PARISH PROFILE Old Church Road, Harborne Birmingham B17 0BB www.stpeterharborne.co.uk
St Peter s Our beautiful and historic church stands in an old village setting with the pub, primary school, cricket and golf clubs on our doorstep, close to Birmingham s vibrant city centre and open countryside only minutes away. We have a friendly congregation with much to offer who will welcome a Vicar to lead and nurture us on our spiritual journey and to better serve our Parish. We are a congregation exploring our faith in creative ways. We serve our parish through our regular Sunday services, baptisms, marriages and funerals and through the celebration of the festivals. With more canals than Venice and substantially fewer pigeons, Birmingham is a multi-cultural city of many flavours, home to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, an award winning ballet and some wonderful art galleries. From curries in the Balti Triangle through to the fine-dining tables of the city centre, it caters for all tastes. The renaissance over the last 10 years, has led to bright and modern architecture, showing invention, passion and a willingness to push forward rather than stand still. It is a city with an industrial past that looks to the future, which is something very exciting to be part of. Birmingham also offers opportunities with Diocesan work across the city and in the wider Diocese and, with a multi ethnic population, to work with people from differing backgrounds and many faiths. Schools in the city continue to flourish from the early years, with many excellent primary schools through to a broad range of opportunities at secondary level with leading grammar schools, specialist academies and colleges. As a congregation, we are beginning to explore our faith in creative ways, including designing and creating a wall hanging for the Lady Chapel and running Lenten groups using music, art and exploring social injustice. Earlier this year we created our own Stations of the Cross and our Readers have begun to develop a quarterly contemplative evening service which has been well attended. We held a memorable Parish away day with a theme of pilgrimage at Polesworth Abbey in July this year. Music features strongly in both our worship and an annual concert. The church is hired out for a number of concerts, organ recitals, jazz bands and outside choirs. We have used drama in services and also in a Murder Mystery play with plans for a further drama. The monthly parish magazine contains a breadth of engaging and entertaining articles. Further opportunities to display our talents include a three yearly flower festival, featuring an open art and crafts exhibition, and the recently established Christmas tree festival. We express concern for God s wider world in our Outside Giving, donating to four charities each year, who are each invited to speak in a morning service. We fundraise for Christian Aid through the annual street collection and other activities. We also support a girls orphanage in Zimbabwe raising funds and sending goods. Our young people are setting up a monthly Fairtrade stall. July 2013 1
The Parish Our Parish in Harborne is just 3 miles south west of the city centre, covering 1 square mile, with 12,500 people, who are mostly of white ethnicity (2011 census over 80%). The Parish is largely suburban with housing, flats and some shops, food outlets and businesses. Close by are a few residential care homes and social housing. Bishop s Croft is home to the Bishop of Birmingham and the annual Diocesan Christmas service is held at St Peter s. We enjoy a close relationship with St Peter s CE Primary School. The school children attend church fortnightly for assemblies, with special services at Easter, Harvest time and a Leavers Service at the end of the school year. Over the past few years each class has designed a new Easter banner, hung in church during Lent. We took part this year in a week-long Lenten Prayer Space within school. The other schools within the parish are St Mary s Catholic Primary School and Paganel Primary School. Joint ministries are developing within the Edgborne cluster of local churches: St Faith and St Laurence (Harborne), the Old Church and St George s (both Edgbaston). Cluster meetings are quarterly, with separate monthly clergy meetings, four evensongs during the year, jointly run confirmation and marriage preparation and some social events. Nearby are St Mary s RC Church and Harborne Baptist Church. We support Churches Together in Harborne in a Good Friday walk of witness, the biennial Lenten groups and occasional social gatherings. The new Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the Birmingham Women s Hospital are only just outside the parish, as is the Birmingham University campus. Within the parish are a number of sporting and social venues: Harborne Cricket, Hockey and Rugby Clubs, Harborne Church Farm municipal Golf Course, Harborne Golf Club, and Harborne Hall, a hotel and conference centre. July 2013 2
