Diocese of Lincoln Parish of Louth

Transcription

1 Diocese of Lincoln Parish of Louth As we seek to build up a community of faith that is faithful in worship, confident in discipleship and joyful in service we are looking for someone who will: share with the Team Rector in the oversight of the Church s ministry in the Parish of Louth; share in the general ministry of the Church in Prayer, Discipleship, Pastoral Care and Service to the wider Community; subject to their gifts and calling take responsibility for leading our work in one or more of the themes within our Strategic Plan. 1

2 God of love, whom we are called to worship with open hearts; help us, who are touched by your love, to make your presence known in all we do; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 2

3 Page 3 Page 3 Page 4 Page 4 Page 6 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 9 Page 10 Page 10 Page 10 Page 11 Page 11 Page 12 Page 12 Page 13 Page 13 Page 13 Page 14 CONTENTS A VISION FOR THE FUTURE Where have we been? What are we here for? What do we hope to become? THE ROLE OF TEAM VICAR IN THE PARISH OF LOUTH Role Description Person Profile ABOUT LOUTH THE MINISTRY TEAM Worship across the Parish on Sunday and during the Week THE CHURCHES The Parish Church of Louth St. James, Westgate The Parish Church of St. Michael, Church Street, Louth The Parish Church of St. Andrew, Stewton The Parish Church of All Saints, South Elkington The Parish Church of St. Martin, Welton-le-Wold Trinity Centre, Eastgate Church House, Upgate St. Michael s Church House, Mount Pleasant The Church Institute, South Elkington MINISTRY IN THE WIDER COMMUNITY A VISION FOR THE FUTURE Where have we been? Since 2013 the Team Parish of Louth has made progress in responding to the challenge of taking stock, reviewing and establishing networks for nurturing spirituality and well-being in the area, to take the Love of Jesus into the wider community. As a community, we are working together with the commitment to focus not just on an individual church but also on the wider Parish. For the first time in 2016 a Summer Fete brought most of the districts working together for the benefit of the whole, with the hope that the whole Parish will join in future events. As we have grown alongside each other we have looked deeper into our own communities; we are working to embrace those who are on the fringes of society, those who are lonely, sick, those unable to cope either financially or emotionally. Strong relationships are being built with young people: the hard work of sowing seeds is beginning to blossom, with most schools in the town now having contact with the Church s ministry and several developing deep links. Over the past two years the newly established Messy Church and Tinies Breakfast (pram service) congregations have grown into well-rooted parts of our life, and events such as Party in the Pews (a festival in St James involving young people) have been repeated and are now annual events. 3

4 More recently, these activities have been joined by others, such as Café Church and Dementia Café, which seek to provide encounters for those whom our normal activities do not touch as effectively as we would love them to. Nearly all the residential and nursing homes in the town now have regular contact with the Ministry Team. The clergy visit the sick and elderly and the Be a friend initiative also supports the lonely and socially isolated. These are activities where we would like to grow and develop our ministry more fully. The Ministry Team itself includes retired and non-stipendiary clergy with all their wealth of experience gained over many years both within the Parish and the wider world. There is still much to do, offering many exciting challenges which with God's help we can respond to, and build up His Kingdom in this place. What are we here for? In all that we do, we will seek to live out Jesus command to draw close to the love of God in worship, sharing in this by loving our neighbour: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. Love your neighbour as yourself. These statements were adopted in 2013 as the first part of developing a Strategic Plan at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting. Since then we have developed and worked towards five priority areas as a whole Parish (outlined below), with each District developing its own plans. These were drawn together as part of a Diocesan-led process which has resulted in them being adopted as our Developing Discipleship Plan. What do we hope to become? At the 2013 APCM and following PCC Meeting it was agreed that the following aspirations should be a part of our life in the coming years: Liturgy and Spirituality/ Discipleship Community outreach 3 ways of looking at the Church's life in Louth Developing the Ministry Team and resourcing the Church Developing the Ministry Team and resourcing the Church This area of work within the local Church might well include: - Developing a common life of prayer and service at the heart of the parish to draw together the whole body of Christ and resource it for its task of making God known across the parish - Identifying and building a Ministry Team that draws widely on the talents of people; both lay and ordained - Providing a forum for the development of life across the Parish that seeks to build up the body of Christ, witness to God s presence in our lives, and promote good stewardship of the resources we are entrusted with (both human and material) 4

