St James and the Methodist Church, Grewelthorpe
Our Mission Statement is to “Celebrate the Presence of God in Grewelthorpe”
We have been praying that someone will be called to lead and encourage us in full filling our mission and we offer our welcome, friendship, support, and undertaking to work together with the incumbent and the other parishes within the Benefice We have been a very happy Local Ecumenical Partnership since 2006. Both the Anglicans and Methodists worship together as one congregation We are very adaptable, as Anglicans we describe ourselves as middle of the road churchmanship, and we do have vestments for Eucharistic services, as Methodists we are forward thinking and embrace very similar liturgy. We have an excellent organist and someone who plays a guitar for services when asked. We look forward to having a new priest to expand our understanding and deepen our worship Grewelthorpe is a pleasant and very attractive village, with the Church, School and Village Hall at its centre. There is a strong sense of community and connection to the church. The village is surrounded by sheep and dairy farms, with the very popular Woodland Trust Hackfall Woods, the Himalayan Gardens, and an Observatory all within the parish. Grewelthorpe is the most northern parish in the Benefice but only 2 miles from the modern Rectory at Kirkby Malzeard. Over the years the village has attracted many new residents who have been welcomed and they have quickly become part of the community. The 2011 census indicated a population of 500 with an older population than the national average, but one lower than the average in North Yorkshire. However we feel this has changed since the census, with a number of younger families moving in and it is now a well-balanced community. There have been a few new houses built recently as infill, but no large building site is envisaged. In addition to agricultural employment, there are a few businesses, mostly connected with the building trade. Most people travel out of the village to work with the majority working in managerial/ administration/ and professional roles. Unemployment is very low, but as with all rural communities there is some hidden deprivation. The cost and availability of affordable housing, the lack of public transport, and no longer having a shop in the village are issues for those on low incomes and the distance to hospitals a problem for all. Although we are very fortunate to have an excellent GP Practice that covers the area.
The village is very active, with a number of organisations and a rich programme of classes and events mostly centred around the Village Hall (which was the chapel, the sale of the adjacent Methodist Sunday School Room, enabled the community to attract Lottery funding, and a sum of £500,000 was raised to enable the transformation into a wonderful venue. The church has a very generous amount of free use). Volunteers run the Village Hall Community Café which is opened daily, and it is proving very popular with cyclist and walkers. It also offers work experience for young people at the week end. Both the Rector and Methodist Minister are Directors/Trustees as part of the agreement. The Grewelthorpe Village Hall Trust is a Company Limited by Guarantee and has a very committed and competent Board of Trustees Directors.
We view the prospect of a new Rector as exciting and we wanted to involve the whole community in envisaging how they saw the church moving forward, to meet the needs of the whole community. So we distributed a survey form to every household, and were very encouraged by the number returned and the conversations it has engendered. We have discussed and incorporated the responses, alongside our own considerations and with reference to our Mission Plan which was we revised in May 2018.
Every priest and minister exercises their calling in their own unique way, influenced by their faith, spirituality and personality and we believe they will be equipped by God to fulfil the role. As a congregation will would wish to work with them to further the mission We asked the children to do an advert for us. Is this you? There are others as well in the Appendix 2
“I want our Vicar to be loving” Other qualities that we identified were a spiritual person who can explain the faith, who is easy to speak to, a good listener, and is compassionate. A leader and organiser who is able to encourage and develop the discipleship of others Experienced and energetic, welcoming with a good sense of humour, able to accommodate difference. There was great emphasis on been seen and known in the wider community, and with having an interest in rural life. The age of our congregation is mostly older but we feel it is most important that the Rector is able to also relate to children, young people and young adults.
Confirmation Wedding Christening
Photo courtesy of Arabella Smith www.ArabellaSmith.com
What is essential to us is that they can embrace our ecumenical partnership, and work closely with our Methodist Superintendent.
Service Attendances see Appendix 1 Our current practice is, that we have Anglican Eucharistic Services on the first and second Sunday’s in the month, the third and fifth Sundays are Methodist Services. usually Morning Service, with a Communion service quarterly. The fourth Sunday has now become the United Benefice Service and we welcome the opportunity to move around and share in the worship of the other churches in the Benefice. This fourth Sunday was our Family Service but we are having a rethink about how we replace this, as our survey and enquiries reveal that Sunday morning conflicts with older children’s sports commitments. So we are exploring other options. There is also the G Club for primary school children. There is a Prayer Group and we do run Emmaus / Exploring the Faith Groups, the next will be starting in the New Year. Over the years the adult confirmation candidates have come as a result of Emmaus. The Prayer and Emmaus Groups are both lay led. We also have a ministry of cards. The Benefice Ash Wednesday Service is held at Grewelthorpe as are the three Meditation evenings at the beginning of Holy Week. Two of the congregation are members of Cursillo. We welcome the ministry of our Lay Readers and Local preachers. We have a number of people who read lesson and some do Intercessions
G-Club is St James and the Methodist Church Children’s Club for Primary School aged children. The club is run by Church volunteers and was historically run by them for their own children and their peers but has grown in to a club open to all children from the local school and surrounding local rural areas.
