Parish Profile 2017
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ST. PETER’S CHURCH (RAVENSHEAD) AND THE CHAPEL OF ST. MARY (NEWSTEAD ABBEY) PARISH PROFILE 2017 Website: www.stpeterschurchravenshead.co.uk Page 1 of 19 MISSION STATEMENT Our mission is to proclaim and embody the Gospel of Christ in the community of our parish through worship, fellowship, care and outreach to enable all to grow in faith, hope and love. Our Values 1. Focused on God. Therefore we aim to maintain a broad range of existing styles of worship and pioneer new forms of worship in particular to encourage more young people into the church; develop our life of prayer, including through Prayer Ministry in services and Quiet Days. 2. Listening to God and our community, expanding the use of the church by schools and others for worship and learning; selecting, training and commissioning a Visiting Team and taking school assemblies and inviting families to appropriate services and events. 3. Concerned with the kingdom of God, putting God and his will first. Therefore we continue with community fairs and encourage community use of the lounge and Centre, strengthening our link with St John’s, Pinetown, Natal, and working towards good stewardship of creation. 4. Looking to make disciples. We continue with outreach events, including Alpha Courses; further discipleship through home groups and actively encourage the people to contribute to worship and general management, using their skills and gifts. 5. A community of faith, characterised by welcome, hospitality and an openness to change. Therefore we will continue with hospitality and induction into the church family, make times to meet and eat together and develop friendships and value the link with the Newstead Abbey Chapel. Page 2 of 19 OUR NEW VICAR We offer a warm welcome within our vibrant church family and supportive leadership group. We have a track record of growth and there are lots of opportunities for further growth. Twice a year we hold a welcome evening for new members of our congregation. Ravenshead has a welcoming and well developed community making it a great place to live. We offer a financially secure parish and an attractive, modern four bedroomed vicarage (see below) in the grounds of St. Peter’s Church. In line with the diocesan priority to develop disciples wider, younger and deeper we are in prayer for a person who feels called to ministry in our parish to help us develop in the following ways: Leadership: A motivational leader who will continue to grow the church at St. Peter’s and the Abbey Chapel and provide guidance and empowerment for our active lay ministry. Ministry: An engaging minister who enjoys leading a diverse range of worship from traditional to the more informal and evangelistic styles. Spirituality: An enabler who will develop opportunities for our church family and the wider community in our parish, to explore Christianity and grow deeper in faith. This may be through services, courses, Home Groups, Prayer Ministry and lay ministry. All ages: A person with a passion for engaging and encouraging young and old in their Christian journey. Pastoral Care: A person who through a focus on nurture and prayer will provide pastoral care to our community and encouragement and support to our pastoral visiting team. Community: A sociable person who will embrace everyone and, through outreach, will be a visible presence in our community. This will include building on the already good relationships with uniformed organisations and the two excellent primary schools in the Parish and acting as an ex-officio Governor at the Church of England school. The Vicarage is a spacious 4 bedroom house built in 2005. It is set back from the road behind St. Peter’s Church, and accessed via a driveway which runs alongside. There is a double garage and parking for several cars on the drive. The front of the Vicarage viewed from the Church The rear of the Vicarage viewed from the bottom of the garden Page 3 of 19 OUR CHURCHES Our congregation has seen steady growth through the provision of a wide variety of engaging worship in our Parish. We encourage participation through a diverse range of styles of worship, giving opportunities for lay people to take an active leadership role in our services and children’s work. Our Lay Reader provides support across all services and four people are undergoing training for Bitesize preaching. We have a Pastoral Team who visit people in their home, hospital or workplace. They listen, pray and build up relationships with those visited feeding back to the incumbent or Team Leader, and attend regular team meetings. We have an administrative assistant who supports the Clergy. St. Peter’s Church St. Peter’s Church The church was built in 1972 in a modern style by