5 Community outreach Within the Parish of Louth, the work that already takes place in this area is an obvious area of pride, and one to be nurtured, supported and further grown. As well as existing work, further developments in the future might well deepen this work to include: - Development of existing work in areas of social inclusion - Engaging with civic bodies to articulate issues of faith in and to wider society - Developing work with young people, building deeper links with educational establishments - Engaging with those who seek the sacramental ministry of the Church in marking significant life events (e.g. Baptism, Marriage and Funerals) - Seeking to develop the ministry of our buildings as sacred spaces both for the local community and those who visit us Discipleship/Spirituality and Liturgy The [2012] Parish Profile identifies this aspect of the Church s life in Louth as a particular area for development; focused on finding ways to nurture people s faith and deepen their experience of God. This area of work within the local Church might well include: - Developing ways to nurture people s faith including the promotion of courses, support to regular small groups and seeking to help people articulate their own Christian vocation - Supporting congregations across the Parish to deepen their spiritual resources as a community of prayer - Promoting pastoral and sacramental care that engages all in ministering to the needs of their neighbour - Building a sense of community at all levels by promoting social events and other means of sharing the company and experience of fellow members of the body of Christ Within this context, the five priorities for the Ministry Team as they work across the Parish are: A1. Maintaining a rhythm of Prayer and resourcing Worship One of our callings as a Church is to be a people of prayer; encouraging opportunities for private prayer, sustaining the life of the local community through our corporate prayer, and grounding our mission in the community in a rhythm of prayer and worship. A2. Encouraging people to draw closer to God in faith Fundamental to the health of the Church is the opportunity for individuals to grow in faith; we seek to find a variety of ways for people, both within the gathered church and the wider community, to engage with matters of faith. A3. Reaching out beyond the boundaries of the gathered Church to all those touched by Christ In joining in the missionary call to recognise God at work in the community is our work both within both the gathered church and the wider community; often identifying the grace of God in peoples lives through the celebration of the sacraments or journeying with them and marking God s presence alongside people through our ministry of pastoral care. A4. Serving the wider community and making visible God s love for all We recognise that God calls us all to mission in the wider community and that a significant part of our life is to serve those in need, regardless of their commitment to the worshipping community of the Church or their attitude to faith. A5. Enabling each of us, as the body of Christ, to fulfil our vocation by resourcing our work We are clear that our ability to fulfil our calling as a people of God and to engage fully in the missionary life of the Church is in part dependent on the gifts of God, but also enabled by our stewardship of the resources we have. This is about sensitively creating opportunities to allow people to use their gifts and talents and a belief that each of us has something to offer so that our calling as a people of God enables us to engage fully in the missionary life of the Church. For more detail please look at: The Parish Handbook and Developing Discipleship Plan (both available on the parish website) 5

