St Simon s Church Southsea Parish Profile June 2015 http://www.stsimons-southsea.org.uk/
CHURCH SERVICES On the first Sunday of each month there are two services: at 9.30am there is a KISS (Kids in St Simon s) service designed for families with younger children and at 11.15am there is a formal service of Holy Communion using Common Worship Order Two in contemporary language. On the second, fourth and fifth Sundays of the month there is a service of Morning Praise at 10.30. The normal structure involves: opening prayer, songs led by a music group, confession - after which children and teenagers leave for their own groups, intercessions, a hymn, the lesson, a sermon or address (approximately 20 minutes is normal), a final hymn. On the third Sunday there is a service of Family Communion. At present we are experimenting with ways to make this service more interesting for younger people. In order to meet the needs of the widest spectrum of attenders the service is followed (after coffee) by a detailed Bible study on the passage for the day for those who wish to stay. On all except the first Sunday, prayer is offered for personal needs following the services. Normally two groups of two people are available and, should it be requested, people may be anointed with oil. The services, with the exception of 11.15 on the first Sunday are comparatively informal to meet the needs of the congregation, many of whom do not come from an Anglican background and increasingly come from a non-church attending background. The clergy do not robe. All of the services, with the exception of 11.15 on the first Sunday are followed by refreshments. There are normally no weekday services. Evening services were discontinued over twenty years ago because of low attendance and have been replaced by offering supper to anyone who comes into the church. The supper is preceded by a short prayer and a short talk is given half way through. The supper attracts between 30 and 60 people each week, the majority are living alone, many in bed sits or in temporary accommodation and a few are actually sleeping rough. A rule of no smoking, no drinking, no drugs is strictly enforced. This constitutes both a community service and very basic evangelism.
CHURCH ACTIVITIES Discipleship House groups: The church runs seven groups for adults and one for younger people. Courses: The church runs Alpha courses, either freestanding or with the neighbouring parish of St Jude s, occasional short discipleship courses and Lent courses. Prayer and Praise: Three weekly meetings are held Tuesday Time Together and two Rhythm of Prayer meetings. Rhythm of prayer is a simple, liturgy-based, time of prayer. A joint prayer meeting has recently started with St Jude s Church, meeting every 2-3 months. A group also meets monthly to pray for the state of Israel. Youth and Children s Work In addition to provision for younger people at our Sunday services, the church runs a parent and baby club, also an occasional messy church and undertakes work in local schools, both local authority and independent. We run a range of activities for older children and teenagers, mainly working together with St Jude s parish. Ministry to the Vulnerable Sunday Suppers: A meal is provided every Sunday evening for homeless and vulnerable people. Breakthru: This is a self-help group meeting every Friday where people develop skills and are helped with benefits and basic education. It uses both the church kitchens and the well-equipped workshop in the basement. Housebound and Isolated: A visiting team visits housebound and isolated people and regular services are held in a number of the local care homes. Communication Newsletter: We publish a church newsletter for members of the church every two weeks. This contains not only details of services but also a wide variety of news. Website: The church website contains details of all our activities together with links to recordings of recent sermons and addresses. The Source: The Source is a four page leaflet delivered to every household in the parish three times a year. It contains comment on current issues as well as church news. Missions and Charities The church makes collections for Tearfund and for the Bishop of Portsmouth s Lent Appeal. We take part in the annual fundraising for Christian Aid. Retiring collections are made to meet disaster needs The church aims to give 10% of all voluntary unrestricted income to charitable
purposes. In 2014 we gave 600 each to: The Bible Society, Faith and Football, The Alzheimers Society, Street Pastors, The Barnabas Trust, FRMME (Middle East), Tearfund, JoshuaFM Radio (Uganda). Maintenance Working Parties General maintenance work on the church building and on the surrounding garden is undertaken by frequent working parties. Social Activities An active social committee organises regular events, including grub club visits to local pubs and restaurants, quiz nights, fun auctions, etc. ETHOS of St. SIMON S CHURCH Since its foundation 150 years ago St Simon s Church has seen itself as clearly from the evangelical tradition of Anglican churchmanship, whilst more recently being also open to the exercise of gifts of the Holy Spirit. Its outlook is firmly based on the conviction that the Bible, as the word of God, is the final arbiter in matters of doctrine, practice, behaviour and lifestyle. The church believes that its ministry both within the parish and further afield is particularly to the poor and marginalised and this belief underpins both its financial giving and its social and community work. At a personal and congregational level we believe that we must welcome everyone and seek to meet their spiritual, emotional and physical needs without pre-judging them. The St Simon s Vision Statement (Appendix 1) provides a clear indication of the aim and intention of the church. It expands on nine aspects which we consider to be central to our Christian life: 1. The Holy Scriptures are fundamental to our life and faith 2. Prayer is central to our life 3. As Jesus family we aim to be a come as you are church 4. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is for all 5. Each of us is called to journey with Jesus 6. God has given us all spiritual gifts 7. We see children and young families to be at the heart of the church 8. We are called to reach out in particular to people whose lives have been damaged and who have lost their way 9. We support worldwide mission. St Simon s wishes to work closely with its neighbouring parish of St Jude s and to this end are developing a covenant relationship with them (Mission Partnership) which will enable both of us to work jointly and more effectively. The draft covenant statement is appended at Appendix 2.