The club is a vibrant and lively monthly gathering of children with numbers ranging from large groups of 15 to sometimes smaller groups of 2. The group continues to thrive whilst some children have moved on to secondary school and a larger family has moved out of the area. At the club we link biblical themes with current events, sing, produce displays and work together to perform at Church services/events for example the Epiphany Party. Normally the parents stay at the club and help with activities or socialise with other parents. Often the children will chat and question things during the production of displays. We find that this is a great opportunity to learn about God, his teachings and to ask questions in a safe and relaxed environment.
Grewelthorpe C of E School at Harvest 2018
The Village is fortunate to have its own Church of England Primary School. It currently has 67 children. This is what they said in answer to our survey “As a church of England Primary School, we really value the links between Church and School. We would love a cheerful, friendly enthusiastic Rector. He/she would be made most welcome by our school family. We appreciate having a Visitor’s Collective Worship each week when the children look forward to a person from the church leading our assembly. The children would like fun assemblies that tell them about religion and explain Christian beliefs. We like to have some special services in church and having a familiar Rector makes it all the more relevant”
The school has a procession to church for the Palm Sunday service, and attends for the Harvest Festival. They also hold the School Leavers Service in church and also the Carol Service. A new Head Teacher has been appointed to start in the New Year. The Head Teacher is invited to a Church Council meeting once a year so we can discuss church and school matters. The school have created a nature exhibition to display in church as part of the Innovation Project
The life of the church is very busy see appendix 3 and members work well together sharing out the tasks. The Church Council meets at least four times a year and we have recently restructure to have working groups take on different aspects and deliver of events and projects.
We are very fond of our church but have to admit that it does not look its best at the moment as it is obviously in need of redecoration. Over the years we have kept on top of the maintainance and in 2014/16 we undertook a refurbishment, installing a new kitchen and disabled toilet, levelled the floor, removing half the pews to open up the rear of the church and making better use of the space. We raised £57.000 in 18 months through generous donations, fundraising and grant applications. It was somewhat of a blow when a few months later deteriorating asbestos was discovered under the organ and a further £18,000 was raised. The quinneial in 2015 revealed that a new roof is required, we continue to keep on top of the leaks but this is costly. The church Council has therefore decided to have a major refurbishment to put the church in good order for the foreseeable future. It is anticipated this will be in the region of £150,000 and will include roof, electrics, decoration, further reordering and other minor repairs. It will also include the cleaning of the altar paintings, which are a feature in the church being gifted by a member of the Guild of Artists. We see this as an opportunity for mission and are exploring the possibility of developing the church for wider use. We do have within the congregation the experience of applying for funding and the management of large building projects. We have not as yet launched our funding appeal but have already raised £10880 in the past 9 months through fundraising events and donations.
Finance Our first commitment is always to paying our share and the Methodist Assessment. The Church Council is also responsible for the up keep of the churchyard. This costs about £800 a year and we are grateful that we receive about £500 in donations towards this. We also spent £494 on the churchyard in 2017 on levelling uneven ground, and improvements to the Garden of remembrance.
The Church Council have considered stewardship campaigns but felt it inappropriate when we had major fundraising going on. It is the intention to include the need for regular giving when we launch the next initiative. We do have a legacy leaflet
Income
20% Collections and planned giving Special Collections 50% Fundraising 20% Other income
10%
Expenditure
Share & Assesment 8 Admin 7 Fees & Subs 6 Charities 7.5 50.5 Light and heat 10 Churchyard 1.5 9.5 Repairs Other payments
The church collects weekly for the Salvation Army Food Bank and we collect Clothes for the refuges. Two members attend the Ripon of Sanctuary Meetings. We regularly raise money for external charities List
Our Lent and Autumn lunches are very popular (especially the homemade soup and puddings) and raise funds for charities and church funds