the architect Colin Shewring. It is owned by the Diocese of Southwell and Nottingham. It is much larger than the Abbey Chapel so has larger congregations (Our Church is packed to capacity across the three services on Christmas Eve). St. Peter’s offers more diverse services and can be used for social events, such as the Maundy Service meal, concerts. drama and various other community events. The church lounge is used for Wednesday morning communion, prayer and coffee after services. It is also used by church and community groups for their meetings. The Church Lounge Wednesday Service Refreshments Abbey Chapel Chapel of St. Mary (Newstead Abbey) The small historic chapel, which accommodates 70 people, is located in the east wing of the Abbey holds regular traditional services and is a favourite for weddings and baptisms The Abbey, which was founded in 1170 as an Augustine Priory, and located in beautiful Newstead Abbey Park, was converted to a domestic home following the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539. It is best known as the ancestral home of poet Lord Byron, but has been owned and maintained (including the Chapel) by Nottingham City Council since 1931. Page 4 of 19 WORSHIP IN OUR PARISH Our pattern of worship is as follows but continues to evolve as we seek to grow disciples. Sundays at St. Peter’s Church – typically we see an average attendance of over 140 adults with varying numbers of children. 8.00 Holy Communion (1st and 3rd Sunday) 9.30 Parish Communion (Every Sunday) 11.00 (Term-Time Only): Various styles of service: Primarily Morning Worship and occasional Communion, both in church, but once a month Bitesize Church, an informal café-style service which takes place in the Centre. Children’s work at St. Peter’s occurs at this time. 4.00 Evensong (4th Sunday) Every Wednesday - typically we see an average attendance of over 20 10.30am Holy Communion (St. Peter’s Church Lounge) Fridays (Last Friday in a month) 8.00am Prayer Breakfast (St. Peter’s Church Lounge) The Altar at St. Peter’s Nativity at St. Peter’s Bitesize Church at The Centre Sundays at The Chapel of Mary (Newstead Abbey) – the annual attendance is typically over 700 for all services: 11.30 BCP Matins, Songs of Praise or Lodge Service [2nd Sunday] 11:30 BCP Holy Communion [4th Sunday] Special Whole Parish Services: Mothering Sunday, Easter Day, St. Peter’s Day, Harvest, Remembrance, Nativity and Christmas morning, Holy Communion after the Maundy Meal, Easter Sunrise, Annual Memorial Service, Christingle and Carol Services. Easter Sunrise Service at Newstead Abbley Maundy Thursday Meal For variations please see our website www.stpeterschurchravenshead.co.uk or our Parish Magazine. Appendix 1 contains a record of actual services and attendance figures for the last 12 months. Page 5 of 19 HOW WE INCREASED OUR OUTREACH A dream for many years was to increase St. Peter’s outreach by replacing our old worn-out church hall with a community centre for the entire village. In 2014 a steering committee was formed and subsequently the old building was finally bulldozed to enable a purpose -built community facility to be erected. It was designed to provide flexible accommodation to suit small or large groups and following a well-organised campaign the necessary half a million pounds was raised by the church, the community and community grants. In May 2015, The Centre at St. Peter’s as it is now known, was finally opened and this fantastic facility is home to more than 42 regular user groups meeting either weekly, monthly or on a more ad hoc basis. The groups include Pebbles (carer, baby and toddler group), Bridge, Yoga, Brownies and Guides, U3A activities, dance and music groups. The footfall so far in 2017 is more than 16 thousand per annum. A full list of users is available in The Centre. The Centre is also used for themed food evenings—there is a full catering kitchen—film nights, Harvest lunch and Church Summer and Christmas fairs amongst many other events. It was also used on our Seed Scattering weekend, a Beetle Drive and Baking for All event. Bishop Tony Baking for All The secret of its success is that it is operated by a management team [Right] comprising both church and non-church volunteers. The running of the Centre is overseen, on behalf of the PCC, by the Finance and Standing Committee. A lunch is held one Wednesday a month, which is very well supported and the facility is a perfect venue after funerals for get-togethers and for both children’s and adult parties e.g. birthdays and anniversaries. We have even had wedding receptions there. From 10am to 4pm week days the foyer hosts a ”drop in” for coffee, tea and biscuits for anyone who chooses to go for company and a chat. A team of “welcomers” volunteer for this on a rota basis.