Archdeaconry of Bedford

Dunstable Deanery

Profile for the Benefice of Eaton Bray with

Thank you for exploring the possibility of becoming our new vicar.

We are a rural parish made up of four villages, two large and two small. We have a Parish Church and a District Church, one PCC and a manageable service schedule.

We have talked a lot about the future – the needs of our parish, the steps we have taken forward in recent years, how we can build on these and the qualities our new vicar might need to lead us on that journey.

These are some of the results of our discussion:

1. This is a list of the joyful things that have been happening here in recent years and which we want to build on:

 We have started Messy Church.  We reinvigorated our Toddlers’ Service.  We hold regular coffee mornings and a monthly Parish Lunch  We made many more friends in the wider community especially in the schools  We built a toilet!  We rearranged the furniture to be more open, friendly and versatile.  Our bells which had been silent, are now rung regularly by a new eager team.  We welcomed at least 20 new people into our Sunday congregation.  The Wednesday service grew in numbers and now includes teaching and fellowship.  A Home Holy Communion group for the housebound was set up.  The Prayer and Praise group grew and is flourishing.  We have an active PCC ready to face challenges.  Seven new pastoral visitors were trained under Equipping God’s People  A Men’s Breakfast group was started.

2. We know we need help in these areas:

 to grow in prayerfulness and knowledge of our Faith  to develop a vision for the future of our church and its growth  to develop accessible forms of worship for those not used to traditional church  to serve the community and help people meet problems of illness, disability, bereavement and isolation in old age

3. We have used these words to describe the qualities we think our new vicar will need:

 Out-going, friendly, a people person, approachable, sense of humour  Prayerful, spiritual, committed, able to share God’s love  Good teacher, can help people grow in faith  Confident, generates ideas, welcomes and encourages lay ministry

4. Positive things that will help us in our journey together

 We have the desire to grow in faith and numbers  We have good-sized congregations with many active members.  We have a PCC that is open-minded, loyal and will work with the vicar  The church building is in good order and we are financially sound.

If this seems attractive to you, please read on. A. DESCRIPTION OF THE PARISH

1. Location of The Parish of Eaton Bray with Edlesborough We are lucky to live in a beautiful location, at the foot of Downs and on the edge of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

The Parish is made up of four villages, two large and two small. Of the two larger ones, Eaton Bray is in but Edlesborough is in . The two smaller villages, Dagnall & , are both in Buckinghamshire. The Parish therefore sits astride the county boundary – and additionally just to the south of Dagnall, lies the border with but these complications don’t worry us much! The nearest towns are (to the North West) and Dunstable (to the East) both about six miles away. A little further are (sixteen miles), (ten miles) and (nine miles). St Albans is fifteen miles away.

2. Travel by road, rail & air The Parish has good road communications via the M1, M25 and A5, and rail connections to both north and south from , Leighton Buzzard or Luton. There are regular bus services linking the villages with , Dunstable and Luton. London is 12 miles away.

3. The Villages Dagnall Dagnall is the most southerly of the four villages. It centres upon a crossroads, in one quadrant of which lies All Saints Church. It is a small, supportive community (population 500) with many families who have lived in the village for several generations. It has a newly formed Church of First School. There are no shops but the village does have a busy pub.

Eaton Bray With a population of around 2100, Eaton Bray is the largest of the villages and the site of St Mary’s Church. The Village has a school and a variety of shops and businesses, including grocery store, butcher’s shop, fish and chips shop, two hairdressers/beauticians, a pub, two restaurants and an estate agency. Edlesborough The population of Edlesborough is around 1850. The village has a school, a health centre with a busy GP practice, pharmacy and dental surgery; a number of shops including grocery store/Post Office, hairdresser, a long established bicycle/electrical-goods/carpet store, a florist and an estate agency. There is also a garage offering repairs and MOT inspections. The village has a large Village Green which is home to the annual Carnival as well as many sporting activities throughout the year. Northall The village of Northall, with a population of around 400, has developed in a linear fashion along the A4146 which is the main road joining Leighton Buzzard & Hemel Hempstead. Although the village no longer has any shops, it is close enough for those in Eaton Bray or Edlesborough to be convenient. It has a good local pub.

B. THE COMMUNITY

1. Housing The four villages are best described as rural/commuter in character with a total population of around 5000. They are predominantly residential with a significant proportion of large, detached houses, mostly modern but many older farmhouses and cottages still exist having been modernised and extended. Each village also has some Local Authority built properties, some of which are now owner-occupied. There are a small number of bungalows offering sheltered accommodation for the elderly. On the edge of Eaton Bray there is a small Travellers’ Site which has been a part of our Community for more than two decades.