The Congregation Our congregation is a good cross section of ages, with young families through to older people. Our average congregation at 10.00am Parish Communion is over 100, with 20 at the 8am Said Communion and 10 at the 6.30pm Evensong. Including the midweek service and home communion, about 130 people take communion each week. Coffee in the Church Hall follows the main Sunday morning service. The Electoral Roll stands at 183, with 45% living outside the parish. We have a team of 3 Lay Readers and 2 retired Priests who have permission to officiate. The PCC meets 10 times a year along with 4 Standing Committee meetings. The Churchwardens have served for the past 3 and 2 years and our 3 Deanery Synod members report to the PCC. Lay people are widely involved in all aspects of worship as chalice assistants, lesson readers, and intercessors, including healing prayer. The Servers maintain a high standard of liturgical support during all services. Four sub-committees are responsible for Pastoral activities, Buildings and Grounds, Parish Life (social events) and Finance and Fund Raising. Our thriving Junior Church attracts many young families with over 50 children and their families on the register. Activities are well staffed and include messy church style mornings in Advent and Good Friday, a summer picnic and a Nativity drama. Once a month, a group of teenagers meet informally during the morning service. The Ladies Group is a warm and welcoming group who meet once a month to hear invited speakers and hold social evenings. A group gather weekly to practice handbell ringing for their occasional performances. Prime Plus, a group of retired ladies, meet every week to lovingly tend our hall garden and actively fundraise for the Church. We run a Tea Party twice a year for the elderly, especially the bereaved and those living on their own. Home Communions are taken to the sick and housebound and we offer lifts to those who have difficulty getting to church. The Altar Guild takes pride and great care in keeping the church clean and maintaining the linen. A dedicated group of flower arrangers also organise the Flower Festival, combined with an art exhibition, held every 3 years (next 2014). It combines a welcoming outreach and valuable fundraising as will our third Christmas tree festival which will herald Advent in December 2013. We hold various social events: including a murder mystery evening, music evenings, including the annual Patronal summer concert, a harvest parish meal and the annual cricket match, which all help with our fundraising. The scouting and guiding organisations, based in the Hall, are very popular and well attended throughout the year. Our church hall also hosts a pre-school group and regular hirers: keep fit, Zumba, children s performing arts, NCT and private children s parties. July 2013 3
Our Worship We worship in a liberal style with the presiding priest robed for Communion and the Readers supporting in a deaconing role. For Parish Communion, Junior Church begins in the Hall and is welcomed after the Peace. The All Age service includes everyone from the start of the service. On major festivals, such as the Patronal Festival, we celebrate with an Eucharist at 7.30 pm. Sunday Services 8.00 am Holy Communion Book of Common Prayer (BCP) 10.00 am Parish Communion (Common Worship) First Sunday - All Age Worship Second Sunday - Healing Prayer Once a month Baptisms 6.30 pm Sung Evensong (BCP) First Sunday Sung Eucharist Midweek 9.00am Morning Prayer Tuesday to Friday 10.00 am Communion Wednesday We strongly value our choral style. The robed Choir is RSCM affiliated, with adults, young people and children, and is led by the Musical Director, who plays the organ. They lead the singing of the Gloria, Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei and with an anthem during Communion. At Christmas, our popular services include: Advent Carols, Christingle, Nine Lessons and Carols, a Nativity play, a Christmas Eve Crib Service and late Community Carol Service followed by Midnight Mass, with Morning Service on Christmas Day. Lent begins with Ash Wednesday services, including the Imposition of Ashes, then a weekly Friday Compline and the Palm Sunday service begins with a procession. Holy week has a daily Compline then the Maundy Thursday service, which includes washing of feet and the stripping of the sanctuary. On Good Friday there is a period of prayer and reflection in church and we begin our celebrations on Easter Day with a Dawn Eucharist. The Remembrance Sunday service is also well attended by the wider parish and the uniformed organisations. The popular uniformed organisations (Scouts, Guides etc) also attend Parade services, held 4 times a year. Celebrating Brief Lives is an annual service organised by Birmingham Women s Hospital Bereavement Service, a moving service attended by over 100 bereaved parents and their families. serves our Parish through a welcoming approach to the occasional offices. In 2012 we held 24 baptisms, 18 weddings and 15 funerals in church with 10 funerals at Lodge Hill Crematorium. Baptism visits are made and wedding couples are encouraged to attend church beforehand. Marriage preparation is offered through the joint work of the Edgborne Cluster. Following their marriages, a number of couples continue to attend services. July 2013 4
Our Church, buildings and grounds The Church The church is a Grade II listed building, set in a Conservation area and large closed churchyard in the leafy suburb of Harborne. The main building is Victorian with a sandstone tower dating from the 14 th Century. The Quinquennial Report in April 2013 applauded us for the work done over recent years. The new inspection has identified a number of minor works as well as the need for high level masonry repairs. A popular old pub, the Bell, lies to one side of the church. We have a dedicated band of bell ringers who ring for services, weddings and special occasions. We open our church to visitors on two weekday afternoons during April to December. The Vicarage Well maintained, the 1960s Vicarage consists of a sitting room, dining room, large kitchen, a study and a double garage. Upstairs are five bedrooms, a bathroom with WC and a separate shower room also with WC. There is a large Vicarage garden to the side and rear of the house. The Parish Office is at the end