Archdeaconry of Bath Ven Andy Piggott, Archdeacon Locking Deanery Rev Lydia Avery, Rural Dean Team Rector - Parish of Worle
Contents 2 Contents Page 3 Vision for the Parish of Worle Welcome to Worle 4 Current Staffing Lay involvement 5 Worship pattern Mid-week services Electoral Roll 6 Our Parish 7-8 Our Churches St Martin s Church 9-10 St Mark s Church 11-12 Mead Vale Church 13-14 St Lawrence Church 15 Finance Thrive Youth ministry Schools 16 Annual Holiday Other Links 17 The Vicarage 18 The Role of the Team Rector 19 Specific Priorities for St Martin s Church 20 Message from Lydia Avery, Rural Dean Parish Prayer 2
Thank you for taking the time to read our profile 3 Vision for the Parish of Worle The Parish has a dual calling to serve God and to serve the Community. With its well-placed churches and links to schools, the council and local businesses, we encourage the Community to join our fellowship and develop the values proclaimed by our faith. Our mission is A community centred on the living Jesus, growing, serving and reaching out in His name. Each Church, through their leadership groups, is developing this mission and calling. Youth and community outreach is being established in the Parish. Links to couples through weddings and baptisms are becoming well developed at St Martin s, as it is seen as the more traditional Church. There are also connections to local high street traders, professional and uniformed organisations. Welcome to Worle Worle is just 10 minutes drive from the beaches of Weston and Sand Bay. It is right by J21 of the M5 and beautifully situated within easy distance of Bristol and the south west. Commuters can catch a train in Worle direct to London. For many years Worle was a rural village and into the 20 th century populated by small holdings and market gardens. New housing sprang up in the 1960s and in the mid seventies much of the farmland was compulsorily purchased and Worle became the second largest area of housing expansion in Europe. It now has a population of around 40,000 comprising Old Worle, centred round the High Street and St Martin s Church, the vast tracts of new housing in North Worle, Mead Vale, and Locking Castle with rural Wick St Lawrence to the north of the Parish. The housing is a mix of old and new, owner-occupied, rented, and social housing. There are areas of affluence and deprivation. Worle is sought after as a place for retirement but also a great place for raising a family with its many parks, shops, schools and services. It is a hugely diverse area with two large superstore venues, one with Sainsbury s, TK Maxx, Homebase and Argos and in Locking Castle, Morrison s, Boots and Matalan. Worle High Street has a community feel with its eclectic mix of shops and businesses including a library, coffee shops, tattoo parlour, newsagents, takeaways and many others. There are six primary schools in the Parish three of which are church schools, and two secondary schools. There are good relationships between the primary schools and churches, predominantly with St Martin s, which is sought out as a venue for Christmas and Easter school celebrations. Both Worle Community School and Priory Academy have gym facilities open to the public; there are at least two community choirs based in Worle and many other clubs and activities. Although there has been significant growth in the village/parish, this is not reflected in our churches and yet Worle and Wick St Lawrence offer huge opportunities for mission and outreach with potential for incredible growth
which we long to harness. There is great warmth of feeling for the original parish church of St Martin s, reflected in the numbers of weddings, baptisms and funerals requested by families for whom St Martin s has been a focal point at significant times in their lives. This is also the case with rural Wick St Lawrence church to a much smaller degree. Increasingly St Mark s and Mead Vale are also being sought out for baptisms. We are just beginning to get hold of these opportunities. The harvest is ready. 4 Within the parish there are four other churches, three of which we join with on Good Friday. One of these, Locking Castle, is in a conventional district, for which Worle has a small responsibility which has been suspended during the vacancy. A relatively deprived area of Worle has been allocated, under the Big Local initiative 1m from lottery funding, Big Worle to invest in the area over a period of ten years and until recently the partnership was co-chaired by one of our Readers. Our local councillors are active in seeing that Worle flourishes, hosting a monthly surgery North Worle Forum occasionally attended by one of our Team Vicars. As it says in Psalm 16.6 The boundary lines have fallen in pleasant places. Current Staffing Our new Team Rector, based at St Martin s, will lead a team including - Team Vicar Team Vicar Team Vicar Associate Priest Parish Administrator Youth Worker Organist based at St Lawrence and St Martin s based at St Mark s based at Mead Vale licensed to St Martin s based at Parish Office paid 30 hrs per week Parish wide paid 15 hrs per week based at St Martin s The staff team comprises the three team vicars, one associate minister and the Parish Administrator who all have an excellent working relationship with each other. They meet every week to pray, sort parish matters and pastoral needs within the churches. These meetings are also times of fellowship and mutual encouragement and are a priority and highly valued by all the team. Vergers for weddings and funerals ad hoc at the relevant churches. Lay involvement The parish is fortunate to have 5 lay readers. Lay leadership is through the WPCC. There is 1 Parish Church Warden and 3 Church Wardens, also 1 WPCC Treasurer, 1 WPCC secretary and elected members of each Church. We are struggling to fill all the vacant posts on the WPCC including Wardens in some of the churches. Each church has its own Treasurer and Leadership Group including WPCC members and co-opted members. The Parish Administrator runs the office with a group of volunteers.
