St John the Evangelist, Redhill, RH1 6QA Parish Profile March 2015 www.stjohnsredhill.org.uk Registered Charity No. 1135368 Our mission is: to affirm the dignity and respect of every person to spread the gospel through sharing our lives to provide Christian nurture for all ages to be of service to our local community
St John's is a popular and growing church, set just south of Redhill town centre. The appointment of a new vicar comes at a very exciting time as work on our additional building is due to start. The new facilities will improve our mission especially with young people and local residents. We are looking for a vicar who, with support from the ministry team and the congregation, is able to lead us in meeting these and other challenges that will be heading our way. We are looking for someone to lead, guide and inspire us in our worship, to nurture us and help us grow in the local community. Our vision is to improve our presence in the St John s area, so that all people can feel comfortable with their local church. We need a vicar who relates well with young people, and is accepting of our diverse and mixed backgrounds. We are all at different stages on our journey of faith, and are welcoming to all people. The town of Redhill is situated in East Surrey 18 miles south of central London and 8 miles north of Gatwick airport. It is very well served by transport links being close to the M25 and M23 motorways, and main line rail stations at Redhill and Earlswood. Trains run to London to the north, Gatwick Airport and Brighton to the south, Tonbridge to the east and Reading to the west. A large proportion of the population of Redhill commute to London and elsewhere, however many others enjoy local employment, principally in the health, education and various service industries. Redhill is currently benefitting from a major regeneration programme with new and upgraded shops, accommodation and entertainment facilities being built. The area around the railway station is soon to be completely remodelled. Redhill is a town with mixed styles of housing, and open spaces within easy reach. The parish of St John s is one of three covering the centre of Redhill (Holy Trinity to the north and St Matthew s in the town centre) and is set to the south of the town. When the railway came to Redhill in 1841 the town began to grow and the people of Reigate decided to provide a church for the poor and needy living in the area which was known as Little London (now St John s) and so in 1843 the first church was built to the design of the architect Mr J T Knowles. In 1860 a local architect Robert Hesketh of Earlswood designed the addition of the side aisles and then in 1889 John Loughborough Pearson, who designed Truro Cathedral and many other churches, was appointed to redesign St John s. The chancel was rebuilt, the nave was radically altered and the roof raised. An entire new west front was built, followed by the tower, complete with St John s most distinctive feature, the spire. For many years the people of St John s have felt restricted by the lack of facilities within the church site. With no hall within easy reach there has been no space for our children and young people who have had to go to the nearby school or the Vicarage during the Sunday Services and the older ones to people s homes. Church office facilities, photocopying and the like, have been in the Vicar s Vestry. Whilst we have some area at the back of church for tea and coffee we do not have any real kitchen capability and our toilet facilities are woefully inadequate.
In order to overcome the lack of good space for our church to grow the Halls Working Party was formed to report to the PCC by March of 1994. There followed various attempts to obtain planning permission for an adequate building on the site but it was not until October 2012 that Reigate & Banstead Council finally gave permission for a detached building on the North side of the church to be built. The building will consist of a ground floor and basement and will be constructed in such a way as to provide a variety of uses. It will provide classrooms and meeting rooms, a kitchen, an office space as well as toilet facilities and an area in the basement which can be used as an open space or a Hall for performances or further divided to make more meeting rooms. It will be built in a way as to allow the roof space to be developed in the future. We have a building committee and a separate fundraising committee made up of enthusiastic members of the congregation who have worked tirelessly to get us to where we are today. Last year, as part of the New Building Gift Day, we encouraged brave teddy bears to abseil down the church tower. We hope to be starting the construction of this exciting project during the summer/autumn of 2015.