of the building and has its own separate access. Church Hall The Hall is situated between the church and vicarage, containing a lobby with toilets, a kitchen, a large parish hall with stage and two meeting rooms. The hall and rooms are very popular and hired out for both commercial and community use. Our church hall garden at the rear of the building is lovingly maintained and a delightful backdrop for social events and hall users. The Glebe On one side of the Vicarage is a small Glebe field belonging to the Diocese. It is used mainly for off road parking and by the Scouts, including a popular bonfire and fireworks event. There is an option for us to take a long lease and a proposal to landscape it as a recreational area, including much needed car parking spaces. Our Properties 19 Vicarage Road - three bedroomed, detached house is well maintained and currently let. 21 Vicarage Road - four bedroomed, detached house is well maintained and currently let. July 2013 5
Our Finances Our regular income is through planned giving, plate collections, statutory and wedding fees, hire of the hall and a range of fundraising events listed throughout this statement. Our assets in buildings and shares provide further income from rentals and share dividends. Our expenditure is currently 160,000 per annum and we are able to pay our Common Fund, which rose to 86,000 this year. Due to their age, repairs and maintenance of the church and hall buildings takes both time and expenditure. We are very aware of the need to address our regular giving that has fallen over a period of time. We continue to balance the accounts by virtue of some generous legacies. Administrative support is offered to the church by the Parish Secretaries (a shared post - 25 hours per week). We also have a cleaner who cleans the church hall (10 hours per week). The Musical Director is a paid post and the Verger, who prepares the church for services each week and attends weddings and funeral, receives an honorarium. The approved accounts for 2012 are available along with a separate list of charitable donations. July 2013 6
The future for St Peter s Following the consultation of the whole congregation, our hopes for the future include: To continue to grow, individually and as a church, through prayer and promoting a wide variety of opportunities to deepen our faith: Fellowship groups, follow up to confirmation, Diocesan courses and events, talks or lectures To continue our pattern of worship: not too high, not too low This would include our choral tradition, the All Age and reflective services but also looking to introduce some variety of music, hymns and other forms of worship To expand working with children and young people, building on existing good work done through Junior Church, our strong links with St Peter s Primary School and with the popular uniformed organisations To develop the pastoral care across the parish including those attending baptisms, marriages and funerals, both before and after, possibly including bereavement support To investigate, through the Transforming Church initiative, existing services run by other churches and organisations in our Parish, especially those for the isolated and elderly, to better know how we can serve our Parish Some ideas are a food bank and social justice issues locally, nationally and internationally To explore outreach to the Parish to let them know who we are and what we are able to offer To forge further links within the Edgborne Cluster of churches and Churches Together in Harborne July 2013 7
Our new Vicar St Peter s is looking for a Vicar who Will love, inspire and challenge us to grow and deepen our faith and develop our individual gifts to use within the church, our lives, and in serving our Parish Respects our worship and is willing to help us explore other forms of worship Will use their previous parish experience, leadership skills and clear thinking to lead our Church forward Is a good communicator with a passion for supporting family life and will play a part in developing our children and young people s work Is someone with a warm, friendly and approachable manner who will build relationships in our congregation and also within the local area Is pastorally gifted and sensitive to the needs of the congregation and the Parish Is a good listener with a sense of humour Will actively support our range of church activities July 2013 8
A guide to the photos Front cover (clockwise) Station of the Cross 2013 Gazebo in the Hall Garden 2013, in memory of Jan Walters, with members of her family Wall hanging 2012 Page 1 St Peter s School Lenten banner 2012 War memorial First World War Page 2 The Parish Kenrick Centre, residential care home including those with dementia St Peters CE Primary School Harborne Cricket Club The Bell Pub Page 3 The Congregation Flower Festival 2011 Nativity scene and onlookers 2012 Hall Garden lady gardeners Good Friday 2013 children s activity morning Patronal Parade service the uniformed organisations Baptism July 2013 Page 4 Our Worship Stained glass window in the Side Chapel Altar during the Flower Festival 2011 Choir Floral decoration Page 5 Our Church, buildings and grounds Church Hall garden Interior main nave Stained glass window in memory of the artist David Cox Page 6 Our Finances Flower Festival 2011 Patronal Tea Party bring and buy 2013 Flower Festival 2011 Page 7 The Future for St Peter s Nativity play - angels 2012 Patronal Tea Party June 2013 St Peter portrait by artist Dawn Walker Page 8 Our new Vicar Nativity play - Joseph and Mary 2012 Station of the Cross 2013 Stained glass window in memory of Simon Counsell Thank you to all of our photographers. July 2013 9