Worship Pattern 5 8am 10am 10.30am 1 st Sunday 2 nd Sunday 3 rd Sunday 4 th Sunday 5 th Sunday Holy Communion Holy Communion Holy Communion Holy Communion Holy Communion St Martin s St Martin s St Martin s St Martin s St Martin s Holy Communion Holy Communion Morning Praise Holy Communion Holy Communion St Martin s St Martin s St Martin s St Martin s St Martin s All Age Worship Morning Praise St Lawrence St Lawrence Service of the Word St Mark s Holy Communion Mead Vale Holy Communion St Mark s Morning Worship Mead Vale All Age Worship St Mark s Holy Communion Mead Vale Holy Communion St Mark s All Age Worship Mead Vale Holy Communion St Mark s Mead Vale 6pm Service of Healing St Martin s Evening Worship St Lawrence Choral Evensong St Martin s Holy Communion St Lawrence Fifth Sunday Service St Martin s Songs of Praise St Lawrence Mid-week 1st week 2 nd week 3 rd week 4 th week 5 th week Wednesday Mead Vale 10am Wednesday St Mark s St Mark s St Mark s St Mark s 9.30am Thursday 10am St Martin s St Martin s St Martin s St Martin s St Martin s We also do the following joint services: Thanksgiving service in Memory of Loved Ones, Lent Course, Good Friday (with Milton Baptist Church) and Pentecost and Carol Singing on Worle High Street. This year we also held a joint service on Sunday 1 January, in order to release clergy following the Christmas period. Our Parish: Electoral Roll Electoral Roll 2014 Electoral Roll 2015 Regular worshippers 2014 Regular worshippers 2015 St Martin s 109 108 95 69 St Mark s 43 36 40 40 Mead Vale 24 22 20 29 St Lawrence 45 46 26 34 Total 221 212 181 172 The Parish of Worle is an Anglican Parish within the Diocese of Bath and Wells, which comprises Mead Vale Church, St Mark's Church, Wick St Lawrence Church and St Martin's Church. From 1974 to 2011, there was a Local Ecumenical Partnership between local Anglicans and Methodists. In 2011, the Local Ecumenical Partnership was unanimously disbanded. However, members of the Methodist Church remain welcome as ever to worship within the churches in the parish.
Worle Parish is part of the Central LMG (Local Ministry Group) of Locking Deanery in the Diocese of Bath & Wells. 6 Each of the four churches has a separate identity, style of worship and is independent of the other three churches. That said all four churches get on well together, have a good relationship and come together at key times in the year for worship and fellowship. Whilst each Team Vicar has responsibility for its own church they are all happy to minister in the other churches and are very welcomed and well received when they do. Likewise, Lay Readers take services in the churches too. The churches pray for each other and if one particular church is in difficulty of any sort, the other three churches support and help where they can. Each church has its own Leadership Group, and representatives from each leadership team, are on the Joint Worle Parochial Church Council and Finance Committee which meets throughout the year. Population of Worle Approx. 40,000 Our Churches St Martin s Church St Mark s Church Mead Vale Community Centre St Lawrence (Wick St Lawrence) Parish Office: e-mail office@worlepo.co.uk Parish website: web http://www.worlewide.org.uk Which links to individual church websites.
