Ocker Hill St Mark:

A Resolution Parish

Parish Profile - January 2017

“In Partnership with the People”

1

Contents:

The Challenge 3 The Church and Other Buildings 4 The Parish 5 Services 6 Maps 7 Deanery Profile 8 Message from the Bishop of Ebbsfleet 10 The Vicarage 11 Finances 13

2

THE CHALLENGE

Ocker Hill St Mark would like to appoint a Parish Priest in succession to Fr. Allan Gwillim, who was appointed Parish Priest in 2008 and took retirement in May 2016.

The congregation is looking for a priest who is intending to stay in the Church of England and who will stay at St. Mark’s long enough to root their church life firmly within that of the Diocese whilst maintaining their Catholic tradition.

We are very willing and loving, and as such are hoping for a warm-hearted priest with a sense of humour who will be a good visitor and who will become well known by the community as well as the congregation.

The new incumbent should be able to develop lay ministry, and to guide and encourage the congregation in their outreach to all sections of the community especially the sick and housebound. We would wish the Parish Priest to keep in contact with the local schools.

Direct giving needs to be developed in order to ensure a sound financial base for the parish’s ministry and mission, and to restore a proper financial support of the work of the Church overseas.

In addition, the new priest should be willing to explore and develop ways of working in collaboration with neighbouring priests and parishes within the deanery.

3

THE CHURCH AND OTHER BUILDINGS

St. Mark’s church was built in 1849 and seats 250. The internal decoration is in good order, in the past few years a disabled toilet and kitchen have been added, repairs have been made to the roof, and an electrical survey has recently been done.

A new condenser boiler has replaced the old boiler (which was in the cellar) and has been fitted in the vestry above, which is making the vestry a lot warmer.

The brick-built church hall is 30 years old, situated at the bottom of the churchyard adjacent to the vicarage. It is used by the community for meetings, also small groups from time to time, and as a Polling Station. A Karate Club meet every week.

The Church and Churchyard have a steel fence and lockable gates around the perimeter.

4

THE PARISH

Situated in the Metropolitan Borough of , and part of the Deanery of , the population of the parish is 6405. It ranks 423 out of 12599 parishes in England (where 1 is the most deprived parish); this means that the parish is amongst the most deprived in the country.

The larger industries of the past have disappeared, but new small starter units are springing up, especially along the route of the recently opened Black Country Spine Road. A recent programme of building work has brought newcomers into the area.

The parish is within easy reach of Birmingham, Wolverhampton, , Walsall and Merry Hill, and during the daytime is well served by public transport. A Metro Tram service operates between Birmingham and Wolverhampton, with local stations.

There are two residential homes for the elderly in the Parish.

There is liaison with the Probation Service, which provides help with the maintenance of the churchyard through the labours of those on Community Service Orders. We also have a Churchyard Task Force. The churchyard is quite extensive and is in good order and still used for burials, including cremated remains.

The area is served by Sandwell General Hospital, Russell’s Hall Hospital and Walsall Manor Hospital; a new “Super Hospital” is being built in Sandwell.

5

SERVICES

St. Mark’s has a long-standing Catholic tradition within the Church of England. A vote to seek Episcopal oversight from the Bishop of Ebbsfleet has been taken by a majority of the PCC.

The electoral roll stands at 39 and the average Sunday attendance is 30, and 12 on Tuesdays.

The services currently held are: Sundays 10.00am Family Eucharist 11.45a.m. Baptisms on request 4.30p.m.Memorial Service for the recently departed every two months. Weekdays 10.00 a.m. Mass on Tuesday mornings Holy Days 7.30pm Sung Eucharist

The Blessed Sacrament is perpetually reserved; full eucharistic vestments are worn; and incense is used on Sundays and Festivals. Common Worship is used, and the servers belong to the GSS. Lay members assist with the administration of Holy Communion and participate fully in worship. We have a robed choir and a full-time organist. The new English Hymnal and Common Praise are used.

There is a Lay Team who are currently maintaining the activities of the Church.

We have an open baptism policy. Baptisms normally take place after the Sunday morning service or at other times by arrangement.

Occasional Offices in 2016 were:  19 Baptisms  1 Wedding and 2 Blessings  34 Funerals

There is a flourishing Ladies Circle who meet once a month. There is a church cleaning team, and flower team. Members of the Church go on pilgrimage to Walsingham and join with the servers in their Guild Festivals in different parts of the country.

Various social events are arranged throughout the year, including a Christmas Fair.

6

MAPS

7

WEDNESBURY DEANERY

A message from The Rural Dean, Father Martin Ennis SSC:

It was almost seven years ago that I joined the Black Country’s Wednesbury Deanery in a move from Gloucestershire. In that time I have found a collection of urban communities, many with areas of deprivation and also with zones of regeneration. All these places share a common sense of identity. And it is not, dear reader, Birmingham! “We’m Black Country and proud”! With the M5, M6 and M42 close at hand, three different railway companies vying for trade on the Birmingham – London route and an International Airport on the doorstep it is also easy to take a break. The richness of the area’s industrial history is reflected in the Deanery’s broad range of Churchmanship. We have Catholic and Evangelical, reformed and liberal, high and low and we rub along just fine thanks. St Mark’s Ocker Hill is in the Anglo-Catholic tradition. The Black Country has a number of similar Society Parishes all born out of the blood sweat and tears of the Victorian Industrial foundries and manufacturing factories whose smoke was hallowed by incense and whose fire made holy by candlelight. The smoke may have gone but the tradition lives on. Come and join us and let God forge you into part of the next chapter.

8

9

MESSAGE FROM THE BISHOP OF EBBSFLEET

Go! baptize! teach!

I am delighted to have been entrusted with the oversight of St Mark’s, and to have received recently from the dedicated congregation a characteristically warm and generous Black Country welcome. The same welcome awaits whoever is appointed as parish priest.

The pastoral priority here—whether in church, or on the streets, in homes and schools—is as clear and simple as it is profound, and very similar to parishes across the Church of England: to obey the Lord by making disciples, and building a community of hope. However near or far people feel they are from the Church’s life, the task is to enliven their spirits, communicate Jesus’s call, and enable them to act on it. What will be different here is that the new priest will have a vision for how this challenge can be met in a large estate parish, finding partnerships not only in the immediate congregation, but also in the deanery, in the Ebbsfleet connection across the diocese, and among other urban estates-based clergy, developing local leadership and creating appropriate resources to support points of growth.

It’s a place where priesthood will be stretched and can be satisfied. I hope you will consider discerning with us whether this is God’s call to you.

10

THE VICARAGE

The vicarage has 4 bedrooms and bathroom upstairs, a downstairs cloakroom/toilet, a study, a large living room, fully fitted kitchen/dining room/utility room and an integral garage. It has a mature garden with a tarmac drive.

Within easy walking distance of the vicarage are:

2 health centres at which minor operations are carried out, a dentist and a library A wide variety of shops and supermarkets (Asda/Morrisons/Tesco/Sainsbury’s/Aldi/Lidl) Swimming Baths/Leisure Centres Sports Academy.

The schools situated in the parish, 5 primaries, 3 junior, and 2 senior Academies have a happy relationship between them and the church. These all have good OFSTED reports.

11

12

FINANCES

The finances of the church are at present balanced but this is due largely to fund-raising activities.

The Parish Share in 2016 was £26,500 which has been paid in full, though we will need to work very hard to balance the books.

We are a financially poor church and we need to negotiate a reduction in our parish share due to a reduction in our income.

Weekly giving by envelope scheme is supported by the congregation who gift aid when they can.

Working expenses are paid in full.

13