Profile for the Post of. Associate Priest. in the Parish of St Paul, Wokingham. which includes Woosehill Community Church (LEP),

Transcription

1 Profile for the Post of Associate Priest in the Parish of St Paul, Wokingham which includes Woosehill Community Church (LEP), St Nicholas, Emmbrook, and St Paul s, Wokingham April 2013

2 The Profile This profile was compiled and written by members of Woosehill Community Church, St Nicholas, Emmbrook, and St Paul s, Wokingham. Its is authorised by the Joint Church Council of Woosehill Community Church Address: Website: Woosehill Community Church Chestnut Avenue Woosehill Wokingham Berkshire RG41 3RS and by the Parochial Church Council of St Paul s, Wokingham and St Nicholas, Emmbrook Address: St Paul s Parish Rooms Reading Road Wokingham Berkshire RG41 1EH Telephone: office@spauls.org.uk Website: Questions If you would like to find out more about the post on an informal basis then please contact one (or more) of the people below: The Rector, the Rev d Richard Lamey richardlamey@btinternet.com Woosehill s Senior Steward, Louise Cole St Nicholas Pro-Warden, Liz Gallagher St Paul s Warden, Dr Stefan Fafinski

3 Appointment Procedure (Incumbent Stipend on the Oxford Diocesan Scale) 1. Contact one of the people named on page 2 if you have any questions, or would like to talk anything through. 2. Send your completed application form to: the Rev d Richard Lamey St Paul s Parish Office St Paul s Parish Rooms Reading Road Wokingham Berkshire RG41 1EH Telephone: office@spauls-wokingham.org.uk Applications submitted by should be followed up immediately by a paper copy through the post. Closing date for receipt of applications: midday on Monday 6 May 2013 Interviews: Monday 20 May 2013 The appointment is subject to enhanced disclosure from the Criminal Records Bureau, now known as DBS. 3

4 Table of Contents The Profile... 2 Questions... 2 Appointment Procedure... 3 Table of Contents... 4 Introduction from the Rector... 6 The Vision of the Parish... 7 The Identity of the Churches... 8 Woosehill Community Church... 8 St Nicholas, Emmbrook... 8 St Paul s, Wokingham... 8 Woosehill Community Church... 9 Background... 9 Membership Ministry and Leadership Worship and Learning Pastoral Mission Wider Church Finance Into the Future St Nicholas, Emmbrook Background Membership Worship

5 Fellowship Groups Ministry and Lay Leadership Social St Paul s, Wokingham Background Membership Occasional Offices Worship Ministry and Lay Leadership Social Parochial Church Council Finance The House: 23 Sheridan Way, RG41 3AP The Setting of the Parish Location Education Recreation Population Profile Places of Worship The Sonning Deanery Plan What we re praying for and seeking Woosehill Community Church St Nicholas, Emmbrook St Paul s, Wokingham Who we are looking for

6 Introduction from the Rector, the Rev d Richard Lamey The whole Parish of St Paul s, Wokingham is emerging from a period of change and uncertainty which it has borne with real faith and determination. Woosehill Community Church was added to the Parish of St Paul, Wokingham in March 2012, joining St Paul s and its daughter church, St Nicholas, which serves the community of Emmbrook at the eastern side of the Parish. We are a very new Parish, still learning the best ways of working together. St Paul s is an Anglo-Catholic church with a core commitment to the Eucharist and to being inclusive in its welcome and values. St Nicholas Church meet in a Village Hall and celebrate the Eucharist each week with structured informality. Woosehill Community Church brings with it a lively and much-valued LEP covenant with the Methodist Church and that mixed-heritage is fundamental to its identity, and now to the identity of the whole parish. Woosehill Community Church also worship in a more informal style than the other churches, which increases the range of what we offer within the Parish. It is a conventional district within the parish of St Paul s, Wokingham with its own Church Council and finances. During the consultation leading to this appointment process these words kept cropping up time and time again for each of the Churches: St Nicholas, Emmbrook is a Eucharistic Church rooted in the community. St Paul s, Wokingham stands firmly in the Anglo-Catholic tradition. It values its musical tradition highly and is consciously inclusive. Woosehill Community Church is an Anglican-Methodist LEP serving a distinctive community through a range of worshipping styles. I was Inducted as Rector in November 2012, after a lengthy period of vacancy in all three churches. It is very exciting for us to be looking for an Associate Priest, female or male, to help us to consolidate and to get to know each other better and to move forward as a single parish made up of three confident and growing churches. This is not a job that has been done before so its precise contours will emerge gradually over the next few yearswe re very clear, though, that this is a post across the whole parish with an emphasis on Woosehill and Emmbrook. 6