St Martin s friendly and warm, fairly middle of the road Where you will always receive a warm welcome 7 St Martin s Harvest Festival St Martin s Church - 900 years of Power and Glory St Martins is at the historic centre of Worle on the hillside and was built in the 12th century, and extended in the 19 th. It is known particularly by historians, for the Norman font, the 15 th century stone pulpit carved in stone, symbol of the Cup of Blessing. St Martin s offers a range of worship, including regular All Together Services involving all ages. There is a monthly evening Service of Healing and a weekly Thursday Communion service. Christmas, Easter and major festival services are well attended. The church is very popular for Baptisms, of which there are around 35 each year, in addition to approximately 15 weddings and 22 funeral services. The Easter service of Thanksgiving in Memory of Loved Ones is much appreciated. We have a salaried professional organist and a robed choir, and worship and the concerts we hold are greatly enhanced by our pipe organ and clavinova. On Sundays, the Little Martin s Children s group takes place during the 10am service and it is flourishing with excellent and enthusiastic teachers. During term time there is a vibrant Baby and Toddler group held in church. Especially during the run up to Christmas, St Martin s is used by local schools for their services and concerts and school educational visits enjoyed throughout the year. The occasional offices and the major festivals often draw people from the community who are not regulars at the other services, as do St Martin s monthly film nights during the Autumn, Winter and Spring. The bells removed for refurbishment 2013 The new glass doors Toddler Group graduation Worle History Society has worked closely with St Martin s Church on projects of both restoration and historical interest. Further information about the history of Worle can be found on the society s web site: by http://www.worlehistorysociety.net/5.html
All are welcome to worship at St Martin s and our worship follows a fairly traditional established pattern. 8 Facilities include: PA System with Hearing Induction Loop Audio Visual Presentation media Pipe Organ and Electric Piano Kitchen area Toilets The gallery gives total potential seating of up to 200 people. St Martin s Day Celebration Cake Competition Making Christingles Annual Mendip Green Year 1 Mock Wedding held at St Martin s Every year we give away ten percent of our income to missions and have been faithful in making our Common Fund payments. However during 2016 at St Martin s we are having to rebuild our financial situation, not through malpractice but by taking our eye off the ball. Our annual giving review is being done with the support of the Stewardship Advisor from the diocese who is also helping us to refocus as a parish. Challenges facing the Church Reignite the present congregation with the Love of God and for them to have confidence to reach out to the wider community. To re-establish the Pastoral Care Ministry for the congregation. For those who are heavily involved in duties of the church, to have the desire to see the wider picture and to have confidence in seeking God s will to further his kingdom. To enable existing members to have confidence and the desire to serve the church in baptisms, weddings, funerals and the commitment we give to the schools, which are located close to the church. The local community to feel that they will always be welcomed and want to be a part of the church family. We are on the brink of an opportunity to make the church a vibrant and lively place.
St Mark s Church 9 We ve been through thick and thin together. When I come here it s like being part of a family; I feel peaceful I belong here St Mark s Church was built in North Worle in 1980 alongside the Queensway, although it originally started meeting in the lounge of church cottage. It was greatly extended in 1989. The Parish Office is situated there, and is equipped with up to date IT media. As well as the main worship centre there are extended meeting rooms and prayer rooms at the back of the Church. The main worship area seats up to 150 people with additional space in the smaller hall and prayer/meeting room. The congregation is a mix of ages. We think of ourselves as a charismatic evangelical church, and we are seeking to grow in the gifts and power of the Holy Spirit. We have a number of families attending and a good number of children. (In 2012 no children attended regularly.) We also have a prayer ministry team and home groups and a link team to St Marks Primary School. Music We have two worship teams currently one is a small team of five singers and a pianist, with occasional flute and back up pianist, who do a fantastic job. We also have an embryonic team of two singers who make use of worship backing band DVD s once a month. We hope to attract more musicians, in particular guitarists, drummers and key board players. This has proved difficult but remains our aspiration. Facilities include: PA System with Hearing Induction Loop Pipe Organ and Piano Audio Visual Presentation Media Separate Kitchen Toilet facilities which are accessible for the disabled The church wants to grow and is willing to do what it takes. human resources are stretched. Our vision We held a Vision Day in July 2013, supported by the diocese in the form of a facilitator, the Revd Mike Haslam. This helped us to establish our top two priorities, which were to strengthen our links with St Mark s Primary School (a Bath & Wells Academy), and to reach out especially to young families (given the local demographics.) We want to create a Mission Action Plan that ties in with the parish & diocesan strategy.
