Bucks vicar refuses to resign after church asks him to leave in no confidence vote

A Buckinghamshire vicar has refused to resign after his church asked him to quit the parish in a no confidence vote.

Angry parishioners at St Leonard’s claim that Reverend Christopher Haywood has not allowed families to have funerals or baptisms and that church attendance has plummeted during his tenure.

During an extraordinary parochial church meeting earlier this month, they tabled a motion claiming his actions had ‘caused numerous people distress’.

The small church near Wendover Woods held a secret ballot on a motion calling for the Rev Haywood to resign from the church, which passed with 21 votes in favour and none against.

However, the vote was not binding and, under church rules, the vicar is not obliged to vacate his position.

At the time of publication, Rev Haywood remains in post and declined to comment on the situation at his church for this article.

In 2021, he was announced by the Bishop of Buckingham as the new minister for St Leonard’s and three other Chilterns parishes – The Lee, Hawridge and Cholesbury.

However, three years on, parishioners have urged him to resign from his position ‘for the sake of the church and diocese’ and to find a ‘role better suited to his skills and interests’.

In their motion of no confidence, they acknowledge his ‘dedication’ to his own ‘deeply spiritual journey’.

However, they go on to add: “Nevertheless, it cannot be ignored that in the last three years, under his ministry the church has gone from being a central point in village life to being viewed as insular and detached.”

The motion adds: “We have no confidence in his continued ministry in this parish.”

The meeting, at which the motion was passed, was attended by around 40 church regulars and Rev Haywood defended the decision not to allow a funeral to take place for Anne Butterworth, a church warden of over 30 years.

Anne was described by people who knew her as an ‘amazing lady’ who was the ‘life and soul’ of the parish and who even raised £100,000 to build new facilities at the church.

One person connected to St Leonard’s told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “Everybody in the village knew her. Her husband Nick is just such a gentleman. There is no one who thinks anything wrong of him.”

The parishioner said that one of Anne’s last wishes was that a friend who was a Church of England minister would conduct her burial, but that Rev Haywood had refused and ‘kept going on about it being his church to run’.

In recent times, the parishioner claims that Rev Haywood has not replied to people about baptisms and has allegedly left some families waiting for months to discuss burials.

They also said that the congregation at St Leonards had ‘plummeted’ and was down to an average of around five people a service, including the vicar, his wife, and the organist.

The breakfast service is said to still get around 40 people, while the Christmas carol service has apparently dropped from about 100 to 20.

“People aren’t attending services he leads,” the parishioner, who wanted to remain anonymous, added.

A spokesperson from the Diocese of Oxford told the LDRS: “I can confirm a vote of no confidence was held at an extraordinary parochial church meeting in St Leonard’s. This vote is not legally binding and the vicar, the Rev Chris Haywood, is not obliged to leave.

“The diocese is working with all parties concerned to bring about the best resolution to this break down in relationships.”