General Chat

Why are Vicars so rude. I have written to 3 or 4 politely requesting information for my family tree. Always included an SAE for reply. Not one has replied. 1 Priest from RC church replied within days as did the Chaplain from Salvation Army.
Phyll

As well as a SAE, I usually include a £5 donation in similar situations.

Seems to work ok & the details they supply often surpass expectations.

Our vicar has coeliac disease or something that makes him be gluten free. We did the village lunch last month, it was a ploughmans and we made the bread.

The vicar booked to come to the lunch so I bought four gluten free rolls and some fruit and jelly for him to have instead of the baked cheesecake and marrow jam we did for afters.

The vicar didn't bother to turn up, the same as time somebody had cooked a whole special dinner for him.

I have known quite a few forgetful vicars, but none that have forgotten to attend a booked meal. Just not bothering is not on.

Phyll,

Do the parishes have a parish secretary?
They usually are very good at dealing with parish enquiries, so you might have more luck with them?

Yes, try the Churchwardens also.

Thank you all for your replies & suggestions.
Phyll

Check if the CoE parish records have been deposited with the county or local archives. Most have on-line catalogues.

When I did attend church our vicar covered 4 different churches. He used to duck down behind the pulpit which confused me. The rest of the congregation, about 15 people, just rolled their eyes or shuffled uncomfortably. Learnt that was where he stashed his alcohol.

Most parish records are no longer at the churches. They will be in the county record office.