10 Link Team As a result of the Vision Day we created a Link Team which has worked hard in the background to build on our relationship with the school (leading to more school visits to church, an annual leavers service in church, Link Team members attending school assemblies with the vicar). Challenges include our limited people resources and the busyness of the school. Home Groups In addition to our one long-established home group, a new home group was created in April 2016 to create a space for some of our newer members. It has seven regular attendees and is led by Rev Chris Elms & his wife Jody, but the hosting and leading is shared amongst the members. This has allowed spiritual growth as individuals have taken on new responsibilities. Each home group is encouraged to have a three way focus: inward (pastoral care and support of each other), upwards (worship of God and bible study) and outwards (at least one missional act in the community per year). Prayer Ministry Team Reflecting the latent skills and experience of some of our congregation, and a desire for healing and spiritual growth, we have recently established a small team of mature Christians to offer more regular prayer ministry during services and also midweek in a home setting. The team, including the vicar, went through the New Wine course material called Learning to Heal and became active in the early summer of this year. Family Friendly Also as a result of the Vision Day, we produced a leaflet which is aimed at families, both Sunday morning guests and families in the community, such as at school. We aim to give this leaflet to all new families at the start of the academic year. Additionally, we work hard to create a family-friendly atmosphere on a Sunday morning. St Mark s is an instinctively friendly and welcoming church, so that hasn t been hard to do. Annual Outreach Events Every year we hold a Christian Aid fair in May, with all monies raised going to Christian Aid, and we hold an Autumn Fair, with funds going to the church. We also hold other smaller outreach activities such as car washes (linked with the home groups). A building for the community St Mark s church is a well-used building through the week, playing host to various groups This brings opportunities to build relationships, but we want to do more in this area. It also brings essential income, without which we would be in financial difficulty.
Mead Vale Church 11 It s like family; we re accepted warts and all People with learning difficulties are welcomed Most adults are involved and do things; probably because we re so small If you need help, all you have to do is lift the phone. We work together Mead Vale Church meets at Mead Vale Community Centre, which was built in the 1970 s and extended in the 1990 s. It includes two halls of different sizes. The Centre is managed by a group of Trustees and the present Vicar acts as Chairman. The main worship area seats up to 130 people; the small hall is additional. Facilities include: PA / Music System with Hearing Induction Loop Audio Visual Presentation Media Separate Kitchen & Toilet facilities. Music The Church has a mixture of electronic aids to lead music, which is predominantly modern. A Baptism by immersion in the Community Centre, as requested The children are flourishing they are a big percentage of our congregation COSMIC is really good, and they want to be involved. COSMIC outing to Noah s Ark
We have up to 15 children in our Church family at Mead Vale and their group is called COSMIC (Children on Sunday meeting in Church) the age range of the children is from 3-12. They meet every Sunday for teaching, fun, games and crafts during the service and re-join us before the end of the service to tell us about their time together and what they have learned, each week they do this so positively and enthusiastically. On the fourth Sunday of the month, we have an all-age service, which the children often take part in. There are seven leaders and helpers for COSMIC who faithfully teach them week by week. In the future it would be good to separate the children into groups, so they can have a more focussed time appropriate for their age. Every 3rd Saturday of the month we have a coffee morning in the Community Centre which, is particularly popular with the more elderly members of our Church family and an opportunity for them to have fellowship together and catch up over a cuppa! For many years key services throughout the year are held at the Nightjar Pub i.e. Carol Service, Father s Day and Remembrance. It s good to be worshipping outside the church and in the community. It would be good if more people from the community joined us but we see it also as an opportunity to support Di. For the last year and a half we have been reaching out into the community by blessing them with gifts at key times of the year. We mingle outside the church centre and give chocolate bars for Father s Day, flowers for Mother s Day, Fruit for Harvest and sing carols at Christmas. Again it is good to be out in the community and letting people know that there is a Church here for them. The free gift to bless them is well received and we have some good conversations with people and can see that seeds are being sown. There is a very good relationship between the committee, the church and the groups who hire the building throughout the week. For example the Vicar visits the new Pre-School regularly to read Bible stories to the children. 12 Church Barbeque First Holy Communion
