The Parish of Wareham - Our profile Love God, become like Jesus, breathe the Spirit together Wareham quay by the river Frome, with the tower of Lady St Mary Church in the background April 2014 1
The Parish Office, Church Green, Wareham, BH20 4ND tel: 01929-550905 www.warehamchurches.org.uk e-mail: parish.office@warehamchurches.org.uk Welcome to our Parish Profile. It will give you a flavour of our life together in the Wareham Team Parish, which we hope will help you to see whether you might be called to be our Team Rector. Wareham is an attractive place to live and work. It lies in the Purbeck District of Dorset about 9 miles west of Poole. Being near the sandy beaches and cliffs of the coast and the Purbeck Hills there are opportunities to enjoy water sports, walking and cycling. There is a sports centre in the town, clubs for ball games and a golf course. The RSPB reserve at Arne and the heathlands are popular for walks and observing flora and fauna. Wareham is a haven for sailors, and its proximity to the Jurassic Coast together with its attractive town centre and waterfront make it a popular and thriving destination for visitors. There is a varied selection of independent shops, businesses, banks and churches, two supermarkets, two health centres, a cottage hospital, a cinema, three primary schools and a Comprehensive school with 6 th Form, all of which have had good or excellent OFSTED reports. A frequent train service on the Waterloo to Weymouth mainline serves Wareham station and a regular bus service travels to Poole, with onward connections to Bournemouth. Thank you for reading our profile. If you would like to know more, please do contact us. With our prayers, Paddy Bartholomew, Lay Chairman, The Profile Team The PCC of Wareham Parish Our Mission Our purpose is to help people find their way back to God. We seek to be a prayerful, welcoming and caring church that is led by the Holy Spirit; reaching people that church doesn t normally reach. Our Vision We aspire to be led by the Holy Spirit and grow in faith. We look to play a full part in promoting the Christian Faith in the Deanery and Diocese, being involved with Alpha, Purbeck Evening Praise, and Connect at Holton Lee. We are a traditional church with a Mission heart, seeking what God wants, and keen to develop the next generation of leaders. We seek ways of growing our existing Church Family links. 2
We would like a Team Rector who:- Provides positive leadership for all. Will be a visible and encouraging presence in our community. Will enjoy leading the Wareham Team Ministry. Is passionate in sharing the good news of Jesus, preaching and teaching God s Word faithfully. Is gifted in pastoral care. Values and is at ease with both formal and contemporary worship styles. Enjoys the prospect of outreach into the community, working together with the Wareham Church Family. We offer A committed team of: Community Missioner/Team Vicar; two curates, one stipendiary who will complete her curacy in June 2015, and one self-supporting who is a local shop owner and will complete his curacy in June 2014; A Schools/Children s Worker is self-supporting and attending BAP in May 2014; A Prayer Minister who is also an Licensed Lay Minister and PCC Lay Chairman. The church team has attended New Wine Leaders Conferences over the last 4 years. Also LPAs and a full time paid Church Office Manager, 5 days per week; and a Treasurer. Supportive congregations. An attractive community in which to live, with good schools and transport links. The Wareham Church Family which consists of all denominations who pray and arrange joint services together. There is a close connection with Connect at Holton Lee. See www.connectdorset.org.uk. A spacious vicarage and close proximity to the Dorset coast and countryside. Our strengths We are a welcoming parish and have wide pastoral contacts. We have historic buildings in good repair. We connect with 600 children each week through school assemblies and clubs. There are several active retired clergy. We enjoy different approaches to worship: we treasure our traditions, and embrace contemporary worship. We have close links with the other denominations in Wareham and Purbeck. 3
We would like to develop A broader age profile among our Sunday congregations. Our identity as a parish of 5 distinct churches. Our overall evangelistic outreach. More lay leadership. Our giving. The use of our buildings. The Parish of Wareham The Parish of Wareham Team Ministry is a single parish benefice centred on Wareham and includes the villages of Stoborough, Ridge, Arne, East and West Holme, Sandford, and Organford. Together, the population is around 11,000 and there are 339 on the electoral roll. The population of Wareham town itself consists of 5,665 who live in 2,686 dwellings, with a high proportion of older adults and a low proportion of children. Ethnicity and religion statistics show 96.3% white British, 95% born in the UK, and 80.33% are Christian. Crime figures are very low. Of the town working population, 61% are in full-time work and 9.1% long term unemployed. Wealth is below average, with 16.5% receiving housing benefit. The church community is well represented on local Councils, businesses, charities, and schools. We are fortunate in having some fine church buildings: 4
