Mike Alexander is the Laity Development Officer and is responsible for the training of churchwardens for the Diocese of Derby.

This very practical companion provides essential guidance and advice for that critical period in the fife of a parish between one vicar and the next.
SO THE VICAR IS LEAVING is a vital handbook for churchwardens, PCCs, readers and all who share in the responsibility for leading a church through an interregnum. It focuses on many practical issues including:
¿ arranging the regular services
¿ providing for continuing pastoral care
¿ maintaining the church buildings
¿ managing the parish efficiently
¿ working with deanery or diocesan colleagues to find a new vicar
¿ welcoming your new priest
Written with the specific aim of helping to make an interregnum a positive time of growth, this resource will be welcomed by local churches, by vicars about to leave or about to join a parish and by rural deans, archdeacons and others who assist parishes through such a time.
MIKE ALEXANDER is a rural dean and vicar of six churches in South Derbyshire. He was previously Laity Development Adviser for Derby Diocese responsible, among other things for the training of churchwardens. His interest in the Church's approach to vacancies was developed during a sabbatical culminating in a research project for an Open University diploma.
JEREMY MARTINEAU is the Church of England's National Rural Officer and is author of several books on aspects of rural ministry.