7 Essentially this is a Team Vicar s post (but we can t call it that because we re not, legally speaking, a Team Parish). The post offers an excellent opportunity to work in a warm and capable clergy team with a significant number of talented and committed lay people across three churches of differing traditions, all of which are eager for new ideas from someone who will walk with them and encourage them to flourish. As well as myself, we currently have one stipendiary priest who is a training curate. We are also fortunate to have four retired priests able to support aspects of our worship and parish work. There are also an LLM (Reader) and a Methodist Local Preacher based at Woosehill, as well as a part-time Parish Administrator based at St Paul s. Equally important is the need to develop a Parish identity and life, and the Associate Priest will have a key role to play in that, both through new ideas and through their commitment to the tradition and life of all three of the churches. We are already making progress here, especially with bringing together what we do for children and young people, continuing with what works in each church while hoping to do some things together across the whole parish. At the moment we are anticipating that the Associate Priest will be based for 50% of their time at Woosehill and 50% at St Nicholas and St Paul s. Obviously this division will vary week by week and over time, and much of the job will benefit the whole parish at once, but it seems helpful to put a figure on what proportion of time will be spent where. So, read on. The comments in quotation marks come from various individuals across the parish who responded to our consultation as to what we should be looking for in an Associate Priest. And please be assured of our prayers and thoughts as you consider what it is that God is calling you to next: and please pray for us in turn as we seek to discern God s plan for this one Parish and for these three Churches. The Vision of the Parish Each of the three churches within the new Parish has a distinct, yet complementary, tradition. There are differences in terms of style of worship but these are less important than what we share, especially in our attitude to mission in the communities we re part of and our commitment to welcoming people in the name of Jesus without putting obstacles in their path. Since the Parish is only 12 months old, there is no formal shared vision statement at present and our new Associate Priest will play a key part in helping us to shape and articulate this. This will form a central part of the Associate Priest s role, both in terms of encouraging relationship and establishing a common life where appropriate across the three Churches. 7

8 The Identity of the Churches Woosehill Community Church We are committed to making God known in Woosehill. We greatly value the wonderful range which comes from being an LEP, able to draw strength and wisdom from the Methodist and Anglican traditions, as well as others. We appreciate the celebration of the special times of the Christian year, but not focussing so much on the liturgy, and we don t take Communion every week. We are informal rather than evangelical. We are welcoming, and open, and caring. We are the Church on Woosehill. St Nicholas, Emmbrook St Nicholas values community highly- in its name, as a worshipping community in its own right, as part of the community of Emmbrook and as belonging to the parish community. Starting from the centrality of the Eucharist, its members commit themselves to involvement in local and wider parish life. We believe that a lack of formality in what we do leads to a feeling of welcome and friendliness at our services and allows us better to support, nurture, teach, guide and inspire each other- and to have fun together and with God! St Paul s, Wokingham St Paul s is an inclusive church following a strong Anglo-Catholic tradition of liturgy and worship and spirituality. We are passionate about announcing God s love for all, regardless of personal background, circumstance or character. We strive to be welcoming and friendly, both to those who love the Lord and to those who are at the beginning of their search. We value beauty and holiness in worship, as witnessed, for example, by the strength of our musical tradition and choir. 8

9 Woosehill Community Church With God's help we seek to nurture and develop faith and spiritual growth through Christian teaching, commitment to prayer, a deepening relationship with God, inspiring worship and caring for each other. We strive to maintain an open, loving, enabling environment to encourage more active involvement in a growing Church family. Guided by the Holy Spirit we will identify and utilise our resources. So equipped, we seek to serve our community more effectively, sharing the love of Jesus and raising awareness of our presence on Woosehill. Background Woosehill is an area of housing, mainly built in the early 1980s, a mile to the west of Wokingham town centre. It was built in groups by separate builders and the road names reflect that- some are named after battles, and counties, and birds etc. For the most part it is self contained, as there is only one road in and out from the roundabout on the Reading Road. There are over 2000 houses in total, the vast majority of which are privately owned. Woosehill Church evolved from a house church to become a Local Ecumenical Partnership (LEP), established in 1984, between St Catherine s, Bearwood and Wokingham Methodist Church on behalf of the Anglican and Methodist churches. Our sponsoring body is Churches Together in Berkshire. We are a Conventional District (i.e. a parish within a parish ) for Anglican purposes. As such, we have our own churchwardens, electoral roll and church council. In March 2012 we became part of a new parish, alongside St Paul s and St Nicholas. From the Methodist point of view we are within the new Berkshire Surrey Borders circuit. The church is a modern one, built in 1993, and comprises a multi-purpose hall for worship and other activities, with a lobby area allowing for expansion for bigger congregations, together with 1-2 meeting rooms downstairs and a further 2-3 meeting rooms upstairs. The hall can comfortably accommodate up to 220 people and is cleared of chairs every week to enable it to be put to other uses. We 9

