PARISH PROFILE

Page 1 of 24 BISHOP’S INTRODUCTION

The Arden Marches group of rural churches, located around the large ‘village’ (more like a small town with its 6,000 residents) of Studley in the west of the Diocese, have long been an example of positive creativity and spiritual life, with excellent relationships among them and with the Diocese as a whole. They are a great group of people!

This post provides a large population base in Studley, with smaller but equally valued, communities around it with which to work. Like other posts emerging in the Diocese at this time, the Rector of Studley and the Arden Marches will be ministering in a wider context of the Diocesan commitment to think imaginatively and creatively about how best to support our rural parishes in mission. I hope the new priest-leader of this Group will have a key contribution to these consultations and the actions that will follow – the Arden Marches Group have much to offer from which others can learn, with their track record of working together for many years and their well developed lay ministry.

The Diocese of Coventry is a forward-thinking Diocese, which encourages innovation and imagination. We welcome applicants who are ready to join us in this creative engagement in mission as we seek to grow healthy church communities that worship God more fully, make more new disciples and transform their communities by the gospel more effectively.

We hope that the combination of ministering in both large and small village contexts, with good lay people, will be an attractive prospect, and I commend the post to you.

With my prayers

Page 2 of 24 DEANERY SUMMARY

Despite being without a permanent Area Dean at the moment, a warm welcome from the Alcester Deanery awaits the person God sends to join us as Rector of Studley and the Arden Marches group. Our Deanery is situated in rural Warwickshire and has a vision for ministry built upon the diocesan priorities to worship God, make new disciples and transform community.

Alcester Deanery is increasingly being focused on the importance of lay and clergy being inspired to work together, and there is a need to be at ease working with our many small but faithful church families who have varied styles of worship.

Currently, the greatest challenge to the rural church is ageing church congregations, and there is a pressing need for an enthusiastic and open- minded approach to explore new and appropriate ways of ministering and doing mission in the countryside.

The Deanery is committed to supporting the three-fold Diocesan Mision purpose of Worshipping God, Making New Disciples and Transforming Communites by implementing Natural Church Development principles. Although the role of Area Dean is vacant, a situation we hope to rectify shortly, the Chapter continues to meet monthly. The clergy are in good spirits and find these meetings helpful and supportive. They provide valuable opportunities for sharing faith, prayer and fellowship as well as growing a common heart for mission and learning.

We very much look forward to welcoming to our mostly rural Deanery (apart from Alcester and Studley), a colleague who will face the challenges and share the joys of rural ministry alongside us.

Page 3 of 24 BACKGROUND TO POST

The post of Rector for the Arden Marches benefice has become available as a result of the early retirement of our previous incumbent due to ill health. Having served with us for just over 6 years, his retirement followed a prolonged period of sickness leave, which, in effect, means that the benefice has been without a rector for over a year, although the interregnum did not officially begin until the beginning of February 2017.

To assist in the configuration of the new post, the Ministry Leadership Team (MLT) carried out a Natural Churches Development survey (an update to our previous two surveys carried out in September 2014 and November 2015), the results of which form the basis of this Parish Profile. We also put together our own internal questionnaire to ascertain the key personal characteristics and experience that members of our congregations would like to see in a new incumbent and we invited other (non-congregation) members of the local community to express their views on the sort of person that they would like to see as the new rector for our villages.

Recognising the importance of prayer and being open to where God wants us to go in our Christian journey, we have also initiated a number of opportunities to encourage personal and congregational prayer, including prayer points on our weekly News Sheet, a prayer network committed to praying each day throughout the interregnum and a monthly prayer lunch.

Results from the surveys, guided by our continuing prayer focus, have informed our Person Specification below.

ROLE SPECIFICATION The role of this post is to lead the churches in fulfilling the Diocesan Mission Purpose of:

 Worshipping God  Making New Disciples  Transforming Communities.

