ST STEPHENS COMELY BANK CHURCH OF SCOTLAND PARISH PROFILE March 2015 Our mission statement is: To build each other up in Christ and to bring others to Christ
The parish Geography The parish is unusual in that it has a comparatively small number of residential streets, with some 5000 residents, but has large areas taken up by institutions, Fettes College, Broughton High and Flora Stevenson Primary state schools, Police Scotland Divisional HQ, the Western General and Royal Victoria Hospitals, the Edinburgh Academicals rugby ground, other sports facilities, Inverleith Park and its allotments. We have good links with some of the schools but as we look to the future we hope to explore in what ways we can reach out into the other institutions in our community. It is a very varied parish, within a small geographic area (0.7 sq miles). Broughton High School The Church
The parish demography The parish has a higher proportion of younger adults compared with the city as a whole, but relatively fewer students than some inner city areas, as the Higher Education institutions are mostly elsewhere in the city. Much of the housing is flats. A lack of family housing tends to lead those with older children to move out of the area. There is no social housing and rents for private properties, nearly all flats, are above average for the city. 60% of the population class themselves as professionals. Local amenities are beginning to reflect this with recently opened restaurants and coffee shops.
The congregation The congregation is drawn partly from within the parish, many who live locally but outwith the parish itself, and a few from other parts of the city. Some attend because it is the local church; many are attracted to its evangelical ministry and its notable children s work. Since January 2015 we have been rebuilding the congregation after a small but significant number of families left. We remain because we see opportunities for mission where we are, despite concerns about the direction being taken by the church nationally. We now have about 90 attending our Sunday morning service, from a pool of around 110-120. The photo is only those who stayed on for the Annual Stated Meeting. 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% What we do together Worship every Sunday morning, with creche and Sunday Club Have lunch together once a month after the Sunday service Meet weekly in Home Groups and monthly for a central prayer gathering Have a Lunch Club and Open Fellowship once a month, primarily for older members Deliver flowers to the housebound after Sunday services Congregation Parish We have identified a mission priority to reach out to the young adults, often single, who live in the many flats near the church. Restarting Rock Solid see later is a step towards rebuilding links with children of High School age. Our older members are active and young at heart. We encourage a one family approach to church life.
Where we stand The Kirk Session SSCB adopted the Unitary Constitution in 2008. We established a committee structure to take forward the implementation of policy and to manage the day to day business of the church. This structure has faded and the current session (of 10 elders) works by delegation to individual elders and other members of the congregation. We affirm our belief that the whole of Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are the Word of God, which is the supreme rule and basis of faith and conduct of life. We affirm our belief in the Gospel of the sovereign grace and love of God revealed in Jesus Christ, God s only Son, our Lord, incarnate, crucified, and risen. Through Jesus Christ God freely offers to all people, upon repentance of their sins, and faith in Christ, the forgiveness of sins and renewal by the Holy Spirit, and eternal life, calling them to participate in the fellowship of faith for the advancement of God s Kingdom. As such we are an evangelical congregation proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. (Romans 1:16). We believe that God is significantly at work among us and that the Lord is calling us to serve him as a local church both in Comely Bank and in the many places where members of the congregation work, live and play. Our central aims are to proclaim Jesus Christ as the only saviour and Lord, to build up each other in Christ, to serve him in the world and to bring others to him. We are confident and excited at the prospect of serving under God s guiding and the Spirit s enabling at this new stage in the life of the congregation. We are committed to maintain and uphold the peace and the unity of the congregation. John Baggaley Session Clerk Alison Franks John Ballantine Treasurer Timothy Pitt Sue Baggaley Joan Brown Steve Sladdin Donald Bruce Elspeth Pitt Peter Scott
