PARISH PROFILE
St Lawrence, Frodingham, and All Saints New Brumby Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire Diocese of Lincoln in Archdeaconry of Stow and Lindsey also Area Dean of North Lincolnshire INCUMBENT The Reverend Moira Astin MA MA DipMin The Vicarage Vicarage Gardens Scunthorpe North Lincolnshire DN15 7AZ 01724 334873 moira.astin@btinternet.com
Date of Ordination: Length of time in parish:
Deacon: Licensed:
July 1995 16th June 2011
Priest:
July 1996
Previous Experience: 1995 - 1999 1999 – 2005 2002 – 2011 2005 – 2009 2009 – 2011
Assistant Curate, Newbury Team Ministry, Oxford Diocese Team Vicar, Thatcham Team Ministry, Oxford Diocese, with responsibility for Dunston Park Church Local Ecumenical Partnership Anglican Ecumenical Officer for Berkshire Team Vicar, Woodley Team Ministry, in charge of Southlake St James, Oxford Diocese Vicar, Southlake St James, Woodley
Alongside my parish work, I have been a member of the General Synod since 2000. I was on the Board of Mission from 2000 – 2002, and part of the Working Party which wrote ‘Mission Shaped Church’ from 2002 – 2004. Since 2005 I have been a member of the Legal Aid Commission of the Church of England, and since 2009 the Church of England representative on the Churches Together in England Group for Local Unity. I am also a member of the Methodist and Anglican Panel for Unity in Mission. In 2010 I was appointed to the Clergy Discipline Commission. I have taught Doctrine, Ethics and Church History on the Local Training Pathway for the Diocese of Oxford. In Scunthorpe I am looking forward to bringing my experience in helping churches to grow together with my passion for developing people in their ministry. Frodingham and New Brumby Parish is a training hub, where we will learn together what it means to be clergy in the 21st century.
TRAINING POST FOR: Deacon who expects to be ordained Priest 1
productions. There are a variety of local theatrical, choral and historical groups in the town. Sporting interests are well catered for by local pitches, a velodrome, running track, swimming pools and leisure centres.
THE PARISH SETTING The town of Scunthorpe developed from the five separate small villages of Ashby, Brumby, Crosby, Frodingham and Scunthorpe, brought together from the midnineteenth century when ironstone was discovered locally. Development of the ironworks, and later steelworks, led to a mushrooming of the population, bringing in first local agricultural workers, and later, workers from Poland, the Ukraine, Italy, India, Bangladesh, Scotland and elsewhere. The town gained urban status in 1919 and a Borough charter in 1936. Since 1996 Scunthorpe has been the largest town in the North Lincolnshire Council unitary authority.
‘The town has excellent communications with the rest of the country …’ There is an excellent modern hospital and modern town centre shopping. The local authority has achieved an ‘excellent’ rating from the Audit Commission for its services, and pioneering work has been done in the education service in particular. Many refurbished or replacement primary and specialist secondary schools have been built and there is excellent provision for special needs pupils. There are two new Lifelong Learning Centres in the town and a WEA Centre. The John Leggott Sixth Form College and the North Lindsey Further Education College have both achieved beacon status.
Today Scunthorpe is known as the Industrial Garden Town, with acres of attractive parks and open spaces. The town houses the regional museum for North Lincolnshire with its archaeology and geology collections of national importance and there is easy access to the local authority-run Normanby Hall Country Park with its farming museum and award winning Victorian walled garden. There is an excellent Vue cinema and the vibrant 20/21 Arts Centre has a constantly changing exhibition programme. The Plowright Theatre hosts a varied programme of professional and local 2
The town has excellent communications with the rest of the country via the M180 motorway and the Humber Bridge, and rail links to Doncaster and beyond. Two major regional airports, Humberside and Robin Hood, are situated within a 25 mile radius of the town. Its compact boundaries allow rapid access to the surrounding, largely rural area with its attractive market towns, unspoilt villages and open countryside.