This will be achieved by developing 8 essential qualities in the life of the church:

Empowering Leadership Gift-oriented Ministry Passionate Spirituality Inspiring Worship Holistic Small Groups Need-oriented Outreach Loving Relationships Functional Structures

Page 4 of 24 PERSON SPECIFICATION A summary of our internal questionnaire, together with the comments that we have received from members of the community, would suggest that the person we want would have a combination of every good characteristic that has ever been thought of in an incumbent, as well as being able to balance the diversity of ‘traditional’ versus ‘modern’ styles of worship!

Through a process of prayerful discussion, we have tried to distil the key essential and desirable qualities that we seek in our new incumbent.

We welcome a candidate who is:

 approachable and with a good sense of humour  experienced in practical leadership and communication skills, including the potential of social media  a prayerful and spiritual person, exhibiting a personal relationship with Jesus, who will encourage us into a deeper understanding of our faith  willing to delegate, and to identify and develop latent potential amongst the laity, with the confidence to listen and respond to the views and ideas of others  prepared to work with a Ministry Leadership Team, supporting and encouraging lay ministry training  comfortable with a broad range of worship styles, and willing to encourage us into trying new ways of worship  able to help us to attract new people, especially children and younger people, including further developing our important school links  sensitive to the wide range of backgrounds within our benefice, including the very rural, and able to engage with the wider community to build bridges and enhance the place of the Church in the villages.

ARDEN MARCHES CHURCHES: THE DIOCESAN MISSION PURPOSE AND 8 ESSENTIAL QUALITIES OF HEALTHY CHURCHES As stated above, the Mission Purpose of the Diocese of Coventry is:

 Worshipping God  Making New Disciples  Transforming Communities.

Arden Marches is fully committed to fulfilling these three purposes. We believe that we will achieve this by developing 8 Essential Qualities in the life of the churches.

This section gives a summary of where each of the churches is on their journey towards achieving the 8 essential qualities, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of each church and emphasising the areas where all four churches work together.

Page 5 of 24 ST MARY’S CHURCH, STUDLEY

EMPOWERING LEADERSHIP The number of people who share in the organisation of the church, in leading services and preaching, and in driving various groups and initiatives is impressive for a church of our size. In addition to 2 PTOs and 4 Lay Readers, there is a ‘team’ of over 20 members of the congregation who regularly take an active part in our services. That this area did not score higher in the NCD survey is probably explained by the sudden loss of a Rector and two curates in a very short space of time. There is a real opportunity for a new incumbent to become a leader amongst leaders and to take us forward into the next phase of the church’s life.

GIFT-ORIENTED MINISTRY This is one of our strengths, though there may be opportunities for a new incumbent to encourage yet more people to increase their involvement according to their talents. We are hoping to run a training session in the Autumn for all the churches to identify and encourage those who may wish to lead services or intercessions, or preach in our churches.

PASSIONATE SPIRITUALITY The NCD survey identified this as an area in need of improvement. There are pockets of prayer and Bible-reading, but these are not an integrated part of the life of the congregation as they should be. Existing small groups are being encouraged to develop this aspect of our church life. We look to a new incumbent to inspire and encourage us in this area, not working alone but developing our spirituality as a team together through teaching and example.

INSPIRING WORSHIP Our services are mostly lay-led, involving our Lay Readers and other members of the congregation. Our extended period with no full-time clergy has stretched us but we have managed to keep all but a few services going and some of our regular ones have grown. The concept of an established team being responsible for particular services has proved invaluable. Morning services all begin at 10am.

Our choir has struggled for some years with diminishing numbers and nobody to take on the role of ‘choir master’. We have 2 voluntary organists, who, between them cover most of the services at the Parish Church, but we no longer have a regular choir. It is fair to say that we are currently short of musicians, especially for more modern songs and some would like to see the reinstatement of a Christingle Service regular choir, particularly for communion services.

 Services on the first and third Sundays now follow Holy Communion for All and make use of visual liturgy; there is a Junior Church for the younger children and we are in the process of beginning a group for secondary-age youngsters.

