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The Church of England Application Form - Some notes
for candidates.
In recent years an ever-increasing proportion of posts
within the Church of England have required candidates to fill in a standard application form. For many clergy this is a departure
from the traditional recruitment methods and provokes a number of uncertainties and worries. More recently still a number of posts
are advertised internationally through web sites belonging to the Church press or Anglicans Online. Applicants from outside the
United Kingdom may be significantly disadvantaged by not being familiar with the process.
The most important thing to do when filling in such a
form is for you to put yourself in the place of the person who is likely to be reading it and the use they will seek to make of
it. Whilst in some cases it may be that short listing will be undertaken purely by the Patron, or by the Patron and Bishop's representative
acting together, for other vacancies short listing will include lay representatives elected by the parishes and possibly representatives
of the Deanery. In completing the application form it is best to assume that there will be this wider circulation and that some
of those involved in short listing will be doing so for their first time. You are advised to avoid any terminology, jargon, acronyms
or descriptions that require inside knowledge.
In a society where handwriting is less frequent than in
the past there has been deterioration in both the readability of much that is handwritten and also in the willingness of those faced
with handwritten documents to spend significant time deciphering a candidate's words. It is very strongly recommended that any application
be type written. A standard application form is available over the internet and it is best to complete this electronically before
printing and signing the final version. Those who are considering applying for more than one post will save significant time by
having parts of the application form that do not vary from post to post readily available.
The following guidance looks at each section of the application
form in turn.
SECTION 1:
Although the normal policy is for recognition of orders
and interchangeability of ministries between different provinces of the Anglican Communion the present diversity of practice over
the ordination of women as Bishops produces some constraints in this matter. At present it is not possible for candidates ordained
by a woman bishop to be considered for appointments in the Church of England. Applicants should also note that where they intend
to move outside of their own national church or province evidence will be required from an applicant's current province that he
or she is in good standing and not subject to any disciplinary action or proceedings. Candidates ordained outside the UK will require
the permission of the Archbishop of Canterbury before a bishop can license them to a post in the Church of England. It is not normally
possible to consider candidates from denominations that are not part of the Anglican Communion. If you wish to check whether you
can be licensed to a post in England you may contact the Lay Assistant to the Archbishop of Canterbury at andrew.nunn@lampal.c-of-e.org.uk.
Candidates should also be aware that where the application
pack or advertisement for a Church of England post refers to resolutions A or B being in force the effect is to restrict applications
so that only male priests can be considered.
Where you wish to give a precise date e.g. date of birth
please give the month in letters rather than numbers. This avoids confusion between the English and American conventions as to how
dates are given in numeric format.
SECTION 2:
It is important to answer the second part of the question.
The title of your present appointment is unlikely to give the appointments panel adequate insight into the nature and range of the
ministry and responsibilities with which you are engaged. Some idea of congregational numbers, parish size, churchmanship (that
may be different from your own) together with key areas of ministry is essential.
SECTION 3:
This section gives the appointment panel some sense of
your academic achievements and secular employment history. It will matter more for candidates who are fairly recently ordained as
it offers an opportunity to indicate where transferable skills and experiences have been obtained.
Candidates applying from overseas are particularly recommended
to include evidence of proficiency in written and spoken English. You should not assume a well written application form will be
considered as evidence of fluency in English.
SECTION 4:
Most candidates seem to fill this section in well with
the exception of the final section, which is often answered quite poorly. Please note the final sentence in subsection 1, five or
six words can give a brief description as to the context within which a particular post was held.
Subsection 5 does however present some difficulties. Candidates
are often inclined to give general answers confirming their flexibility e.g. "having served in a variety of parishes I can
honestly say I am comfortable with most things that are not extreme". We need to read something about both the main steps along
your personal journey and what lasting mark they have had upon you. Answered well this question will give the panel some sense of
what inspires and motivates you, what you are passionate about within theology and spirituality.
SECTION 5:
While most candidates make a good response to this section
it is worth checking with the application pack and perhaps emphasizing those responsibilities and interests or recreations that
may be indications of your particular suitability for the post in question.
SECTION 6:
This section is entirely factual. It is now uncommon for
a parish or patron to wish to exclude candidates who have been divorced and remarried or were married to partners who have been
divorced, but you should be aware that some would take that view, and some diocesan bishops would be reluctant to receive someone
who has a previous spouse still living.
SECTION 7:
Please note that health includes mental as well as physical
conditions. Candidates should be full and frank about their health status in this question. Where these have impacted in the past
upon work (e.g. depression, nervous breakdown) they will almost certainly be picked up by the reference process. Doubts may be cast
over the honesty and integrity of a candidate who does not refer to a health condition which is mentioned by a referee. If you are
in any doubt as to whether a medical condition or history should be declared it is acceptable to leave the section blank and provide
full details in a cover letter to the appointing patron and bishop.
SECTION 8:
This is the most important section of all in determining
which candidates are called for interview. It is also the one in which most frequently candidates do not give as good account of
themselves as they would wish. Most appointment panels spend more time discussing the answer to this section than any other section.
You should be seeking to make clear to the panel how your experience and passions in ministry match with the criteria that the parish
is looking for, as given in the applicants pack.
Where a post has been advertised in the church press there
are usually a number of bullet points or similar within the advertisement. You should try to cover each of these within this section.
It is a common mistake for applicants to give the impression
they have not read the pack sent to them. It is an equally common mistake for applicants to use this section to tell the parish
what a wonderful place it is. The parish does not need your affirmation of its virtues at this stage; rather it needs to see how
you fit in with its requirements.
There is a tendency for applicants to give answers that
are inadequately based on evidence. For example a reply might include the sentence "I share your passion for youth ministry".
What we need to know is what evidence there is to show that you can turn your passion into action.
The appointment panel will be as aware as you are that
anything and all that we achieve we do so by God's grace and the power of His Spirit. Describing the ways in which God has graced
your ministry and worked through you is not blowing your own trumpet. There is no need to be coy or diffident. The best evidence
that God will use you in some way in the future is that he has done so in the past. Appointment panels will also recognize that
much of what has been achieved in your present and past post has been collaborative rather than individual. It is important for
us to know both what you can directly attribute to your own involvement and what has been the product of those groups, structures
of which you have been part. If there are particular reasons why you need to move to or from some part of the country/world please
do tell us, but briefly. Appointment panels are happy with the fact that personal reasons may well be part of how God is calling
you.
SECTION 9:
Most references are not taken up until after short-listing
however it is highly likely that you will not be short-listed without a positive reference from your Bishop. Most candidates offer
a good range of referees.
Notes:
Clergy Appointments Advisor. This is a London based officer
who holds details of clergy seeking positions within the Church of England. The advisor is able to interview clergy and circulate
their details across all dioceses. The advisor will also collect and collate references so that your referees do not need to be
troubled on each occasion. Particular advice can be given to those applying from overseas.
Child Protection legislation requires diocese to consider
any known factors in the history of a potential appointee before he or she takes up their position. Those who are deemed to present
an unacceptable risk to children will not be admitted to a post. For those moving within the United Kingdom candidates will be required
to give permission for any information held on them by the Criminal Records Bureau to be made known to the diocese or equivalent
organization. Checking of overseas candidates for Child Protection may depend on the particular systems in place in the country
of origin.
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