Much of what makes North Lincolnshire tick as a county is based in the Parish of Frodingham and New Brumby. Hence there are many opportunities to collaborate with businesses and organisations in the private, public and voluntary sectors. Because of this St Lawrence’s often plays a civic role within the Scunthorpe area. The Parish of Frodingham and New Brumby is best described as Town Centre and Urban and has a population of some 15,000. The Parish is a member of the North Scunthorpe Group of Parishes which formally came into being on 1st January, 2001. The Group Council meets once a quarter and the clergy hold a staff meeting every month. Currently there are two incumbents in the group. There are four parishes within the Group – Frodingham and New Brumby, Crosby (a neighbouring town centre parish with a similarly multicultural population), Berkeley (situated on a housing estate) and Gunness (a village about 2 miles outside Scunthorpe). The Group has organised joint services, study days and group weekends as well as joint study groups. It is hoped to identify more activities that can be done jointly in order to make better use of the resources available. Joint activities and services are also held with other local churches who are members of Churches in North Scunthorpe. The Multi Faith Partnership, which meets under the auspices of North Lincolnshire Council, is an important forum for discussion and social action.
At its height in the 1960’s and 1970’s, the population of Scunthorpe was over 70,000, of whom some 20,000 were employed in the steelworks. Today something in the region of 4,000 are directly employed in the works but the plant has been modernised and rationalised and Corus remains one of the major UK producers of steel and steel products. Due to the efforts of a go-ahead local authority, industry and employment in the town has diversified and a buoyant manufacturing, servicing and distribution sector has been created. Unemployment for both men and women is low. The population of the town, including the adjacent area of Bottesford currently stands at 76,200 (2011 figure) and is rising as people working in the major conurbations such as Sheffield and Leeds choose to commute to work from Scunthorpe where attractive new housing is being built and house prices remain below the national average.
‘Much of what makes North Lincolnshire tick as a county is based in the Parish… Because of this St Lawrence’s often plays a civic role within the Scunthorpe area.’
THE CHURCHES
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willingness to respond to good causes and seeks to reach out in service to the wider community. The tradition at St Lawrence’s is probably best described as ‘central’ with vestments. In priorities of the PCC are: To learn more about our faith To attract more children and young people To communicate better with each other and others To connect better with those who live in Scunthorpe and help them find a deeper faith
St Lawrence’s is the oldest Christian foundation in Scunthorpe. The earliest part of the present church building dates from the later part of the 12th century and there has undoubtedly been a Christian presence in this place long before that time. The earliest known Rector of Frodingham was instituted in 1236. The church was extensively rebuilt in Victorian times and considerably extended to its present size in 1913. ‘The tradition at St Lawrence’s is probably best described as ‘central’.’
The church is open every weekday morning and the people of St Lawrence’s try to ensure that it is available to anyone who wishes to use it as a place for quiet reflection and prayer. The building is wheelchair friendly, has a toilet, hospitality area and children’s corner. A regular pattern of Sunday and weekday worship is maintained. As would be expected, the church includes in its prayers those who are sick or housebound and the recently departed as well as matters of local, national and international concern. Individual church members are involved in many charities and voluntary groups.
St Lawrence's seeks to be an inclusive church offering a warm welcome to all those who are looking in some way to journey with God. It is a church which values faith, love, integrity, forgiveness and joy. The church community seeks to offer friendship and support to its members, has a 4
Together with an NS Associate Priest, there is a very dedicated team of lay people who share responsibility in helping with worship and pastoral care. There has been a long tradition in the Parish of Study Groups being held during Advent and Lent.
Morning and Evening Prayer are said in church at 8:30 am and 5pm most weekdays.
Worship on Sunday and during the Week at St Lawrences Sunday 0800 Eucharist (CW) 1030 Parish Eucharist (CW) (3rd Sunday Informal All Age Service) 1830 Evening Prayer (BCP) (3rd Sunday Eucharist)
There is a wide range of activities associated with the Parish, including a very active Mothers Union, Girls’ Friendly Society, Parents and Toddlers, Floral Group and a Luncheon Club.
On the 2nd and 4th Sundays a Children’s Church takes place in the Parish Hall. Tuesday Thursday 0930
Adults Babies and Children Service for under 5’s and their carers
There are a number of retirement and nursing homes in the Parish and this is an area of ministry that is developing. Scunthorpe General Hospital is also situated in the Parish and though there is a full-time hospital chaplain, clergy from St Lawrence’s are Assistant Chaplains and take turns to be on call for emergencies.
