Welcome to St Mark s with St Luke s Oulton Broad, and St Michael s Oulton.

Transcription

1 Welcome to St Mark s with St Luke s Oulton Broad, and St Michael s Oulton. Parish Profile and Statement of Needs 2018 This is a great time to come as the first Team Rector (designate) of parishes with so much potential.

2 Vision: To be a Growing Christ centred community, led by the Holy Spirit, worshipping God and making disciples. Welcome Thank you for considering this opportunity to serve God with us. You may have already visited our websites and discovered we are outward-looking evangelical churches set within large parishes next to the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads and the seaside town of Lowestoft. A Pastoral Scheme has been proposed that will bring our two parishes of Oulton Broad and Oulton St. Michael into a new Team Ministry As part of our preparation all three churches have worked with the Diocesan Mission Strategy of being Committed to Growth in Discipleship, Service and Numbers which has helped us to understand more our strengths and weaknesses and to encourage us to move forward. St. Mark s and St. Luke s has as their Vision To be a Growing Christ centred community, led by the Holy Spirit, worshipping God and making disciples. Taking all visitors and members through steps mapped to the following process: Hello. Know. Grow. Sow. No matter which way the Vision develops further under our new team rector, we know we should just get on with it. We must allow God to so fill us that we grow in our love for Him and for each other and so from there outwards to our wider community. There are exciting opportunities ahead of us with the formation of a new Team to include St. Michael s. At this very early stage when we are only just coming together we are keen to support each other. The new Team will not mean a take-over of St. Michael s by the other churches. St. Mark s and St. Luke s already have their distinctive ways of worship and outreach. St. Michael s is comparatively small at the moment but is ripe for growth and the potential in that the parish is huge. We will be serving large growing parishes and together we will be stronger. This is a great time to come to Oulton Broad, as the first Team Rector of parishes with so much potential. 2

3 Who we are Being Parish Churches presents us with tremendous evangelistic opportunities among people of every age and background. This needs to move on to a new level as we make further contacts and reach out in service to our wider communities. We long to bring honour and glory to God by living lives worthy of Him under the direction of the Holy Spirit and by encouraging others to come to a personal trust in Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord. The leadership and others from St.Mark s and St.Luke s have been encouraged through our churches being part of the New Wine network. Some of our congregation also go to Spring Harvest each year. We seek to be churches firmly based on the teaching of the Bible. We welcome and encourage the ministry of men and women, both ordained and lay, across all areas of church life. We welcome all who come through our doors. Our Team Rector will Attendance The figures for average attendance during 2017: St Marks 8am Holy Communion 15 10am Mark II Holy Communion Morning Worship 58 The Six 36 Evensong 45 Midweek Holy Communion 38 St Luke s 9.30 Communion/ Morning Worship 35 St Michael s Electoral Rolls St Mark s with St Luke s 227 St Michael s 42 Age distribution Have the vision to take forward this exciting opportunity of bringing together all three churches into an effective Team and is ready to take them all forward to reach out into the wider community and grow in discipleship, service and numbers. Be Evangelical, open to the Holy Spirit, and be able to encourage the wide diversity of our churches from charismatic to traditional. Fully support the ministry of all God s people including the priestly ministry of men and women. Be committed to working collaboratively. Be an effective leader and communicator, through teaching, preaching and use of the media to help us to apply the gospel in a way suitable for the 21 st Century to 4 5 to to to to and Over St. Mark's & St. Luke's St. Michael's Religious affiliations St. Mark's & St. Luke's St. Michael's 3

