Parish of Finchampstead and California Parish Profile 2016 Associate Priest
A Profile of the Parish of Finchampstead and California Parish Office: The Manor House, Church Lane, Finchampstead, Berks RG40 4LU
Introduction from Canon Julie Ramsbottom - Rector In 2011 the parishes of St James Finchampstead and St Mary and St John California, separate for 30 years, were reunited. At the end of last year we also took responsibility for the church of St. Eligius, previously the army garrison church at Arborfield Green. The parish is now served by a large Ministry Team of clergy and laity, including two stipendiaries. We have the sixth largest Electoral Roll in the Diocese of Oxford (ER481), and offer inclusive, diverse and exciting opportunities for worship and discipleship. Our aim is to be a place where young or old can come to hear the good news about Jesus; to explore the Christian faith together; and to share with others the fun and excitement of being part of an active church community. Following the appointment of Revd Mark-Aaron Tisdale to a new role in the Peterborough Diocese, we are seeking an Associate Priest with a strong pastoral focus to join our collaborative and mutually supportive ministry team. This is an exciting opportunity and key to the fulfilment of our parish vision. The congregations in our three churches are diverse in worship, churchmanship and theology. We have experienced significant growth in recent years, especially from families and children, and there are exciting opportunities ahead. In particular we are looking for an Associate Priest (male or female) who will: participate in all aspects of parish life lead and develop our ministry to the local community provide oversight and direction for pastoral care within the parish help develop our discipleship and nurture activities be largely free from parish administration and paperwork but with excellent diary management skills We hope that as you read this profile you will see what an exciting opportunity this is and will be as enthusiastic about our parish as we are. The best way to gain an initial understanding of who we are and what we do is to visit our web-site: parish.finchampstead.co.uk. For further information about this post however, and to book a visit to the parish please contact the Rector on 0118 973 0133.
Finchampstead and California: The Community We Serve The parish is part of the Sonning Deanery within the Diocese of Oxford. Finchampstead is three miles South of Wokingham in Berkshire, with easy access to the M3, M4 and rail network. It includes both residential and rural areas and has a population of about 12500, consisting mainly of commuting and locally working families but with a sizeable retired community. It is largely prosperous but with some areas of deprivation. Within Finchampstead there are local shops, restaurants, pubs, two post offices, garages and a GP surgery. All major supermarkets are within a few miles. There are two large NHS hospitals in Reading and Frimley, both about ten miles away. The other Christian presence is Finchampstead Baptist Church based in a modern, well-equipped community facility. In the parish there are three state primary schools, one of which is a Church of England voluntary aided school; and a new state secondary school, Bohunt, at Aborfield Green. At present most children attend secondary schools in Wokingham, Yateley, Crowthorne and Bracknell (Ranelagh CofE voluntary aided). There are also a number of private schools in the area. Over the last thirty years there has been a large increase in population and this is certain to continue. In particular the Aborfield Green Strategic Development Location (SDL) based around the former Arborfield Garrison site will add another 2000 homes to the parish (out of a development total of 3500 houses), together with Bohunt secondary school, an extra primary school, and two new community centres.
Worship, Prayer and Spirituality Worship is at the heart of our church life and, reflecting the diversity within and between our church communities, we offer a wide range of Church of England liturgy:
Weekly Sunday and midweek Holy Communion from Common Worship Order One. Weekly Family Services (often café church style) including a monthly Family Communion Service Weekly BCP services: either Matins, Evensong or Holy Communion. A monthly Ministry of Healing Service Weekday Morning Prayer A Sunday evening reflective worship service Termly youth led services Large services at Wellington College
Places of Worship St James’ Church is a compact ancient building, dating in part from the 12th century, that has recently undergone extensive conservation to make it fit-forpurpose for many years to come. There is seating for about 150 and a further 100 can be accommodated in the Church Centre using a video link. On Sunday mornings there are up to 4 services. Larger special services are held in Wellington College Chapel (seating 600) in nearby Crowthorne.
St Mary & St John’s Church has met for the last thirty-five years in the hall of Gorse Ride Junior School. Funding from the church enabled the hall to be enlarged to provide a small sanctuary and storage area. Other services are held in the Parish Centre (capacity 50).
St Eligius is at Arborfield Green. Built in 1979 it served as the REME garrison church until 2015 when it was entrusted to our care to transition it from the military to the diocesan parochial system. It seats 150.