The supporting team We currently have two paid staff roles A cleaner, and the Church Officer(s) (shared by husband and wife) This is a reduction from the recent past, when we paid: Full time youth worker Administrator (5 mornings / week) Church Officers Cleaner Music Director We see the appointment of a new youth / children's worker as a priority and a recent legacy may go some way to helping with this. Administration and Music are currently under review (see exploratory diagrams) to determine the current needs in each of these areas. We do not necessarily envisage like for like replacements for the staff who have left. Being the weekday presence of SSCB Administrative support for ministry Office Supplies Books Ministry materials Internet Email Website Network Printing Service sheets etc Overhead slides Invitations Encouraging and co-ordinating musicians and singers Practices and musical development Premises Management Fabric Convenor responsible for the structure and the fixtures maintenance and improvement Kirk Session reponsible for financing Use of premises Kirk Session policies on uses and payment External Users Bookings Liaison Income Internal Users Calendar Setting up Music as a part of praise and worship Leading during formal worship Property Stewardship Health and safety DIY repairs Cleaning Utilities Selecting appropriate musical items Repertoire Service theme Feedback Membership Roll Baptism Roll Inventory Statistics Church Records PVG Administratio n Reporting Administrative support for music Music CCLI AV Resources
Worship, prayer and learning We gather at 11:00 on a Sunday morning for praise, prayer, teaching and fellowship. The service lasts around 80 minutes, with the sermon being between 25 and 30 minutes. Tea and coffee are served after the service, prayer is offered for those who want it, and many people stay for a further 20-30 minutes. Some 50 people are members of our five home groups, which meet weekly and are currently looking at Gospel Centred Church by Steve Timmis and Tim Chester. The examples of our information are just that- a picture of our life together.
Children and Young People Our vision statement for work with children and young people is: To help children and young people to get to know Jesus, live for him and really want to tell everyone about him. The values that underpin our work with young people and the challenges we face have been identified as follows. Our Values Christ centred Safety (including emotional and spiritual) Personal and relational Relevant to Children Fun Well organised Creative Our Challenges Encouraging children to invite their friends to events. Allowing children and young people to use their gifts to serve the church. Encouraging children and young people to read the Bible and pray for themselves and develop their own personal relationship with our God: Father, Son & Holy Spirit. Creche Our crèche enables parents & carers of small babies to know there is a place where their wee one will be cared for while they can be free to focus on the Sunday Worship. There is an AV feed so if parents need to remain with the baby they can still feel part of the service. Scramblers (2-4 years) The Scramblers have a planned programme with Bible stories, songs, crafts and games using the Tiddlywinks Resource books. Structured & free play is used to reinforce the Bible message. The group usually has about 5 children.. Explorers (P1-3) and Adventurers (P4-6) The Explorers and Adventurers start the Sunday morning session with combined group time catching up on the weeks news, praying, taking our collection, discussing the memory verse (and reinforcing it with a game or other activity). The two groups then enjoy the combination of Bible reading, crafts, challenges and games based on the Click Resource books. The Leaders work on a 5-6 week rotation, which means there is continuity for the children but also that the leaders get the chance to listen to sermons and relate to others on a Sunday morning. There are around 20-25 children attending each week. Inspire (P7-S3) Inspire involves Serving the congregation & Sunday Club; Growing closer to God & each other; Learning fundamentals of faith, how to share our faith, how to pray & study the Bible and Grilling older Christians, hearing their testimonies and getting to know them. This is a small but growing group...