Eaton Bray, Edlesborough and Northall all experienced a period of rapid growth through housing development in the 1970s and 1980s. In recent years, in common with other villages, a significant number of planning applications have been made to the relevant Local Authorities. Some of these applications have been approved, so the villages are likely to experience population growth in the near future.

2. Parish & District Councils Eaton Bray is part of the District Council which is a unitary authority area in the county of Bedfordshire. Edlesborough, Dagnall and Northall are part of the division of Buckinghamshire County Council; there are therefore, two Parish Councils. Both Councils show great enthusiasm in promoting and developing their villages with projects to enhance the village environments, and events to promote community cohesion. Currently they are both working on Neighbourhood Development Plans.

3. Village Halls Eaton Bray Village Hall is built on church land next to the church but is managed independently by a Board of Trustees. The Hall was built in the 1960s and in recent years the Trustees have completed an extensive refurbishment.

Edlesborough Memorial Hall is an older property managed by Edlesborough Parish Council. It has also been modernised to provide a comfortable space for the use of the Community. Currently, plans are being made to build a large, new community sports pavilion to be funded mainly by grants.

Northall Village Hall built in the late 1970’s, offers accommodation on a smaller scale than either Eaton Bray or Edlesborough.

Dagnall Village Hall provides a major focus for this very community minded village and, at present, the villagers are engaged in fundraising to bring the Hall into the 21st century.

4. Employment Most employment opportunities are outside the community in the surrounding towns of Luton, Dunstable, Hemel Hempstead, Leighton Buzzard and Milton Keynes. A significant number of people travel further afield or commute to Central London. Within the four villages, there are some businesses and shops which together with the schools employ small numbers of workers. There is also an increasing number of self-employed people who offer a variety of services to local residents. Two small business parks exist on farm premises within the Parish. Farming still takes place but now employs a small number of people.

5. Leisure & Recreation Leisure activities in the villages include Scouts, Cubs and Beavers, dancing and drama for the children and dancing, general leisure and a variety of fitness-related group for adults. Both Eaton Bray and Edlesborough have long-established Women’s Institute groups. There is also a daytime monthly Cinema Club in Eaton Bray Village Hall and a weekly ‘Wednesday Club’ (Age UK lunch club) in Northall Village Hall with transport provided for the elderly or housebound.

On the sporting front the Villages can offer local football and cricket teams for all ages, tennis clubs in both Eaton Bray and Edlesborough, horse riding and other activities. Not far away there is golf, gliding and hang-gliding.

6. Education Because the Parish is in two counties, we have two educational systems.

Eaton Bray Academy was until recently a first school within the Bedfordshire three-tier system but due to changes in the county’s educational arrangements, it has now made the transition to provide education to age 11. Children start at four years and then transfer to schools in either Leighton Buzzard or Dunstable. The Academy offers extended school provision and wrap-around care for pre-school pupils as well.

Edlesborough School is in Buckinghamshire which retains the grammar school system. Children start at four years but move after the 11+ exam from Edlesborough School to either the Grammar Schools in Aylesbury, the Cottesloe School in nearby Wing, or other schools in Hertfordshire, or Bedfordshire. There is also a pre-school, and a breakfast and after school club on the premises.

Dagnall has a small First School which takes pupils from a wide area as well as from Dagnall village. Many children transfer to Edlesborough School at the start of Key Stage 2. Within the last year this school has become a Church of England School, the smallest in the St Albans Diocese. A playgroup meets in the village hall and has close links with the school.

The schools have good relationships, with the church; assemblies are regularly conducted by the vicar, children are welcomed into the churches for Harvest and Christingle services and teachers are encouraged to use the church buildings as teaching resources.

C. THE CHURCH IN THE COMMUNITY

1. Social activities St Mary’s Church organises a variety of social activities. Many of these are for purposes of fund- raising but that is not our sole reason for holding events – we are part of the community and we want to be involved in it. Here are some of the events held annually:

 St Mary’s Village Carnival, a major community and fund raising event, is held on Edlesborough Green on the first Saturday of July. In 2016 this one day event raised over £14,000 which was divided equally between St Mary’s Fabric Fund and various local charities. This year 25% of the funds were donated to buy defibrillators for the community.  A Parish Lunch for those who might otherwise be alone, on the third Sunday  Coffee Mornings in Church on the first Saturday of each month  Christmas and Spring Fairs  Summer ‘Open Gardens’  ‘Music at St Mary’s’, concerts are held several times a year in the church  Harvest Lunch  Ladies Guild  An annual model railway exhibition in the church and hall

All Saints church is an important hub in Dagnall village and it also holds social/fund-raising events.

