St Andrew’s holding open day for parish
ST ANDREW’S needs its parishioners to step up to help with parish life.
An open day will take place from 11am to 2pm at the parish Douzaine Room on Saturday and it is an opportunity to meet the douzeniers and find out more about the parish.
Senior constable Martin Thwaite said the day will also be a chance to ‘meet and greet parishioners, old and new’.
‘It’s a time to encourage people to come in and talk to all members so people have a broader idea of what goes on in the parish,’ he said.
He said the open day would also be a chance to recruit new members for the douzaine elections, which will be held in November.
Mr Thwaite is looking for at least three new candidates for the annual elections, in addition to at least one new constable, who will have a more active role in running the parish.
‘Douzeniers meet at least once a month to talk about the running of the parish and matters concerning it,’ he said.
‘There are also various committees they can join according to their interests.’
St Andrew’s Floral Group, St Andrew’s Community Centre, and the parish church will all have representatives at the event and would welcome new members.
This is the first year St Andrew’s has done an event like this – Mr Thwaite said it would be a good opportunity for people to meet douzeniers and find out more about what they do.
‘We’re interested to know who’s out there,’ he added.
‘The event is open to all – please call in to see what you can do for your parish.’
Memorabilia and information about the parish history will also be available to see. Light refreshments will be provided at the event and there will be parking available at the church car park. Douzeniers are usually elected for four years, while constables usually do two or three years.
To be eligible to be a douzenier or constable a person must live in the parish, be on the electoral roll, be at least 18 years old and have lived in Guernsey for the previous two years or for periods adding up to at least five years in total. They must not have had a prison sentence of more than six months in the previous five years.
