PARISH PROFILE Corner of North and South Drives Wavertree Liverpool L15 8JJ. Website:

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1 Deepening faith...building community...engaging others PARISH PROFILE 2014 Website: Page 1 of 11 Corner of North and South Drives Wavertree Liverpool L15 8JJ Facebook: St. Mary s, Wavertree [or follow link on website]

2 Section 1 Summary of the profile Who we are: St Mary s serves a parish of around 8,500 people, with roughly a third of these being younger than 30 years of age, about 3 miles east of Liverpool city centre. We are one of the three churches in the Wavertree Group with Holy Trinity and St Bridget & St Thomas and we are part of the Deanery of Toxteth and Wavertree. What do we do? Our five year Mission Statement which has served us well, though it is due for renewal from 2014, steers us to be Deepening our faith; holding Jesus, and the call to faithfully follow Him, as our principal value Building community; welcoming, respecting and fully including everyone, and actively supporting one another in discovering our gifts and reaching our full potential Engaging others; serving the wider community of Wavertree, and the networks we are involved in, by both being and proclaiming good news. How do we go about doing it? By providing varied styles and occasions for worship, Bible study and house groups We work collaboratively with the other churches in the group and the deanery We have community activity such as St Mary s Lilyfield Mission and we support and participate in the Deanery s Debt Advice service We value young people and have active youth work in the church and engage with local schools and societies What are we looking for in our new Rector? We would welcome equally either a man or woman willing to engage with us where we are, and help us exploit the resources and opportunities we have, by: Active support and encouragement for the existing groups and organisations within our church and in the wider community. Collaborative working with lay and ordained colleagues in the parish and within the Wavertree Group to strengthen and develop the links and opportunities Commitment to reaching families and young people in the parish balanced with a care and concern for older people s involvement. Developing strategies for growth of both the core worshipping community and of the wider community activities of those on the fringe of the church. Page 2 of 11

3 Section 2 The priest we seek: A In general terms: The Deanery Mission and Pastoral Committee of Toxteth and Wavertree has agreed to the deployment of 2.5 FTE stipendiary posts within the Wavertree Group and is delighted to support the PCC in making this appointment at St Mary's. The Committee is encouraged to hear of all the ways the three parishes have been growing together in worship, mission and ministry through the Group and would expect the new appointment at St Mary's to be of someone committed to the Group and to its further evolution. [NB the text of this paragraph was provided by the Area Dean of Toxteth and Wavertree Deanery] Page 3 of 11 We in St Mary s want to continue our journey of spiritual growth and outreach. Our Rector will be an inspirational leader with a deep, personal Christian faith and a clear calling to the parish. The appointment will be of a full time post holder. We hope for someone who will help us identify and work on the areas which need to be developed and build on our strengths, so that God will be known not only to us in our worship at St Mary s, but to the wider community as well. Engaging with the community is a priority for us, as is recognising that the fringe is as important as the core. The PCC has voted to not consider Resolutions A or B flowing from the Priests [Ordination of Women] Measure 1993, therefore we would equally welcome either a man or woman willing to engage with us where we are, and help us exploit the resources and opportunities we have. We believe there are opportunities for growth and outreach within St Mary s and in partnerships within the Wavertree Group. Each of the three churches in the group has a distinct style and is different from its neighbour but we believe that strength and opportunity comes from this diversity. The new Rector will come to a small, financially sound, committed church, reasonably equipped with a platform for growth. We make use of Audio Visual technology to support services both traditional and more innovative. Equally we enjoy more formal and traditional paper based services when occasion demands or allows. Laity led activities are growing and we would expect the new Rector to support and foster those, both within St Mary s and the Wavertree Group. We want to continue to offer a mix of traditional and modern worship and explore opportunities for Fresh Expressions.