St Lawrence 13 We are a friendly and welcoming church. There is a lot of positive energy, love and affection in our church and it keeps on growing! Wick St Lawrence is a rural community on the outskirts of Worle. Most of the dwellings in the old village were originally farms, but there are now only five working farms remaining. Within a mile of the church a large new housing estate was built about 22 years ago with approximately 600 houses, bringing the population of Wick St Lawrence to about 1500. The only amenities are on the housing estate, a pub, takeaway and beauty salon. There is a Village Hall located in the old part of the village, which is let out to the public and used regularly by the Church for our fundraising, outreach and social events. The church is just over 500 years old. We have recently added under-pew heating, a sound system, installed mains water and a small hospitality area. Drainage work is currently underway with the installation of a permanent toilet and improved lighting. The church is at the heart of the village. Coming to church makes me feel part of the community. A different musician plays each Sunday of the month, our choir sings at our evening Communion services and Weddings, and leads our Christmas Carols by Candlelight, which is attended by over 200 people. Once a month Sunday Club takes place for children aged between 3 and 10 who are also fully involved in monthly All Age services. Over the past 5 years we have seen growth, particularly with young families as a result of the many baptisms held at Wick. Being a rural church, the whole community and not just church goers, identify with the church and support care of the building and grounds. Outreach plays an important part in the life of our church, and popular events include a Quiz Night, Cream Teas, Jazz Picnic, Teddy Parachute Jump, Lambing Live, music concerts and the Harvest weekend of various celebrations. In the same way we reach beyond community in our regular financial giving to missions locally and overseas. We are a rural church.
14 Our Mission and evangelism is linked to our Outreach and this too involves distributing over 650 leaflets two or three times a year inviting villagers from the old and new parts of Wick St Lawrence to events and special church services. Reaching out to the people on the new estate has proved an on-going challenge for us, although we have made strides we would love to have new ideas to succeed even further. We are great believers in these verses: Honour the Lord with your wealth and with the first fruits of all your produce (Proverbs 3:9) Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you (Luke 6:38) Our harvest gifts are donated to Worle Community Centre; Christmas gifts to underprivileged children in Weston and the homeless through Comfort at Christmas. We give a proportion of our collection each year to a local, a national and an international charity / cause which is relevant at the time, in addition to supporting a child in Bolivia through Compassion. Wick is an open church during daylight hours and offers a haven of peace to the community and visitors, which is evident from our Visitor s Book. To benefit from this we have established monthly Sanctuary Mornings which is a significant ministry of the Holy Spirit, at which we are just the curators and hosts. Most months, members of other churches in the Parish take the opportunity to benefit from the quiet along with others, not in the Parish, but who make a point of attending. Challenges Sanctuary Mornings give you the peace and quiet needed to be near the Lord Reaching out to the people on the new estate has proved an on-going challenge for us, although we have made some strides we would love to have new ideas to succeed even further, so that people can come and enjoy the worship, fellowship and catch the faith. Nurturing our church families, including our Young People so that they attend church a little more regularly - it seems that our Family Sunday services have been hit by families attending other things like weekend sports activities and the perhaps not so cool to come to church bug. To spread the word that St. Lawrence Church has deeply ingrained rural roots, thus offering a different ethos from the other urban churches of the Parish. Where we would like our church to be in 5 years - a congregation that has grown through addressing our challenges filled to the rafters.