10 adjoin the site of the only primary school on Woosehill, The Hawthorns School, and also the Scout Hut and Chestnuts Play Group, with the Yellow Brick Nursery very close by. The church is built on land leased for 999 years, with no rent passing, from Berkshire County Council (now Wokingham Borough Council) to the Trustees for Methodist Church Purposes with a Sharing Agreement in place with the Anglican Church. We are a single congregation, with the two denominations working towards total integration in all aspects of the church. Membership We currently have 95 adults on our electoral roll. This is made-up of three different categories of member: Anglican (48 members), Methodist (11) and Joint/Other (36). Membership covers a wide age range, including families, and is representative of the community of Woosehill. We have developed an ecumenical baptism service and children and adults are baptised into the Christian Church following interviews with the ministerial staff according to the practice of the ecumenical partnership. Confirmation candidates are jointly prepared and jointly confirmed and newly confirmed members are classified as joint members. Average Sunday attendance in 2012 was 60. There is, however, a large fluctuation in attendance, for instance as low as around 40 during August, but with around 250 at our Christmas Eve afternoon Crib Service, which is very popular with the whole community. Ministry and Leadership The LEP was set up with joint Anglican/Methodist ministry, however following discussion between the parent denominations and the Church Council, it has now been decided to move to a single alternating minister model, beginning with an Anglican appointment. Our constitution is being redrafted to take account of both this and the change in parish. The ministy team is supported by Elaine Steere (Anglican Licensed Lay Minister). In addition, within the congregation, we have support from a Methodist Local Preacher, Doreen Murgatroyd, as well as wider support from the Circuit and Deanery. Our governance is by a Joint Church Council (which fulfils the role of the PCC), whose powers are delegated to it annually by two separate councils made up of members of our congregation, but representing the respective denominations. This exercise is a formality and those two councils do not meet again for the rest of the year. The Joint Church Council 10

11 meets 5 times a year, but a leadership team of 4 Stewards together with the staff meets once a month. For Anglican purposes, two of the stewards are designated as churchwardens, but all stewards are viewed as being of equal status within the church. Church council members are elected at the AGM and all voting church members are eligible to stand for office. Worship and Learning Our main service is at 10.00am and the current pattern is to have Morning Worship on the first and third Sundays and Anglican Communion on the second and fourth Sundays. Our non-eucharistic services are led by our own worship team or our LLM or a Methodist local preacher. We always include and activity for the whole Church family before the Young People leave for Sunday School. We also have a monthly 8.45am Communion service led by a local Methodist minister. We have held several 'cafe church' services and also have the occasional evening 'Taizé' style or healing service. Hymns and music are taken mostly from Mission Praise, though we have a licence allowing us to download other material, which we regularly use. We have a music group which currently plays for most of our services. Music for these services is generally chosen collaboratively by the minister/worship leader and the music group leader. Music for the remaining services is currently provided by pianists from other churches and is chosen by the minister/worship leader. Hymns, readings and some liturgy are displayed by means of a projector using a programme called Song Pro. As well as the standard Anglican (mainly from Common Worship) and Methodist liturgies, we have developed our own ecumenical liturgy for communion and baptism, and frequently make use of alternatives such as Iona. We use both the Anglican and Methodist lectionaries, as well as the occasional themed series over a number of weeks. With the exception of the early service, intercessions are led by members of the congregation. All readings, including the Gospel at Communion Services, are also read by members of the congregation. For young people, there is Sunday Club, which meets during the 10.00am service (apart from AAW Sundays) and a youth group (Match) for over 11 s, which meets monthly. There is an annual weekend away for the young people which is very popular. We also have a bible study group which meets regularly in a church member's home. 11

12 Pastoral A team of pastoral visitors visit members of the congregation in need of support and also make contact with new members. The team meets on a regular basis under the leadership of the Pastoral Co-ordinator. There is also an active and well-supported prayer chain for emergency or more sensitive prayer needs when the intercessions may not be appropriate. A monthly 'Together in Prayer' meeting is presently led by a member of the congregation and prays for the needs of the church as a whole. Mission As well as nurturing our current congregation, it is essential that we develop the church s ministry within the community of Woosehill. For some years we have been running an annual Holiday Bible Club, usually over two days in the first week of the summer holidays, which is open to children from local primary schools and is well supported. This is followed up by a special service in September to which the children and their families are invited. In 2011 we started Tadpoles, a weekly group for pre-school aged children and their carers, which is run by members of the congregation and offers games and craft, refreshments, play and chat. Our monthly Sunday evening youth group Match provides activities, speakers and discussion. The young people are welcome to invite non-church friends to join the group, and this has happened from time to time. We have developed good links with The Hawthorns School. Two of our church members currently serve as school governors. A small team from the church takes assemblies at the school, whilst the school uses our facilities for major assemblies and for their nativity play. Six girls groups (Guides, Brownies and Rainbows) meet in the church and the girls and their families are invited to an annual parade service. Our monthly prayer meeting was set up to pray for the church s mission and the community and life of Woosehill, seeking guidance on ways to extend our mission as the Church on Woosehill. It is probably the case that the church is more visible to families with young children, who may come into the building in the course of some of the above activities, or visit the adjacent scout hut. Our location (on an unmade road, with minimal signage) means that many people on Woosehill may not be aware of us at all. 12

