Parish of Greenstead with Colchester, St Anne Team Vicar (Pioneer) Information Pack St Anne s Nativity 2015 1
We are looking for someone to join us as a Team Vicar (Pioneer) within our Team. Could this be you? The three churches in the parish are places where people have come together for hundreds of years to be with each other, to experience the sacred and to meet with God. They are places where we thank God for His love and creation, where we pray to God for help to live our lives well in good times and hard times. Open and inclusive, we welcome people with a wide variety of beliefs and lifestyles: from committed Christians to seekers and questioning sceptics exploring spiritual issues. We look forward to the ideas and experiences you can bring into our lives as we seek to build a better world and bring hope to those Jesus called his brothers and his sisters.
Team Vicar (Pioneer) Greenstead with Colchester, St Anne The vision for this post has been born out of a real need and desire to reach out in innovative and imaginative ways with the Good News of Jesus Christ to the radically unchurched children and families of Greenstead. Although 65% of the population identified themselves as Christian in the 2011 Census, we want to make better connections. The PCC has identified work with families with children as our top priority and the new Team Vicar will be released to work to strengthen and develop our relationship with such families. Developing a Fresh Expression of Church is an attempt to do something completely new that would give children and families spiritual and practical support in a way in which they would feel comfortable. We have just begun a new lay-led initiative with Messy Church based at St Matthew s Church. Within the parish are six primary and one secondary schools, four pre-schools, a Child Contact Centre, a variety of uniformed organisations and Korban, a house for the care and support of homeless teenagers (see www.korban.org.uk) housed in St Anne s Vicarage. What is Greenstead like? Greenstead is made up of a number of different communities built around local schools as Colchester expanded from the 1930s onwards. Some of these communities are identified with social housing estates with significant experience of deprivation, for example, three of the primary schools in the parish and the secondary school have rolls with more than 50% pupils premium children. Lone parents, too, are a significant percentage (36%) of all households in the parish. However, this is not the whole picture and there are also settled owner-occupied estates neighbouring an attractive nature reserve and open countryside. All the primary schools close to the Team Vicar s house are good and caring communities. There are good links between different social agencies and local schools, facilitated by local councillors and the SAINTS which meets bi-monthly. This is a group run by local Councillors to network, support and share information. The sense of community in Greenstead being together and supporting each other is strong. The church seeks to reach out and to serve its communities. The new minister will be licenced as a Team Vicar to the Greenstead with Colchester St Anne Parish and the Team Rector and PCC are committed to releasing and supporting the person appointed to work in new and exciting ways to enable the vision of the churches being a Transforming Presence in the community to develop and grow.
If you are excited about: Mission and Evangelism with children and families The possibility of finding new ways to be church in Greenstead Working with a team and enabling the gifts and ministry of others Then please come and meet us and share our vision for Greenstead. What will it be like working here? We hope you will share our vision of being an inclusive church in the community. We feel we are called to see where God is working in our local area and join in. If you join us you will find you will be: Busy Challenged Encouraged to be creative bringing your own gifts to the parish team Supported by a team working collaboratively and able to encounter God in surprising places Our website is: www. greensteadwithstanne.org.uk What are the Greenstead churches like? The three churches of St Andrew s, St Matthew s and St Anne s all have an individual character. However, all have an open and welcoming spirit with warm friendships and care for each other. Ministers and people of different church traditions worship and work well together, we are bound by a common faith and love of God and of his people. There is a good experience of team working and planning with two experienced Readers and two experienced Pastoral Assistants, with two others in training. The benefice also has the good support from two retired clergy and a retired Church Army Captain. The Church has a positive profile in the locality, created by committed pastoral ministry, valued work in local schools and by the use of church buildings by the Little Angels pre-school at St Matthew s and St Anne s.