Lady St Mary, Wareham New Worship Centre,Sandford St Martin s on the Walls, Wareham The Rectory, Wareham St Nicholas, Arne St John, East Holme Lady St Mary, interior The Rectory This large Grade 2 listed property was rebuilt in 1762 and is situated in Wareham, a few minutes walk from the church of Lady St Mary, shops, cinema, banks, post office, doctors surgery, and schools. It has 2 reception rooms and a good sized study. There is a utility room with plumbing for both a dishwasher and washing machine. On the first floor are 4 double bedrooms, a box room, family bathroom and en suite bathroom to the master bedroom. There are 3 large storage rooms in the attic and also a cellar. There is gas fired central heating throughout the main living area, an open fire in the drawing room and a gas fire in the study. Some of the rooms have shutters, and secondary glazing has recently been installed in the other rooms. The diocese has provided parquet flooring and carpets on the ground floor. The stairs and landing have been carpeted by the PCC. There is a good sized parking area to the front of the house, storage buildings and a walled garden to the rear. 5
Lady St Mary Church, Wareham is an ancient Minster church with Saxon origins associated with a Priory, until abolished by Henry VIII. It was substantially modified in Victorian times. It is our largest worship space and is where the parish gathers for united services. It has a new audio-visual system and screen. St Martin on the Walls, Wareham attracts many visitors. It was built in 1030 and contains early medieval wall paintings and an effigy of Lawrence of Arabia. It has a small and committed congregation. St Nicholas Church, Arne is a small church that currently provides a more traditional (BCP) form of worship. Very few live within the immediate vicinity and the congregation is drawn from a wide area. St Martins Church, Sandford is being redeveloped as part of the new Church of England Primary School building. Currently under construction, it is due for completion for the school term beginning September 2014. St John the Evangelist, East Holme is a small parish church for the local community within a private estate. Our Outreach Schools. Wareham has three Church of England primary schools and a large secondary school, all of which are open to church involvement through direct contact with the children and supporting roles such as being a school governor. Our ministry in the primary schools is particularly strong. Wareham Churches lead weekly assemblies in all three schools, and run after-school and lunchtime clubs in two of them. The schools now regularly invite us to come and support both their curriculum and the life of their communities. Saturday Coffee and Church on the Quay. Every Saturday the parish hall is full with people coming together for coffee and meeting others. The team is there to come alongside and help with problems and questions. On one Saturday of the month members of the Wareham Church Family are at the market on Wareham Quay to talk and pray with people, and to collect contributions for the local Food Bank. In addition the Parish Hall is used by many organisations in the community. Not just Sundaes. Last year we helped start a Community Café, Not Just Sundaes, in a redundant church. One of its stated aims is to be a demonstrable expression of God s love for all. This is attracting all age groups for various activities and provides the space for the whole community to meet and share. NJS has a focus towards young people between the ages of 14 and 20. For more information, check https://www.facebook.com/notjustsundaes Our Welcome Guardians and Guides. About 9,000 visitors a year are welcomed at Lady St Mary Church by at team of some 50 volunteer Guardians and Guides, who keep the church open for several hours each day throughout the year. Another team keeps St Martin-on-the-Walls open in the summer to welcome 5,000 visitors. Flower Festivals. A Flower Festival is held each year at LSM church on the second weekend in August and attracts over 4,000 visitors. The churches at Arne and East Holme also hold Flower Festivals. 6
Children and Young People Youth and Children s Groups. Out of school we run a week long summer holiday club for primary aged children and several one off events such as the light party, and The Christmas Thing, which are supported by a team of people from across the Wareham Churches. For older young people (years 4 to 8) there is Monday Funday, which meets weekly, and for year 8 plus there is a small group growing out of last year s confirmation preparation group. We have a small core of children within both our main LSM congregations, the larger group being part of Family Worship Tea Time Treats. Sandford's Messy Church is a new part of the church's mission north of the railway. Designed to be interactive and fun, the whole family is encouraged to take part in the crafts, games and music as we learn together about what it means to follow Jesus. We reflect with one another on the stories from the bible and talk over the shared supper which brings each session to a close. We meet once a month on Sunday afternoon and at present have 6 families who attend regularly. The leadership team is made up of 3 families who are attending the Mission Shaped Ministry Course in order to develop a deeper understanding of the unique role of this missional community in Sandford. Our worship The present service pattern is: Church 1 st Sunday 2 nd Sunday 3 rd Sunday 4 th Sunday 5 th Sunday Wednesdays Lady St Mary 08:00 09:30 08:00 09:30 08:00 09:30 08:00 09:30 08:00 10.00 HC BCP HC CW United St Nicholas, Arne 10.30 10.30 HC/MP BCP St John, East Holme St Martin, Sandford St Martin on the Walls 09:30 16:00 09:30 18:00 Summer 15:00 Winter HC/Evensong BCP 09:30 09:30 09:30 HC/MP CW Tea Time Treats (Messy Church) 11:00 HC BCP Various Venues 11:00 11.00 11.00 11.00 Family Worship 7