6 Role Description 1. Details of post THE ROLE OF TEAM VICAR IN THE PARISH OF LOUTH Title: Team Vicar in the Parish of Louth Team Ministry Deanery: Louthesk Archdeaconry: Lincoln 2. Role The Team Vicar will join with the Team Rector in exercising oversight of the local Church as expressed in the sharing of the cure of souls with the Bishop of Lincoln. In this they will share responsibility for fostering a community of faith within the Parish of Louth that is faithful in worship, confident in discipleship and joyful in service. As a member of the Ministry Team, the Team Vicar will take part in the Church s ministry by: Maintaining a rhythm of prayer and resourcing worship Encouraging people to grow closer to God in faith Reaching out beyond the boundaries of the gathered Church to all those touched by Christ Serving the wider community and making visible God s love for all Enabling each of us, within the body of Christ Each of these areas is a priority within the Parish Developing Discipleship Plan. Each of our worshipping communities also has a named individual who is the primary point of contact for pastoral care. At the present time it is expected that the Team Rector and Team Vicar share responsibility for the pastoral care of the congregations worshipping at St James, Holy Trinity and St Michael s. With the Developing Discipleship Plan the Ministry Team and PCC have identified three particular areas for development, one of which we hope the Team Vicar will take a lead role in. These areas are: Children, families and young people. We have started a number of activities over the past four years but our work in this area is ripe for further development to embed existing work and widen its scope both to more people and a wider range of ages. Alongside this we regularly engage with local schools including developing chaplaincy provision within King Edward VI School and beyond and this is also an area for future development Social outreach. We have a well-established programme of social outreach and community mission focused on Trinity Centre, and a range of other work taking places across the rest of the parish. We seek to develop this to include more comprehensive pastoral care for those accessing these activities, to share good practice more widely across the parish, and to develop further work in this area beyond the innovative work already taking place in Trinity Centre Mission through the occasional offices. We have significant opportunities to reach out to those who meet the Church through the services of baptism, marriage and funerals. At the moment this work offers significant possibility for greater engagement with a wider range of people who are engaged spiritually but are not members of the gathered church community. We would welcome someone to join us to develop ways of reaching out beyond our gathered congregations to those who are touched by the church in these ways. This will probably include identifying and developing people with appropriate gifts to contribute to this work (e.g. pastoral visiting/bereavement follow-up etc.) 3. Responsible to Team Rector 4. Key relationships Team Rector Members of the PCC 6

7 Ministry Team members, including training curates, Lay Readers, Church Wardens, Members of the Ministry Teams in each church, Community Workers Other staff employed by the PCC of Louth Rural Dean Deanery Administrator Churches Together in Louth/Louth Fraternal 5. Appointed by: The Bishop of Lincoln and the Team Rector 6. Housing: The Vicarage, Little Lane, Louth Person Profile We seek an ordained priest with a commitment to helping the Parish to continue growing in its commitment that in all we do, we seek to live out Jesus command to draw close to the love of God in worship, and to share this by loving our neighbour ; supporting the Diocese in responding to its calling to be faithful in worship, confident in discipleship and joyful in service. Within this context we are looking for someone who is: capable of significant shared leadership responsibilities in a large parish covering town and country, with a wide range and variety of worshipping communities confident in a range of worship settings and able to appreciate the need for a varied pattern of worship in a multi-congregation Parish able to appreciate the contribution that small groups and other networks can have in building up opportunities for people to grow in faith and come together in fellowship competent at the administration and performance of pastoral offices and able to relate their understanding of the place they have in the wider mission of the Church committed to the Church s ministry of service to all people able to contribute to the development of others offering their own skills and experience to the growth of the Ministry Team, Parish and Diocese self-motivated, with the ability to work on their own initiative as well as alongside other team members good time management skills In addition, we hope that the person will contribute to our work by bringing particular experience and skills to the leadership of our work in one or more of the following areas: Children, families and young people. developing and leading programmes for the development of young people in faith and fellowship leading programmes for families and young people working within and in partnership with schools experience of, or demonstrable understanding of the requirements of, being a school governor. Social outreach. serving the needs of people in the community through social outreach activities building links between different groups of people in disparate communities developing patterns for pastoral care for worshipping communities. Mission through the occasional offices. using the Pastoral Offices as opportunities for mission identifying and developing people to support work in this area engaging people in spirituality on the fringes of the gathered Church. 7

