rise in the number of ordinations, the number of stipendiary clergy in the Church of England would fall to 5400 in 2033 — more than 2000 fewer than the target set under Renewal and Reform, and a 40 per cent reduction on 2000 numbers.
An image from the Ardsley and Darfield parish profile
Vacancy rates of more than 20 per cent operate in some dioceses and annual reports record that diocesan deficits would be higher still were it not for recruitment challenges.
Geography undoubtedly plays a part. “The difficulty in filling vacancies in clergy posts has continued during the year and the Northern Province of the Church of England is reportedly not seen to be attractive to potential applicants,” states Carlisle’s report.
Dr Wilcox’s diocese has recently piloted an online parish profile advertising a vacancy in the parishes of Ardsley and Darfield. This includes sections such as “what gives us hope”, “what needs care”, and footage of bishops speaking on camera to prospective clergy. The parish was also trained in how to collect its own video footage, brought together as “voices from our community”.
And yet southern dioceses also report difficulties. There is now talk of a “buyer’s market” for clergy, although it’s a description that many would undoubtedly dispute. While there may be less competition for posts, the sort of posts available are also changing. Research published by the Church of England’s research and statistics department in 2016 showed that the proportion of parishes in multi-parish benefices grew from 17 per cent in 1960 to 71 per cent in 2011 (News, 5 August 2016).
An emergent model entails the designation of stipendiary clergy as “oversight ministers” for larger areas, with lay or ordained people appointed as “focal leaders” at individual churches (Features, 10 September 2021).
This is also shaping recruitment.
THE Archdeacon of Stoke-upon-Trent, Dr Megan Smith, says that experience of filling vacancies varies wildly. “The reality is that parishes are facing long vacancies, unless we already have an interested candidate, such as a final-year curate or someone who wants to move to the area for family reasons,” she says.
“I prepare PCCs to face the reality that they might be in this for the long haul. Some take that on board from the start — others are determined that they will buck the trend, but then have to come to terms with it later on.”
When it comes to helping parishes, both a written guide and an in-person meeting is available. The diocese has considered a template, she says. “But there is concern that this will take away from the creativity of this being the PCC’s document,” she continues. For those that feel daunted, a meeting can be held where ideas are discussed, based on the guide, and a diocesan administrator will then draft a profile for comments and editing. This person can also offer formatting.
“In one case recently, the PCC were struggling so much and only managed to write a very minimal document that I met with them, did some development work, then drafted the profile for them myself, running the recording of the meeting and some of the meeting notes through AI to help with some sections,” she says. “I don’t have capacity to do this frequently though. I wouldn’t rely on AI for profile writing, but it was of some help.”
Asked about common mistakes, she lists “appointing the wrong person just to end the vacancy” and “writing a profile which is technically truthful but that doesn’t really give an accurate picture of the benefice”.
But she also cautions against “thinking it will be a sprint, whereas, in reality, it is more likely to be a marathon”.
Preparing a parish profile: tips
- Draw up an honest assessment of the parish’s strengths and weaknesses.
- Pull together ideas about where the church should be heading and involve everyone who wants to be involved — even if they wouldn’t naturally push themselves forward.
- Start with the basics: details of demographics, number of churches, services.
- Be honest but positive: what does your parish have going for it?
- What are the challenges? You need the same degree of honesty here as in the positive bits, but there is a way of presenting problems that tells the candidate that you’re committed to finding a solution.
- Draw up a list of attributes you’d like the new priest to have, in order of priority. Don’t forget to look for holiness.
Taken from the Church Times Guide to Happy Recruitment