13 Wider Church We send representatives to both the Deanery Synod and the Circuit meeting. We are active members of Churches Together in Wokingham. Through links made at CTW, we are developing working links with other churches for specific mission projects. One of the stewards sits on the Church of the Pines support group, another Anglican/Methodist LEP in Bracknell. Our current senior steward is also County Ecumenical Development Officer for Churches Together in Berkshire. We are committed to both financial and prayer support for several charities. Our current overseas nominated charity is MAF (Mission Aviation Fellowship). We are one of the sponsoring churches for the WASCWT (Wokingham Area Schools Worker Trust) charity. Finance After a few years of our expenditure exceeding our receipts we managed to reverse this trend in Following a direct appeal to the congregation, covenanted giving has increased and our new fundraising team has raised over It is anticipated that we will at least break even in the current financial year. We pay a parish share to both the Diocese of Oxford and the Methodist Circuit. In 2012 this amounted to a total of 38,363. This has always been paid in full, however it does absorb a high percentage of our giving, leaving us with very little disposable income. In 2012 we raised 7500 (mostly from church members) to replace our church kitchen. A tithe of our annual income is allocated to various charities chosen by a committee, which includes our special charities, and a portion of that is used for emergency donations. Into the Future With the appointment of a new Rector and the new parish boundaries we are now beginning to work well with our neighbours at St Paul s and St Nicholas. There is a significant difference in churchmanship between the parish church and Woosehill Church. However we have much in common, certainly socially and geographically, and we believe there is much we can do together whilst celebrating and accepting our differences. 13

14 St Nicholas, Emmbrook St. Nicholas' Community Church exists to worship God and to be a means of enabling people to live in and realise the presence of God's Spirit in the World. To spread the message of God's Love, as revealed to us in the life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. To support one another in community, by prayer and through care, so that we may grow into the fullness of our own humanity. All this we celebrate in the Eucharist. Background St Nicholas Church was established in 1977 in the Emmbrook area of the Parish to serve the growing population there. Set up as a Community Church, its congregation of meets for Sunday worship in available room hire space in the area, currently Emmbrook Village Hall. For the larger congregation (100+) its annual Candlemas Christingle Service attracts, Emmbrook Junior School is used. For most of its history, the second full-time member of the Parish clergy has been designated Community Priest and effectively dedicated to the pastoral care of St Nicholas, whilst still retaining other duties in the wider Parish. Although the pattern of clergy resourcing has changed, St Nicholas members are looking forward to working with the new clergy team to develop and enhance our Community Church. The style of weekly Eucharistic services is deliberately more informal than in the Parish Church of St Paul, to provide a variety of styles to suit a wider range of backgrounds and preferences. However, the congregation is drawn largely from Emmbrook. Lay participation is a key feature of St Nicholas character, both in worship and wider Parish events. 14

15 From the outset, St Nicholas was set up to look and feel like a worshipping community in its own right, with its own governance and a large measure of control over its own finances. St Nicholas Council, which is currently constituted as a sub-committee of the St Paul s PCC, is made up of two Pro-Wardens, the 3 PCC members drawn from the St Nicholas congregation and other seconded members. St Nicholas has its own bank accounts, and it carries out its own fundraising very successfully for Mission activities. It also has two funds restricted to its own use for Pastoral Development and Music, respectively. St Nicholas congregation contributes generously to Parish finances, for instance through Gift Aided giving, at a level commensurate with the size of congregation relative to parish church attendance as a whole. A number of Parish-wide initiatives have their origins in St Nicholas activities, including Prayers and Bears (responding to a specific request from the community made during our 2001 Mission) and the Wednesday morning House Mass. Membership The electoral roll for St Nicholas is part of the St Paul s total, so separate figures are not available. There are regular attendances of c. 25, with 4-6 of these being children/young people. Worship The Eucharist is at the heart of the worship for St Nicholas, with a less formal Catholic style than at St Paul s. The normal pattern of services is: Sunday 10:30am Sung Parish Mass Common Worship Wednesday 10:30am Said Mass (House Mass) Common Worship The congregation at St Nicholas join the St Paul s congregation for special services such as Christmas Midnight Mass, and Mothering Sunday, whilst members of St Paul s go to St Nicholas for the Patronal Festival. A small organ is used to accompany the singing at the Sunday service. Licensed lay administrators usually administer the chalice during the Mass. St Nicholas holds an all-age service known as See! Hear! Live! on the first Sunday of each month, in which our young people are encouraged to participate fully. This service is much appreciated by all and is an important part of St. Nicholas worship. 15