4 We are a recognised Child Friendly Church. Young people are very important to us and the Rector will see them and treat them as full members of the church family with specific needs and voices. There are inevitable tensions between different viewpoints within the congregation predicated mainly, though not exclusively, on age lines within the congregation which are easily if over simplistically described as traditionalist and moderniser. These are and should continue to be managed by recognising and respecting the importance of diversity of view - though every opportunity should be taken to maintain and strengthen the bridges between them. Our Rector would wish to embrace the challenges and opportunities all this brings and manifest strategies to do so. We feel it would be unlikely that a priest from a high church background would be comfortable in St Mary s. B More specifically: In Leadership and Communication we would expect our Rector: To lead by example To be a sensitive spiritual leader, with vision and people management skills. To be willing to work collaboratively with teams of lay and ordained colleagues in the parish and within the Wavertree Group To actively support and encourage the groups and organisations within our church and in the wider community (for example, the Lilyfield and Debt Advisory Service) Would find it easy and natural to communicate with people of all ages including those in the wider community who are not regular worshippers. To quickly establish a high profile locally. In Ministry and Worship we would seek a Rector: Willing to recognise and maintain our existing traditions and patterns of worship whilst helping us to innovate and explore a greater breadth of worship, balancing both traditional and modern styles. Responsive to the diversity of need. Keen to maintain contact with baptism families and bereaved families, particularly through regular services. Page 4 of 11

5 In Pastoral Care we would hope our Rector would: Demonstrate an inclusive approach to all age groups. Work with us to develop a strategy for pastoral visiting Encourage and support the development of talents in the congregation Support and encourage our spiritual growth through Bible Study and fellowship groups Seek to increase the involvement of younger people in the life of the church In Growth and Outreach we would wish for a Rector to: Recognise, support and strengthen the initiatives in place. Commit to reaching families and young people in the parish and foster a care and concern for older people and value the gifts they bring. Maintain and develop our links with local schools and youth organisations. Develop and implement a vision and strategy for growth of the core worshipping community and outreach within the parish, utilising the resources available within the church and through church links. Section 3 About the parish St Mary s serves a parish of around 8,500 people, with roughly a third of these being younger than 30 years of age. Page 5 of 11 The church building sits in the heart of Wavertree Village Conservation area, about 3 miles east of Liverpool city centre. It is situated in an area of Victorian villas, known as Victoria Park, several of which have been converted to multi-occupancy dwellings in recent years. The parish boundary straddles both the inner-city and outer suburban edges, encompassing the sizeable Wavertree Technology Park, and enjoys a mix of housing types ranging from flats and older terraced housing, to semi-detached and larger detached single occupancy housing in the immediate vicinity of the church building. Recent years have seen new developments within the parish. Some of the larger properties have been converted to flats and there are some Housing Association properties nearby. The area is attractively diverse.

6 The area has good access to local parks and leisure facilities. The area benefits from good direct public transport services to the city centre both by train and bus. The M62 motorway is less than five minutes away giving easy access to the national road network, and Wavertree Technology Park railway station is on the Liverpool to Manchester commuter line. There are two primary schools within the parish and further primary and secondary schools in the area surrounding the parish all within walking distance. The local high street hosts a small range of shops, restaurants and public houses. St Mary s Parish is the 526th most deprived parish in England (out of 12,706 parishes) putting us in the most deprived 5% of parishes nationally based on multiple poverty indicators. When compared to all the parishes in the diocese, we are in the second quartile for overall deprivation, ranked 56 th out of the 206 parishes that make up the Liverpool diocese. The parish is in the Wavertree ward and Parliamentary constituency area and there are good relations with local councillors and the Member of Parliament. Section 4 About the church A The church and its people St Mary s is a relatively small church the Electoral Roll is about 70. But there is also an active fringe community, reliably attending fairs and social functions. We consider St Mary s people to be friendly, adaptable, and welcoming. We will embrace change but recognise change can present challenge that we have a track record of working through. Page 6 of 11