The life of St John s is centred in our Eucharistic worship. We enjoy both traditional liturgy and more modern expression. The current Sunday service pattern is: 8.00am BCP Holy Communion 10.30am Holy Communion (Common Worship sung Communion service) (2nd Sunday Family Service) 5.30pm BCP Evensong (2nd Sunday BCP Communion with Hymns) 7.00pm (4th Sunday) monthly Organ service, special services at some Festivals Wednesday Midday Service of Prayer and Reflection The Electoral Roll is currently 171, with an average Sunday attendance of 105 adults and 35 children under 16. Easter 2014 total was 212, and 1036 for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. In 2014 we had 25 baptisms, 12 marriages and 9 funerals. 21 people were confirmed. We are pleased that our regular congregation covers all age ranges.
Clergy and SPAs The Rev. Philip Bradshaw was formerly licensed as an NSM and served as an Honorary Curate in the parish. For the last five years he has had PTO status. His most recent arrangement with the previous incumbent was that he leads and/or preaches at parish communion on Sunday mornings about twice a month and assists with leading some special services during festival periods. Revd Dr Antony D Rich: Tony serves as Associate Minister on our clergy team. He is a Baptist Minister and tutor in a theological college and ministers at St John s with permission from the Bishop under Canon B43 as a minister in good standing with another denomination. He supports the incumbent and church through regular preaching, officiating at non-sacramental services (including the occasional funeral), and as a member of the PCC. There are two SPAs (Southwark Pastoral Auxiliary) at St John s, Frances Wood and Lois Kefford who were commissioned in 2008 and 2010 respectively. As well as taking part themselves, they coordinate the ministry of others in several areas of pastoral care. These include: a team of lay visitors who prepare families for the baptism of a child; a team of drivers who give lifts to those who would otherwise find it difficult to attend church services and functions; a team of licensed ministers of Communion who take the Sacrament to the sick and housebound and a team who welcome newcomers to the church. Frances periodically leads a Quiet Day in the church and Lois provides resources for a prayer table near the Lady Chapel. Their ministry is based within the church and parish of St John s and is supervised by the incumbent with whom they work closely and meet regularly. Lay people are involved in services by assisting with ministry of communion, and by leading some midweek services and Sunday evensong. There is a pool of sidespeople, people who read the lessons and lead intercessions. Many people are involved in the smooth running of St John s by helping with cleaning, gardening, maintenance, printing etc.
Music at St John s Music is an important and special part of worship at St John s. Its purpose is always to create a space into which God can enter. We have a Director of Music, responsible for all music in the church, and an organist. The Choir has about 22 regular members and leads the 10.30am Eucharist and Evensong on Sundays. It also sings at carol services, some festivals, weddings and funerals and other occasional services. Every Christmas the choir is invited to sing carols in the local pub. The repertoire ranges from 16th century to the present day and is mostly in 4 part harmony, with or without accompaniment. All members of the choir are trained in basic singing and performance techniques, musical knowledge and church knowledge. Some go on to take Royal School of Church Music Awards and also join RSCM Voices which sings in cathedrals on Saturdays and Bank Holidays. The congregation is very supportive and appreciative of the music the choir provides. The Family Service Group plays once a month in church and for our biggest service, the Crib Service on Christmas Eve. It is a small orchestra with all sections represented and also includes guitars and keyboard. There are approximately 21 members. All music is arranged specifically for the group and a large repertoire allows a good variety of hymns and songs throughout the year. In 2010, we began a singing group specifically for men. This has gathered strength and the group now numbers about 12 regular singers, known as St John s Songmen. They perform 2 or 3 times a year, mostly in the local pub, raising money for charity. This allows us to take our music out of the church and use it to raise the church profile in the local community. The Songmen have also begun to sing at other places in the community, such as nursing homes.
The Organ is a great asset to our church and worship. It is a 3 manual Father Willis, built in 1898, which has been well-maintained and improved, without altering its original sound. It is used at the majority of our services and is well suited to the building. Bells St John s has a ring of eight bells (tenor weight 13cwt) cast by Mears and Stainbank in 1895 and rehung in 1972. We have an active band of ringers, many of whom are members of the congregation. The bells are rung regularly for morning service, festivals and weekly practice. Our ringers are members of the Surrey Association of Bellringers, with whom we join in outings and social events. We are a group of mixed age and experience - several of our band have been learning to ring for a relatively short time. We were therefore delighted when last year we gained second place in the Surrey Call Change competition, which is aimed at inexperienced ringers. We always aim to ring to the highest standard possible, aware that we are a reminder to the wider population that St John s is a worshipping community.