16 Fellowship Groups Three Groups meet regularly to share in friendship and support, and to deepen their faith through reading and prayer. This is an area which is open to a fresh vision and a fresh input but which is already in good health and which is already making an important contribution to the life of the Church. Ministry and Lay Leadership Services at St Nicholas are normally taken by one of the priests in the parish. One regular celebrant is Canon Ken Humphries, a well-loved visitor to and friend of the church, who comes once a month. The celebrant will be assisted by a member of the congregation during the service. Lay leadership is very strong at St Nicholas, with a clear identity within the church which emerges from its strong sense of community. St Nicholas has also developed and operates a chaplaincy service at Emmbrook (senior) School, and runs a Praying the Streets scheme whereby two local roads a week are leafleted, inviting residents to submit any requests for intercessory prayer to be included in our weekly services. Sunday School at St Nicholas We continue to build on our successes and now have 4-6 children attending regularly, as well as welcoming a number of visitors. We have used the Living Stones primary school material supplemented with other ideas and books, so the children can respond with a craft or cooking activity. As the younger members have now all started school we have been able to tackle more complex projects. Over the year the children have enjoyed some fascinating lessons and created some beautiful artwork. Our Sunday School Leaders work hard to share God s love with the younger members of the church. Prayers and Bears Adult and Toddler Group This group, begun and led from St Nicholas, meets on Friday afternoons at the St Paul s Parish Rooms. The afternoon consists of a short talk/story, songs and prayer followed by craft and art activity. The rest of the time is free for play, chat, drinks, and biscuits. Adults with children from birth to school age are welcome. Social The St Nicholas' congregation joins in parish social events and has some of its own, such as a summer barbecue and a Pentecost Tea. 16

17 St Paul s, Wokingham Our worship is at the centre of our life and many different activities flow from it as we seek to reach out into our community. We impose no conditions upon those who come through our doors, other than a willingness to be open to the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ Background St Paul s has a long-standing Anglo-Catholic tradition. The Eucharist is central to our worship but is augmented by a range of Sunday evening services including Benediction, Choral Evensong, and a Healing service. The ethos of the Church is open, inclusive, forward looking and Catholic. It is to be hoped that we can build on this foundation to embrace and encourage new members to join us. The Church The foundation stone of St. Paul s was laid in 1862 and the church and churchyard were consecrated in July In 1874 the building underwent a major enlargement with the addition of the north and south aisles. The church was built by a local benefactor, John Walter, the proprietor of The Times newspaper, in what is today known as decorated Victorian Gothic style. The elegant spire is a well-loved local landmark and can be seen from all round Wokingham. The building itself is richly decorated with stained glass windows depicting the life and work of St Paul. A fine 1900 Henry Jones 3-manual pipe organ lies at the centre of the musical tradition at St Paul s. The Church also has a fine ring of eight bells cast in 2005 by The Whitechapel Foundry to replace an earlier ring destroyed by fire following a lightning strike in January Inside the church the Blessed Sacrament is reserved in the aumbry beside the high altar. There is a votive stand before the statue of Our Lady, and the Stations of the Cross are depicted on ceramic plaques around the walls. The church is surrounded by the churchyard, which covers a considerable area. It has been in use since the church was consecrated and is still used for burials today. There is also a specially dedicated Garden of Remembrance, which is for the burial of ashes. The churchyard is maintained by a group of volunteers. 17

18 The Parish Rooms The Parish Rooms are two minutes walk from the Church along the Reading Road. This modern building was completed and dedicated in It is widely used by many church groups and local community organisations and families. The building has a large function room together with a large well-equipped kitchen, storage rooms, and toilets on the ground floor. On the first floor is the parish office, further storage, and two meeting rooms. There is parking for approximately 50 cars. Membership The electoral roll of St Paul s with St Nicholas has remained relatively constant over the past few years and, after the current redrawing of the Electoral Roll, will stand at about 197. The regular Sunday congregation averages approximately 100, with of these being children / young people. Attendance on Easter Day in 2011 was 257 and for Christmas Eve/ Christmas Day this rose to over A confirmation service has been held most years although numbers being confirmed are usually low. St Paul s also welcomes children to receive communion before confirmation, in accordance with the Diocesan guidelines. Occasional Offices In 2011 there were: 43 baptisms 15 marriages 9 funerals conducted in the church 9 interments of ashes in the churchyard 7 burials in the churchyard 11 funeral services were also conducted at the crematorium. Worship The Eucharist is at the heart of the worship of St Paul s. St Paul s uses liturgical vestments, incense is used at most sung services and bells are rung at the elevation of the host and the chalice. The serving team normally consists of MC, Crucifer, Thurifer, and two Acolytes who are all robed. 18