NEEDS, HOPES AND ASPIRATIONS Following the retirement of Matthew Holland as Vicar at the end of April 2015, the PCC has been conducting a survey of the views of members of the congregation. This has taken the form of eight listening groups where two members of the PCC listened and recorded the views of groups of people, supplemented by open ended questionnaires for those people unable to attend a listening group. The questioning was open ended and people were encouraged to give their ideas on three matters: what is important to you about St Simon s, what do you hope for in a new incumbent, and what should be the priorities and vision a new incumbent should address. The result are as yet (29 th May) only partially correlated but a pattern is emerging. What is important about St Simon s The two aspects which are most frequently mentioned are that it seeks to provide a service to the community and that its services are well led, of different styles and fairly informal in presentation. Other aspects which are frequently noted are that it is seen as an inclusive and welcoming church open to all levels of belief and background, that it provides well for children and that it runs as a team with most members taking an active role. What do you hope for in a new incumbent Most frequently mentioned was the hope that the new incumbent would have good interpersonal skills and pastoral abilities. There was also a common hope that she or he would be in tune with the development of a Mission Partnership with St Jude s and also would be happy to trust people with responsibility. Other things which were mentioned were that people hoped for a good preacher, someone good with children and a person with a vision for evangelism and church growth. We would expect the new incumbent to exhibit and promote Biblical principles in his or her character and personal lifestyle, particularly regarding marriage and personal relationships. Future priorities and vision The most common priority mentioned is the need to increase the membership amongst 20 to 40 year old people and to reach out to the student population. Other frequent aspirations were that the Mission Partnership be firmly established, that the church s community work should be expanded and that the house groups and study groups should grow and become stronger.
THE CHURCH BUILDING The foundation stone of the church was laid in September 1864 and the building was consecrated in 1867. It was substantially remodelled in the early years of the 20 th Century when electric lighting was installed and the pews were rearranged to provide for a central aisle. A further major development took place between 1979 and 1982 when the gallery was removed and replaced by two large meeting rooms, two small meeting rooms, two kitchens and two sets of toilets at the rear of the church. An AV system is installed in the Church, including an LCD projector for use in services. The Musicians also have a performance area to lead the worship during services, which also includes a grand piano. During the last few years a number of major developments have been undertaken. The high level roof and the flat roof over the vestries have been re-roofed, the costly and inefficient oil heating system has been replaced with infra-red overhead heating, the organ has been sold and the organ space is in the process of being turned into a dedicated prayer space. The kitchens and toilets have been renovated and the former coal store has been transformed into a fully equipped workshop. The nave and chancel were also completely redecorated in 2014. Plans for the near future will see the floor of the nave overhauled, sanded and polished to provide a flat surface, the pews replaced by comfortable chairs to allow for more flexible worship and a more varied use of the space and the replacement of carpeting in the chancel and on the platform. A Faculty has been granted to allow this work to be carried out and the funding to complete it has been raised. Decisions have yet to be made on the future of the pulpit, the brass lectern and the stone font. A recent (May 2015) quinquennial inspection found the building to be in generally a good state of repair but noted that repair of the stonework of the West end stained glass window, and to a lesser extent that of the East end stained glass window, was a priority for the near future. PROPERTY The church also owns, freehold, a terraced three bedroom property in Gains Road. This was formerly a curate s house and has until recently been used to house the youth worker. Following renovations the property has now been commercially let and will provide a modest source of income for the church. MINIBUS A Ford Transit minibus is owned by the church. This provides support for Church activities and other deserving groups, who are asked to make a donation at a recommended rate based on mileage.