Children and Youth groups Junior Church is split into two groups the Vestry Group for pre-school children from two and a half (currently 10 children) and St John's Group for school aged children up to year six (about 25 children). We are flexible about when they move to the St John's Group depending on their needs. Both Groups are run by an enthusiastic team of leaders and helpers. We use two schemes of work; Bubble for Vestry and Roots for the St John's Group. We also run events such as a Christmas Play, Good Friday Workshop, Christmas and summer end of term parties which bring all the children together. We aim to provide Christian nurture that is informative but fun and appropriate to the age group. Salt n Pepper is for school years 7-11 and meets on Sunday mornings for 35 minutes before heading back into church to join the service. There are 22 on the register although this does fluctuate each week, but those who attend are enthusiastic. We try to run two groups - the first for years 7 and 8 and the second for years 9-11. The younger group follows a structured programme of teaching and the older group tends to be more discussion led, with a topic picked by the leaders. On the 4th Sunday we invite a speaker to the group to widen the young people s knowledge and faith. We also enjoy social events, with the best being our traditional breakfast in town at Christmas, followed by decorating the Christmas tree in church. Afta8z is the senior youth group aimed at school years 10-13 and meets every other Monday evening at 8.00pm at the Youth Leaders' houses. The group currently has 9 regular members. Each fortnight the group meets to take part in discussions, cooking evenings, night walks and fellowship. The young people get on well together and look out for each other. The aim of the group is to live up to its name which is short for All Friends Together after 8. Other activities have included helping at the local winter night shelter, running a coffee morning in Church, helping organise an annual Old People's Tea Party and taking the lead annually in the February Family Service. The church has links with two Scout groups, 2nd and 34th Reigate, whose members attend the monthly Family Service.
Other activities A Good Yarn is a group who meet fortnightly for tea and chat, whilst sewing and knitting socially. They have contributed craft items to sell at successful coffee mornings, raising money towards the new building or other good causes. St John s has developed a popular tradition of active house groups during Lent - up to seven groups a week take place, culminating in a joint service on Palm Sunday evening. This is a service drawing on the themes of the current years Lent Course, with members of the groups sometimes sharing their thoughts about the course. It is an opportunity for everybody to meet together for worship, followed by refreshments. A Lent Lunch is a well established social and fundraising event. A Harvest Supper is a major social event, and sometimes other social events have taken place in the church. We are a Fair Trade Church, with a Traidcraft stall running after the main Sunday morning service. We are blessed with a team of volunteers who ensure that the church flowers are arranged every week (often sponsored by members of the congregation for a special occasion) with festivals such as Easter, Harvest and Christmas bringing all members of the team together to ensure that the church flowers are at their best. A twice yearly maintenance day is well supported by members of the church, with working parties busy both inside and outside the church building. Our new building fundraising team have organised several events specifically to raise money for the new building project. These have included a dinner with dancing at the local golf club, a puppet show, The Nativity, a dramatised production by a local Christian theatre company, which was held in our church. Many events are planned for the next 12 months which include concerts, both classical and modern, and a charity auction.