Page 6 of 24  On the second Sunday, there is a service of Morning Worship in church and CentrePoint in the Parish Centre; the former is a quiet, reflective style of worship, often making use of Celtic liturgy; the latter is a relaxed, modern café-style service which makes particular use of audio-visual technology.  On the fourth Sunday, Celebration Praise takes place; this is a modern service which has developed from our earlier All Age service  When there is a fifth Sunday, we join together with the other churches in a joint service, alternating venue between Mappleborough Green and Studley  On the second and fourth Sundays there is a Book of Common Prayer Communion service at 8am  On the first and third Sundays there is a service at Osprey House, the sheltered housing unit in the village; services alternate between Holy Communion and Evening Prayer  Messy Church is now up and running again, after a difficult period with the intention of meeting every two months Easter cross, Studley

HOLISTIC SMALL GROUPS We only have two operating house groups currently. This is an area which could be better co- ordinated and focused in the future. There are many other groups which meet regularly to plan and organise particular services, including Messy Church, and church members are regularly involved in various midweek activities such as Compassion, Lunch Box, MU and bell ringing. A great deal of the structure and organisation of the church is based upon the work of small groups, including the MLT and DCC.

NEED-ORIENTED OUTREACH We are very aware of the need to reach out and to bring people into a faith in Christ. There are a number of ways in which we already do this.

Some outreach is across the parishes, such as the Hot Chocolate project which has been running for over six years. A group of volunteers, including some from other church denominations, operates a weekly rota providing hot and cold drinks and biscuits every Friday evening to any children/teenagers who are out and about in Studley between 7 and 8.30pm. This has attracted much interest from the youngsters and has reduced the amount of trouble in the village on Friday nights. In addition, we now have a Sunday evening Youth Café which runs in the Parish Centre from 6 to 7.30pm in school term time, providing a relaxed meeting place for teenagers in the village.

Lunch Box generally meets the needs of an older group by providing a hot meal once a month in the Parish Centre, made possible by a volunteer team from all four churches. The weekly Compassion Group also meets in the Parish Centre to provide support for the bereaved and Messy Church lonely.

Page 7 of 24 Our involvement in the local schools adds to our outreach work, as does Messy Church. We would also regard the CentrePoint and CelebrationPraise services as having a focus on bringing new people into the church family.

LOVING RELATIONSHIPS We believe that we are a friendly, supportive community and gatherings (including services) produce plenty of laughter. Despite differences in approach, the four churches work closely together, and the fifth Sunday joint services have been a recent success.

FUNCTIONAL STRUCTURES We have a Ministry Leadership Team with members representing our four churches. Meetings are monthly with the exception of August. The MLT is a visionary group under the authority of the PCCs. Members can serve for up to 7 years before stepping down for at least one year. The Studley and Mappleborough PCC meets quarterly, with each of the churches having their own DCCs which also meet quarterly. Decisions and suggestions from our Ministry Leadership Team are fed into these meetings for approval and discussion. For example, the service pattern was changed a couple of years ago and this was recently reviewed by surveying our congregations. We place importance on what people think and aim to involve the whole church in major decisions about worship. We have recently re-structured our PCC and DCC membership which has resulted in the DCCs having a greater say in the running of their individual churches, making for more effective decision making.

MAPPLEBOROUGH GREEN CHURCH

EMPOWERING LEADERSHIP Traditionally we have been successful at empowering others to take leading roles in our church. We have two Lay Readers who take active roles in the leadership of our church and others who prepare and/or lead services. We also have teams of people who undertake weekly duties covering preparation and leading intercessions, serving the chalice, offering healing prayer, reading lessons and others. We recognise that all our leaders need support and encouragement, and acknowledge the importance of working together and communicating well.