4 Oulton Broad The gateway to the Broads National Park 4 Oulton Broad: Located just a mile west of Lowestoft, Oulton Broad offers yearround water sports, characterful cafes, riverside eateries, fishing spots and an Edwardian park - the ideal place to spend a day on the Suffolk coast. Some of the popular events in the area include powerboat races in the summer and sailing. There is also a range of activities available at Carlton and Oulton Marshes such as wildlife sessions, handson natural history sessions and wildlife watch clubs. The Suffolk Wildlife Trust manages both marshes and Carlton Marshes has received a grant to expand and build a new visitor s centre. The Oulton Poor Trust leases fifty-three acres of the land of the Oulton Marshes nature reserve to the Suffolk Wildlife Trust. The income from this and other donations is applied in helping people of the parish who are in need. The Rector of St. Michael s is the Chair of the Trust. A short journey into Lowestoft gives you access to the award-winning Blue Flag beach with its picturesque beach huts. Lowestoft s Marina Theatre regularly hosts the Royal London Philharmonic Orchestra, top ballet companies, an annual professional pantomime, a programme of current films, and a rich diet of culture and light entertainment. Although Oulton and Oulton Broad are often thought of as one in the same due to sharing many of the same features and amenities, they are distinct from one another. Oulton retains its village feel with a community centre, park and pub, all closely situated together along Oulton Street, but it is growing rapidly and already includes an industrial estate which has an impact on employment and the local economy. Along with the new school is planned another community centre in the new housing development in addition to the community centre in Oulton Street. Transport links: From Easter to October there is a river taxi that travels from Mutford Lock to Lowestoft s South Pier. There are also frequent trains to Norwich and Ipswich that connect to London via the Oulton Broad North and Oulton Broad South stations. There is also a central train station near the Lowestoft town centre. Road links to and from the area, however, could be better. Norwich (up to one hour s drive away or forty-five minutes on the train) has excellent shops as well as theatre, restaurants and university. The nearby coastal resorts of Southwold and Aldeburgh host poetry, musical and literary festivals. Schools: Within Oulton Broad parish boundaries there are three primary schools (Reception, Years 1-6) and one special school. The closest high school (Years 7-11) is just outside our parish. Good links have been established with the primary schools and with the special school. In Oulton parish there is one primary school but another opened in September There are no high schools within the parish boundaries and the closest one is well within St. Margaret s parish borders. There is an Open the Book team from St Michael s that has good links with the primary school. Beyond high school level, within Lowestoft there is East Coast College, which is home to Lowestoft Sixth Form and has ties to the University of Suffolk. Housing: The housing of both parishes reflects the diversity and includes Victorian terraces, mid-20th Century semi-detached houses, a council estate and private housing estates with a large number of bungalows. A new housing estate has already been established and continues to expand and another, smaller, waterside development has started next to the Broad. Over the next few years, however, there will be a new estate in Oulton parish that will see an additional 800 homes being built. This brings exciting prospects to the area in terms of outreach, mission and evangelism. People: You will find a very broad social mix in Oulton Broad. The Church Urban Fund lists Oulton Broad parish as an area of high deprivation with a high percentage of people lacking qualifications although there are few in social housing. In contrast, Oulton parish falls in the middle in terms of overall deprivation and qualifications and there are few in social housing. The population in both parishes is expanding and soon there will be 10,000 in each.

5 Statement of Needs #CommittedToGrowth As part of our #CommittedToGrowth planning, we have worked together as a congregation to determine areas in which we believe we do well and areas where we have potential for growth and improvement. We wish to continue having varied worship patterns and styles, and continue to be a welcoming and loving church through pastoral care and social activities. Areas we have identified for growth potential are: Youthwork Outreach and mission Home and small groups Increased involvement from church members Life skills teaching for the congregation and out to the parish To pray and to work towards building congregations more in line with the age groups in our wider community When St. Michael s congregation met to discuss and pray about being Committed to Growth they produced lots of ideas under the headings of Discipleship, Listening to God, Listening to our Community and Listening to each other, Celebrate, Imagine and Empower. They cover the range expressed under St. Mark s and St. Luke s but with specific ideas. Plenty for a new Team Rector to consider with their team! We are entering a whole new opportunity for St. Michael s and St. Mark s with St. Luke s to come together and to deepen their relationship with each other and use the combined gifts of all those who are disciples of the Lord Jesus to reach out with God s love into our communities. We need a Team Rector who will be seen as someone who gives vision and support to all three churches and helps them to grow. Each church, with its varied congregations, has plenty of scope to develop. 5

6 Statement of Needs for each church St. Michael s St Michael s has been a strong and lively Evangelical church. However, numbers have declined which impacts our finances. Nevertheless, St Michael s is a deeply spiritual church ready to seize new opportunities to engage the local community and beyond. The parish is growing quickly with a big new housing estate. The new Primary school opened in September 2018 and we already have good contact with the Head and access to the school building. St. Michael s is a lovely 900- year-old building but it is quite small for such a large parish. There used to be a Church Hall and the main Hall has been demolished but the site and the rest of the building have been retained. A decision will need to be made about whether to develop the site of the old Hall, to build on a field near the church or to make more use of the school building or a combination of some of these. The congregation at St. Michael s is small but we are a great group of people who are looking outwards to the wider community. St. Michael s Church is set at the edge of the parish and next to the Marshes. A setting that brings opportunities to work with the Suffolk Wildlife Trust in opening up the church to visitors who come to Oulton Marshes, along with Carlton Marshes across the river, which is about to grow significantly into a major wildlife area. St. Mark s St. Mark s is also in a great position near the Park and the Broads. We do not get many holidaymakers but this work has a lot of potential. St. Mark s is able to offer a wide variety of worship, which is one of its main strengths. We would want a TR who recognises the importance of this approach and is comfortable in supporting and leading worship in a way that represents the different ways that God has made us to experience Him. Another decision has to be made about buildings. The church itself and its Hall are very good facilities but we have temporary metal buildings in the church car park for youth and other activities. A building in the former Vicarage garden has outline planning permission to replace and extend the buildings in the car park. We have a strong team of people, lay and ordained. Some of the ordained have reached their retirement age but still want to serve and a new Team Rector will need to be able to encourage them and a greater proportion of the membership of St. Mark s to use their gifts. We would love to see St. Mark s grow as a resource church to other in our Team and wider in the Diocese. St. Luke s St Luke s is the daughter church to St. Mark s and is situated in the geographical centre of the parish. Over the years an estate has built up around the church, it now sits in the middle of an area of privately owned and social housing, which is considered an area of social deprivation. St Luke s has grown considerably in recent years and has a life of its own but with members regularly joining St. Mark s especially for the Wednesday Holy Communion service. The location of such a multi-use building within the housing estate means we have the opportunity to grow work with children, youth and families. The new Team Rector will have the gifts needed for such an opportunity and not only love the Lord with all their heart but love their neighbour as themselves. Both of these are vital along with a calling to come and serve the people of Oulton and Oulton Broad, and the desire to bring out the gifts in others. We know that God will want to take us forward in worship and mission. The Diocese have a Mission Strategy 2021 which is intended to give some assistance to the realization of the goal of growth in discipleship, service and numbers while recognising that it is God who gives the growth. Four key work streams have been identified around which support can be given Listen, Celebrate, Imagine and Empower. As part of our preparation for the Profile we looked at all of these areas. More information is available at 6