8 Louth is a country market town in the north-eastern part of Lincolnshire, set between the Lincolnshire Wolds and the coastal Marshes, while to the south are the Fens that extend down the east coast towards the Wash. The population of the town is between 17,000 and 18,000 and it has a significant influence on the local area. Louth is not just a historic market town, but remains so, with three street markets a week and a weekly livestock market. The centre of the town largely retains its mediaeval pattern of streets, though now lined with fine Georgian and Victorian buildings. Alongside its markets, Louth supports a wide range of independent businesses, including many good quality food shops. With its architectural heritage and continued role as a market town for the surrounding area, Louth remains a place of much character and is a significant draw for tourists visiting the area. It was recognised as the UK s favourite market town by BCC s Countryfile magazine and was listed as one of Britain s coolest places to live in a recent Times feature. an almost perfect focus for rural life. Telegraph Having had a Corporation until the early part of the 19 th century, Louth became a Borough with the reforms of that period, becoming a Town Council in the reorganisations that took place in local government in the 1970s. The local East Lindsey District Council (one of the largest in the country) is based at a former airfield at the nearby village of Manby and is a significant local employer. As well as traders/retailers and the local authority, further employment is provided by a number of manufacturing businesses; many associated with ABOUT LOUTH Diocese of Lincoln Archdeaconry of Lincoln 8 agriculture and packaging. There are also a number of businesses in the town associated with the agricultural nature of the surrounding area, including accountants, legal companies and estate agents/surveyors. Louth County Hospital, located not far from the town centre, is also a significant source of employment in the town. Notwithstanding these sources of employment, there is a significant amount of under and unemployment which affects the standard of living of a significant proportion of the population, a fact that is often masked by the prosperous appearance of the town. The surrounding villages are marked by a combination of local employment (largely agriculture based) and those who are retired or work further away. a thriving market town, brimming with community spirit, alive with character and steeped in tradition. BBC Countryfile Today Louth retains its role as a significant local centre, with a thriving cultural scene and it has a natural role as the hub for local trade. It has all the facilities that are normally needed including doctor s surgeries, a hospital, and good primary and secondary schools. The nearest other significant towns are Grimsby (15 miles) and Lincoln (24 miles). From Grimsby, Lincoln and Newark there are railway services to a wide variety of destinations, and there are daily coach services from Louth Bus Station on several routes, including direct to London.

9 THE MINISTRY TEAM The Team Ministry serving the Parish of Louth comprises a Team Rector and at least one Team Vicar who share the Bishop s cure of souls. However, this oversight of the local church is shared more broadly with a Parish Ministry Team that aims to be both collaborative in its scope and collegial in its exercise of oversight. This Ministry Team includes nonstipendiary clergy, Lay Readers, Community Workers and two stipendiary Assistant Curates. We have also enjoyed a close degree of co-operation with ecumenical colleagues. Whilst it is easy to list the formal Ministry Team, one of our current challenges is finding ways to recognize, articulate and affirm the contribution that a wider range of people make to the ministerial work of the church as it engages in a common life of worship and service. These wider teams (which we have termed Extended Ministry Teams) encompasses a wider range of roles such as: Those who support and lead worship (vergers, servers, musicians etc.) Those involved in our ministry to visitors Those involved in our work in the wider community Those involved in nurturing the lives of the gathered congregations across the Parish As well a common life of prayer and a shared ministry within the parish, the Ministry Team has moved towards providing elements of training and mutual support for our work and to encourage members of the congregation to share in our own development as ministers. Worship across the Parish on Sunday and during the Week SUNDAY 8 30am Holy Communion at St James on 4 th Sunday 9 30am Sung Mass at St. Michael s 10am 11am Sung Eucharist at St. James Holy Communion at Stewton on 1 st, 3 rd and 5 th Sundays, at South Elkington on 2 nd Sunday, at Trinity on 3 rd Sunday and at Welton on the 4 th Sunday. 11am Matins at Welton-le-Wold on 2 nd Sunday and South Elkington on 4 th Sunday 12 30pm or 1pm Baptisms at any church by arrangement 3pm Baptisms at St. Michael s on the 1 st Sunday, other churches by arrangement Choral Evensong at St. James 6pm MONDAY 8 30am Morning Prayer at St. James TUESDAY 8 30am Morning Prayer at Trinity 9am Tinies Breakfast at St Michael s (1 st and 3 rd Tuesdays) 11am Holy Communion (BCP) at St. James (At Trinity Centre on 1 st Tuesday) 7 45pm Prayer and Pint: Compline at St. James, followed by discussion (3 rd Tuesday) WEDNESDAY 8 30am Morning Prayer at St. James THURSDAY 8 30am Eucharist at St. James FRIDAY 8 30am Morning Prayer at St. James SATURDAY 10 30am Café Church at Trinity Centre or St James (4 th Saturday) 10 45am Messy Church at Trinity Centre (2 nd Saturday) 12 30pm Midday Prayer at St. James 9