Service Times : St James
Service Times : St Eligius 1st Sunday
11.00am Holy Communion
2nd Sunday 11.00am Service of the Word 3rd Sunday
11.00am Holy Communion
4th Sunday
11.00am Holy Communion
Tuesdays
12.15pm Tuesday Fellowship
Service Times: St Mary and St John
Parish and Church Centres St James’ Church Centre is housed in an early 20th century Manor House that was bequeathed to the church and to which a modern hall was added about twenty five years ago. It has meeting rooms, an office, toilets, kitchen and coffee bar. The building includes four flats that are rented out as a source of revenue. The Centre is also used by other churches and organisations in the Diocese for Away Days and Quiet Days, and by members of the congregation for family functions.
St Mary and St John’s Parish Centre is located in Vicarage Close and was purpose built in 2000. It has a small hall with a sanctuary, a quiet room, small meeting room, kitchen, toilets, an office and storage. In addition to being used for worship, parish socials and meetings, it is used by a variety of local organisations.
The Church Community
Our Vision Vision Prayer
God of Mission, who alone brings growth to your Church, send your Holy Spirit to give vision to our planning, wisdom to our actions and power to our witness. Help our church to grow in numbers; in spiritual commitment to you; and in service to our local community and beyond. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
During 2015 we worked hard to refresh our parish vision. Following extensive consultation a day conference was held for the PCC and other leaders, and the keys to our future growth were identified as:
To nurture and develop faith
To be outward-looking & focussed on mission – get out there!
To proclaim Jesus in all we say and do – whole person discipleship
To give the best possible welcome to all-comers
To honour the diversity of our congregations and worship traditions whilst all looking & pulling in the same direction
Since then our ministry team have been working on three main areas identified during the conference:
providing better support to our Family Service congregations
prayer
vocations
Our sixteen PCC sub-teams have identified Bible texts which sum up their mission, and have set targets for the next three years. (These are set out on our web-site.)
Our congregations have been challenged to connect with the vision by: 1. Considering three questions Where are you? Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me. Revelation 3:20 What are your gifts and talents? Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. 1 Peter 4;10 What moves you? Then afterwards I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Joel 2:28 2. Living out the vision Sunday worship is at the heart of our Christian discipleship, and should refresh and prepare us for living out our faith during the rest of the week. We aim to make this a reality by:
Growing in our discipleship Taking every opportunity offered to nurture and develop our faith.
Growing in our mission Taking every opportunity to engage with our local community and ‘front-lines’, and supporting selected projects in this country and overseas.
Growing in whole person discipleship Living out our faith by taking every opportunity to unite what we think and say with what we do.
Ensuring that we give the best possible welcome to all comers Taking every opportunity to befriend new members and help them join our fellowship.
Enabling the diversity of our congregations but pulling in the same direction Taking every opportunity to get to know one another better and offering a wide variety of events and activities.
3. Enabling the vision We provide teaching and resources to help people think deeply about their faith and what it means to be part of Christ's church. Such serious reflection necessarily involves the giving of time, abilities and mon
Church Groups We aim to give people the chance to hear the good news about Jesus and to deepen their Christian faith. We do this through courses, house meetings, bible study, prayer meetings , sermon series, quiet days and preparation for Confirmation. One of the highlights of our teaching year is the Lent Talks, when we take time to explore a topic in depth with the help of outside speakers. Recent courses have included Growing Leaders, Faith on the Frontline, Fruitfulness on the Frontline, Christianity Explored. We strive to cater for a broad range of church members by providing different groups and activities.
Music plays a large role in both churches; at St James there is a robed choir of adults and children numbering about thirty-five. The choir is an integral part of all main services and is led by a paid Director of Music. St Mary and St John’s has a choir who sing on special occasions. The choirs join forces for major parish events.
St James’ Church has an active team of bell ringers who ring the church’s peal of six bells on Sundays and special occasions.
Our churches encourage children and young people to be part of our worship and the Church community. Sunday Clubs are run during Sunday services and there is an evening youth group. Provision of these activities has been enhanced for the last two years by the appointment of a paid part-time youth worker. Young people also act as altar servers in our churches. We regularly prepare children for communion before confirmation; and every other year we prepare young people for Confirmation.
We have a large branch of the Mothers’ Union and one of the joys is the way in which members support and help with our outreach and groups for young families.