7 At St. Mark s and St. Luke s, we recognise that our congregations come from a wide variety of Christian traditions. We therefore aim to offer a mix of services that range from traditional to caféstyle. St Mark s: 8:00am Holy Communion second, fourth and fifth Sundays: This is a quiet, robed and said service of Holy Communion taken from Common Worship. On fifth Sundays, BCP liturgy is used. 10:00am Mark II first, second, third and fourth Sundays: Mark II is our informal café-style service with band-led praise and worship. We try to encourage a degree of interactivity between the preacher and the congregation, allowing for questions to be asked and some discussion of the topic. Tea and coffee are on offer throughout as well as a toaster for anyone who wishes to have a light breakfast. On the weeks there is Holy Communion, Mark II moves from the hall and into the church to join our more traditional service for the Peace and the Eucharistic prayer. On fifth Sundays there is no Mark II as there is a joint family Communion. 10:10am Holy Communion first and third Sundays: This is an uplifting, robed and said service taken from Order One Communion with hymns led by organ and piano. At the Peace, Mark II joins to take part in Communion. Once Mark II joins the service, the modern worship songs replace the more traditional hymns. 10:10am Morning Worship second and fourth Sundays: This is a robed and said service taken from Common Worship with hymns led by organ and piano. 10:10am Joint Family Communion fifth Sunday (Gift Sundays): When there is a fifth Sunday in a month, we have a single service of Holy Communion. This is meant to be a more family oriented Communion service and also includes worship being led by our band. We also use the fifth Sunday as an opportunity to raise awareness of different charities and give people an opportunity to make a donation if they wish. 6:00pm SIX second and fourth Sundays: SIX is our most informal service with extended bandled praise and worship followed by a time of teaching which finishes with a time of worship and prayer ministry. 6:00pm Choral Evensong third Sunday (April October only): We offer a traditional choir led service of Evensong with the exception of August. 9:30am Holy Communion Wednesdays: There is a service of said Holy Communion every Wednesday taken from Common Worship Order One. It is a robed service with a hymn led by organ or piano. After this service we hold our popular weekly Open House coffee morning where different groups within the church provide tea, coffee, cakes and a stall to help raise funds. During the year, robed services are held to celebrate the Christian festivals, led by the worship band and choir. St Mark s service plan 7

8 St. Luke s 9:30am Holy Communion second and fourth Sundays: This is a robed and said service taken from Order One Communion with hymns led by piano. 9:30am Morning Worship first and third Sundays: This is a robed and said service taken from Common Worship with hymns led by piano. (On the fifth Sunday, the service is held at 10.30am) St. Luke s has a peaceful atmosphere, a congregation who love and support each other and offer solid fellowship and welcome to all who join us. Our congregation size is on average about 35. They are a group of mature worshippers ranging in age from 60 to 80+ but they are a lively bunch. We have no young families as yet in our Sunday services but we do count Messy Church as one of our services. A Songs of Praise service is held on Sunday afternoon every three months. This is an informal service with tea and cake. Every other month our 3 rd Sunday Morning Worship also offers a focus on prayer for healing. St Mark s and St Luke s: For our morning services, we set a common theme based on the morning s readings that is observed at both St. Mark s and St. Luke s. Twice per year we have a sermon series that links with our home groups and our midweek communion services. Prayer ministry and refreshments are available after the main morning services and throughout the entirety of Mark II services. At St. Mark s we offer activities and groups to children aged They remain with us for the first minutes of our services before going to their groups. St. Michael s 10:00am Morning Worship first Sundays: Taken from Common Worship. 10:00 am Holy Communion second, third, fourth and fifth Sundays: Taken from Common Worship, with baptism replacing Holy Communion as necessary. There are also additional services for the major festivals of the church. We need to find a regular organist or people able to provide live music but, at the moment, we normally use an ipad to provide the music. Currently the Reader team leads Morning worship. Holy Communion is from Common Worship except for the 5 th Sunday when the Book of Common Prayer is used. A Reader usually deacons at Holy Communion and Readers take their turn in preaching. Other members of the congregation are also involved in Bible Reading, leading intercessions and in assisting with the Chalice. Worship at St. Michael s each Sunday at a regular time is very important to us. Our congregation is now growing and we would want to look at other venues, perhaps the school, to extend our worship and activities into the wider community. On the 1 st Sunday of the month we had a short service of Holy Communion at 9.00am. Only a few attended and it meant smaller numbers at 10am but when the congregations grow it would be good to have this reinstated! There are also additional services for the major festivals of the church. 8