EMPLOYEES The church employs four people on a part time basis: a parish administrator (20 hours per week) a children s and youth pastor (30 hours per week) a community development worker (12 hours per week) a church cleaner (10 hours per week) All employees are paid at or above the hourly living wage Each employee is responsible to a line manager, normally the incumbent or a PCC member. (The line manager for the cleaner is the parish administrator.) Other work is undertaken on a voluntary basis by members of the church. n.b. From August 2015 the children & youth pastor post will be split into two separate part-time posts, each for 16 hours per week. CHURCH CENTRE In the late 1970s two large meeting halls were constructed at the east end of the church, on two separate floors each of which is served by a kitchen. The upper hall is suitable for the organisation of children s activities, eg. Ball games, in addition to more conventional meetings. Church Centre lettings not only provide the Church with an income, but also put St Simon s at the heart of the local community. The centre is used quite frequently by Mayville High School, including in the Summer Term when the upper hall is used as an exam hall for its GCSE pupils. Other external groups that have regular bookings for the Church Centre include: Alcoholics anonymous; Keep Fit; Retired Civil Servants; Good News Travelling Library; Southsea Children s Centre; Lindy Hop Dance School; Narcotics anonymous; Cocaine anonymous; Dog Training Class. The Letting Policy Agreement for all users was revised earlier this year.
150 th Anniversary Celebrations, September 2014
FINANCES St Simon s has three main sources of regular income: Giving from members of the congregation, mainly by Gift Aid; Church Centre lettings; Rental from property (31, Gains Road), currently let to the Portsmouth Diocese on a three year lease In addition, the Church benefits in various ways from two local Trust Funds: The St Simon s Mission Hall and Coffee Tavern Trust, set up by the first vicar of St. Simon s (Rev. F. Baldey) in 1879 ( reg. charity no. 274794) The Waverley Trust, set up after the sale of the first vicarage in Waverley Road (reg.charity no. 255234) With this support the church has always been blessed in meeting its financial obligations.
LOCATION St Simon s is situated at the junction of St. Ronan s Road and Waverley Road, about 7-8 minutes walk from the seafront. Clarendon Road, Southsea, one of the main thoroughfares.
VICARAGE The address of St Simon s vicarage is 6, Festing Road, Southsea, and it is an 8 10 minute walk from St Simon s Church. It is located very close to the Albert Road shops and is about a 5 minute walk from Canoe Lake and the seafront. It is a double fronted semi-detached property, offering excellent family accommodation, with both rear and front gardens. The property was built in the early 1900s and has two main reception rooms, a separate dining room, kitchen and utility room, plus four bedrooms, bathroom and shower room. The property is believed to be in good structural condition, with a relatively new tile roof. Re-decoration and some essential repairs will be undertaken before the new vicar is in post. (Confirmed by Portsmouth Diocese) The property also benefits from a garage (unusual for Southsea), with hard standing in front, plus a cellar with two rooms. The front garden is mainly paved with smaller flower beds and rose bushes. The rear garden is laid to lawn with side flower bed and shrubbery. There is also a small brick built shed (integral to the house) that can be used for the storage of a lawn mower, garden furniture etc.