10 THE CHURCHES The Parish of Louth is part of the Deanery of Louthesk in the Archdeaconry of Lincoln. The parish covers the whole of the town of Louth and the villages of South Elkington, Welton-le-Wold and Stewton. There are five parish churches, and a licensed place of worship in the Parish of Louth and a brief description of each is given here: The Parish Church of Louth St. James St. James is the historic parish church of Louth and is a significant physical presence in the town. St. James is home to the largest Sunday congregation in the parish. It is also the main focus for the Ministry Team s daily rhythm of prayer for the town and parish, as well as playing a part in the civic and community life of the town. As well as these two roles within the parish, St. James also has a significant ministry as a place for visitors; and one of our challenges is to help these visitors be touched by the spirituality of the place so that they become pilgrims rather than tourists. The church also has a significant role as Civic Church and regularly hosts the Annual Mayor s Civic Service, the Remembrance Sunday Service and a Town Carol Service. This civic role extends to the occasional offices particularly in the case of funerals, where it is not unusual for find the church full for the funerals of people who have played a significant role in the town or surrounding area. Pastoral care of the congregations at St James is led by the Team Rector, together with the Team Vicar. The Parish Church of St. Michael, Church Street, Louth St. Michael s has been a presence to the south of the town centre for the past 150 years, and witnesses to the Anglocatholic tradition within the Church of England. In addition to the gathered congregation that meets here on a Sunday morning, there is a significant ministry undertaken through the occasional offices in St. Michael s. There is a monthly Baptism Service on the afternoon of the 1 st Sunday of the month and a significant number of the weddings and funerals in the parish take place here. Another area for thought and development is the relationship with St. Michael s School, a Church of England primary school, which is located a five minute walk away. The school uses the church for worship on a termly basis, but there is the potential for the church to offer more to the school as relationships grow and develop. 10

11 Worship at St. Michael s is focused on the weekly Sung Mass on Sunday mornings. There are some discussions at the moment as to how additional services might help the wider church and community engage and appreciate the traditions that St. Michael s holds dear. Pastoral care of the congregation at St Michael s is led by Robert Mansfield, a local ordained minister, together with the Team Rector and Team Vicar. The Parish Church of St. Andrew, Stewton St. Andrew s is physically the smallest church building in the parish and is home to a congregation that draws on people from the tiny scattered village of Stewton as well as people who journey from the surrounding area. St. Andrew s has achieved some fame (though without shouting from the rooftops) as the prototype for the village church in Hornby Railway s Skaledale range of buildings many people have a model of Stewton s church without knowing it. The congregation is close-knit, and personal relationships are strong not a surprise with such an intimate space to worship in! The congregation has a focus on social issues both locally, nationally and overseas with their commitment of support for a psychiatric unit in Romania, an isolated church community in Kenya and worldwide links through Toilet Twinning. Alongside this there are monthly Community Coffee Sessions, Book Club and Cacophony, a singing group for people wanting to sing but feel they can t. In terms of worship, Stewton has a service of Holy Communion at 11am on 1 st, 3 rd and 5 th Sundays with additional services as required. Pastoral care of the congregation at Stewton is led by Robert Mansfield, a local ordained minister, alongside Alan Hayday, who is one of the retired ministers active in the Parish. a case in matching style. The Parish Church of All Saints, South Elkington South Elkington is located a few miles to the west of Louth and is primarily an agricultural community. As well as the regular worshippers there is a real connection with the wider village community through family events, and the regular frequenters are swelled in number for certain occasions in the year by those who attend regularly but at less frequent intervals! The church is situated on a beautiful rise at the end of the village and is surrounded by a tranquil churchyard. The chancel has a highly decorated ceiling based on the Te Deum, and the recently restored organ has There is a service here every fortnight, alternating between Holy Communion and Matins. A recent innovation has been the reintroduction of chanted singing for some parts of Matins; a challenge that the congregation have risen to! Pastoral care of the congregation at Stewton is led by one of the Assistant Curates under the guidance of the Team Rector. 11