9 Our Home groups Home Groups have a vital role to play in the life of our church At St Mark s and St Luke s, we currently have 66 people attending our 11 Home Groups (30% of our Electoral Roll). These vary in size and mostly meet fortnightly. Some of our groups bring together members of the church family from across our various congregations. Each group has a different feel and they choose their own study material. Our home groups support each other in prayer. Twice per year, (during Ordinary Time in the Lectionary) we provide study material based on our Sermon Series. The two previous series have been If You Want to Walk On Water, You ve Got To Get Out Of The Boat by John Ortberg, and Life lessons from Acts, by Max Lucado Home Groups have a vital role to play in the life of our church; our vision is that they should: Deepen our understanding of Scripture and help us apply it to our lives. Be places where we nurture our gifts and encourage each other as we seek to serve and share our faith. Provide fellowship and accountability in our discipleship journeys. Offer pastoral care and prayer support. Engage in serving our community together. St. Michael s has recognised that we need to grow from our one Home Group and Lent Group. We see the growth of Home Groups as part of our growth in Discipleship. Along with St. Mark s and St. Luke s we see Home Groups as an area that needs more attention. Specific short-term groups have been set up including membership, wedding and baptism preparation. During Spring 2018 we carried out a review of Home groups and we are currently working on how we develop this ministry under the headings of: Support for our Leaders Better communication Creating new groups Bible Study Material Enriching the Life of our Church and reaching our Community We also have occasional pop up groups to explore areas of discipleship such as Sharing Our Faith. We hope that these will encourage people to see the value in meeting and that new groups will form. We have also run Alpha groups and Discipleship courses. 9

10 Our Prayer conversations with individuals often reveal a deepening spirituality and thirst to grow in faith Prayer is central to our church life. We are blessed with a committed team of intercessors for our Sunday services and at weekly meetings to pray for the future leadership and vision of our churches. Our monthly Prayer Calendar supplements our team of 50+ Home Pray ers who receive regular prayer requests. Some are unable to attend church but know they are an important part of our church family and supporting us in prayer. We gather each year for fellowship and as a thank you for faithful intercession. Prayer ministry includes an established prayer chain for immediate needs alongside a team offering individual prayer support after services. Anointing with oil is incorporated into Holy Communion each month on Sundays at both churches and midweek at St. Mark s. St Luke s hold bi-monthly Morning Worship services, with healing. Quiet Time was recently introduced at St. Mark s at 8.30am each Wednesday before the 9.30am Communion service. The Mothers Union hold a monthly prayer meeting. Our activities are supported by Prayer Walks, Quiet Days, 12 hour prayer events, Prayer for the Persecuted church, Prayer in Holy Week and during Thy Kingdom Come. While prayer meetings are sometimes supported solely by those involved in planning and preparation, conversations with individuals often reveal a deepening spirituality and thirst to grow in faith and gain confidence in prayer. We seek new opportunities to engage people to pray more to join Daily Prayer at 4.30pm, establish prayer triplets, contribute to a third volume of Oulton Broad Prayers and further Half Nights of prayer. Meanwhile St. Mark s new prayer tree stands as a visible sign of our aim to support and encourage discipleship through silent and spoken prayer, reflection and listening to God. Prayer is also central to our life at St. Michael s. People speak of sensing the presence of God in our church. As part of the Team we would want to join in and help to develop the opportunities for prayer that are already happening at St. Mark s and St. Luke s. St. Michael s have just introduced prayer with anointing at one of our Holy Communion services each month. 10