19 St Paul's supports a traditional robed choir of singers. We have a Director of Music and an Organist. The music is an integral part of the worship and is well supported by the clergy and people. Children are encouraged to play a full part in the choir. Music is wide ranging within the choral tradition. The choir sings for the Parish Mass on Sunday mornings, Choral Evensong twice a month and for major midweek festivals. The choir are invited to sing Evensongs at cathedrals once/twice a year and to sing for ordinations and other special services from time to time Licensed lay administrators usually administer the chalice during the Mass. On special festivals during the week a number of St Nicholas' congregation attend the services at St Paul's. Every Mothering Sunday St Nicholas' joins the 9.30 service at St Paul's. In recent years, combined services have also been held on Easter Day and Christmas Day. Most of the major festivals are observed at St Paul s including the Easter Triduum, Corpus Christi, major saints, and Festivals of Our Lady. Sunday services are prepared by the sacristy team, and supported by the sides-people. Readings and Intercessions during the services are delivered by members of the congregation. The bells are rung by an enthusiastic and friendly band of ringers, of various ages. Ringing takes place for Sunday Mass and during Tuesday evening practices throughout the year. The bells are rung for the majority of weddings and peals are arranged for special occasions, including the Patronal Festival and the anniversary of the consecration of the church. Ministry and Lay Leadership A Parish Administrator is employed to handle the day-to-day running of the parish including general enquiries, mail, bookings (including the Parish Rooms), the weekly newsletter (Pews News), and parish . Spire is the parish magazine. It is published monthly and contains details of services, contact names and addresses, articles, letters, group reports, study group arrangements, announcements and a number of advertisements. St Paul s has a history of home visiting with the sacraments, particularly to the sick, and this is being supported using lay ministers where possible. 19

20 We have a strong Mother s Union that meets monthly. They organise visits to parents planning a baptism, take part in Deanery and Diocesan initiatives, and maintain links with other Wokingham churches. Junior Church The children meet most Sundays in term time and all children between the ages of three and thirteen are welcome. The children meet in the Parish Rooms. Activities include stories, arts and crafts based on one of the readings for the day. The children return to the service for the Eucharist and have the opportunity to show the congregation their works of art at the end of the service. We are also in the process of relaunching our Youth provision across the parish. St Paul s Church of England Junior School St Paul s is a Voluntary Controlled School and has strong links with St Paul s Parish. The OFSTED inspection carried out in 2011, rates the school as an outstanding school that provides a caring and stimulating learning environment for pupils. The report also states The school has a strong Christian ethos and a clear focus on 'the whole child' permeates its work. The incumbent, who would be a governor at the school, normally leads collective worship each week. The pupils attend the church for services at least three times a year as well as visiting the church during R.E. lessons. Rainbows & Brownies Rainbows meet in the Parish Rooms on Tuesdays and the group currently has about 15 children with three leaders. A range of activities, games, and crafts are undertaken. Most girls then move on to join the Brownies. There is also a local Beavers, Cubs and Scout group nearby. Social St. Paul s has an active social committee, which arranges a variety of events throughout the year. These include: annual summer barbeque, quiz night, speakers supper, harvest supper, progressive suppers, occasional theatre trips and monthly Sunday afternoon walks. These events are not intended to raise money, simply to cover their costs and provide opportunities for relaxing and socialising together. 20

21 Welcome Club The Welcome Club is run by members of the Church as outreach to the community. It has a membership of forty with a regular attendance of about thirty. It is aimed at those over 50 years of age. The club meets monthly on Tuesday afternoons, and has a lively variety of activities. St Paul s League of Gentlemen This well established men s group meets regularly for fellowship, usually in one of the many hostelries around the town, followed by a meal in a local restaurant. Parochial Church Council Composition of the PCC is fixed by Church Representation Rule 14(1)(g), by reference to the size of the church electoral roll. There are 15 ordinary members. Membership is for three years, with one third being elected each year. The PCC meets approximately seven times a year. A lot of the work of the PCC is done by Sub-Committees who are appointed by the PCC and report back to the PCC. These cover areas like Mission and Outreach, Youth and Children, Music and Worship, Finance, Fundraising and Pastoral Care of the Congregation. Finance The Parish Share for 2013 for St Paul s and St Nicholas is 89,571. For the first time ever we were unable to pay our Parish Share in full in 2012 and it seems probable that we will again fall short in We take this very seriously and are working hard to meet our obligations in full, through a combination of encouraging giving and keeping a tight rein on expenditure. The Parish has no material investments and all costs are met from giving by the congregation and wider community. There is a strong emphasis on tax efficient giving and the parish currently reclaims around 20,000 per annum under the gift aid scheme. In recent years St Paul s has always managed to fulfil its increasing parish share commitments on time, although it is becoming an increasing challenge to meet funding requirements. There is a continuing emphasis on improving stewardship. 21