2. Communications A free community magazine called “Focus” is distributed, monthly, to every household in the Parish. This grew out of the church magazine; the Vicar writes a monthly letter and the Church uses Focus as a means of communicating with the wider Parish.

A weekly pew leaflet and a quarterly newsletter are published. The latter is circulated to all on the Electoral Roll as well as being available in Church.

The Church has a well-maintained website. We also have a Facebook page and make use of email and text messages to communicate with some groups.

D. WORSHIP

1. Eaton Bray Introduction The Church has an active congregation with good lay participation in worship and pastoral work. We try hard to be warm and welcoming to newcomers. The Church is open in the daytime every day of the year for visits and personal prayer.

Liturgical Tradition Worship at St Mary’s centres around the Eucharist although we have one Sunday service a month that is non-eucharistic. Common Worship is used and vestments are usually worn at services - although we don’t mind if they are not. We use the Common Praise Hymn Book, but hymns from other sources are on occasions printed in the weekly pew leaflet.

Statistics Electoral Roll: 151 (April 2016) Easter Communicants: 120 (2016) Sunday attendance: 8am: 10 – 20 10am: 50 – 75+

Sunday Services 8.00 am – Holy Communion (said) 9.00 am – Holy Communion at Dagnall (1st Sunday only) 10.00 am – Parish Sung Eucharist On the third Sunday at 10.00am, our Reader leads a non-Eucharistic service, ‘Worship for Everyone’, whilst the vicar attends Dagnall to conduct a Family Communion at 10.30am. A sermon is preached at each of these services.

Weekday Services Wednesday 10.00 am – Holy Communion with short address followed by coffee. The Wednesday congregation has increased in recent years and the service is greatly valued by those attending; for some this is the only service they attend. Attendance is 10-20. 2nd Thursday 7.30 pm – Holy Communion prior to PCC meeting

Monthly services 2nd and 4th Tuesdays 1.30 pm – 3pm TOTs (stories, activities, prayers)

Occasional Services in church Additional services are held at Christmas and during Holy Week, and on Ash Wednesday, Ascension Day and All Souls' tide. The Christmas Eve Candle Services are particularly popular.

Home Communion is offered to the sick and infirm.

Baptisms: 15 Baptisms in 12 months prior to 31st Aug 2016 Weddings: 11 weddings in 12 months prior to 31st Aug 2016 Funerals: 12 Funerals in Church in 2016; a similar number of services at the local crematoria.

Lay participation Many members of the congregation are involved in Sunday worship and in aspects of outreach. We have a good number of people who read the Lessons, lead the Intercessions and act as sidesmen. The Bishop has given approval for lay people to act as chalice assistants and two have further permission to take Holy Communion to the sick. The Church also has an experienced Sacristan.

Our Reader, Gordon Gray, leads the 3rd Sunday ‘Worship for Everyone’ service at St Mary’s and a 5th Sunday service at All Saints, Dagnall. He preaches at other services by agreement with the vicar and helps in the North Chilterns Group and, with another NCG Reader, he prepares candidates for confirmation.

Youth & Children Our numbers in this category have become significantly depleted over the last decade and we recently discontinued Sunday School. We have however, introduced Messy Church with some success and reinvigorated our Toddlers’ service. We are keen to develop these areas of ministry.

Musical Tradition at St Mary’s Choir The choir consists of about 16 members, including some juniors (boys and girls) and adults on all four parts. It is affiliated to the Royal School of Church Music.

A weekly practice is held on Friday evenings. The choir sings with significant competences and receives much praise. It has recently sung traditional Evensong in our church and elsewhere.

Organ A new 2-manual pipe organ was built by Peter Collins in 1991, and is regularly maintained. It is located in a gallery in the tower.

Director of Music Our Director of Music is a former organ and choral scholar at Cambridge and experienced choral director and recitalist. He has worked on developing and improving the vocal capabilities of all those in the choir, The Director of Music currently plans the monthly music list and would do this collaboratively with the new vicar.

House Groups We have one regular, long-standing House Group and a Prayer and Praise Group that meet in people’s homes; a new House Group is currently being established. During Advent and Lent, other Bible study, discussion and devotional meetings take place.