11 Our mission & Outreach We have reviewed our Outreach and Mission in the light of being Committed to Growth, in Discipleship, Service and Numbers. The staff team work hard to take up the opportunities that come from Weddings, Baptisms and Funerals. Other long-standing areas of mission and fellowship include monthly Ladies Strollers and Men s group, with a wide variety of activities. People who live alone are invited to Community Lunches. We support work in Honduras and, every fifth Sunday, we have an interview about a different cause and an offertory. We visit Care Home, Schools and take part in wider activities such as Carol Singing at the Quay, which last year was in our Church Hall for the first time in many years, because of the poor weather. This was greatly appreciated and discussions from this have led to litter picking in the local park by Holiday Club children. On Palm Sunday, we made good contact with the community in having a journey to church with a donkey. Shops, café, and museum were visited prior to the event as it raised the profile of the church and Oulton Broad itself. Pictures were in the local press. teaching and by talking to members of St. Luke s that help at Messy Church. As an experiment, we adjusted our usual Christingle service and made it a Messy Christingle, opening it up to all ages with special invitations for our Lunch Box members. It was a great success and was very well attended by all ages. Similarly, ENYP (Equipping & Nurturing Young People), a Norwich-based Christian youth project, also hold a Defenders After-School Club monthly during term time. Our morning service and sermon at Mark 1 is recorded and is available for people in their homes. St. Mark s, St. Luke s and St. Michael s have all had sermon series on If you want to walk on water you ve got to get out of the boat. The talks are available on the St. Mark s website. We want to be a church that blesses others, however we recognise that some from the wider community have not seen enough of this. We have started making more contacts but there is plenty of scope for improvement. At St Luke s we have Messy Church on the first Wednesday of the month between 3:30 5:30pm. We have a fluctuating number of children and adults that attend, but a number of the adults have been touched by the 11

12 Outreach in local schools St Luke s also has Little Buddies Preschool that runs for three and a half days a week. Rainbows and Brownies also use our building. We have three primary schools (5-11yrs) and a special school (up to 18yrs) in our parish. Our work in schools has continued to develop led by our curate and all the schools have visited St Mark s over the year. The small team visit Dell Primary and Elm Tree Primary once per fortnight, Westwood academy on a monthly basis and the Warren Special School once a term. There are also two toddler groups that meet in St, Mark s hall Starfish on a Monday, which is a church-affiliated group, and a group that meets on a Thursday that the church has good contact with. St. Michael s has forged links with our local primary school and is already starting to create links with the school being built. On the week before Christmas some 600 children and parents fill our church for four performances of their Christmas concert. Some return for our Christmas Coffee Morning, with children s art competition and for our Christmas Service. An Open the Book team visits the school monthly to present a dramatized Bible Story. This is always well received by children and staff. We hope to build on this and engage the school with further celebrations such as Harvest and Easter and to explore the possibility of Messy Church. Another Oulton Broad school visits annually for an extension to their English R.E. History curriculum. A Reader tells stories of the church and a local historian explains the war graves in our churchyard and re-enacts the drama of Pip and the convict. The location is a perfect backdrop. Before our Hall was demolished we ran a Parent and Toddler club. The Guides and Brownies also used our Hall. A few years ago we ran a pre-school with links to the local primary school. We had two new ventures this year. An Easter Holiday club and a Young at Heart fun morning. Outreach in residential homes St Luke s has now taken on the responsibility of visiting the Dell Nursing Home, as the original folk from St. Mark s are no longer able to do it. There is a team of 5-7 from St. Luke s who take a service in the main part of the home on the 2 nd Tuesday of the month, about every 3 months. It is a communion service. They also visit the Day Care Centre on special occasions e.g. Christmas and Easter and that is likely to increase once the Day Centre programmes get fully established. There is also a popular Christmas Carol Service for the residents, their families and the staff. Rev. Jo Fowler who co-ordinates this, has also been asked on several occasions to visit residents regarding pastoral matters they see her as the vicar link. 12

13 Our buildings St Mark s is late Victorian with fine modern stain glass East & West windows. During 1994 a major rebuilding project took place where the existing building was reroofed and externally cleaned. A new church centre, comprising: a hall, meeting room, office, kitchen and toilets was built adjacent to the church with permanent covered links. Subsequently, reordering has taken place inside the church including removal of the choir stalls together with several of the front pews and complete interior redecoration. This together with additional staging has opened up the chancel and nave allowing greater flexibility of use. Additional capacity for meetings has been achieved by the use of temporary Portacabins but there are plans for their early replacement with a new purpose built structure. St Luke s was built in the 1960 s through the enthusiasm and dedication of a few people who wanted a local community church. It originally stood within green fields but is now surrounded by housing. The multi-function main hall is used for services as well as by the many organisations that hire it. St. Luke s is in a very good state of repair. In 2006 there was work to bring St. Luke s into compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act with the installation of a disabled toilet and improved access to the building. In 2015 the kitchen was enlarged and modernised and is a great asset that allows catering for a large gathering, along with a separate vestry. There is a small brick weave car park to the front with a grassed area to the rear that can be used for additional parking or for events. St. Michael s is situated on a little eminence overlooking the marshes, which are a haven for wildlife. Wide skies and stunning sunsets are a beautiful backdrop to our historic 11 th Century medieval church. It is a striking building with a central tower. Bell ringing is being revived which includes members of St. Mark s. The building is well maintained. We are committed to keep our church for future generations. The churchyard is still open and is so well maintained by volunteers and is a walk for dog lovers. Most especially it is a peaceful comforting retreat for the bereaved. This has been an opportunity for pastoral ministry. A small kitchen and a toilet have been added to the church and there is discussion about whether we could adapt some of the space in the body of the church for other activities. 13