CLERGY SUPPORT The Vicar of St Simon s leads a small team of church employees who are all actively involved in support of the ministry. The current church employees are: Community Development Worker (overseeing Sunday Suppers & Breakthru); Parish Administrator; Children s Pastor (from August 2015); Youth Outreach Worker (from August 2015). Strong links are being forged with the neighbouring parish, St Jude s. The vicars of each parish have been meeting regularly for prayer and mutual support and encouragement, and one of the proposals of the Mission Partnership agreement is the cross-licensing of the vicars of St Simon s and St Jude s in both parishes. St Simon s has a long tradition of active involvement by lay members of the congregation during services. Rotas are in operation with lay members of the congregation carrying out the following roles most weeks: Worship Leader; Reading the scriptures; Leading the congregation in prayer; Sound desk operator; Lap-top operator; Coffee making; Back of house duty (usually a Church Warden); Welcomers Musicians Prayer ministry teams St Simon s also benefits from the support and help of a retired vicar in the congregation, who not only assists with the running of services, but is also active in his support for the Breakthru and Sunday Suppers ministries. Support to the vicar is also offered by a small group of experienced members of the congregation, known as the Pastoral Team, which meets with the vicar weekly and provides a link with the House Groups. A cluster of local clergy also meet from time to time for mutual support and sharing. BAPTISMS, MARRIAGES and FUNERALS The following statistics apply to the previous vicar in his last twelve months in the parish: Baptisms 1 (plus 1 service of thanksgiving and dedication) (This figure may be low because the previous vicar was not always comfortable in offering infant baptism). Marriages 1 Funerals 12 (this includes 1 funeral service at St. Simon s, plus a further 11 where the previous vicar officiated at the crematorium). A number of additional funerals within the parish were also conducted by the retired vicar who is a member of St Simon s.
LOCAL FACILITIES Southsea is a seaside resort within the city of Portsmouth. Portsmouth is renowned for its naval history and is home to three vessels of international fame HMS Victory, HMS Mary Rose & HMS Warrior. Some of the old naval dockyard (H.M.S.Vernon) has now been redeveloped into a leisure and shopping complex called Gunwharf Quays,that brings many extra tourists into Portsmouth. Gunwharf includes many places to eat and socialise, and it addition to its shops has a 15-screen cinema complex, and the Spinnaker Tower. Southsea seafront benefits from a large area of open grass land, Southsea common, and is also the location for other attractions including the D-day museum, the Pyramids leisure pool & tennis courts (both hard courts and grass). A hovercraft service operates to the Isle of Wight with a crossing time of 10 minutes. Rail links to London are excellent (I hour 30 minutes to London Waterloo), and there is also an excellent south coast line to Brighton and beyond, as well as direct rail services to other cities including Cardiff, Bristol & Exeter. The Mountbatten Centre in Portsmouth is the main leisure centre for a wide range of sports, including an Olympic sized pool, and within the St Simon s Parish there is the Wimbledon Park Sports Centre that offers facilities for badminton and other sports. SCHOOLS Southsea is well served by a range of both primary and secondary schools. Primary schools either within St Simon s parish or very close include: Craneswater Junior School (http://www.schooljotter.com/showpage.php?id=1293280) Southsea Infants School (http://www.southsea.portsmouth.sch.uk/) St Judes Church of England School (http://www.st-judes.portsmouth.sch.uk/) St Swithun s Catholic Primary School (http://stswithunscatholicprimaryschool.co.uk/) The two nearest secondary schools now both have Academy status. Charter Academy (http://charteracademy.org.uk/) sixth form course) (previously 11-16 but now offers a Priory school (http://priorysouthsea.org/) (11-16) Portsmouth has its own sixth form college: Portsmouth College (https://www.portsmouth-college.ac.uk/)
Independent Schools in Portsmouth include: Mayville High School (co-ed) (http://www.mayvillehighschool.com/) Portsmouth Grammar School (co-ed) (http://www.pgs.org.uk/) Portsmouth High School (girls only) (http://www.portsmouthhigh.co.uk/) St John s College (co-ed) (Roman Catholic) (http://www.stjohnscollege.co.uk/) Gunwharf Quays Southsea Common
MEMBERSHIP, ELECTORAL ROLL AND ATTENDANCE Church membership 171 May 2015 Members living in the parish 92 May 2015 Electoral Roll 89 January 2015 Average attendance in 2014 (2013 in brackets) 1 st Sunday of month 0930 30 (37) 1 st Sunday of month 1115 36 (37) Other Sundays 1030 73 (84) PARISH STATISTICS - FROM 2011 CENSUS Except where stated these figures were compiled by the Diocese of Portsmouth from output area statistics in the 2011 Census. Population 9312 Owner occupiers 23% Households 4292 Mortgage occupiers 25% Private rented 43% Age under 20 19% Shared ownership 1% Age 20-29 25% LA housing 1% Age 30-44 21% Social housing 4% Age 45-64 21% Rent free housing 2% Age 65-84 11% Age 85 and over 3% Resident population: White UK or Irish 79% Always single 51% Asian 5% Married/cohabiting 30% African/Caribbean 2% Separated/divorced 13% Middle East 1% Widowed 6% Mixed race 5% Other 8% No qualifications 13% Level 4 and above 40% Student population 19% Child poverty (IMD) 15% Christian 48% Pensioner poverty (IMD) 15% No religion 35% Working Age Poverty Muslim 4% (DWP) 9% Other 5% Not stated 8% UK born 83% UK resident 10 years or less 9%
