St Hilda s Anglican Church North Perth

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1 1 St Hilda s Anglican Church North Perth Our history We are 101 years old and still going strong. The church s foundation stone was laid on 24 July 1915 and the church was consecrated on 10 October In 2015 we celebrated the 100 year anniversary of our Parish Church. Who we are We are a thriving, inclusive community growing in love and acceptance. We have 100 members on our parish roll. Our age range is mixed from babies to our oldest parishioner, aged 97 years. We are blessed with people who have different gifts and talents and who share their passion in various ministries in the church and outside through their work and volunteer service in the community. Our patronal saint St Hilda of Whitby (c ) was the founding abbess of the monastery at Whitby, which was the venue for the Synod of Whitby. She was recognised for her wisdom and leadership to kings and bishops, she was a woman well ahead of her time. We at St Hilda s put into practice the words ascribed to the saint, Trade with the gifts God has given you.

2 2 Our locality and neighbourhood St Hilda s Church is located in the suburb of North Perth, about 3 kilometres north of the Perth city centre. The suburb is considered to be on the outskirts of the Perth inner city. Due to its location, it has become an attractive urban place for young professionals and their families. The parish covers neighbouring suburbs of Menora, Coolbinia, and parts of West Perth, Mount Lawley, Yokine and Inglewood. The suburb of North Perth was established in the early 1900s and after World War II, became the home to many Italian and Greek migrants. In the past 25 years, migrants from Vietnam and other parts of Asia have settled in the area and more recently, refugees have resettled here from Sudan. There are a number of aged care residential facilities in the neighbourhood including St Rita s, St Michael s and RSL Menora Gardens. There is also accommodation near the church, named Casson House for persons with mental illness. Our buildings Our beautiful church building was constructed in It attracts many visitors who have been married and baptised in the church. The church carries a strong sense of the many generations that have worshipped there. Our baptismal font is reputed to be the oldest font in Australia. It comes from Peterborough Cathedral in England, and dates back to the 9th or 10 th century.

3 3 The church hall, kitchen and parish office was constructed in A children s playground was added in When not in use by the parish, the hall is rented out to different community groups and individuals and is a well used space. The rectory was also constructed in 1975 and situated next to the church and hall. It is a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom house, with study, lounge, kitchen and laundry with a small back garden. Our church grounds include the serene and peaceful memorial gardens that are maintained by our parishioners. Our Worship Our worship liturgy is based on A Prayer Book for Australia, 2 nd order. There are 2 services on Sunday morning. Both use the same basic liturgy but each service is different in style, recognising the diversity of worship preferences within the same family, without insisting on uniformity. We usually have 2 lay assistants at each service. 8am Traditional, contemplative service with no sung music. Followed by hospitality and breakfast in the hall. Average attendance of 26 people. 9.45am All age, sung Eucharist. The service is attended by young families, working age adults, the elderly, older people with disabilities (wheelchair bound) from St Rita s and people with mental illness from Casson House. About 3 years ago and after much prayer and consultation, the Parish made a decision to not send children out of church to Sunday School. This decision was to address the issue of children often not transitioning well from Sunday School into church when they became of age. We now have All Age services where the children stay in church throughout the service and everyone, including children participates in various ways. A children s talk is usually given by the rector or parents or other adults. We hope that the children will learn and appreciate the meaning of the liturgy in this way. The service also encourages greater movement. The Eucharistic prayer is said in the chancel as we gather in a circle around the altar to receive Holy Communion. The music is led by our talented musicians. Once a month we sing hymns accompanied by our organist. Other Sundays we sing some more contemporary songs chosen by our guitarist. Average attendance is 37 people. The service is followed by hospitality and morning tea in the church hall.

4 4 Seasonal and special services Blessing of the backpacks service for start of the school year St Patrick s Day - Combined service with Mount Lawley Anglican Parish at their church Lent: Shrove Tuesday pancake night followed by Service for the imposition of ashes. Maundy Thursday Agape meal service with washing of the feet and stripping of the altar in the church Easter: Good Friday morning service Easter eve - Sausage sizzle and meal followed by lighting of the Pascal candle and All Age service Easter Sunday morning service Grandparents service 9am combined All Age All Souls service in remembrance of those who have passed away All Saints service All Age St Francis Day blessing of the animals All Age service Patronal festival St Hilda s Day combined service with the parish of St Patrick s Mount Lawley Christmas: Christmas play All Age play and carols singing combined with a meal Christmas eve All Age service Midnight mass Christmas day service

