AS a unit of social as well as ecclesiastical organisation, the parish is far more important in Jersey than is generally the case in the United Kingdom. Here, each parish rector works alongside the Constable and honorary officers towards the general welfare of parishioners.

The special nature of the office of rector can, moreover, be traced back over many centuries, though for 300 years after King John lost Normandy rectors owed allegiance to the diocese of Coutances rather than the church in England. Later, as the States emerged as the Island’s legislature, they sat as ex-officio politicians – a role which endured until the radical reforms of 1948.

Against this background, our 12 rectors occupy a position in Island society which still goes beyond the purely spiritual and pastoral duties of UK clergy. A Jersey rector who failed to play his legitimate part in the temporal affairs of the parish would be seen as doing less than a complete job.

With all this in mind, the question mark currently hanging over funding for the Island’s clergy because of budgetary restraint in the diocese of Winchester, to which we now belong, is of more concern than many might imagine. If the church here is unable to fund a rector for every parish, there will be practical as well as symbolic consequences.

The Dean of Jersey, the Very Rev Bob Key, has made it clear that, in common with the rest of the diocese, Jersey will have to live within its means. He also points out that, contrary to the popular myth, the Church of England does not have vast untapped resources on which it can rely to meet funding shortfalls.

Thus, although we are at present looking only at the threatened loss of posts, it is at least possible that a full complement of 12 rectors will in future be looked upon as a luxury of the past.

If this did come to pass, the Island would become a poorer place, not only for those professing religious faith but also for all those who benefit from parochial structures.

In addition, the loss of members of a group which can trace its special place in this community far back into the
medieval era would mean the erosion of an institution which makes a real
contribution to our distinct and special identity.