Our finances During 2013, St John s had a total income of 154,773 with a total expenditure of 195,625. Expenditure on professional fees and other related matters associated with the new building project accounted for approximately 34,000 of the deficit. We have benefited from a number of substantial legacies over the past few years, and this has allowed us to undertake a number of improvement and maintenance projects. Of this income, 110,452 is voluntary income. We currently maintain two church halls, both of which provide a small but welcome net income. St John s is a Grade II* listed building, and we are proud to be able to maintain the fabric of the building to ensure its survival for future generations to enjoy as much as we do. Our biggest expenditure is by far our Parish Share which was 80,191 in 2013. Despite quite steep increases in recent years in the Diocesan Share, St John s has always paid their contribution in full. In general, our reserves policy is to try and hold two months working capital in the current accounts, to ensure sufficient funds to support the cash flow, and allow for inevitable unexpected costs (usually maintenance related). Outside giving Each year, the congregation supports a number of charities, both national and local, through outside giving from fundraising activities and special collections. Collections from Christmas services are always split between three charities, and in 2013 a total of 2,400 was given to Christian Aid, the Children s Society and Crisis. Our Harvest supper is usually combined with a social event, and donations raised along with Harvest service collections are given to a special cause, around which Harvest sermons are based. In 2013 we raised 1,450 for Water Aid. Other special collections include the Bishop of Southwark s Lent Appeal. Funds are raised alongside our usual collections, and in 2013 we raised a total of 975. Other local charities supported include Welcare (in East Surrey) and OutReach Peru. The Songmen sing and present various secular themed evenings in less formal environments around Redhill. Their musical evenings are often combined with an organised meal at a local pub. In 2013 they raised 1,050 for the Variety Club. The accounts can be viewed on the Charity Commission website.
The Vicarage is situated immediately to the east of the church, in Church Road. It was built in 1925 and offers substantial family accommodation over 3 floors. There are 5 bedrooms, 2 large reception rooms and separate study, a large kitchen and downstairs utility spaces. The large attic is accessed by permanent stairs. Downstairs toilet, upstairs family bathroom and toilet. There is a large garden to the rear, garage and off road parking for 3 cars. The area immediately around St John s church is a conservation area, adjacent to Redhill common. There are several pubs and restaurants close to the church, and in the wider Parish. Housing in the Parish is mixed in age and style - Victorian terraces, large areas of post war housing and two new developments built on former hospital sites. There are open spaces at Redhill and Earlswood Commons, Redhill and Reigate Golf Course and Royal Earlswood Park. As well as the main shopping development in Redhill town centre, there are some notable local shops nearby - a Pharmacy, Ironmonger, Post Office and independently run local stores. The area is served by local buses, and Earlswood railway station is a short walk. Within the parish there is a small Mosque, and Earlswood and Reigate Baptist churches. St John s is part of Churches Together in Reigate and Redhill, who hold some joint events including a very popular Carol Service in the Belfry shopping centre. The Redhill Seventh-Day Adventist Church meets every Saturday at Meadvale Hall which is rented from St John s church. There are four schools in the Parish - St John s Primary, The Federation of Earlswood Schools (nursery to year 6), Reigate School (Years 7-11) and Dunottar Independent Secondary School. Reigate School is non-denominational but the others have links with the church, holding their Carol Services and school visits to the church. There are several pre-schools including the newly relocated High Trees Nursery which is held in Meadvale Hall which is rented from St John s church. If our new vicar has children of school age, they are served by the two primary schools in the Parish. For secondary education Redhill has three state schools. St Bede s (11-18), to the north of the town, is the only state-funded school where Anglicans, Roman Catholics and the Free Churches are bound together in a formal partnership to provide a common Christian education, which values the distinctive contribution of each tradition. St Bede s is a charitable trust, jointly held by the Anglican Diocese of Southwark and the RC Diocese of Arundel and Brighton and is recognised formally by Churches together in Britain and Ireland as an ecumenical partnership between Catholics and Anglicans involving the Free Churches. The Warwick School and Reigate School are Community 11-16 schools; most pupils then transfer to Reigate 6th Form College.
In Summary St John s, Redhill is a very pleasant parish covering suburban and rural areas, centred around an undoubtedly beautiful Victorian neo-gothic church. Combined with an enthusiastic and motivated congregation, we are graced with a fertile environment for worship and growth of our Christian community. We envisage that our new vicar will be family orientated, with an ability to communicate to all ages and across a breadth of intellect. The new incumbent will find reward in managing the many contrasts in our parish as well as in forging effective relationships with our local institutions, particularly those serving the youth in our community. Our search is fortunately timed, as our versatile new building will offer the new incumbent unparalleled opportunity to make their mark on the shape of St John s, and leave a lasting legacy.