5 5 Features of our parish life Children and young families We have about 8 young families who worship regularly at St Hilda s. The All Age services are directed by very committed, passionate and creative parents who take the lead. In addition to the All Age services, faith formation for the children has taken the form of Advent studies. In 2015 and 2016 this was based on the Narnia series, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and for Lent, Prince Caspian. The study (with movie clips) was led by a parent who is a gifted teacher. All age social gatherings are held throughout the year and have included a picnic, games and quiz nights. Ministry with the elderly There are a number of elderly parishioners who are home bound or unable to attend services due to their disability. Regular monthly services have been conducted at several aged care facilities including RSL Menora by our rector and a lay pastoral minister. A group of lay assistants also visit and provide home communion to our elderly parishioners on a regular monthly basis. The ministry is led by a group of parishioners who have a deep concern for the care and love of the elderly.

6 6 Ministry to the sick and healing We care for the sick through prayer and visits in hospital and at home. Practical support is provided by way of food and transport to medical appointments and the hospital. One of our parishioners has the gift of healing and is available to pray with the sick. Adult faith formation A weekly study group meets in the church hall. We look at the lectionary readings for the coming Sunday. The discussion has sometimes given rise to ideas for the Sunday sermon! The group varies from 4 to 7 people and is led by those attending (including the rector). Book club meets in a home every fortnight. Some of the books discussed have included Prayer in Practice by Simon Tugwell, In God s Hands by Desmond Tutu and Richard Leonard s What are We Waiting For? Studies over Lent have included a study on the Christian response to refugees. Advent studies have included the book, The Meaning is in the Waiting by Paula Gooder. Mini-mart and fete The mini-mart has been running since 2000 and is a well known monthly event in the local community. A dedicated and committed group of people run the mini-mart for 9 months of the year. We sell bric a brac, clothing, books, cakes and have a sausage sizzle. The mini-mart serves as a place of hospitality to the local community, a recycling outlet and raises funds for the work of the church and for Foyer Oxford. The annual fete is a larger event and a great community outreach and fundraiser for the church. Missions We give generously to ABM (Australian Board of Missions). We have raised funds for TEAR in support of the poor overseas. Funds from mini-mart support Foyer Oxford, a housing project in Leederville for disadvantaged young people. Food items are collected weekly for distribution to the homeless and to St Bart s. We often raise funds in response to community appeals from bushfires, floods and other catastrophes.

7 7 Social Justice A number of our parishioners have a strong desire to advocate for social justice and engage through their vocation or volunteer service with community groups. Noongar acknowledgement On Sunday 30th March 2014 a special service was held to unveil a plaque acknowledging the Noongar people as the traditional owners of the land. It was a significant moment in our parish history. The service was attended by Aboriginal elders and community members, federal and state politicians and the local mayor of the City of Vincent. We acknowledge the Noongar people as the traditional owners of the land as we begin each worship service. Refugees Each year, some of our parishioners participate in the Palm Sunday Walk for Refugees. In addition to our Lenten study on Refugees, we have held a Prayer Vigil for Refugees and raised funds to support CARAD. Our care for the environment The whole of September each year is dedicated to Sustainability and is the theme for all our services that month. Our studies and book club have focussed on the theology of eco-care during September. We have installed solar panels onto the roof of the church hall. The movable altar used during the 9.45am service is made of recycled wood beautifully handcrafted by a parishioner. The Mini-mart is a recycling outlet. We have been trying to reduce paper by ing our pew sheets instead of printing them each week.

8 8 Our finances We are in a good financial position being able to afford a full time priest, we have no debt and we have some equity in reserve. Our vision We want to: grow in numbers of people of all ages develop a culture of vocation making the connection between faith and work and/or voluntary work as our call to mission grow a culture that recognises that creating new Christians is the responsibility of all parishioners grow in a common culture and theology of participation which leads to team work and involving others in whatever we do in an inclusive manner grow a culture of lifelong learning in order to understand & live the faith to a level where we share our knowledge easily with others grow a culture of love for God, for our neighbours & the earth A mission plan yes we have one. You can find it on our website under Mission Plan: Our continuing story We are praying for a priest who will be a part of the continuing and rich story of St Hilda s Anglican Church North Perth. July 2016