22 The House: 23 Sheridan Way, RG41 3AP The house was purchased by the Diocese of Oxford in Autumn It is a large, extended, detached house with four bedrooms situated in Woosehill, but handy for the rest of the parish as well as the wooded countryside which surrounds Woosehill. The ground floor accommodation comprises an entrance hall with fitted hardwood flooring, an L-shaped, dual aspect lounge with hardwood flooring and fireplace with coal-effect gas fire, a dining room with ceramic tiled flooring, a study with hardwood flooring, a cloakroom with wc and hand basin, a re-fitted kitchen/breakfast room with integrated oven and grill, gas hob with extractor hood over, dishwasher, upright fridge/freezer and ample space for breakfast table and chairs. There is also a utility room with washing machine and tumble dryer. The first floor comprises a master bedroom with built-in wardrobes, a re-fitted en-suite bathroom with bath and independent shower over, bedrooms 2 and 3 both with built-in wardrobes, bedroom 4, and a re-fitted family bathroom with bath and independent shower over. The property has the benefit of upvc double glazed windows and doors, an attached double garage, large driveway providing ample parking, and a good-sized rear garden. The Setting of the Parish Location Lying in the east of the Royal County of Berkshire and at the heart of the Thames Valley, Wokingham is only 30 miles from London. It offers a pleasant blend of countryside and town, historic features and up to date facilities, big business and market town trading. The economic prosperity of the district, together with a pleasant environment and excellent transport links, make it an attractive place to live and work. Wokingham, a town of 38,000, still retains the character of a small market town. Two major housing developments are about to start (one affecting Emmbrook) and it remains to be seen how this alters the town- 11,000 extra residents are a lot to absorb. The town s main function is to act as a shopping and servicing centre for the surrounding area. The town centre has a 22

23 busy market place, specialist shops, major chains, and many restaurants. Within Wokingham there are three industrial estates providing opportunities for small and medium sized companies to expand. Further afield, Reading contains many major chain and department stores, as well as the Oracle shopping centre. Wokingham has unparalleled transport links, giving easy access to the major parts of the country. The M4 and M3 run to the north and south, while the M40 is also close by. Wokingham station is on the main Reading to Waterloo line- Waterloo is an hour away- and Reading is also on the main Paddington line. St Nicholas Woosehill Community Church St Paul Parish Conventional District The parish of St Paul (pink area) lies to the west and south of the centre of Wokingham. It is in Sonning Deanery in the Archdeaconry of Berkshire within the Diocese of Oxford. The church of St Paul, together with the Parish Rooms, is located on the main road running between Wokingham and Reading. To the west of the parish is the large housing development of Woosehill served by the Woosehill Community Church located on Chestnut Avenue, this is also contained within the Methodist Conventional District (darker area). The village of Emmbrook is in the north of the parish served by the church of St Nicholas, which meets in the Emmbrook Village Hall. 23

24 Education Schools in the Wokingham Borough are consistently high performing. The parish includes three nursery, two infant, two junior (one of them St Paul s Voluntary Controlled School), one primary, three senior, and one independent preparatory school. A new Infant School is also meant to be opening in September 2013 in Woosehill. Each of the Churches enjoys good links with their local primary schools, links we hope to build on in the future. Recreation Wokingham has a thriving cultural community with a wide range of arts, sporting and leisure facilities within easy reach, both within the immediate vicinity and at regional centres such as Reading, Oxford and London. These range from local amateur theatre and music to internationally renowned concert halls, cinemas, and theatres; facilities for diverse indoor and outdoor sports from kayaking to skiing; beautiful local countryside; good libraries and leisure-time courses at local colleges. Population Profile The parish, with a population of around 20,000, is a mixture of urban and suburban with a largely affluent population, many of whom are employed in the hi-tech industries of the Thames Valley. The 2001 census shows the ethnic mix of Wokingham as 93.9% white (90.9% for England and Wales). The next highest grouping is Asian at 3.1% (4.6% for England and Wales). The 2001 census indicates that 72.8% of the people living in the parish are Christian. The next highest category is no religion (16.5%). The number of married people is higher than the national average (61.2% compared to 50.9%). The parish has a lower percentage of retired people than the average and has a higher proportion of people under 16 (24.9% compared with the national average of 20.2%). The population profile of the wards which include the parish is compared with Wokingham and England and Wales in the following graph. Figures taken from 2001 census 24