2. All Saints, Dagnall Introduction & congregation All Saints, generally known as Dagnall Church, is, as this suggests, a Church for the whole village. The building is Anglican, but it has been shared with the Methodists since the late sixties, when their building became unsafe. They brought with them enthusiasm and resources that helped the Church to continue to flourish and to enable the building to be extended on two occasions. Anglican and Methodist membership is about equal and there are a number of other members of the regular congregation who are neither Anglican nor Methodist but who attend Dagnall Church because it is the Church in the village.

There is a Management Committee which consists of 6 members from each denomination; this is responsible for planning and decision making. There are also separate Anglican and Methodist Committees. The Methodist part of the Church is in the Circuit and is under the care of a Methodist minister from Todd ington.

Services On first Sundays at 9.00am, an Anglican Eucharist is held. There is a 10.30am service each week but on first, second and fourth Sundays this is Methodist led. On third Sundays we have a popular Anglican Family Communion service and on fifth Sundays there is an informal service, which is generally Anglican lay-led. In a sense all the services are ‘united’ because most are attended by both Anglicans and Methodists, but there are a number of official United Services, namely the Patronal Festival, the Covenant Service, the Village Carol Service and a Good Friday service.

Sunday School etc. The numbers attending Sunday school have been rather variable of late, but a monthly “Chill- out” evening attracts a good number of enthusiastic young people.

Involvement with the wider community All Saints is part of Churches Together in Eaton Bray, Edlesborough, Dagnall and Northall There is a very successful Community Choir of some 50 people which meets weekly in the church. The School takes part in the Village Carol Service each year and holds its annual leavers’ service in the church.

Dagnall C of E School In October 2015 the village school became a Voluntary Aided Church of England School. Because of the geographical peculiarities of the parish, as a school it sits within the Diocese of St Albans, unlike all the other church schools in Buckinghamshire which are the Diocese of Oxford. The change of status was made to formalise the already strongly Christian ethos of the school, and the vicar sits on the Governing Board, ex-officio. Other members of the PCC are also Foundation Governors. There is a new Headteacher who is keen to use the church and all it offers to enhance the experience for pupils at the school.

3. St Mary the Virgin, Edlesborough The Church was closed in 1975 and is now administered and maintained by the Churches Conservation Trust. There is an active group of Friends. For the past four years an annual mid- summer festival has been held at the church and it has also been open for Heritage Open Days in September. These events further the aims of the Churches Conservation Trust - for their churches to be loved, cared for and used by the community. With the consent of the CCT, services are held at the church a few times a year.

E. PASTORAL & ECUMENICAL

1. The North Chilterns Group of Parishes The parish of Eaton Bray with Edlesborough is a member of the North Chilterns Group of Parishes (NCG) which came into being just over 30 years ago. It is made up of three benefices. These are:  , Stanbridge and , and  Eaton Bray with Edlesborough which includes Dagnall.

Each benefice has a full time vicar. There are joint services at different times of the year and in addition Confirmation candidates from all the parishes learn about their Faith together. The NCG also runs a Joint Lent Course and organises a variety of events both educational and social.

2. Churches Together To strengthen and support Christian witness in the Parish, representatives of the various Churches and Chapels meet as ‘Churches Together’. The committee organises a week of Prayer for Christian Unity with a united service, an annual door-to-door collection during Christian Aid Week, an annual open air ‘Hymns on the Green’, and greetings cards at Christmas and Easter. These are delivered to all homes giving details of services at those festival seasons. It has also arranged concerts and other events with Christian singers, musicians and evangelists. Singer and evangelist, Jonathan Veira, has been booked to visit the parish in May 2017.

The Group is made up of representatives from the Anglican, Methodist, Salvation Army and Baptist churches; there is also a Roman Catholic member.

3. Pastoral visiting We have a newly formed pastoral visiting group which has followed the diocesan course, Equipping God’s People. The members of this group keep in touch with the sick, bereaved and housebound. Two members have the Bishop of Bedford’s permission to take Holy Communion to those unable to attend church. Our Reader, Gordon Gray, also carries out pastoral visits.

F. LEADERSHIP

1. The Parochial Church Council The PCC, which has 17 members, meets monthly in the church after a celebration of Holy Communion. At the 2016 APCM several new members joined the PCC bringing new abilities and enthusiasm. We try to keep a balance of business and pastoral matters at meetings and to look objectively at our church.

All Saints Dagnall has two District Churchwardens who are members of St Mary’s PCC.

2. Ministerial Support We have one Reader, Gordon Gray, who makes a significant input into the Parish in many ways. He is also a vocations adviser in the Archdeaconry of Bedford and co-organiser of the Diocesan Residential Conference.

