Keywords: Urban, City, Charismatic, Open evangelical, Resourcing Church, New Wine Title Parishes 2019 St Nicholas & All Saints with St. Helen s, Worcester Profile pack
Welcome to the Diocese of Worcester! Bishop John Inge, Bishop of Worcester: Thank you for showing interest in serving your curacy in this diocese. I believe it to be a one full of potential at a creative moment in a diocese where exciting things are happening In 2015: It is exciting because we are developing creative new patterns of ministry in these changing times: though there are fewer stipendiary clergy than in the recent past there are now more people offering licensed and authorised lay ministry than ever before; we are implementing, after much reflection and consultation, an imaginative Kingdom People vision which seeks to envision our people in their core task of proclaiming the Kingdom; differences in churchmanship are not divisive in a diocese which has a genuine family feel to it; we have a dynamic and mission minded Bishop s Staff team committed to working with lay and ordained colleagues throughout the Diocese to join in God s mission; 12,300 people attended a church service on an average week 10,400 attended a church service on an average Sunday There were 14,400 on the electoral roll of our churches 16,800 people attended Easter Services 37,900 people attended Christmas services 2,250 children and adults were baptised in our churches 890 weddings were conducted, and 2,950 people had a Church of England funeral in church or crematorium cemetery About the Diocese of Worcester the Diocese of Worcester is one of 41 (42 including the Diocese in Europe) that make up the Church of England. the Diocese of Worcester also forms part of the Province of Canterbury. the diocese covers an area of 670 square miles and includes the County of Worcestershire, the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley, and a few parishes in northern Gloucestershire, south east Wolverhampton and Sandwell - so we are not short on variety (it s a great place to serve a curacy, because we have nearly ever context you could imagine!) From the urban north, with its impressive history and cultural mix, to the agricultural south where the rich colours of rural life flavour many people's day to day experience, the diocese has much to offer to visitor, resident and worshipper alike. The diocese was founded in around 679 by St Theodore of Canterbury for the tribe of the Hwicce. Today the diocese covers a population of 877,000. We have 98 benefices, 172 parishes and 275 churches.
Kingdom People In 2010, a 2020 Vision Group was set up by Bishop's Council to try to discern what God's future vision might be for the Anglican Church in Worcestershire and Dudley. Discussion in this group identified that our churches should be places where the Kingdom is our core conversation and where the Kingdom values set out by Bishop John of love, compassion, justice and freedom are evident. Following research undertaken in 2012 into what churches were already doing and what factors helped or hindered them in their activities, a Kingdom People vision has been set out. This is a vision for a Church which enables its people to be The Kingdom People initiative aims to be a gift to the parishes and not an additional burden. It aims to provide a framework in which churches might flourish and grow rather than impose a blueprint of how every church should look. It has been promoted to parishes from autumn 2013. This includes the temporary employment of a Kingdom People Development Officer to Lay Ministers, who have completed a year s training course in areas such as worship, children s and youth work, evangelism and parish administration. Education In the Diocese of Worcester we are committed to work in schools and tertiary education. The diocesan area includes three Local Authorities, Worcestershire, Dudley and Sandwell. There are 97 Primary Church Schools in the Diocese and three Secondary Schools. The Diocese also Deeply rooted in prayer and study of the scriptures Renewed and transformed by regular worship Equipped to witness to the gospel of love, compassion, justice and freedom Dedicated to helping children, young people and young adults to belong and be nurtured in faith Devoted to growing deeply in discipleship, offering our time and talents and money to God Resourced and released to minister to others Ready to engage with and serve our community Committed to making our buildings fit for purpose as a spiritual and community resource. encourage parishes to take up the gift and identify and train a network of volunteer facilitators to help them discern God s way forward. Ministry There is a broad range of Churchmanship within the Diocese of Worcester. The Diocese has around 120 full-time stipendiary clergy, plus around 40 Non-stipendiary and Ministers in Secular Employment. We are also blessed with a large number of retired clergy, who continue to provide ministry to parishes across our diocese. There is an extensive lay ministry in the diocese with 180 Licensed Lay Ministers (Readers) and a large number of Authorised offers programmes and resources to all schools in the area. There are a growing number of schools becoming Academies in which the Worcester Diocesan Academies Trust is developing a key role in that process.