Provision of worship Services of Holy Communion take place weekly in the three church centres on Sundays (Morning Prayer at St Anne s once a month) and at St Andrew s on Wednesdays. All the major festivals are observed. Daily Morning Prayer takes place Monday Thursday at St Andrew s and Evening Prayer is said daily at the home of the Canonesses of the Holy Sepulchre, a Roman Catholic Community which is adjacent to St Andrew s Church and also serves the people of Greenstead. Baptisms generally take place on Sunday afternoons at St Andrew s Church. How do we work? The Ministry Team meets for daily worship, weekly diary meetings and six weekly evening full team meetings including churchwardens quarterly. An external facilitator is invited annually to lead a Ministry Team Away Day. This is the case too for the annual PCC Away Day. Each member brings their expertise and has a specific role to apply. No member is linked exclusively to one church but the rota ensures they lead worship across the parish. Bishop Stephen Cottrell framed a strategic vision for our diocese called Transforming Presence (http://www.transformingpresence.org.uk/priorities). It asks us all to: Inhabit the world distinctively Evangelise effectively Serve with accountability Re-imagine ministry. It encourages new and fresh expressions of ministry to communicate the Christian faith. You will also join us at an exciting time as we develop a larger mission and ministry unit as the basis for future mission and ministry. Greenstead clergy and PCC members are in active conversations with two neighbouring parishes about how this change can happen and how we can work together more. The deanery of Colchester is supporting us in this work as Mission and Ministry Units are formed across the deanery and diocese.
Our new Team Vicar will be someone who: Responds imaginatively to opportunities for mission Has a heart for sensitive evangelism among the unchurched Understands contemporary cultures and is excited by the emergence of fresh expressions of church Enjoys ministry in schools and is willing to be a school governor Holds a UK driving licence and has a car In addition, he or she will be: Committed to collaborative ministry Encourage the ministry of others Be creative in worship and preaching Have an engaging and resilient spirituality Willing to take risks Could this be where God is calling you?
The Vicarage 1, Blackwater Avenue, CO4 3UY This is a good, modern, four bedroom detached house with a manageable sized garden and located in a quiet residential area. There are two reception rooms, the lounge having a French Window leading to the garden. In addition there are the kitchen/breakfast room, family bathroom, purpose built study (leaving the rest of the house private) and large double garage. To the rear of the property there is a walled garden. The front driveway is large enough to park 3 vehicles. What will it be like living here? Colchester and North East Essex has much to offer. Colchester is the oldest recorded town in Britain with Roman sites including the only Roman Circus in Britain and Colchester Castle. The newly opened Visual Arts Facility (VAF) has won prizes for architecture. Colchester Stadium is home to Colchester United Football Club and the Conference Centre used for a range of events. The Leisure Centre provides a full range of sports facilities including pools, Aqua Springs spa and fitness classes. The Charter Hall is a prized venue for concerts and the Mercury is a leading national producing theatre. The award winning Castle Park hosts a wide range of events during the summer. A short distance away Constable Country offers a range of walks and historic villages. Colchester Zoo is world renowned. The Essex Sunshine Coast boasts beaches, coastal walks and nature reserves and wildlife. Colchester Castle Schools and colleges include Colchester Grammar School for Boys (repeatedly coming first in the A Level league tables), Colchester County High School for Girls (consistently scores highly in league tables for the UK), Colchester Institute (FE), Colchester Sixth Form College (FE) and The University of Essex. The combination of effective road (eg.m25, M11, A14, A12) and rail links with London and the evidence of good vibrant local communities makes this part of Essex an attractive area within which to live.
The Diocese of Chelmsford The Diocese of Chelmsford, in terms of population, is the second largest in the Church of England. It has 2.7 million people within its borders and is served by nearly 400 parishes. It stretches from Newham and the Royal Docks development through to the sandy east coast: and from the Thames estuary up to borders with Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. This extraordinary diversity makes diocesan life colourful and interesting. The Colchester Episcopal area takes in the northern half of Essex. There are two archdeaconries with the Colchester Archdeaconry is seeing considerable development in Colchester itself and at Harwich docks. Seaside towns like Frinton, Clacton and Brightlingsea continue to attract both the newly retired and younger families. There are 8 Deaneries in this Episcopal area and around 100 benefices and a valued team of Area advisers offer help with Mission and Ministry notably during a time of Transforming Presence and Leadership. The Venerable Annette Cooper is the Archdeacon. Please visit: http://www.chelmsford.anglican.org/ The Deanery of Colchester The Deanery of Colchester has many contrasting parishes. It is currently working out a vision for the future based on Mission and Ministry Units. Conversations are underway and a framework in place to attend to this development. Recently enlarged, the Chapter works well enjoying trustful and honest communication. Please visit http://www.colchesterdeanery.org.uk The Diocese: A message from Bishop Stephen