Outreach to Young People For the last 15 years there has been a full time, salaried, Youth Worker at SSCB. (post currently vacant) There are 3 schools in the parish: Flora Stevenson Primary, Broughton High School and Fettes College. Close links have been built with staff and pupils at Flora s and Broughton. Having a youth worker to assist in the SU groups in these and other schools (generally led by our own congregation members) further strengthens those links. Fettes College has its own chaplaincy and the chaplain is a member of the congregation. We are currently seeking additional funding in order to appoint a replacement worker for our ministry to young people. Holiday Clubs Holiday Clubs are an important part of the outreach youth work programme. We have held a weeklong holiday club at Easter for a number of years with up to 60 children attending (aged 5-12). The Club is run by a team of church members who organise; pray; bake; administrate; lead groups, craft or games & demonstrate the Gospel to the children in all the activities and their conduct. We have used SU materials such as Space Academy, Landlubbers & Rocky s Place. During the week we hold a Family evening to involve the children s families and to let them hear the good news that their children have been learning about. Following the Holiday Club we invite all attendees & their families to a Holiday Club Sunday Worship service. Many Children attend faithfully year after year even if not church members. SU Groups Congregation members are involved in leading SU groups at Flora Stevenson s Primary School, Edinburgh Academy Junior School and ESMS Junior School. These are run in lunchtimes at the schools. The activities in the groups are focused on sharing a little of the Gospel each week through learning about the Bible, along with having fun. We aim to ensure that every child who comes is welcomed, included and listened to. Rock Solid (S1-4) This is a midweek outreach youth club held in the church. It is currently run by church adult & teen volunteers. The group aims to connect with local teenagers and build relationships that demonstrate Christian love & living to the young people. There are around 10 young people involved and for most this is their only church connection.
Outreach and nurturing for Adults In the past ten years SSCB has used Christianity Explored as a whole congregation learning tool, for basic membership training, and for outreach. Some elders have experience with Alpha, Business Alpha and Agnostics Anonymous and we may explore some of these. A short course on Answering Agnostics was run in 2013, and we hope to explore the big questions in our home group study material later this year. We are keen to encourage members of the church to be witnesses and Christian influences in the places where they spend their daily lives, be this work, leisure, neighbourhood or whatever. We are also exploring what form out collective outreach to adults should take to reach out to communities. During the past years we have run a Sunday evening Cafe Church in a local coffee shop with invited speakers. Several members of the church have active sporting interests, and in July 2014 we hosted a screening of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games opening ceremony and ran a successful sports quiz in conjunction with the Christians in Sport and More than Gold organisations. The question is What next?
Reaching out to those in need St Stephens has a long history of involvement with Bethany Christian Trust, providing a team to staff the Care Van and also accommodation for the Night Shelter. Support for the North West Edinburgh Foodbank is more recent. The Kirk Session has agreed to open a Christians Against Poverty debt centre for North Edinburgh and work is currently proceeding to secure funding from other churches and elsewhere so that a manager can start working in the early summer. This will be a collaborative venture with other churches in the vicinity. Two members of the congregation are Street Pastors in central Edinburgh. Christians Against Poverty (CAP) Prayer meetings are held monthly at St Stephens. @ 19:30 At the moment the theme is for us to continue to pray as churches from across Edinburgh work together to show God s love and grace. Pray that God would provide the resources needed for the Edinburgh North CAP centre. To hear more please talk to Claire Baggaley. Our response to those in need The Care Van The SSCB Care Van team will be out again on Saturday night at the end of the month. Please bring donations of warm clothing for homeless men in Edinburgh - socks, gloves, hats, scarves and coats. items need to be in good, clean condition., warm blankets and sleeping bags needed. The North West Edinburgh Foodbank still needs donations this month and every month. These should be brought to church on the last Sunday in each month. If you want to be more involved in either of these ministries please talk to Alison McLaughlin