ARTICLES OF COVENANT FOR A MISSION PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE PARISHES OF ST JUDE AND ST SIMON, SOUTHSEA 1. We, the parochial church councils of the parishes of St Jude and St Simon, Southsea, in the diocese of Portsmouth, covenant together that we undertake to work in partnership to develop, promote and implement elements of the Church s mission. In particular, although not to the exclusion of other matters, we aim to advance our mission in the ways set out below. 2. We will support the cross licensing of our ministers, both lay and ordained, and encourage them in collaborative and coordinated ministry. 3. The staff team of St Jude s and the pastoral team of St Simon s will meet regularly for prayer and planning. They will manage the coordination of the activities of the two churches to make the most effective use of people and buildings. 4. We will establish and maintain an outreach working group which will be charged to develop, implement and monitor strategies for publicity and for informing, contacting and evangelising the people of Southsea. 5. We will develop common programmes for discipling, educating and encouraging the spiritual growth of all people who attend our churches, paying particular attention to the needs of those who have newly come to faith. 6. We will collaborate together in youth and children s ministry, especially working together in our ministry to schools and in joint programmes and ventures for teenagers. 7. We will cooperate in providing a ministry to the elderly, especially to those who are housebound through illness or infirmity. 8. We will support and encourage the distinctive social outreach of each parish and involve people from both parishes wherever practicable. 9. We will work jointly with the deanery and the diocese, if and when it is appropriate, on schemes for church planting. 10. We will establish cooperation between the treasurers/finance teams of the two parishes to determine the level of funding to be made available to each aspect of our collaborative ministry and an equitable division of the financial provision to be made by each parish. Joint recommendations of the treasurers/finance teams will require endorsement by each parochial church council. 11. We will ensure that our respective parochial church councils liaise and coordinate their work on all matters of mutual interest. 12. This covenant will last for ten years from the date of ratification unless modified by mutual agreement or replaced by a single parish arrangement. A mid-term review will be conducted after five years. After ten years the covenant will be reviewed and renewed should both parishes so wish. 13. This covenant is signed on behalf of the parochial church councils of St Jude and St Simon, Southsea (the signatures of the Chair & Vice Chair of each PCC)
St Simon s Church Vision Statement Who are we and what are we aiming for? 1. The Holy Scriptures are fundamental to our faith and life We aim to understand what Scripture teaches and to live it to the full. 2. Prayer is central to our life Prayer together (Rhythm of Prayer and Tuesday Time Together) is woven into every aspect of our life. 3. Jesus Family Jesus wants us to welcome equally people of all backgrounds into his family. We aim to be a come as you are church, in which we can feel safe, and free to find ourselves. 4. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is for all Jesus wants to grow his church. We run an alpha course regularly, and also offer training in how to seek and make disciples. 5. Each of us is called to journey with Jesus We provide a variety of home groups, short discipleship courses (VIA), as well as mentoring to help each other to explore this new way of life, and grow into all that Jesus has for us. 6. God has given us all spiritual gifts Part of our task is to help each other to discover and grow in our unique, God-given gifts. This involves taking risks and giving responsibility, with good support, to the inexperienced. We try to encourage as many as possible to take an active part in Sunday worship, which is generally informal. We offer prayer for healing and salvation every Sunday. 7. We see children and young families to be at the heart of this church For this we seek to express church in the ways that children can connect with, and encourage young parents through a network. 8. We are called to reach out in particular to people whose lives have been damaged and who have lost their way The main way we do this is through Sunday Suppers and Breakthru, which are as much church as the Sunday services. 9. Worldwide Mission We work to support Christ s mission to change the world. Our worldwide links are a big part of who we are. This document is a work in progress which we hope that we can all own together. Please pray over it, meditate on it, allow your imagination to colour in the details. The PCC would welcome any comments you have to make.