The annual meeting of parishioners (also referred to as the annual vestry meeting) is held yearly in every parish of the Church of England to elect churchwardens and deputies (if any) for the forthcoming year. The meeting must be held by 31 May[1] and is commonly held immediately prior to the annual meeting of the parochial church council. It is the last remnant of the old vestry meeting.
Since this is a public meeting, notice must be given in writing with the minimum period of two Sundays before the date of the meeting and the notice must be displayed publicly.
The meeting is convened and chaired by the minister (usually the incumbent or priest-in-charge), or if there is no minister or if she or he is unable or unwilling to chair the meeting, the churchwardens convene, and the meeting elects a chairman.
Typically, the meeting's structure is as follows:
As the agenda is so short, meetings typically last less than ten minutes.
The following people may vote:[2]