14 Income for both parishes is mainly from planned giving, with a good contribution from Gift Aid and the new Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS) Our finances St Mark s with St Luke s has an annual turnover of some 200K; at St Michael s turnover is about 40K. Income for both parishes is mainly from planned giving, with a good contribution from Gift Aid and the new Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS). St Mark s with St Luke s has an income from rental of their church halls: this contributes about 8K pa to each church. Regular expenditure at both parishes is mostly on Parish Share: St Mark s with St Luke s routinely pays the full TRIO rate of about 60K pa. St Michael s has a supported rate ( 29K pa in 2017) and that year the PCC was able to pay 24K of this. All three churches contribute weekly to the Waveney Foodbank. At St. Mark s a major fund-raising programme was mounted in 2016 and 2017 to pay for replacement and beautification of the west window. Deterioration was identified in recent Quinquennial inspections and in replacing the window the opportunity was taken to enhance the window with a figure of St Mark. The new window cost 70K, part funded by fund-raising and donations and part from past legacies. St. Luke s maintains its own bank account separate from St. Mark s and is financially stable. St Luke s too has had recent expenditure on a new kitchen, redecoration and refurbishment of the heating system. St. Michael s supports two children from Uganda through the charity Compassion. We also support Leprosy Mission, TEAR Fund, Christian Aid and the Bishop s Lent Appeal. The offertory at the school s carol concert goes to EACH (East Anglian Children s Hospice). At St Michael s a major enhanced drainage system has recently been installed costing 10K; this was funded from the remains of a past legacy. The charts show our expected costs from the general funds for both parishes in 2018 from budgets set by the PCCs. 70,000 60,000 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10, ,000 30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 St. Mark's with St. Luke's: budgeted expenditure 2018 St Michael's: budgeted expenditure

15 Our organization structure We have a Management Team, which takes the place of a Standing Committee of the PCC, which has a wider brief to also manage the vacancy. There is a Churchwardens Team consisting of the two Churchwardens and four Deputy Wardens. There is also the PCC and the Extended Staff Team. Our Churchwardens, Geoff Ansdell and Lesley Denny are new this year but both experienced churchwardens. We are very blessed in having their help along with their team. There is a Finance Team with John Hunt our PCC Treasurer who is very competent and helpful and is now also Treasurer to St. Michael s PCC. The Extended Staff Team meets on Wednesdays for the mid-week Holy Communion and, after Open House, for a Staff meeting. (During the Vacancy the Staff has been meeting fortnightly, as there have been rather a lot of extra meetings.) Members of the Extended Staff Team consist of: Interim Priest-in-Charge The Venerable David Hayden. David, who was formally Archdeacon of Norfolk and in retirement a member of St. Mark s, was asked by the Bishop to take the lead during the vacancy and then also to be Interim Priest-in-Charge at St. Michael s and to start the process of bringing the churches closer together. This is an honorary post. Before this David was very happy to support the work in prayer and to preach and lead when needed. He will want to go back to support in this way and not be part of the Staff team. The Revd. Maggie Barnes is Associate Minister with responsibility for St. Luke s and chairs St. Luke s Ministry Team and leadership team and has oversight of Messy Church. Most of her ministry is at St. Luke s but she also is involved in St. Mark s. Maggie heads up the Pastoral Team and Lunchbox at St. Luke s. The Revd. Marilyn Zipfel is Associate Minister and is responsible at St. Mark s for Pastoral Care and Chairing the Worship Committee, which plans services. She jointly oversees the occasional offices, runs a bereavement group called The ReMARKable Café once a month and preaches and leads across the church congregations. Marilyn has reached the retirement age for Staff members but, having obtained permission to officiate, wants to continue as much as possible. She has taken some funeral services at St. Michael s. The Revd. Jo Fowler is Associate Minister and has delayed retirement from the team to help over the vacancy. Jo serves on the St. Luke s Ministry Team and runs Heart once a month. Jo also leads and preaches at St. Mark s. Health permitting Jo would like to continue to minister after her retirement break. Stipendiary Curate This has been a training parish. The last curate left in July Safeguarding officer Gill Williams (St. Mark s and St. Luke s) and Robin Keightley (St. Michael s) are our Parish Safeguarding Officers. The Revd. Gillie Powell was on the Staff team but is now retired and still helps in co-ordinating Wednesday Holy Communion services and preaching and leading as needed. She is also involved in supporting St. Michael s and leading Baptism services which are taking place once a month. She has also helped lead other services at St. Michael s. Gillie helps on the leadership Team of Messy Church. At the end of the vacancy Gillie intends to stand down from the Staff Team but will exercise a preaching and leading role in worship as needed. 15

