The Guardians Project
David Waller describes the initial stages of the Guardians Project
which seeks to inform churchwardens and other key members of
the laity about the practicalities of dealing with an interregnum
A
few years ago, I was involved in a serious car crash whilst the relevant legislation to people; and that the PEV must be seen
driving on a motorway. Fortunately, whilst my car was a as the sponsor of the project.
complete ‘write-off ’, I wasn’t; indeed, somewhat miracu- By the end of that initial meeting, we had agreed that we
lously, I was able to walk away from the accident and was back would willingly act as a pilot for the Guardians Project; that we
at the altar a few days later. However, things could so easily have would convene a meeting for key laity who were in a real sense
been very different and as I stood at the altar on the Sunday fol- ‘guardians’ of the faith in their parishes and that the clergy would
lowing the accident I was aware that this could have been the also be invited; that Fr James Patrick (well known to readers of
first Sunday of an interregnum. Something unthinkable a week New Directions from his work on the FiF legal team) should
earlier could suddenly have become a reality be invited to lead the day, which would be held
that my parish would not have been prepared
to deal with.
something unthinkable
at St Michael’s, Walthamstow.
I was given the task of sending out invitations
a week earlier could
to the meeting, and I have to say it was the easi-
Need for preparation est thing I have ever done: there was no need
Now, I am not suggesting that the laity of suddenly have become to twist arms or send out follow-up reminders
my parish do not have the necessary skills to – all but one of the invited parishes responded
run the place without me, nor do I believe that
a reality
within days and sent a number of people to
I am indispensable; but it was most definitely the meeting, including, in the vast majority of
the case that, had there been a sudden and unexpected inter- cases, the parish priest.
regnum, no one in the parish would have known what the pro-
cedures were, from whom to seek help and what legal processes Increased understanding
had to be followed. I do not think we could be blamed for any The day arrived and the meeting was, by any standards, a
great negligence here; we had spent long hours making future resounding success. We began with Mass, offered by Bishop
plans, addressing our poor finances, developing the parish Keith. After a short coffee break, Fr Patrick addressed the assem-
school, revamping adult catechesis, etc. It is a thriving parish, bled group of more than sixty people. Fr Patrick struck that
but with a priest who had been in the post for five years, with no wonderful and necessary balance of addressing some important
obvious health worries and no desire to move, plans for the next legal issues whilst making it all fun. By the end of the morning
interregnum were not exactly at the top of our list of priorities. session, we all understood the legal processes and other details
So it was that when, some eighteen months later, I received a more clearly, and we were also encouraged to begin now the
letter from Fr Francis Gardom floating the idea of his ‘Guardians task of being proactive in planning for the future. If there will
Project’, I needed no persuasion as to its importance. The prin- be honest concerns about the viability of a parish, start thinking
ciple is a simple one: that we never know when the next inter- about it now so that you can have a positive suggestion to make
regnum will occur and that key laity before others impose something nega-
in each parish (guardians) must be tive. Many dioceses have some kind
prepared and clued up for that even- of ongoing ‘vision process’ or ‘Mis-
tuality. Readers of New Directions sion Action Plan’. Our parishes must
will be only too aware of some of the engage in those processes, and doing
devious tricks that some diocesan offi- so will mean that our sense of mission
cials will play when a parish is at its and purpose is already established and
most vulnerable. Just a few examples the parish profile might naturally flow
are: archdeacons insisting on chairing from what already exists.
PCC meetings; bishops claiming that it After lunch we gathered for a short
will be hard to find a new parish priest session for further questions and also
unless resolutions are rescinded; and some words of advice and encourage-
the suggestion that the PEV does not ment from Bishop Keith. We were also
need to be consulted. reminded that it is very important to
get ‘sound’ priests to cover in an interregnum: sometimes there
Organizing the project are neighbouring curates or retired clergy, but where there is no
As a result of Fr Gardom’s proposal and after discussion with spare cover, might it be better to change Mass times so our priests
the Bishop of Richborough, we gathered a group of local clergy could travel? And of course, priests would need to be willing to
and two members of the FiF executive to explore the idea fur- travel to serve the faithful.
ther, with the aim of setting up a pilot event in the East London The Guardians Project is now ready to go far and wide. I
part of the Diocese of Chelmsford. That initial meeting was would recommend it wherever a group of parishes could be got
full of enthusiasm and we soon began to add flesh to the bare together. But far more important than any recommendation
bones of the proposal. We agreed that parishes must be prepared from me is the appreciation expressed by my churchwardens and
for their next interregnum as a matter of urgency; that the key others for what the project has done for their understanding and
people to be targeted were the churchwardens, but that other key confidence; it has empowered them to go Forward in Faith when
laity should also be included; that we needed a lawyer to explain I am gone.
ND
April 2008
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newdirections
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