15 Finance The WPCC is the prime controller of financial matters within the Parish. The WPCC has a budget in excess of 150,000. Each Church within the WPCC holds separate Leadership accounts. Although Common Fund payments have been suspended at St Martin s, St Lawrence is paid up for the year and currently St Marks and Mead Vale are keeping up with their monthly payments. The Diocese is helping us to do a Giving Review across the parish, which has set the seed to enable a giving review to take place every November, supported by the Worle Parochial Church Council. A copy of the Annual Report and Accounts for the year ending 31st December 2015 can be obtained on request from the Parish Office. The Financial Administration, payroll and book-keeping have recently been outsourced. Thrive -Youth Ministry In late November 2015 we employed Mark Fuller as a Youth Development Worker. Then in April 2016 we launched our new parish youth group called Thrive. It meets every second Friday at St Mark s church and is led by Mark. We are slowly establishing the ministry although it is a challenge because we are starting from scratch. Mark s line manager is Revd Chris Elms, who is in the process of establishing a small group from the WPCC to provide some financial oversight and support. Mark is carefully building a team of lay volunteer Youth Leaders and we aim to run the group on a weekly basis. We issued our first Thrive newsletter in September 2016, which is bright and colourful and aimed primarily at the four congregations. We hope it will help to build support and engagement from our parishioners. Currently Mark and his team look after around 10-15 young people. There is a junior session for years 6, 7 & 8 meeting from 6.30-8pm (the larger group), and then a senior session for years 9-11 meeting from 7.45-9.15pm (attended by two young people currently). Schools schools within Worle. The Church plays an active part in the lives of the many There are 3 primary schools with Church VA or VC status and the Church provides governors to support the management of these: St Martin s C of E (VC) Primary School St Mark s Primary School, a Bath and Wells Academy St Georges Church School a Bath and Wells Academy www.stmartinsschool.org.uk www.saintmarks.co.uk www.stgeorgeschurchschool.co.uk Other primary schools in the area are also supported. These are: Mead Vale Primary School Mendip Green Primary School Worle Village Primary School Castle Batch Primary School Becket Primary School www.meadvale.n-somerset.sch.uk www.mendipgreen.co.uk www.worlevillage.n-somerset.sch.uk www.castlebatch.n-somerset.sch.uk www.becket.n-somerset.sch.uk There are 2 secondary schools, with which we are developing links. These are: Worle Community School Priory Community School www.worle.n-somerset.sch.uk www.priory.n-somerset.sch.uk
16 Annual Holiday The Annual Parish Church Holiday is well supported- there are already 30+ expressions of interest for next year s trip to Durham. Other links St Martin s Church/Parish Annual Holiday The previous Rectors at Worle have been Chaplain to two Chairmen of North Somerset District Council and to the Mayor of Weston-super-Mare Uniformed organisations services are held in all our churches on Remembrance Day, we also provide services for the Guides and Scouts Association. This also includes a service at the War Memorial on the High Street for the British Legion. Mission - The Churches support Mission links to Zambia, directly and through the Diocese of Bath & Wells. We also support numerous other charities, local, national and international.
The Vicarage 17 Address: Location: 93 Church Road, Worle, Weston-super-Mare, BS22 9EA 3 to 4 minutes walk to St Martin s Church and approximately 10 minutes to Worle High Street Shops, Banks, Library etc., Accommodation: Lounge, dining room, kitchen, conservatory, downstairs toilet, 5 bedrooms, bathroom and toilet. There is a garage and parking for 3 to 4 cars but the drive is steep. There is no disability access. The front garden is large with a small grass area and then mainly laid down to parking with a mature back garden with patio area and greenhouse. There is a large study, suitable for meetings and interviews, with its own external access. Over the last few years the Vicarage has had a number of improvements, including an efficient gas fired Central Heating system, UPVC framed double-glazed windows and fascias, and new kitchen. Solar panels have been installed.