12 The Parish Church of St. Martin, Welton-le-Wold St. Martin s is tucked away on a wooded hillside above the small village of Welton-le-Wold. It retains its Victorian furniture in the chancel and nave, but the north aisle has been converted into a flexible space for the local community. St. Martin s relies on a small group of people to care for it and maintain a worshipping presence, and they are currently looking at ways to broaden engagement with the wider community. One of St. Martin s ways of engaging with the wider community is through hosting concerts under the Lincolnshire Rural Touring Scheme. There is a service of Holy Communion once a month, and a mid-morning service of Morning Prayer which also takes place monthly. As with the other village churches there are also occasional afternoon services to mark certain times in the agricultural or liturgical year. Pastoral care of the congregation at Welton is led by Sylvia Pounds, a Lay Reader, who is assisted by other members of the team as required. In addition to the church buildings the Parish owns or has the use of several other buildings. Perhaps the most significant of these buildings is Trinity Centre, located on Eastgate, but there is also Church House on Upgate and St. Michael s Church House in Mount Pleasant. Each of these has a part to play in the life and work of the Church in the parish: Trinity Centre, Eastgate Holy Trinity Church Centre was built to replace a Victorian church that was largely destroyed by fire in the early 1990s. On the ground floor it has a worship space, foyer area and Hall, whilst upstairs there are a number of meeting rooms in different configurations providing a valuable resource for a range of activities that are different from those taking place in many places and vital to our work as a wider Parish. As well as many of the church s community outreach activities, Trinity Centre hosts a wide range of activities organised by external bodies ranging from Guides/Brownies and a Dance School to local authority provision and use for training and meetings by the wider church. 12

13 The Chapel of Holy Trinity is part of the Holy Trinity Church Centre, and is licensed for worship including the solemnisation of marriages. As a Chapel of Ease within the District of St James there are no regular weekly Sunday services. However, the Ministry Team gather in the Chapel once a week to say Morning Prayer as part of the rhythm of daily prayer that is maintained in the parish and there are two monthly services of Holy Communion (on a Sunday and a Tuesday), each of which is followed by a lunch club. Monthly Messy Church and Café Church events are also normally hosted by Trinity Centre. Church House, Upgate Church House in Upgate houses the Deanery Office, which provides administrative support to the whole of the Louthesk Deanery. The building has recently been refurbished and a hall is available downstairs while flats on the first and second floor are on a long-term lets to tenants. St. Michael s Church House, Mount Pleasant St. Michael s Church House hosts the St. Michael s Playgroup. Supporting this is considered part of the church s outreach. The Church Institute, South Elkington This building is a short walk from the church in South Elkington. It is used for occasional social events by the church and more regularly by a range of other community organisations. 13