GIFT-ORIENTED MINISTRY We continue to encourage all church members to share and make use of their individual gifts for the benefit of the whole church. In 2015 we ran a Healing Prayer Course which resulted in more people joining our existing team. We are sensitive to people who may want to participate with support rather than taking a full leadership role and appreciate that some people need to build confidence over time and let God lead them gently.

Page 8 of 24

PASSIONATE SPIRITUALITY We need to improve on this area in our church life. We have a good prayer network in our church which spreads across the group in some areas. Our Prayer Ministry Team is available at each service to pray with and for others. However, we recognise that we need to focus on and fall in love with the Scriptures again, even though within our small groups prayer and Bible reading is encouraged.

To ensure that we take this seriously we have committed to look afresh at what we do best and how we might use that as a basis to engage more in passionate spirituality. In the coming months we will be trying to develop ideas both within services and the daily life of each member

of the congregation.

‘The Ascension’ Sculpture

INSPIRING WORSHIP This was one of our top scoring qualities in the NCD survey. We have a varied worship pattern with the following services each month.

 All Age Celebration - A lay led, free-form, family orientated service with variable seating patterns, PowerPoint on screen, and congregational involvement. This is a popular service, particularly with visitors, and has seen a growth in attendance.  Holy Communion (Common Worship) – Traditional style, individual service booklets.  Soul Space – Late afternoon, lay-led gentle service of music, readings and reflection. Currently taking a short break and may return to our schedule later in the year.  Morning Worship – Lay led, less formal service, individual service booklets.  Communion for All – Lay led, family focussed, PowerPoint service with theatre-style seating and portable altar.  Fifth Sunday – A full Group service where we attempt to be more creative and sometimes experimental with the style and liturgy. The venue alternates with Studley.

All services are at 10am each Sunday with the exception of Soul Space which is in addition to the morning services and normally held at 4pm once a month. We have a regular congregation of around 40-50 people, of which a good proportion come from the Redditch area. The age range is from 3 to 95, and we tend to have more mature members.

Page 9 of 24 Crosses on the Hill at Easter, Mappleborough Green

We would like to encourage more young families to our services with a view to starting a children’s learning group again. Our music is varied from traditional to contemporary, provided by volunteers on organ, piano and flute. The choir leads the singing at all services, robing only for the traditional service. We are open to continuing creative thoughts and ideas to help people connect with and deepen their faith.

HOLISTIC SMALL GROUPS Our Growing in Faith home group is a Bible study and fellowship group that welcomes new Christians as well as those wishing to deepen their faith. In addition there are many instances of holistic small groups, some of which are linked across the churches.

Our Choir has 10 members and others who are willing to join the team if needed to lead the music at weddings or funerals. The choir has developed and broadened its styles of music to encompass all needs for our varied worship pattern.

We have a number of teams including administration, Compassion Group, service planning and flower arranging. All work together, within their groups, to achieve their brief and in so doing they also share in the 8 Essential Qualities.

NEED-ORIENTED OUTREACH Following our latest NCD survey, we recognise that as a church we need to be more open about our faith and would welcome a leader who could encourage this. We believe passionately in our mission statement “Bringing God’s Love to a Hurting World” and realise that we often fall short of this ideal. But, on the positive side, we currently have some wonderful teams of volunteers who care about reaching out to the lonely and vulnerable.

Our Friendship Group has volunteer drivers from our church taking elderly and lonely members of our community out to lunch or tea once a month. This is a valuable outreach to people who do not come to church and would otherwise feel isolated.

Church members visit the local school to help with reading and other needs on a regular basis. We have two dedicated The Friendship Group foundation governors on the board of the school who encourage our links.

Members of the Mappleborough congregation helped to launch and continue to be involved with The Hot Chocolate Project, Youth Café and Lunch Box.

Page 10 of 24 LOVING RELATIONSHIPS There is a lot of love and laughter in our church. We are always pleased to let people know when they are doing a good job. We find it easy to talk about our feelings and personal problems which means that we feel very supported by each other. Many church members offer pastoral care on an informal basis and ensure that anyone who is in particular need is visited and cared about, although always with that person’s agreement.