Finances Congregational finances have been healthy for a number of years, with income meeting day to day needs and allowing good stewardship of the buildings. The youth worker was financed locally, latterly through a trust established by some members (all of whom have now left). The current (2015) position is more difficult as the M&M contribution is based on income when the congregation was much larger and had a significant number of higher earners who gave generously. At a recent meeting the General Treasurer and Convenor of the Council of Assembly accepted that the sum requested could not be realistically met this year. They assured us that any shortfall would not be an impediment to the appointment of a Minister 200,000 180,000 160,000 140,000 120,000 100,000 80,000 60,000 40,000 20,000 0 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 One off gifts and legacies Hall income Tax reclaim Giving Half our expenditure is related to running costs of keeping the church open A quarter was spent on ministry staff A quarter goes to pay the central costs of the CoS, used to support less wealthy congregations and a contribution to World Mission Central costs, 45,344, 26% Where the money went - 2014 Other expenses, 16,264, 9% Similar plot of expenses Upkeep of Building, 23,922, 13% The legacy income in 2014 has allowed a refresh of the church halls and will provide for refurbishment of the Manse. We expect total income for 2015 to be around 100,000. Around one third of the regular giving has been lost and it will take some time to replace this. We have started discussions with the General Treasurer to manage any shortfall in M&M contributions Ministry Staff, 45,954, 26% Running costs, 45,898, 26%
Church Buildings The church building dates from 1901. The halls were added later. The exterior of the church is listed, in part because of its prominent position at a strategic street corner in the community. The buildings are kept in good repair and the most of the halls have recently had a refresh of the internal paintwork. There is a long standing aspiration to replace the pews in the church, but this is not a simple task because of the location of heating pipes and the slope of the floor. The church address is 10 Comely Bank Road EH4 1DW The location of the building is a key factor in the vision of the Kirk Session to be a church rooted in the community. For older members of the congregation it is accessible on foot being close to their homes and for the next generation it is a building they can t avoid. Passers-by drop in to services and much more can be done to exploit the position. The railings and notice board provide a good platform for advertising events. Two halls, each big enough for a badminton court, a session room, office and vestry, prayer room, kitchen and toilets. The separate, wheelchair accessible, access links to all the rooms. Halls used for a variety of community groups, including scouts and guides, country dancing, a commercial playgroup and children's parties The sanctuary will seat around 400 without using the balcony. The organ console is to the rear of the chancel. A full AV system with radio microphones is available. A sound desk links in the music group and all speakers. Circulating space is available by the main doors and there is direct access to the halls
The Manse The Manse, located at 8 Blinkbonny Crescent, Dating from the turn of the 20th century, it is a substantial, terraced stone built dwelling. Blinkbonny Crescent is quietly situated to the south of Queensferry Road and is reached from Craigleith Crescent. It is outside the parish, around 25 minutes (2 kms) brisk walk from the church. Amenities in the area are excellent, there are good local shopping facilities at Blackhall and the property is particularly convenient for the Craigleith Retail Park which includes a Sainsbury s and a Marks & Spencer Store. There are several quality schools close by including Stewarts Melville College and Mary Erskine School and the highly regarded Blackhall Primary School which are all within easy walking distance. The City's main business and commercial centres and the Airport can easily be reached, either by car or by using the excellent bus service. The comfortable, well appointed, accommodation comprises, on two floors: Ground Floor: Porch L shaped hall with staircase off and cloak/shower room under the stairs Lounge Dining Room Living Room Kitchen Mezzanine: First Floor: Maid s Room (maid not included!) over the kitchen (can be used as a study) Master bedroom Double bedroom Two single bedrooms Bathroom Outside there is an enclosed rear garden with double garage. Rear access is to a back lane. All kitchen equipment is provided and much has been renewed in the last 7 years. There is gas fired central heating. On street car parking at the front is unrestricted and there only properties on one side of the street.
In summary Our Vision In the next 9 months we hope to achieve some key milestones in the life of the church. We want to develop the detail of this vision collaboratively with the new Minister but the general direction is agreed and actions are being taken now. So, what are we looking for from the Minister someone who can: Train the leadership team Teach and encourage the congregation Bring ideas from elsewhere Keep the focus on the proclamation of the Good News Opening a Christians Against Poverty debt centre for North Edinburgh Re-starting Rock Solid as an outreach to the secondary school community Looking for a Youth Worker to start work in September 2015 Getting a grounding in Apologetics through our Home Group studies Reviewing our staffing needs and getting the right balance between paid and voluntary workers Most people living and working around the church and also those we meet in the communities where we work or mix have no links with the Christian faith. As a congregation we see this as the main challenge to our life together how do we engage with people who see no need for God. We seek to be a missionary church and look for a Minister who can inspire, teach and encourage us in this endeavour. We hold the scriptures as the yardstick against which all our words and actions should be judged, and we look to God to speak afresh into our lives day by day, as we seek to live out His purposes and reach out to His world.