16 Our organization structure continued Jill Hunting is a Lay Minister (Reader) and serves on the leadership team at St. Luke s. She is the Sacrist at St. Mark s. She has usual preaching and leading responsibilities including the deacon s role at She oversees prayer events and activities and has led Quiet Days. Jill is a Franciscan Tertiary. Both Jill and Harry are voluntary Chaplains at Norwich Cathedral. Harry Waterman is a Lay Minister (Reader) who has been working with Rachel to develop small groups. He compiles the prayer calendar and serves on the staff team and prayer team. He has recently joined the funeral team. He also regularly preaches and leads worship. Harry is a Reader representative on the Diocesan Readers Committee. Rachel Hayden was appointed by the previous Incumbent as a paid part-time lay associate minister, and is one of our AWAs. She served as Assistant Lay Minister for several years at her previous church. She was appointed to help with discipleship (for which she has run training days), leading, preaching and now works with Harry to co-lead the home groups. Rachel has provided resources for sermon series for groups and congregations, and hosts and now co-leads the older youth work.. She has also now taken on the lead of Mark 2 and the Six service. Mandy Marler is our other AWA and also is a part time paid member of staff. She was PA to the last Vicar and is the paid Parish Administrator for St. Mark s and St. Luke s. Mandy is being considered for ordination and has been serving a placement before taking this further. As an AWA she also leads and preaches. We also have two part-time paid caretakers. Lis Hayden is wife of David. Having left teaching because of illness, she has stepped in to coordinate work with Children and Youth when the part time youth and children s worker left. The youth worker had only been in post for six months and had special personal reasons for leaving. Alan Zipfel is the Director of Music who is self-employed but remunerated by St Mark s. He plays the organ and piano, leads and conducts the choir and organizes the worship band rota. St. Michael s: Our team at St. Michael s includes Debbie Allsop, our Churchwarden and Reader, who is also training to take funerals. Our retired Readers Jill Pirrie and Jackie Makower also help with services and Jill has been taking burial of ashes services. Lis Hayden works with Gemma Eglington especially for Sundays at St. Mark s but also with Holiday Clubs. Gemma is going to start a part time course at Ridley Hall in September to have training in Christian youth work We have a Staff meeting that includes all the Readers and a former churchwarden and a retired Canon. We have recently had members of St. Mark s join with us, three of them helping out as Deputy Warden, Treasurer and Secretary to the PCC. (St. Michael s continued): Robin Keightley helps in many ways including editing our monthly newsletter. We also are very thankful for all those from the churches who give their time, talents and money to enable the church to grow. Alan Allsop is verger, cashier and sexton. 16 John Worsfold, a retired Church Army Officer, has also been helping us with baptism and confirmation preparation.

17 Our church groups The club gained numbers as the week went on and by the fourth day the church was full!... At St Luke s we have a variety of community groups for adults such as Keep Fit, Oulton Broad and Lowestoft Horticultural Society, Oulton Broad Ladies Evening Club, Patchwork Singers. AGLOW s Lowestoft chapter also uses the hall for their monthly gatherings. Church-run groups include: Ladies Guild: Our Ladies Guild meets twice a month and are a terrific support for St. Luke s by organizing our summer fete and autumn bazaar, which are our two main fundraising events. St. Luke s worshippers are actually in the minority at the Ladies Guild, but other churches are represented. Knit and Natter: This is a recent addition to our diary that meets once a month. Anyone who enjoys knitting or crochet is welcome to join. Lunch Box: This is a community lunch that we hold once a month. We work in conjunction with London Road Baptist Church who has an outreach centre (Whitton Life) in the Whitton Estate. We also have a Christmas lunch and take it in turns to host it. Young@Heart is typically run at St. Mark s on the first Friday morning of every month. Last summer we also held a Young@Heart adult holiday club at St. Luke s. Over the span of four days those who are 50+ were invited to join us for a variety of activities and talks culminating with a BBQ on the final day. The club gained numbers as the week went on and by the fourth day the church was full! In addition to the newly formed Bell ringing group, St. Michael s has a Women s Own fellowship group. Knit and Natter make comforting aids, which are donated to the Premature Babies Unit at James Paget Hospital and also to the elderly. There is also a banner group, which is planning a new seasonal frieze, and our flower group arranges flowers for church festivals. We would like to start a monthly lunch club again when we have the facilities, as it was a ministry to the bereaved and the lonely, and a valuable outreach especially to the unchurched. St Mark s Ladies Group meets at 7.30pm on the 1st & 3rd Monday of the month. There is a varied programme that includes interesting speakers, outings, meals and an annual carol service. The club has about 70 members, many of whom do not attend St Mark s but help out with fundraising events as well as being on rotas for the Open House events and flower arranging. New members are always welcome. We are also delighted that our Mothers' Union at St. Mark's will soon be celebrating their 90th Anniversary. We value their support in prayer and the encouragement they give to their members. For further information about other groups, please visit our website: 17