7 St Mary s is in a Group Ministry with Holy Trinity Wavertree and St Bridget & St Thomas Wavertree part of the Deanery of Toxteth & Wavertree. Although this group was formally established many years ago and there have always been good co-operative working relationships between the three churches it has only been over the last two years or so that they have accelerated the development of closer cooperation and joint initiatives. We have established a Group Council and there are regular meetings of the clergy and laity. This has led to pulpit exchanges, joint social events and a greater desire to work together in mission to the whole of Wavertree. At the time of writing this, a fully seamless, integrated jointly lead Lent Group is running. Potentially this opens up possibilities for pioneering joint mission initiatives in partnership with members of the other two churches. The time feels right. At present, the main act of worship takes place at 10:30am each Sunday, with an informal allage Communion service and age-specific groups for children. On the second Sunday of each month this is replaced by an informal non-eucharistic Service of the Word attended by the members and families of the uniformed youth organisations. Numbers vary but average at most weeks with the monthly Parade service regularly approaching 100. Both of these services have seen a modest growth in numbers over the last twelve months. The practice is to provide an open table which allows baptised children to take Communion before Confirmation. This follows receipt of the Diocesan Bishop s permission to implement this policy in In the autumn of 2008 a monthly short, reflective and more formally structured and administered Eucharist was introduced at 9:15am on the first Sunday of each month in addition to that Sunday s 10.30am service. Although the congregation for this service is small, it has been growing since its launch and is successfully gathering its own worshipping community. There appears to be an appetite for more of these services each month. St Mary s has a mixed age-range with a large proportion of the regular congregations being young families. Young people are important to us. Children and young people are fully included and encouraged to take an active role in the worshipping life of the church. In recognition of this St Mary s was awarded the diocesan Child-Friendly Church Award in 2008 renewed in Sunday services include age specific children s activities linked to the theme of the service. We are a popular church for baptisms and conduct these within our main morning services, seeking to provide a place of welcome and an enjoyable experience of Christian worship for Page 7 of 11

8 those who come. St Mary s is also host to uniformed youth groups Rainbows, Brownies, Guides and all age-group sections of Boys Brigade. We have a close relationship with these groups and most of the leaders are active church members. There is also a men s group that meets occasionally, usually in a local pub or restaurant, and organises various social events for the whole church community. During the week there are two lay led small groups that meet for prayer, Bible study and discussion. Lay members of the three churches lead services whilst considering ordained and reader ministry. Morning Prayer, open to all, takes place each weekday except Monday. There is a small informal worship band that provides live music from piano, guitar, flute and percussion. We also have a fine [electronic] church organ. B The church and community The church building is dual purpose and in use for some part of almost every weekday as well as for worship on Sundays. The PCC has not at the time of writing formally decided to hire the hall area on a commercial basis, but its existence is attracting informal attention. We believe that one of our primary duties is to minister to and reach out to the needs of the local community so that they can see a Christian community in action throughout the whole week. We are striving to build upon the opportunities for worship and community activities that the resources of the Wavertree group of churches can jointly provide. Last year there were two weddings and eight funerals held in St Mary s. We also conducted twenty three services at the local crematorium. We have about twelve baptisms per year. We provide support and one to one consultations to those involved in these occasional offices and encourage family involvement in the period afterwards. Our fairs in summer attract many local residents from the fringe community in addition to the regular Sunday attendees. A flourishing Parish magazine has a regular subscription of about 80. Parish activities such as meals and outings are arranged. The current pattern of church activity and the facilities available provide considerable room for exploring new ventures, both in terms of worship and community activities though over the last three years we have established various community initiatives run from St Mary s premises largely by church volunteers. This includes the Monday morning Lilyfield café and associated Page 8 of 11

9 Work Club, which offers unemployed people support in searching for work online, creating CVs and registering with online agencies. St Mary s supports and participates in the Deanery s Debt Advisory Service, and provides a drop in facility one afternoon a week in St Mary s, in partnership with churches across the Deanery. Wavertree Church of England Primary School, just outside the Parish, is our local Church School. The other primary school, Heygreen, has been rebuilt recently and the previous Rector was vice chair of governors. Links with the schools are well established and pupils regularly attend the light party alternative to Halloween. The PCC sets a mission giving policy and strategy each year and this focusses on financial support to local, national and international missions and charities. Christian Aid receives regular support. Only Fairtrade produce is used in the café. Local activities focussed on homelessness and Peace and Justice are always supported. C The church and its buildings The original St Mary s church dated from 1850, but it sustained a direct hit from a bomb on 28 th November The damage was significant but the nave survived reasonably well and some services were held there, but it was eventually decided to demolish the building. The church hall in Northdale Road was used for worship after that demolition. In 1949 the Church Council agreed to purchase the Methodist Church in Victoria Park and convert it to the Parish Church of St Mary. Very extensive alterations involved the complete reversal of the church so that the Methodist apsidal chancel became the baptistry and the Anglican chancel was formed at the original east entry door. The new St Mary s was consecrated in The church hall became increasingly difficult to maintain and fund by the end of the twentieth century. As a consequence the then PCC took the decision to dispose of it and subsequently reorder and refurbish the church into a dual-use building. This was achieved in The front is now the worship area and the rear part separated from the worship area by a fixed wall. Internally a narthex provides a social area now used as a replacement for the hall. This has a flat roof, allowing the spatial volume within the worship area to remain intact and for the Rose Window, a significant feature, to be seen from inside church. New toilets and access facilities for people with disabilities and a kitchen were constructed as part of the scheme. Externally Page 9 of 11