Title Parish General Information Parish: St Nicholas & All Saints with St Helen s, Worcester (known as All Saints Worcester ) Incumbent Revd Dr Rich Johnson St Helen s School House Fish Street Worcester WR1 2HN Tel: 01905 734625 Email: rich@allsaintsworcester.org.uk Date of ordination: 2005 Length of time in present role: 9 years (started September 2009) Personal information, previous posts and experience: Other responsibilities and duties currently undertaken by incumbent: Deanery Synod Standing Committee Diocesan Synod New Wine National Leadership Team Archbishop s College of Evangelists Graduate of the CPAS Arrow Leadership Programme Previous posts: 2007-2009 Associate Vicar, St Paul s Auckland, NZ 2005-2007 Curate, St Paul s Auckland, NZ Previous training experience: Two previous curates 2014-2017 Rev Owen Gallacher 2011-2014 Rev Eoghan Heaslip Nature of post: This is a training post for a deacon who expects to be ordained priest, and with a view to them going on to either plant a new church or move to a role within the diocese, both through the work of All Saints as a resourcing church as it works strategically with the Bishop and his team. The context: the parish setting The parish of St Nicholas and All Saints with St Helen s (known as All Saints Worcester ) is the city centre parish in Worcester. Although a parish church in every sense, All Saints is functionally a gathered church with a congregation made up of people from all across Worcester, surrounding villages and smaller towns around the county. The parish itself is small both geographically and in terms of population. The parish covers most of the city centre, which includes two shopping centres, a railway station, the bus station, a further education college campus, a university campus, several museums, the Guildhall civic building, as well as many restaurants and bars. Worcester Cathedral is located within the parish boundaries and is the main focus for civic worship services. It has a population of approximately 2,200, with the vast majority aged between 16-64 years old. There is a mix of housing. Most
of it is newly built apartments, but there are also some areas of social housing and some sheltered housing. The majority of those living in the parish are working professionals or elderly. There is no school in the parish and very few children live in the parish. Church buildings All Saints Worcester is one church with two buildings; the All Saints building which is the main parish church located on Deansway (the main road through the city centre), and St Helen s located half a mile away on the High Street. The parish/church office is located on the St Helen s site in the old parish school rooms. Church tradition All Saints Worcester is charismatic and open evangelical, although not all in the congregation would use those terms to describe their own spirituality or theological convictions. The church is a committed member of the New Wine family of churches with approximately 90 people attending the New Wine summer gathering every year. Electoral roll and church membership There are currently 230 people on the electoral roll number, although the church database would indicate that those who consider All Saints to be their home is around 350 adults. Sunday worship gatherings There are two Sunday worship gatherings each week. The 10.30am gathering takes place in our All Saints building and is informal in style, with both a children s church programme and a youth programme. Usual Sunday attendance is around 180 adults, 30 youth and 60 children. The 6.30pm gathering takes place in our St Helen s building and is also informal in style. This is particularly popular with older youth, students and those in their 20s. Usual Sunday attendance is around 80 adults and 20 youth. Vestments are not worn at either gathering and sung worship is led by our worship bands. Occasional offices Given the nature of the parish, we have very few occasional offices, and are generally requested by members of the church rather than parishioners. Annually we average approximately 5-8 infant baptisms or dedications, 3 weddings and 4 funerals. Pattern of daily prayer There is a time of prayer and worship each weekday morning at 9.30am which the staff team all attend and to which others come when they can.
Staff team The staff team of All Saints is currently as follows: Vicar Rich Johnson Associate Vicar Owen Gallacher Associate Vicar Paul Swann (p/t, non-stipendiary) Curate (started 2018) Andy Smith Operations Coordinator Mark Carrington Ministry Coordinator & PA to the Vicar Philippa Barton (p/t) Children s Worker Currently vacant (p/t) Youth Worker Currently vacant (p/t) Buildings Redevelopment Project Manager Stella Power (p/t) Administrator Barbara Penney (p/t and voluntary) Ordinands Jonny Gordon (p/t) Fraser Oates (p/t) Lay involvement In addition to the staff team there are a large number of people involved leading in the life of the church in different ways, including defined ministries, mission initiatives, small groups and as part of the parochial church council (PCC). A full list is available on our website. Small groups All Saints is committed to developing and resourcing a network of smaller communities across the city that meet midweek in homes, offices and cafés.