Our churches offer a broad range of social events throughout the year. These encourage the congregations and the wider community to enjoy fellowship and some raise funds for the churches as well as for outreach projects.
How We Work
The Ministry Team Canon Julie Ramsbottom - Rector and Area Dean of Sonning Rev'd Mark-Aaron Tisdale - Associate Priest (to February 2017) Canon John Edwards - Associate Priest (SSM) Rev'd Hannah Higginson - Curate Rev'd Hugh Wakeling - Retired SSM active at St Mary and St John Paul Arscott - Lay Eucharistic Minister James Lawbuary – Youth and Family Worker – part-time Kate Meads - Family Service Pastoral Co-ordinator Karen Remmington and Kate Hembra are our two paid part-time Parish Administrators in the Parish Office. They are supported by a number of volunteers.
The Ministry Team works collaboratively across the parish, each member taking responsibility for key aspects of our ministry (for a breakdown of these see web-site). The team meet every Monday for prayer followed by a formal meeting on the first Monday in the month ending with a shared lunch; and a short informal meeting on the other Mondays. One of the team’s strengths is mutual support and encouragement of each other’s gifts and vision for mission opportunities.
Committee structures As we have a PCC of 33 members (15 elected, 7 Deanery Synod, 4 Churchwardens, 4 clergy, 3 coopted) most of the routine parish business is handled by the Standing Committee and the sixteen sub-teams (for a complete list see our web-site), all of whom issue minutes within two weeks to all members of the PCC. During full PCC meetings one hour is reserved for business matters, and then we focus upon one particular aspect of our ministry eg youth, growing living faith, work in the community etc. Our four main sub-teams, each led or contributed to by a member of the ministry team, are: Community Outreach Oversees the involvement of the church in the local community, seeks to understand the needs of the community and to look at ways these might be met. Growing Living Faith Encourages adults to begin and continue a journey of faith as Christians by providing suitable courses and other resources. Young People Leads the development of all the church’s work with children and young people to draw them in and help them on their journey of discovery as followers of Jesus. Pastoral Teams The pastoral teams are led by our Eucharistic Lay Minister and by the Family Service Pastoral Coordinator. All of our congregations have a dedicated team leader to facilitate effective pastoral care. One ministry team meeting per quarter is devoted to this aspect of our ministry. Members of the ministry team take Holy Communion to local care homes and to individuals who are unable to attend services.
Mission and Outreach Local Community Our churches have over the years had a strong emphasis in their work on reaching out into the local community and the world. We do this in many ways including: Our parish visiting scheme which ensures that, each year, we knock on the door of every home in the parish, taking an invitation to join us the following Sunday when we will be praying for their road, and asking for prayer requests to include in the services. For younger people in the community we offer a weekly Mother and Toddler group (Fledgelings), and a weekly drop in group for parents who have just finished the morning school run (Tea and Toast).
For all ages we provide Simple Lunch – a twice monthly opportunity to meet around a basic meal at lunchtimes; this alternates with Tea and Chat – an afternoon group which incorporates an Older Peoples Forum every eight weeks.
Schools We take weekly assemblies in all our primary schools – Finchampstead CE, Gorse Ride and Nine Mile Ride; and serve on each governing body. We also take a biennial labyrinth into each school (recent examples include the Olympic labyrinth and the Remembrance labyrinth), providing 300 children with the opportunity to journey through the Labyrinth and learn about different aspects of the Christian Faith and prayer. Finchampstead Church of England (aided) Primary school has strong links with St James’ Church. There are twice termly whole school communion services held either in the church or school. The churches also actively participate in their link school’s fairs. We are also beginning to forge links with the recently opened secondary school – Bohunt school at Arborfield Green.
Occasional offices Both churches look upon baptisms, weddings and funerals as opportunities for outreach and actively support the families involved and encourage them to come to main and specific special services during the year.
Mission and Charitable Giving We have pledged 10% of our freewill giving income to Christian charities working with the most vulnerable in our world. Of the amount available (over £16,000 this year) some 90% is shared between four organisations: The Mityana Charity (Uganda) CMS (Church Mission Society) CIRDIC (Churches in Reading Drop-in Centre) Bible Society The balance goes to other, mainly smaller, charities. We also support other charities, including Christian Aid, Crowthorne and Wokingham Food Banks, Parents and Children Together, Samaritans Purse, The Royal British Legion (Poppy Appeal collection) and The Children’s Society (Christingle Services). We have a Lent and an Advent charity.