Eucharist (CW)
Throughout the year a number of special services are held and these are well supported. These include Mothering Sunday, the Harvest Festival, the Memorial Service for bereaved families at All Souls and Remembrance Sunday. At Christmas, the Midnight Mass, the Parish Carol Service and the Christingle Services are extremely popular. During Holy Week and Easter the Parish celebrates the traditional round of services, particularly during the Triduum, and use the liturgical material in CW Times and Seasons. The worship of God lies at the heart of the life of the Parish and there is a strong sense of the importance of offering the very best liturgy possible which has been prepared with thought and care.
It is hoped that a new Industrial Chaplain will be appointed soon, and as part of the curacy the curate will have a chaplaincy role, in industry, the hospital, hospice or education.
Each year there are about there were 80 baptisms and 30 weddings celebrated in the church. In addition, the clergy conduct about 90 funerals, most of which were held at the nearby Woodlands Crematorium. 5
it serves will become a Conventional District. All Saints has a small but very committed church community. They have an active social programme, and run bingo for the local community, have regular quiz nights and ‘Pie and Pea’ suppers. Several members run the Guides, Brownies and Rainbows groups which meet in the church hall, and there is a well attended church parade once a month. Every other Wednesday there is a service for under fives called ‘Little Fishes’. There is a also a twice a month coffee morning.
In September 2008 High Ridge School became a Church of England Academy - the St Lawrence Academy. The Parish Priest is a Trustee, and it is hoped that a joint youth worker/chaplain will be appointed this summer to help build stronger links between the church and school, as well as serving the young people of North Scunthorpe. There are good links between the church and several primary schools.
The main Sunday service is at 9:30 am and is usual Holy Communion. On the third Sunday of the month it is followed at 11 by baptisms. THE TRAINING HUB In 2012 Frodingham and New Brumby Parish became a pilot area for a different way of training clergy. Instead of being placed in a parish with a training vicar and one curate, with the opportunities for experience in ministry being defined by that single parish and single trainer, curates would train as part of a wider group, and have the chance to serve and experience ministry across a wider area.
All Saints Church is in the south of the parish. It was built in the 1960’s to serve a new housing area, and is still well linked to its local community.
The training is enabled by three people – the facilitator Revd Canon Moira Astin who leads the team at St Lawrence and All Saints, and is Area Dean of North Lincolnshire. Her role is to provide ministry roles and day to day supervision. For the first year the ministry is mainly in central Scunthorpe, but after that several days each week for about 9 months would be spent working in other parishes in North Lincolnshire.
Over the years it has variously been in a district of Frodingham parish, a separate parish, and a district of Brumby parish. Since 2012 it has been part of Frodingham parish again, with the parish name being changed to Frodingham and New Brumby, to recognize the importance of this church and its area. It is expected that the district 6
Alongside the Facilitator there is a Theological Reflector who meets with the curate about every 6 weeks to think though what has been going on, and the Supervisor who ensures that the curate is learning the skills needed to progress to an incumbency.
to establish patterns of prayer which will shape and sustain ministry, in order to acquire the knowledge, skills and expertise in ministerial, representative and sacramental leadership in the local church and the Church of England;
Training is also helped by being part of a group of curates who meet and pray together regularly. This will enable the curate to develop as a collaborative leader, ready for the demands of the church of the 21st century.
to reflect, in supervision, upon a wide range of experiences, in order to develop ministry in the curacy and for the future. Participating fully in ICME will also be part of this;
There are currently 4 curates in the hub, three are training for stipendiary ministry.
to encourage personal development through integrating past experience, spirituality, and theology with the practice and understanding of ministry.
Possible Areas of Responsibility
Bishop’s Notes for Training Incumbents and Curates
Communications Faith Development Community Development Mission and Outreach Ministry to Residential and Nursing Homes Pioneering new expressions of church
ACCOMMODATION The Diocese is committed to acquiring a suitable property in the Parish for whoever is appointed. The Parish is aware that this is an issue of major importance to prospective candidates and will do its very best to ensure that the house provided is suitable in every respect.
Whoever is appointed as Assistant Curate at St Lawrence’s and All Saints will be joining a committed group of Christians who take their faith and ministry seriously. This person will come with his or her own gifts and particular experience. Our priority as a parish will be to try and utilise and help develop these gifts within our overall vision but also to give the newly appointed curate the opportunity to experiment and try new things.
The Purpose of a Curacy To share in the mission and ministry of the People of God in a particular place and 7