In the Chelmsford Diocese we believe that God is calling his church to be a transforming presence. Our vision is that the church - that is the people of God here in Essex and East London - should be a transforming presence in every one of our parishes. These are our priorities - To inhabit the world distinctively To evangelise effectively To hold ourselves accountable to one another and to God for the stewardship of the gospel To re imagine the way we minister so that each ordained minister and each individual Christian discovers their part in God's ministry and so that each church flourishes. To this end we are looking for priests who are excited by this vision of becoming a church which is itself transformed, and which is becoming a more visible and effective presence in the huge diversity of communities that make up this most exciting and energetic part of England. There are many challenges ahead of us. We are a diocese generously subsidised by the national church. We need to become financially self-sufficient. Leadership often seems distant. We are creating patterns of leadership that are closer to the parishes. And we are looking to develop missionary leadership at all levels of church life. Nearly half our clergy will retire in the next ten years. We need to find out how to minister with fewer stipendiary clergy and with a re-imagining of how stipendiary ministry works. We need to re-organise the way parishes relate to each other and we are calling mission and ministry units. Some of our congregations still think ministry is what Vicars do. We have a vision of ministry where the whole people of God are involved in the whole of God's ministry. We are also experimenting with new forms of authorised lay ministry. Levels of church going are below the national average. We need to get evangelism into the agenda and into the lifeblood of every church. In 2016 we are inviting every benefice to put on a weekend of mission and outreach, and we are training people in every church for this ministry. One of our aspirations is that every benefice should have a trained lay evangelism enabler. Despite planning for a future with fewer stipendiary clergy, we remain as committed as ever to the local church. And what is the local church, but that community of men and women gathered around Christ, and living and sharing the gospel in the networks and neighbourhoods of their lives? But we need priests to lead and to serve. We know we need to change. We can only be a transforming presence when we have allowed God to transform us. Therefore at the heart of all we do is a longing for intimacy with God and a renewed life of prayer. First and foremost a priest is a minister of the word and sacrament. All ministry flows from this. But a priest shares the ministry of the bishop, therefore presbyteral ministry will increasingly be a ministry of oversight, guiding, nurturing and directing the mission of God's church in the communities we serve. It is an exciting time to be part of God's missionary movement for the world, and the Diocese of Chelmsford is an exciting place to serve. We have a clear vision and we are looking to appoint clergy who will share this with us. In every parish we long to see each person and each community grow in faithfulness and ministry so that together we may serve in the world and Christ may be made known. +Stephen Some facts and figures
Number of Parishes Patrons Number of PCCs/DCCs Number of Churchwardens Licensed and Commissioned ministers Parish paid/employed staff Parish unpaid staff Buildings Number of occasional offices approx per annum Population One Bishop of Chelmsford and the Lord Chancellor One PCC three DCCs Six The Team Rector, Pioneer Team Vicar (Vacancy), two Readers, two Pastoral Assistants. Organist, two cleaners St Matthew s Centre Manager St Andrew s Church with open churchyard St Matthew s Church and Centre St Anne s Church Baptisms -20+, Weddings 5-10, Funerals 25+ Population of 19,300 (2011) not including the university area. With pockets of deprivation listed in the top 10% of the English Indices of Deprivation. Average Sunday Attendance Parish share Are ministerial expenses paid in full Church tradition Outreach/service to the wider parish Business element Existing outreach links Existing outreach links 79 (2014) 72 on electoral roll 30,000 and paid in full Yes Open/Liberal Catholic 1 secondary school. 6 primary schools including one Church of England VC school. 4 Pre-schools. Child Contact Centre. Uniformed Children s Organisations. 4 Residential Homes for the Elderly. 1 for Adults with Learning Difficulties. St Matthew s has recently just been extensively refurbished internally. Further external work is proposed. Plans are being made to completely refurbish the interior of St Anne s. 1 secondary school. 6 primary schools including one Church of England VC school. 4 Pre-schools. 4 Residential Homes for the Elderly. 1 for Adults with Learning Difficulties. The user groups at St Matthew s Church (12 including Uniformed Girl Guide Groups and a pre-school)
SAINTS (an information sharing and network group for the Greenstead Estate chaired by local councillors addressing community issues concerning employment, housing, schooling, policing etc) VOSA (Voices of St Anne s - an information sharing and network group for the St Anne s Estate) Occasional Holiday Club at St Anne s Church. Summer Cream Teas at St Andrew s. Occasional Christmas Tree Festival at St Andrew s Charities including - Colchester Foodbank, Korban (project supporting homeless teenagers based in what was St Anne s Vicarage), Beacon House and Christian Aid.