10 there are well maintained grounds, a Garden of Remembrance and a memorial to those from the Parish who died in World War 1. SmartWater has been applied to lead-work which is minimal. The building is Grade 2 listed within the Wavertree Village Conservation Area, which means that permissions are needed for any tree work required as they are subject to Tree Preservation Orders. By agreement with the Charities Commission the PCC drew 30,000 in 2006 from the trust fund set up with the proceeds of the sale of Northdale Hall and are repaying the endowment over a sixty-year period. Much of this money was spent in 2012 in improving and heating the meeting room and toilet area on the lower floor which had not been included in the earlier work. A modest sum under 10,000 - remains in the Restoration Fund. The church had its latest Quinquennial inspection in July One urgent item was identified and the tracery to the east window has now been inspected and pointed. No other major problems have been identified - mainly maintenance. Some of this work has also been carried out since the inspection, although an 18 month time scale was recommended. The Archdeacon s Parish Review was carried out in November This found the building to be in good condition with excellent records being kept of church property and repairs. The PCC has identified a need to upgrade the current heating system within the worship space and quotes for this will be obtained in the near future. The hope is to carry this out before next winter. (The heating in the hall was installed in 2004 and is regularly serviced.) The hall area is in regular use by the church organisations and Community groups. It has been more than adequate when used for church functions and for meetings. There are modern toilet facilities, a kitchen and most of the building is accessible by disabled people. Thus the buildings are sound, modern, and are fit for purpose yet with potential for modest development. The worship area has a sound system and a fixed, professionally installed projector that projects from a laptop or other device, onto a retractable screen above the altar. The vestry has a telephone line and there is an ADSL internet connection terminating in a wi-fi router. These were originally installed for the use of the Debt Advice Service and used principally by them and the Lilyfield Mission [both referred to elsewhere]. We are currently exploring if, and at what cost, that connection can be upgraded to increase bandwidth and router coverage so that the facility might be used more effectively throughout the building. The Rectory is directly opposite the church, at 1, South Drive, Liverpool L15 8JJ. It is a modern, centrally heated, detached, four bedroomed house. The study is within the house. There is Page 10 of 11

11 garaging for one car and hard standing for a further two or three. The garden is principally at the front of the house and currently set out as lawns. Section 5 The Wider Context St Mary s is in the Wavertree group of churches with Holy Trinity and St Bridget s & St Thomas in the Deanery of Toxteth and Wavertree. Legally, there has been a Group Ministry in Wavertree for many years but the three churches have been developing a closer cooperation over the past two years with the establishment of a Group Council, regular meetings of clergy and shared activities, such as clergy exchanges, joint worship gatherings, social events and a greater desire to work together in mission to the whole of Wavertree. The church has good lay leadership with very able and supportive wardens and committed youth leaders. Willing and able retired local clergy provide valued additional offices when needed for funerals etc. There is a large core of laity committed to the missional and community outreach values of the church. At the heart of whom and what we are and what we do is our five year Mission Statement which has served us well, though it is due for renewal from Through it we seek to be Deepening our faith; holding Jesus, and the call to faithfully follow Him, as our principal value Building community; welcoming, respecting and fully including everyone, and actively supporting one another in discovering our gifts and reaching our full potential Engaging others; serving the wider community of Wavertree, and the networks we are involved in, by both being and proclaiming good news In short, we seek to be a community following the example of Jesus. The church has maintained its momentum during the interregnum and we have seen lay members stepping up to the plate in many roles. To renew and build upon this provides a great opportunity for a new Rector. The new Rector will come to a small, financially sound, committed church, extensively redeveloped, with a welcoming lounge area, versatile worship space complete with audio visual projection and a modern kitchen. The church finances are sound and our Parish Share and Diocesan Fees are paid promptly. The PCC pays reasonable clergy expenses and will support the Rector s need to take proper holidays and days off. The Wavertree group offers mutual support for holiday and funeral cover. Page 11 of 11