We believe in encouraging everyone to practice their discipleship and we have encouraged people to undertake the many tasks involved in church and community life, and we work very well as a team together. To help us do this we have undertaken recent training and people are growing in confidence Leading your Church into Growth – Rector +1 + 1 Follow up for PCC member Safeguarding Level 1 all PCC in Nov 17, + 1 Level 2 PCC Training X 4 Intercession Training X 2 Attendance at Diocesan Lay Conference x 2 Lay Training Benefice Day X 7 Lay Training on Mission x 1
We look forward to continuing this under the guidance of a new priest so we can offer support in the best way we can
Appendix 1 2018 Church Attendance by Month with additional explanation notes January 2018
Type of service Communicants Adults Children 7 Jan Eucharist 15 15 14 Jan Eucharist 13 17 28 Jan Family 16 4 Service A Average adult attendance 16 Total attendance for the month 48 + 4 children
February 2018 4 Feb Eucharist 17 17 1 11 Feb Confirmation 54 74 6 +1 under 5 18Feb Morning 11 Service M 25 Feb Family A 12 0 Ash Wed 8 8 1 Average adult over 3 normal Sundays 13.3 Actual average over all services 24.4 in the month Total attendance over month 122 + 9 children
March 2018
4, 18 cancelled snow 11 Mothering 17 18 Sunday Eucharist 24 Mar Palm 31 13 Sunday Family Service A 25 Mar Meditation 4 26 Mar Meditation 9 27 Mar Meditation 5 Average adult over 1 normal Sunday 18 67 13 Actual average over all services 13.4 Funeral 47 Total attendance over month 114 =13 children April 2018
1st Easter Day 28 29 6 8th Eurcharist + 33 39 5 Baptism 15th Morning Service 6 M 21 Morning Service 14 M Average adult over 2 normal Sundays 10 Actual average over all services 22 Total attendance over month 88 + 11 children
May 2018
6th Eucharist 14 14 13th Morning Service 21 20th Family Service 11 M 27th Communion M 9 Average adult over 4 normal Sundays 13.75 Memorial Service 43 + 2children Total attendance over month 98 +2 children
June 2018
3rd Eucharist 12 12 10th Eucharist 25 25 2 17th Morning service 7 1 M 24th Family Service 15 M Average adult over 4 normal Sundays 14.75 Funeral 60 Total attendance over month 119 +3 children
July 2018
1st Eucharist 12 12 8th Eucharist 11 11 15 Morning Service 10
27th Morning Service 14 Average adult over 4 normal Sundays 11.75 Leavers Service 62 adults + 79 children Total attendance over month 109 + 79children
August 2018
5 Eucharist 15 15 12 Eucharist 11 11 19 Morning Service 10 M
Average adult over 3 normal Sundays 12 Funeral 40 Total attendance over month 76 UBS at Winksley
September 2018 2 Eucharist + 20 62 20 Baptism 9 Eucharist 6 6 16 Morning service 8 30 Morning service 10 Average adult over 3 normal Sundays 8 Total attendance over month 86 + 20 children UBS Kirkby Malzeard
October 2018
7 Harvest + 29 48 10 Eucharist 9 Evening Harvest 56 1 14 Eucharist 11 12
Appendix 2
The children contributed these ideas Must be loving Joyful and caring Happy and funny Tall (children are very small so everyone is tall) smart, happy, fast reader, gymnast joyful Understands football/rugby (that was the boys) Food –(we are not sure if this means likes it, or will provide it.
Appendix 3 Events and Special Services Organised by the church from January 2017 January Epiphany Concert Talk “Conquest of the Blue Nile” by Roger Chapman who was a member of the Expedition
February Talk “ The story of Ripon Museums” – Richard Taylor Ash Wednesday United Benefice Service
March Lent Lunches for Christian Aid on 6,13,20,27th 3 April Palm Sunday Procession from School to Church
April Easter Monday Took part in Sport Association Fair Masham Churchyard Tidying Party
May Christian Aid Service and Collection week Cake Stall Ripon
June Special meditative Pentecost service “Thy Kingdom Come” Sunday afternoon Deanery Chapter with lunch in church Church doing teas for Grewelthorpe Sports Association Gala
July Grewelthorpe School Leavers Service Retirement Service at Masham of The Reverend Ruth Parry Methodist Superintendent
August Flea Market Masham
September Churchyard Tidying Evening
October Harvest Festival Supper and Auction Autumn Lunches 16, 23, 30, 6 November
November Remembrance Sunday British Legion December Christmas Feast in the Village Hall Cake Stall Ripon Christingle service School Carol Service Church Carol Service Carol Singing around the Village January 2018 Epiphany Concert Burns Night at the Crown in aid of Church Funds
February Confirmation at Grewelthorpe Night at the Observatory in aid of Church Funds Lent lunches in aid of Christian Aid 26,5,12,19,26 March
March Meditations x3
April Easter Monday Took part in Sport Association Easter Fair Masham Edith’s Baptism and Caroline’s leaving joint party Mission focus meeting in Village Hall Jumble sale
May Tour de Yorkshire passes through Grewelthorpe teas in church Christian Aid Service and Collection week Cake stall Ripon
June Rebekah and Jamie’s wedding Bishop Helen Ann meeting with area wardens in church Diocesan Lay Conference in Harrogate Lay Training in Grewelthorpe Village Hall French Boules in Grewelthorpe
July Church doing teas for Grewelthorpe Sports Association Gala Grewelthorpe School Leavers Service Summer Evening
August Flea Market Masham
October Harvest Festival Supper and Auction Autumn Lunches 15, 22, 29, 5 November Coffee Morning in the Village Hall
November Remembrance Sunday British Legion + Exhibition Wine Tasting Evening
December Cake Stall Carol Service School Carol Service