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Church Council
Nominations and Elections

Annual Meetings Sunday 17 May 2026 

Each year, we have an opportunity to discern who will lead alongside the Vicar as key representatives from the church family.

Specifically, we are seeking to appoint:

  • A Churchwarden team of four individuals as principal leaders in the church who meet regularly with the Vicar and oversee core aspects of church life
  • Three members of the Parochial Church Council (PCC), who meet every other month as Trustees to promote the whole mission of the church and consult together on matters of general concern and importance to the church
  • Three Deanery Synod representatives who serve on the PCC and also meet four times a year with members of other local parish churches to consider significant matters within the wider Church of England

Nominations for each of the roles will be invited from 26 April until 17 May.

Further details about the roles are included below. To be eligible, applicants need to have been on the church’s Electoral Roll for at least 6 months. They also require a proposer and a seconder who are each on the Electoral Roll. The proposer and seconder must not be related to each other nor to the applicant, and they should not have nominated or seconded someone else for the same role.
To submit a nomination, please select from the following options:

Then click on the relevant role here to submit your name:
Nomination for the Churchwarden team – 4 vacancies for a one-year term
Nomination for PCC member – 3 PCC vacancies for a three-year term
Nomination for Deanery Synod – 3 vacancies for a three-year term.

Nominations are open to anyone eligible, and we actively encourage nominations from a broad range of experiences and backgrounds, not simply to ensure good representation but also to reflect the unity in diversity that is the kingdom of God.

Please pray about whether God might be calling you to stand. And if you sense God’s call, please don’t ignore it.

You don’t have to indicate your intention to stand. However, as we adapt our structures to involve four churchwardens rather than the traditional two, anyone interested in standing for this team is asked to explore the role with the Vicar ahead of submitting a nomination. If you would like to discuss either of the other roles, please speak with Jane Maffett as Acting PCC Secretary.

The roles may sound daunting, not least because the role names are jargon which is unfortunate. However, be assured that you will always be supported as you step into a role. With this in mind, we will be signing up as wardens and PCC to an online training session provided by CPAS on the evening of Tuesday 2nd June 2026.

Revd David Baylor, Vicar of St Stephen’s Ealing
Jane Maffett, Acting PCC Secretary

Further details about the roles:
Churchwarden
This year we have a Churchwarden team of four individuals in view. Churchwardens have an important legal function within the life of a parish church, representing the local church to the Bishop as a leader in the national Church. Within the life of the local church, they lead alongside the Vicar in the following key areas:

  • Mission – discerning how God might be calling us to make the love of Jesus Christ known within our wider community
  • Pastoral care – ensuring that appropriate care is offered by the parish, and also supporting the Vicar and his family
  • Buildings and contents – ensuring that our buildings and any contents are kept in good order, and taking a lead on any major building projects
  • Maintaining good order in church life – this area has two strands
    • Worship – ensuring not simply that worship happens but also encouraging the whole church by their example
    • Governance and compliance – supporting the Vicar with administrative tasks connected with writing policies and adhering to those policies

The Churchwarden team is anticipated to meet with the Vicar at least monthly with additional meetings if deemed necessary by the team. They will each be involved in the first strand of mission. They will also have a particular area of focus within each of the other four areas outlined above (pastoral, buildings, worship and governance), meeting with other individuals and groups within the church as part of their oversight role within these areas.
Specific details about these areas are found in this role description approved by the PCC. Details about the proposed structure and way of working together are offered here.

A final comment about structures: the move from a traditional model of two churchwardens to a team of four is becoming more common within the Church of England. However, it remains the case that in national Church law, only two individuals can assume the legal office of churchwarden. The other two would therefore be named ‘assistant wardens’. Further details about what this might mean in practice at St Stephen’s are outlined in the structure document highlighted above.

PCC members
The Parochial Church Council (PCC) has various functions in church life. They are spiritual leaders, supporting the Vicar in the work of discerning and enacting the mission of God in the church and wider community. They are representatives of the church and parish community, ensuring that their ‘voices’ are brought into key decisions. And they serve as Trustees, ensuring that we work in step with charity law. Details about this latter function are outlined here.
Many members serve as ex-officio members including:

  • the Vicar (along with any clergy licensed to the parish)
  • two Churchwardens (i.e. not assistant wardens)
  • lay members of the deanery, diocesan or General Synod
  • treasurer (elected by the PCC)

Up to nine members are also elected from the church community, each serving a three-year term. This year, we are seeking to appoint 3 such individuals.

As a whole, PCC members meet on alternate months on a Monday evening. Those elected as PCC members are already likely to be serving in other ways within the church community, and may choose to serve in other teams to advance the work of the PCC and church.

As Trustees, members must be eligible under Charity Commission guidelines and complete an associated declaration form upon appointment. They must also commit to a DBS check and safeguarding training for PCC members, most of which can be completed as a group.

Deanery Synod representatives
A Deanery is like a borough, and broadly speaking, Ealing Deanery maps on to Ealing borough. The Ealing Deanery Synod is a forum where representatives from each parish church within the deanery meet to discuss matters of interest and concern for the wider church, learning from each other, and setting local parish churches within their national context. Along with the licensed clergy, several representatives from each parish church are elected to serve on this Deanery Synod. This year, we are seeking to appoint 3 such individuals.

Synod meetings occur four times a year at various locations across the deanery. Representatives also serve as ex-officio members of the PCC. They are typically appointed for a three-year term.

Further information about Deanery Synods can be found on the Diocese of London website.