14 Social inclusion and outreach Engagement with the wider community is an important part of the life and witness of the parish. There is a well-established programme of outreach into the wider community aiming at growing social cohesion. Often these activities have no overt evangelistic purpose, but seek to witness to God s love for all in the world. Much of this work is based at Trinity Centre, and includes: Food and fellowship events (a weekly Fish on Friday lunch and two monthly lunches; Tasty Tuesday and a Sunday Parish Lunch) A weekly Drop-in in partnership with the local authority, where all the local social agencies are accessible Facilitating the work of the local Community Larder, which provides food to those in immediate need. Projects that aim to tackle specific areas of need (e.g. Dementia Café, Men s Shed) In addition to these regular activities there are MINISTRY IN THE WIDER COMMUNITY have strong links with King Edward VI School (also judged as Outstanding at its last OFSTED Inspection), who use the Parish Church of St. James for a number of services during the year. One of our ways of engaging with young people is through the choir that sings at St. James, and we are seeking to build on existing links and widen recruitment to this both for children and adults. There is a well-established Parent and Toddler Group meeting weekly in Church House (Upgate) and this has been joined in the last couple of years by a Tinies Breakfast meeting in St Michael s Church. A significant part of our engagement with families takes place in the context of Messy Church, which meets monthly in Trinity Centre. frequent short term projects, often in partnership with external bodies one recent project aimed to help people gain vital life skills, such as learning how to cook. Young people One of the key focuses of our outreach at the moment is to develop and grow our relationships with young people and families. This has seen a renewed engagement with local schools, and we are now involved to varying degrees in each of the presecondary schools in town. Among these links are particular links with St. Michael s School (a CofE School) and Kidgate School (respectively Good and Outstanding in recent OFSTED inspections). We also Pastoral and sacramental care Another focus of our work in the wider community is the Pastoral and Sacramental care given by the Church. In this respect the occasional offices are a key part of our ministry within the wider community witnessing to Christ s presence alongside people in their daily lives. There were 59 baptisms in 2016 and 21 weddings. During 2016 there were 39 funerals in church, and 39 funerals taken in a crematorium by a member of the Ministry Team. We are currently reflecting on ways of using these occasions to affirm God s presence in their daily lives and build better links between our gathered congregations and those who have faith but live it at a greater distance from the institutional Church. The first stage of this was to introduce Marriage Preparation sessions, and we are now moving on to look at how we can involve lay baptism partners to make links between families 14

15 and the church. We have also introduced an All Souls Service to cater for the longer term needs of families who have been bereaved to complement the various Christmas Tree/Memorial services offered by some of the funeral directors. However, this is an area where further development is needed. General pastoral care is also seen as important within the team and is an area where further improvement is needed. One of our Readers is developing deeper links with Retirement and Care Homes and coordinating this ministry is part of her role. Buildings as sacred spaces A further area where the wider world touches the Church is in our buildings. Again this is particularly noticeable in the role that St. James has as a place for visitors to come whilst in Louth. We are lucky to have a good team of Guides who, together with Shop and Coffee Shop volunteers, provide a much-valued Civic ministry Civic ministry arises naturally from the key place that St. James Church has in the town and is also driven by the work of social inclusion and outreach that is described above. The Rector is also responsible for civic relationships on behalf of the Louthesk Deanery, and is Deanery Civic Chaplain. He is often ministry of welcome throughout the week for much of the year. We are alive to the potential that the building has to touch people with wonder and are seeking to use the building itself as a way of telling the Christian story. The ministry of our buildings as sacred spaces is not, however, restricted to St. James ; each of the village churches is open daily and is part of a tourist cascade scheme to encourage visitors, and the Chapel in Trinity Centre is much valued in a different way as a quiet space for those who visit and use the Centre. asked to be Chaplain to the Mayor of Louth though this is dependent on the faith (or none) of the holder of that office. Formal civic ministry is focused on the annual civic services (normally twice a year) but crosses over into services such as the Annual Carol Service. At a different level civic engagement is undertaken at a more institutional level work that is led by the Community Outreach Manager (Community Worker). This work aims to develop a two-way relationship between the local authority as a statutory service provider and the practical work of the Church. 15

16 We hope that this provides a picture of the communities in and around Louth, the churches that witness to Christ s presence amongst them, and the work that we feel called to continue among them. If you feel called to join us, more information can be found: by calling the Team Rector on or ing nick.brown@teamparishoflouth.org.uk by visiting our website at Application Forms can be downloaded from parish website or the Diocese of Lincoln Website ( We look forward to hearing from you 16