These are the primary place of belonging for church members, where lives are shared and people are championed in their discipleship journeys. There are currently 15 small groups meeting either weekly or fortnightly. Areas of particular mission and ministry Over the last 10 years, All Saints has developed a particular focus on and commitment to social action. All Saints helped launched the Street Pastors initiative in 2010, set up the Worcester Foodbank in 2011 and in 2012 launched a Christians Against Poverty debt centre. In addition to this, members of All Saints lead a Hope for Justice group and helped establish their Zoe Hub in Birmingham. All Saints was asked to be the link community organisation for the county council to help with the resettling of four Syrian families. We are the hub church for Home for Good in Worcester. All Saints is also committed to being a church that connects well with contemporary culture, helping communicate the gospel in creative and relevant ways. As a result All Saints has seen lots of people come back to faith or discover faith, as well as large numbers of youth, students and young adults who play a significant part in church life, and are particularly involved with the evening worship gathering. Opportunities for the development of fresh expressions of church The designation of All Saints to a resourcing church brings with it huge opportunities to develop fresh expressions of church. Particular future plans already established The main focus of development for the next phase in the life of the church is the transition into a resourcing church. This process is underway at present following a successful application by the diocese to the Church Commissioners for investment capital to assist with the redevelopment of the buildings, fund a leadership pipeline of ordinands and curates as well as some additional paid staff roles to help establish the resourcing church. Both the church buildings are Grade 2* listed and of historical significance. They both require extensive repairs and redevelopment. In addition, All Saints has a vision to expand into neighbouring properties on the St Helen s site as funds allow, in order to create a city-centre base for local mission and ministry (including the relocation of the Foodbank to this site). This will allow the All Saints site to be developed as a cutting-edge arts and conference venue, training centre for the resourcing church, as well as a space for worship gatherings on a Sunday. Areas and types of co-operation with other local churches All Saints has strong and healthy relationships with other local churches. The clergy of All Saints are committed to active participation in the Worcester East deanery chapter and synod. They also represent the church at Worcester Churches Together meetings and All Saints participates in the annual walk of witness on Good Friday. All Saints clergy are also very involved in a collective of evangelical churches in the city. The leaders of these churches meet every Thursday to pray for one another, the partner churches and the city. Out of this commitment to prayer and relationship has flowed a renewed commitment to shared mission in the city, including The Noise youth mission week
and mutual support of various different social action projects. Vision and Priorities How does the church see itself? The church understands itself to be fundamentally three things (to the extent to which such labels are helpful): Anglican, open evangelical and charismatic. It is a gathered church and most of the congregation have no prior experience of the Anglican church. There is a growing and strengthening understanding of what it means to be Anglican and part of the Diocese of Worcester. All Saints is committed to being highly missional, not just in its shared life, but through the lives of all who are part of it. It is excited about playing its part in the mission of God to restore, redeem and reconcile all things. The vision for discipleship is a holistic one; seeing all people flourish and thrive as divine image bearers, understanding their vocation, operating in their spiritual gifts and natural talents, empowered by the Spirit. What is its vision of mission? All Saints describes its mission to be a missional community that gives creative and faithful expression to the Kingdom of God in Worcester and beyond. The vision is to be a growing community of Kingdom people, formed of multiple smaller communities, in and through which our lives and our city are radically transformed by God s love, grace and power. This is often summarized in the phrase joining with God in the renewal of all things, which captures the theological vision underpinning this mission and vision. What are the incumbent s and PCC s vision and priorities? The church worked collaboratively to formulate its vision and priorities, and there is strong support from across the church for these. The PCC is highly committed to facilitating the vision and is dynamic and supportive. The following strategic priorities have been identified, which shape all aspects of the development of the church: Create a discipleship culture throughout the whole church, equipping, mentoring and training people at every age and lifestage to live authentic Kingdom lives in the power of the Spirit Continue to nurture a community in which all are cared for, able to embrace God s healing and transformation, becoming more fully alive and able to live out their calling Develop the leadership community at the heart of the church and train new leaders in all areas Expand our missional impact through the further development of our mission initiatives, support of our mission partners, collaboration with other churches and the equipping of the