25 Places of Worship The town of Wokingham is served by 17 places of worship, of very different traditions from right across the spectrum- from the King s Church and the White House Anglican Church plant (both of which meet in the Parish) to the Roman Catholics at Corpus Christi and St Paul s. The Sonning Deanery Plan Most of the deanery falls within Wokingham Unitary Authority, with the southern end in Bracknell Forest Unitary Authority. The population of the deanery is about 80,000. There are 12 benefices in the deanery and 23 worship centres. The deanery is served by 16 stipendiary priests (including 1 in training), 7 NSM/OLMs and 11 Licensed Lay Ministers. The new St Paul s parish is the result of a comprehensive review of the deanery and its parishes, the aspirations for mission and the context within which the parishes function. Since the deanery meets in excess of 130% of its diocesan ministry costs, it is not under pressure to reduce resources. It regularly meets its commitments to Deanery share and its parishes are clearly focused on mission as their way forward. Here is the vision for the Parish of St Paul s, Wokingham from the Deanery Plan: By 2015 we would see a unified and mutually supportive ecumenical community embracing Christians appreciative of both Anglican and Methodist inheritance; sustaining worship and mission from the two fixed centres of St Paul and Woosehill Community Church; with a whole benefice vision and sustaining complementary service programmes and activities and distinctively appropriate worship and mission approaches in each of the Conventional District /LEP served by Woosehill Community Church and the whole benefice as served by the Parish Church of St Paul. The finances and accounts of Woosehill Community Church would be run separately as a Conventional District. Along with the recent Deanery re-organisation, there has also been a reorganisation of the Methodist Circuit of which Woosehill is part, which came into effect in September The new Circuit will encompass churches in Wokingham, Bracknell, Winkfield Row, Sandhurst and Camberley. 25

26 What we re praying for and seeking Woosehill Community Church 1. We need a confident leader who will work with us and build on our strengths and support and nurture us as we explore new ways of taking the Church forward. 2. A pastor who will help us continue to care for each other and be active in the community as well. 3. There are more than 2000 homes on Woosehill. We need to reach them, and we need new ideas and experience of what works to do so. St Nicholas, Emmbrook 1. The new priest should focus on growth- our own as individuals and collectively as a community: and growth in all age groups, not just children and mature adults but also teenagers, young adults and young parents. 2. We would also expect the new Priest to be quickly and deeply immersed in parish life, knowing people as individuals and not just as faces. 3. It s vital that they recognise and encourage the laity s talents. St Paul s, Wokingham 1. We would like our new priest to continue to celebrate our tradition of worship while also continuing to unite us with Woosehill and St Nicholas. They need to be able to lead worship in each Church with conviction. We need to understand our differences better and identify our common ground. 2. We need someone to help us offer more to children and young people while supporting older people who matter just as much. 3. We need to do more in the local community, to identify what we can do and then work out how to do it. 26

27 Who we are looking for We are looking for someone who has read this far and is feeling excited at the thought of joining in with something which is in its early stages, in many ways, where patterns and style of worship are clearly established but where mission and outreach are less developed and where we are only just beginning to live as one parish as well as being three churches. We are looking for someone with something different to contribute, who can meet at least some of what we think we need and while offering something different as well. This is a job which will emerge through discussion and compromise and experience- it is not a job that has been done before so there are no shoes to fill. We are looking for somebody who: is passionate about mission and prayerfulness and worship and wants to enoucrage these passions in others as well; is excited by the call they have received to fulfil their ordination vows as servant leader, as pastor and priest and teacher; longs for God s church to grow in every way and is inspired by working with people of every age, who has something to say to those who have only just started to think about God and those who have been coming to Church for decades; is committed to God s Church being active in the community, enriching the community and transforming it, who will themself be active and visible in the community, developing established connections, e.g. with local schools, and forging new ones; will value and honour the way each of the three Churches does things, and will rejoice in that diversity, including the Methodist inheritance at Woosehill, who will really enjoy leading worship across the whole parish and find the range of worship styles liberating and refreshing; will work hard to help the three Churches of the Parish relate well to each other, and come to know each other better. 27

28 We hope that you ll have: a strong sense of how much God loves you, and a longing to make that love known to others in action and word and prayer, ambition to work hard and pray hard to make things happen, knowledge of your own weaknesses, and the honesty to admit them and to help others work around them, a longing to be part of a Team, to work with others, to minister to them and to be ministered to in turn, an open sense of God s grace which does not seek to erect barriers through a narrow policy on baptism or the remarriage of those who ve been divorced, lots of ideas about what you d like to try, and the wisdom to know that some of those things won t work, and the wisdom to learn from what fails as well as what succeeds, a commitment to the wonderful routine and pattern and variety of Parish life, and a sense of humour (it always says this in adverts, but we really mean it!) 28