The role of the Rector in Worle Parish is to: 18 take particular responsibility for the care, development and vision at St Martin s, where the Rector also serves as Vicar. (This will include chairing the Leadership group, a sub group of Worle PCC.) manage the team, ensuring that the current broad diversity of styles and gifts is honoured and encouraged within the team and more widely, and to enable appropriate resourcing and development lead and participate in the life of the Parish-wide team, collaboratively developing intentional mission for all of God's people in Worle, to share the Love of God, in line with the Diocesan vision Shaping our Future. Helping us to share the Love of God within our new housing developments. To develop pastoral care within the church community and beyond, enabling people to go deeper, as well as to reach out to the fringes lead and participate in worship across the Parish, developing mission through pastoral offices. through prayerful reliance on the Holy Spirit, help us to reflect on what we do. oversee effective administration, financial well-being and care of our resources and buildings across the Parish, taking an active part in financial planning for the Parish and for the individual churches, with the support of the PCC Treasurer. (This will include chairing the Worle PCC meeting and Finance Sub Committee.) Be aware of representing the Parish within the wider community e.g. be an ex-officio Governor of St Martin s Church of England School We need someone always open to God s guidance however unlikely! Who can implement practical strategies for Evangelism with vision, compassion, a sense of humour who understands the community, engages with us and is full of new ideas! able to develop a coalition of interest, faith and belief, who can co-ordinate and encourage us! We don t assume that the Team Rector will do all this alone. Our Rector will provide leadership to enable these things to happen. As a team keen to share the mission of the parish, as well as praying for and with you, we offer day off annual retreat (funded) and quiet days CMD An experienced Laity Team A stable Staff Team A Parish Administrator
19 Specific Priorities for St Martin s Church To care for the people of St Martin s, especially older people and those who may feel marginalised To lead worship regularly, both honouring the traditional liturgical pattern of the year, and working with our organist to re-invigorate our music To find accessible ways to engage younger people and visitors at depth To focus on the high number of occasional offices throughout the Parish, but especially at St Martin s. We see these as an unrealised opportunity for mission. To ensure relationships are made through preparation and follow up for o baptisms, marriages and funerals o and to develop lay ministry particularly in these areas To build community o o within St Martin s to enable more people in faith and to develop into roles within the church to re-energise the social life within the church out from St Martin s, linking with the local community in new ways To enable God s love to be known through mission and growth, especially through work with families and young people We are looking for someone who is: Willing to delegate and work collaboratively and empathetically A person of both Word and Spirit, rooted in a prayerful tradition with a strong sacramental life Able to make biblical preaching and teaching relevant to daily life Empathises with all sorts of people Comfortable with all ages, able to develop ministry to children, families and young people, whilst encouraging the older members, and respecting their tradition. Genuinely and naturally charismatic in approach and attitude, preferably with experience of growing churches. Comfortable with the mainstream of traditional Anglican worship, but open to a wide range of liturgical expressions, which engage and involve our children and their families An excellent communicator and encourager, with good organisational and enabling skills. Content in their skin, sociable and pastorally gifted Someone with a good sense of humour Able to strike a balance between the need for administration and to engage with the wider community. Able to prioritise what is important. We d like someone who is enriched by a breadth of liturgy a humble spiritual companion who will journey with us a skilled creator of God s here times un-shockable!
20 Message from the Rural Dean This is an exciting time for the Diocese and also for our Deanery (Locking). Wi8th others, our Bishops have discerned a new vision for Bath and wells Diocese that In response to God s Immense love for us, we seek to be God s people living and telling the story of Jesus. (http://www.bathandwells.org.uk/diocese/shapingourfuture/) The strategy to bring Mission and Evangelism into the centre of all we do is a continuing conversation involving the whole diocese. It has been welcomed and fully embraced locally and members of the deanery are energised and working together on our local mission action plan. We are working hard to enable people to catch the vision and join in! in Locking Deanery our plan is to identify and encourage all types of lay ministry; to serve the new communities that are evolving through local building developments in Weston-super-Mare, Locking castle, some parts of Worle and in the much more rural surrounding area; and we hope in time to create a deanery hub as a valuable resource to the 29 churches of the deanery. We also hope to support local churches in the form the diocesan vision is taking within the uniquely local mission context. The Deanery Chapter is made up of a friendly, dynamic and diverse group of ministers who enjoy meeting every month we re very much looking forward to welcoming a new colleague as part of our team! You can be sure you will be well-supported by us and by the Diocese if you feel our Lord is calling you here and to follow that call. I look forward to meeting you soon Lydia Avery Rural Dean of Locking Parish Prayer Heavenly Father, would you guard and grow this Parish and its four churches during our Team Rector vacancy. By the power of your Holy Spirit guide us as we seek the right minister and those who are seeking the right church for their ministry. Together may we discover your way for the future and see your kingdom grow. Amen