18 Our children and families Historically the Sunday children s work at St. Mark s has had a small attendance On Monday mornings we have a packed Hall of babies, toddlers, parents and grandparents. The Starfish group run by a small group of volunteers from St. Mark s have built this into a supportive and caring group for all who attend. Many of the baptisms that we have had in the past year came from those attending this group. Whilst at the other end of the age group our 16+ group, meet on a Friday evening at the home of one of the Co-leaders and AWAs, is going from strength to strength. Young people have come to know Christ as their personal Saviour, and others, who were already Christians, have been given opportunities to develop their own discipleship, ask questions and gain knowledge. This group has thirteen young people attending on a regular basis. Historically the Sunday children s work at St. Mark s has had a small attendance. It has been difficult to encourage helpers, as there could be two or twelve children with very different resource needs. We currently use mostly Scripture Union materials but an adult leader has had support in adapting and developing a programme for the younger (3+) and older group (11+). We have tried one-day holiday clubs this year using a different format from the previous years of having a four-day holiday club in the summer school holidays. We have a different themed day each time including lunch and we are reaching children who have no church connection. St. Luke s, on the first Wednesday in the month apart from August holds Messy Church after-school club, and we get as messy as we can! Our Curate has developed strong links with local schools in regularly taking assemblies and using the church building to help support Key Stage work on Christianity learnt in schools. A highlight of 2018 was a mock wedding with guests, ushers and an organist. Families also attended. The Headteacher said how much this type of activity helps the children. We are determined not to let these links drop now the Curate has left. Children sometimes come to St. Michael s Sunday service but work with children and families are areas of church life we are keen to develop including Messy Church. In addition to the work in the school we have started with some specials to involve families such as a walking hunt for clues followed by cake back at the church. There are no facilities in church for children to go to groups so we are looking to activities in the new school or building something ourselves. In the past, St. Michael s had a flourishing ministry with children and families, including pre-school and we hope that this can be redeveloped. 18

19 Our pastoral care Matthew 25:40... whatever you did for one of... these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. Pastoral care at St. Mark s and St. Luke s is an important part of our care and oversight of members of the church family and the wider community. Ministers, service leaders, readers, AWAs, home group leaders and pastoral links all contribute to the well-being of people and especially those in need. They contact the sick in their homes, in care homes and in hospital and minister through personal involvement with selfless and sensitive care. Illness, bereavement, rehabilitation and cries for help prompt a response from the pastoral team. They reach out by , card, phone calls or personal visits. After a funeral service care is continued with cards then phone calls. Each family is offered a visit. Several new members each year join our church family as a result of our work with bereaved families. Other occasional offices: Before a wedding service couples spend one-to-one quality time with their ministers, meet with the organist, discuss flowers for the church, plan orders of service, rehearse in the church and all before the service itself. Each year we hold a marriage planning day and invite participating couples this is always a well-attended event. Baptisms/Christenings are usually held after morning services and are well-received happy occasions. If the families are not regular members of the church we ask them to attend services twice before the service and on the Sunday following the baptism when we welcome them into our church family. The pastoral list is kept up to date and new members are added regularly. The people of St Mark s and St Luke s, staff and friends really care for one another. At St. Michael s we seek to care for our church members in need of any kind. Baptisms are increasing and these will need to be followed up. 19

20 Our Seniors I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophecy, young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Acts 2:17 We believe that the role our seniors play in the church must be honoured, encouraged and constantly appraised on matters of pastoral care and welfare. They are vital to our ethos. Many undertake tasks bringing experience, wisdom and enthusiasm. There is also a mission to the wider community with a number of events open to all. We want to share the love of Jesus by creating a safe welcoming community where folk can find love and friendship. St Mark s holds a popular monthly Heart morning where folk meet for quiz, games, talks and table activities. This ends with a brief time of worship. An annual week now takes place in August in our St Luke s building. In 2017 seventy-eight people came to the event (most on all the days) At St. Mark s a bi monthly lunch is held for approximately 90 attendees. Run by our own catering team, this is a meal and social time, which is a particular benefit for those living alone or recently bereaved. Wherever possible transport to the event is provided if needed. At St. Luke s our monthly midweek Lunch Box provides a meal, additional care, friendship and hospitality. This is a joint venture with the local Baptist Church and the venue alternates. Several seniors have joined the church as a result of our follow up bereavement policy and our monthly ReMarkable Café, which is specifically an invitational event to all within the parish who have been bereaved. This is open ended. As well as the Staff Team a further group of 12 church members have had training on The Safeguarding of Vulnerable Adults undertaken by The Diocesan Safeguarding Officer. Each PCC has a Safeguarding Officer who is available for advice. There is also a group approved by the Bishop to visit and take Communion to those who are unable to come to church. 20

21 Appendix St Mark s and St Luke s church Address

22 Additional information: Regarding the accommodation: The Diocese has outline planning permission to build a new Rectory in the extensive grounds of the current Vicarage. The new Rectory will be designed to have lower running costs, the plans for which can be found on the following page. The current Vicarage will be available in the short term if the building takes longer than expected. Our websites St Mark s St Luke s St Michael s

23 Rectory Plans: 23