Music and Choirs. Lady St Mary Church has a robed, four part choir affiliated to the RSCM. It also participates in diocesan activities and in the annual Choirs Festival. There is a voluntary choir director at LSM and voluntary organists at all the churches. The 11.00 services have their own informal group of singers and musicians, including music from the current New Wine repertoire. Junior singing groups Angel Voices and Senior Angel Voices assist in the worship. Bell ringers. Lady St Mary has 10 bells and a band of about 10 ten ringers, which is affiliated to the Salisbury Diocesan Guild of Ringers. They ring for the 9.30 am Parish Communion and for other special services. Several new ringers are being taught and we aim to attract some younger ones after a new tenor bell is fitted in the Spring. There are also 50 hand bells with their own ringer teams. Weddings, Baptisms, and Funerals. Lady St Mary church in particular is popular for weddings (25), baptisms (27) and funerals (40) usually per year. Couples to be married are invited to attend a Marriage Preparation day, held around February 14 th. Baptism preparation is given by the Lay Pastoral Assistants, with appropriate follow-up. Care and Nurture OASIS Offering a Support in Sorrow. This is a community group dedicated to supporting the recently bereaved, relying on information supplied by the funeral directors and clergy. Around 60 families are visited each year, and the monthly afternoon tea is attended by 25 or so. The annual service of Thanksgiving, held at Lady St Mary church, attracts about 80 people. Home Groups. There are 8 small groups through which 90 people meet fortnightly for prayer and study. There is a weekly prayer meeting for the parish with up to 14 attending. Other activities Times Away. In September, twenty six members from the Parish and the Wareham Church Family joined in a six day pilgrimage to Lindisfarne. In November over seventy adults and children from our churches spent a weekend at Sidmouth. Both events were an opportunity for us all to worship and socialise together. Social Fundraising. The Social Fundraising teams have over the past few years managed to raise between 10,000-15,000 per year. All our fund raising events are undertaken with the intention of bringing people together. The biggest event being a Grand Day Out held at one of our local Manor Houses where we opened with an open air Communion and closed with Evensong in the small Chapel. This attracted over 1,000 people from the local area. 8
Some of the other things we get up to - Good Friday walk of witness Men s breakfast at Sandford Local Clergy on the Quay Carnival Raft Race Angel Voices young choir Grand Day Out Church team - at Creech Grange LSM Flower Festival Remembrance Day Civic procession Schools Service at LSM 9
PCC and Finance The Parochial Church Council acts as the Trustees of the parish registered charity, and comprises members from all the churches. It has sub-committees dealing with Mission, Finance, Fabric, and Music. It is represented by 5 members on the Deanery Synod. Each of the churches has its own informal committee dealing with local matters but without statutory powers of expenditure etc. The finances of the Wareham parish of five Churches are centralised and structured as one set of accounts for the PCC, including all income & expenditure and assets & liabilities. A coding system which applies to all transactions allows for the production of numbers for individual Churches on request. The PCC employs a full time Church Office Manager who is responsible for most of the cash handling and all of the centralised bookkeeping for the PCC, using a third party accounting system. There is a separate volunteer Gift Aid secretary who keeps track of GA donations. These and tax reclaims go through the Parish Office and most expenditure payments are initiated by the Office Manager centrally. The five Churches and the parish hall can initiate payments of a day to day running costs nature, but all exceptional expenditure over 100 has to be agreed in advance by the PCC. There is also a volunteer treasurer, currently a retired accountant, who oversees the PCC finances and budgets and reports regularly thereon to the PCC. There is a Finance Sub-Committee to the PCC set up to advise on all matters financial. Some details from the 2012 annual accounts are as follows:- Unrestricted Restricted Total Income 165,380 20,008 185,388 Expenditure 184,444 54,406 238,850 Gains on investments 1,408 1,844 3,252 Transfers 21,662-21,662 Net Movement of funds 4,006-54,216-50,210 The funds as at 01.01.2013 were Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total 75,365 110,242 8,000 193,607 In 2012, 106,034 was raised as income from the voluntary giving of the Parish including gift aid donations and tax reclaims, and of the expenditure 104,389 was for the Share paid to Salisbury. The sharp decrease in fabric funds was due to Church refurbishment. There are separate restricted funds for all five Churches and the parish hall, which are mostly fabric and music funds. Copies of the full Report and Accounts are available from the Parish Office. We anticipate that there will be outflows in both the unrestricted and restricted funds for the year ending 31 st December 2013, despite the fund raising efforts of the PCC and volunteers. This trend is likely to continue in 2014. 10
In Conclusion We hope you have enjoyed reading our profile. We would welcome any queries you may have. Please remember us in your prayers as we seek God s guidance in choosing our Team Rector. 11
Further information can be found on our website: www.warehamchurches.org.uk 12