G. THE BUILDINGS

1. St Mary the Virgin, Eaton Bray The church is built of local stone, quarried in Totternhoe, the next village. It is a chalk-like stone, soft and therefore easy to carve but notoriously vulnerable to weather erosion. From the outside most of the visible features suggest a date at the very end of the 15th century, when the church was rebuilt, the roof raised, transepts and porches added and the windows renewed. The original church however, dates from approximately 1219, and internally there remain several important 13th century features which are referenced in most defining books of English Parish Churches. It has been the Parish Church of Eaton Bray for almost 800 years and of the combined Parishes of Eaton Bray with Edlesborough since 1975.

Although proud of our history, we try to be forward looking and make improvements. A new organ by Peter Collins was built and installed in 1991; we have modern comfortable chairs which can be rearranged for different purposes and we have just completed an extension to provide an accessible toilet, baby changing facilities and storage. We have recently been granted a Faculty to improve our kitchen area which will make it easier to provide refreshments.

The Church is set in a large churchyard, which was "closed" in 1882. Many of the gravestones have been removed to the boundary walls to create a pleasant open space with some impressive mature trees. An area alongside the High Street is set aside as a Garden of Remembrance for the burial of cremated remains. A stone memorial provides for the commemoration of those whose ashes are interred there. There are also cemeteries in both Eaton Bray and Edlesborough which are administered by the Parish Councils

2. All Saints Dagnall All Saints Church, Dagnall is an ecumenical church at the heart of the village. The church is shared between Anglican and Methodist communities. The building was erected in 1863 by the last Lord Brownlow as a Church Day School and All Saints Chapel of Ease. The Schooling aspects were transferred to the new Council School in 1909. In 1967, when the village Methodist Chapel was declared unsafe and demolished, All Saints building became home to both congregations. The church building needs some repairs but a fabric committee has been formed to make progress with these.

3. St Mary the Virgin, Edlesborough (Closed and administered by The Churches Conservation Trust.) On a chalk hillock with fine views from its churchyard, St Mary's is a noble landmark in the Vale of Aylesbury; it has a massive 14th century limestone tower and the rest is to scale. Inside are impressive features, particularly the mediaeval woodwork including a complete chancel screen, a slender pulpit with a superbly carved 4-tier tester, choir desks, stalls and nave and chancel roofs. There are medieval and 19th century tiles, a striking Victorian scheme of wall decoration and a good window by Kempe. The Churchyard is full and having been closed by Order in Council can only be used for interments in existing graves. To the rear of the Church is a new cemetery created by the Parish Council

4. Vicarage The Vicarage is situated across the High Street from St Mary’s Church, Eaton Bray. Built in the 1970s, it has good sized rooms including lounge, dining room, kitchen, utility room and study; upstairs there are four bedrooms, bathroom and shower room. It also has a large double garage and garden.

H. FINANCE

1. Financial position Our total unrestricted income in 2015 was £85,000 with a further £60,000 being received through donations and the annual Carnival. These are not easy times but by careful management we succeed in balancing our books. In 2015 we had sufficient surplus on 'current account' to enable us to transfer funds into unrestricted fabric funds for future eventual repair/maintenance liabilities. We are aware of the problems we are likely to encounter in the coming years as disposable incomes decline, but we believe we are well-equipped to meet these challenges.

2. Charitable giving Although we have a continuing need to raise funds to maintain the building of the church, we are as a Christian community, aware of the importance of charitable giving. Every year we give half the proceeds of our annual Carnival to charitable causes; this year it amounted to £7000. We also donate £2000 each year from church income to causes to which we have a long-term commitment.

We help other charities in various ways; for example each year we host the Macmillan Coffee Morning, support Christian Aid and the British Legion and respond to emergency appeals.

I. EXPENSES OF OFFICE

All expenses incurred in fulfilling Parish duties are paid in full at rates which are laid down or recommended.

USEFUL WEB LINKS

Eaton Bray with Edlesborough Parish www.stmaryseatonbray.org.uk St Mary’s Village Carnival www.stmarysvillagecarnival.com Eaton Bray Parish Council www.eatonbray.com Edlesborough Parish Council www.edlesborough.gov.uk Dagnall CE School www.dagnall.bucks.sch.uk Eaton Bray Academy www.eatonbrayacademy.co.uk Edlesborough School www.edlesborough.bucks.sch.uk Friends of the Church on the Hill www.edlesboroughchurch.org.uk Photos of Parish life