Finances We have a tradition of encouraging regular and committed financial giving. But last year, with increasing Parish Share, expanding activities and higher property maintenance costs, we needed to raise an extra ÂŁ3000 a month to balance our books. While we are now close to achieving this we know that we shall need to continue to address the issue - the generous financial support of long standing, usually older, members is not being matched by new members of our congregations, in spite of the growth in numbers. The disparity in average giving is over 3 times, which has challenges for the future but challenges we are enthusiastic about tackling.
The Qualities and Attributes of the Associate Priest The post of Associate Priest is critical to continued transformation of the parish based on our vision. The person appointed will play a full part in all aspects of parish life, including leading worship and participation in the collaborative work of the Ministry Team. The role will have specific responsibility for:
Leading existing community-related activities and identifying and implementing new initiatives in this area. Oversight and direction of pastoral work within the parish in conjunction with the La y Eucharistic Minister, the Family Service Pastoral Co-ordinator and others. Providing Ministry team input to the parish's discipleship and nurture courses and related activities.
Generally there will be considerable freedom from the routine paperwork and administrative responsibilities normally associated with parochial ministry, but excellent diary management is essential. The ideal candidate will have the following personal characteristics:
He/she will be a team player and keen to work collaboratively towards our shared vision and goals. He/she will be comfortable with and actively support a community of Christians that is broad and inclusive in worship, churchmanship and theology. He/she will have a passion to grow all aspects of the Church, especially our active involvement in the local community. He/she will be an enthusiastic but sensitive and effective pastor within the Church community. He/she will be a person with a deep spiritual life, who is disciplined in spending time in private prayer, study and personal development. He/she will be a person who is self-aware, who can identify his/her own strengths and weaknesses and who will delegate and seek assistance where appropriate.
Opportunities and Challenges
The new Associate Priest will have to continue to create every opportunity to connect with, and reach out to, the housing estates in the north of the parish, especially that of Gorse Ride South – one of Wokingham’s most deprived and challenging estates. Pastoral care will be crucial to this position. The appointee will have the role of leading our team of lay pastoral care co-ordinators, organising training and recording visits etc and coordinating such care to our many congregations, which is fundamental to our work but challenging in a large team of ministers. Discipleship and nurture will also be an important part of this role. Since we have considerable growth amongst families with young children, often with little previous church background, discipleship is fundamental to our ministry programme but challenging when people are so pressed for time and have many conflicting responsibilities. ‘Take up’ of courses can be a challenge, requiring stamina and perseverance. It can take us ten years to accompany someone to the point of confirmation.
Accommodation St Mary and St John’s Vicarage will be the home for the Associate Priest and is situated next to the Parish Centre in the middle of the main residential area of Finchampstead. It is a large modern four bedroomed detached house that was originally purpose built to provide worship space, counselling rooms and accommodation. There is a sizeable enclosed private garden that is not overlooked. The Vicarage is a five-minute walk from Gorse Ride School.
Appointment Process Incumbent Stipend on the Oxford Diocesan Scale. The appointment is under Qualified Common Tenure and is subject to enhanced DBS disclosure. Send your application form to: The Bishop of Reading’s Office Re: Associate Priest – Finchampstead and California Bishop’s House, Tidmarsh Lane, Tidmarsh, Reading, Berkshire RG8 8HA
Applications submitted by email should be followed up by a signed paper copy by the date of shortlisting. Closing date for receipt of applications: 12th December 2016 Shortlisting: 14th December 2016 Interviews: 3rd January 2017
Appendix: Membership and Statistics
(as recorded at the APCMs April 2016) ER 481
St James Average attendance : 8.00am
Holy Communion
17
Matins (twice-monthly)
19
Family Service (weekly)
64
Family Communion (monthly)
56
11.00am
Parish Communion
94
6.00pm
Evensong (monthly)
32
9.30am
Wednesday Holy Communion
15
Morning prayer (every week-day)
5
St Mary and St John Average attendance : Holy Communion Alive@11
38 34
Special services eg Pentecost, Christingle
St Eligius Average attendance : 27
Major festival whole parish attendance Easter Day
450
Christmas Eve 919 Christmas Day 254
Occasional offices : 46 Baptisms; 20 Weddings; 45 Funerals
135