whole church community to live as missionaries where God calls us Prayerfully explore and identify how best to develop multiple expressions of church to allow us to more fully embrace all God is calling us to be and to do. Incumbents understanding of the Role of Training Training a curate is a huge privilege for a training incumbent and a role that is taken very seriously at All Saints. Our hope for any curate who joins the team at All Saints is that they would find a gracious and spacious place in which to continue their ministerial development and formation. This will mean learning what they need to learn, finding their voice, playing to their strengths, working on their weaknesses, sharing in the leadership and development of the church (more and more as the curacy develops), establishing healthy patterns and rhythms in both their personal devotions and ministry life, and ultimately being ready to move on to a new post but not partly wanting to because their experience at All Saints has been so positive. What is the likely role of the curate in future plans? The next curate will be joining the All Saints staff team at a crucial and exciting time. The curate will be a key member of the senior ministry team, working directly and collaboratively with the Vicar, Associate Vicars and staff team, sharing in the leadership, development and care of the whole church. They will be integral to the development of All Saints as a resourcing church with an expectation they will either plant out or move into a parish embracing renewal in partnership with All Saints. Areas of particular responsibility for curate in training Curates will have involvement in all aspects of church and parish life to gain broad experience, but also be encouraged to take on specific responsibilities and develop specific areas of interest and gifting. We have an organic and iterative approach to staffing responsibilities and aim to get each team member playing to their strengths. Some of the areas we are looking to develop, and which our next curate may be excited to shape and lead forward are: the creative arts including the development of our All Saints building into a space that allows it to be a leading regional arts venue student ministry and chaplaincy to the university and FE college pastoral care
Curacy Accommodation The diocese will be providing an additional house to accommodate the next curate, ensuring it is suitable for the needs of the curate and taking into count factors such as schooling when identifying suitable locations within Worcester. None of the clergy currently live in the parish as there is no suitable housing available. Who should be contacted in the first instance? Diocesan Director of Ordinands and Vocation Revd. Dr John Fitzmaurice The Old Palace Deansway Worcester WR1 2JE 01905 732814 / 07950 163116 jfitzmaurice@cofe-worcester.org.uk
The process of formation, training and assessment in the Diocese of Worcester Curacy is, first and foremost, a period of formation and training undertaken for future ministry. Although a curacy is an opportunity for ministry in its own right, it is undertaken with a view to preparation for the future regardless of whether the curate is non-stipendiary or stipendiary. This training is the shared responsibility of the curate, the training incumbent, and the DOV. Primary resources for the successful outcome of this training are: 1. The curate who brings experience, professional life, Christian faith and recent training from theological course or college to the new ministry. He or she needs to be allowed and encouraged to bring all of this into ministry and continued training alongside a willingness to learn. 2. The training incumbent who brings their own experience and needs to be able to share this, with vulnerability and responsibility, to help the curate find his or her own patterns of sustainable ministry. 3. The parish which should have its own sense of vocation to train and develop the ministry of the whole people of God, and will provide the primary context for feedback in the curate s early ministry. 4. The Formation Criteria and Assessment which are national guidelines setting out the aims for the curacy, for all partners in the training relationship to work towards. The Diocesan IME programme The primary training context is the parish (in the case of MSE curates, additionally, in the workplace). However, the diocese provides additional training for all curates. This is generally held on seven Saturdays in the year, with a residential weekend in February. All curates, stipendiary and non-stipendiary are expected to attend the IME days. There is also one additional evening session for new deacons, an additional evening session for new priests and a full day for curates in the third year looking to a post of responsibility beyond the curacy. It has proved a good idea to invite training incumbents to one IME session, and this happens from time to time. The Training Programme The Diocesan element of IME Phase 2 is based on a three-year rolling programme of study days, taught across year groups. The themes of these study days are closely related to the Formation Criteria and seek to amplify and add depth to the curates experience in their ministerial context. There is an annual residential weekend currently held at Sarum College as well as a Quiet Day. This year we will be trialling action-learning-set style theological reflection groups for an evening every two months. It is expected that Diocesan IME Study Days take precedence over parish commitments on the same day. Stipendiary curates undertake two short placements while self-supporting curates undertake one. Curates are encouraged to undertake these placements in contexts which there training parish are unable to provide. EKM Exchange The Diocese of Worcester has a partnership link with the Evangelische Kirche in Mitteldeutschland and as part of their curacy Worcester curates both to visit newly-ordained pastors in Germany and to learn something of the challenges of ministry there and to host them in Worcester.