We are known for our very warm welcome, especially to newcomers. We are very fortunate in having a team of sides-persons that provides the extremely important first welcome and contact with anyone who comes into the church.

FUNCTIONAL STRUCTURES Functional structures apply over the whole parish as described above in the Studley section.

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH, MORTON BAGOT Since becoming part of the Arden Marches group of churches, members of this church have been encouraged to use their skills and enthusiasm in becoming more closely involved with ministry. For example, training was given and permission granted for four people to become servers at Holy Communion and support has been given to individuals to lead prayers during services. Members of the regular congregation demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit in their daily lives. Due to its rural location visitors are infrequent but are offered a warm welcome and often comment on the special atmosphere of services held in this ancient church. Although small in number, several members of the congregation help with church initiatives to support local people, across the age range, in Studley.

A decision was taken recently to keep the church permanently open so that local walkers and cyclists could appreciate the peace and tranquillity Morton Bagot Church offers. However, due to on-going problems with repairs to the ceiling, the building has now been closed for several months for health and safety reasons. This has been a frustrating time for us all and members of the PCC are working hard to try to bring this situation to a successful conclusion and to be able to re-open our church. We have been warmly invited to use St Mary’s at Oldberrow whilst our building remains closed. The bond between our two churches is extremely strong and mutually supported, including a shared PCC.

ST MARY'S, OLDBERROW Like all churches, St Mary's was built to celebrate the Holy Sacraments and the life given through them. There is one service a month alternating between Evensong and Holy Communion. Book of Common Prayer is preferred. Major festivals are well attended and can easily exceed the maximum pew capacity of 36!

St Mary's has never been locked and its location on a busy main road makes it accessible to all. This is reflected in entries into the visitor's book which are heart-warming and often heart- rending.

Page 11 of 24

The church's ministry to those outside the parish whom we rarely meet is of great importance to us. It is part of the Small Pilgrim Places Network, an organisation listing places across the country for those that seek space, solitude, silence and simplicity.

The wild flower meadow at St Mary’s Oldberrow

To reflect the dedication to St Mary and the wonder of creation in the churchyard, it is our hope to explore two themes, The 'Divine Wisdom in Christianity' and 'Christ the Gardener'.

Page 12 of 24 THE PARISHES HISTORY Studley Parish Church was joined in 1888 by a newly built daughter church, The Church of the Holy Ascension, Mappleborough Green. In 2006, a group of churches was formed with the parishes of Oldberrow and Morton Bagot with Spernall (Spernall church has been redundant for over 10 years). The parishes of Olberrow and Morton Bagot now operate as one, with a joint PCC. In July 2013, this Arden Marches Group of Churches became a Benefice and the incumbent became Rector.

LOCATION Our group of churches is situated in rural South West Warwickshire, and each church is within two miles (as the crow flies) of at least one other. We are on the west side of the Coventry Diocese, bounded on the western edge by Worcester Diocese and on the northern edge by Birmingham Diocese. The churches are shown on the map below with the three parishes and their boundaries.

Holy Ascension Church, Mappleborough Green sits in the north-west corner of the parish on the A435, Birmingham to Alcester road, with Redditch just across the road in Worcestershire. Some two miles south along the A435 is Studley where the Parish Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is on the easterly edge of the village, on the site of the old village of which little remains to the naked eye. Holy Trinity Church, Morton Bagot can be reached following the lane from Studley Church to the west and sits on the top of a hill next to a farmhouse. Less than a mile further on down the lane St. Mary’s Church, Oldberrow is in a hamlet on the A4189 road linking Henley-in-Arden and Mappleborough Green.

Page 13 of 24 POPULATION Often referred to as the biggest village in England, the population of Studley Civil Parish is currently around 6,000.This does not include two housing developments (Abbeyfields and St John’s) built on the boundaries of the parish which are technically classed as being in the neighbouring parishes of Mappleborough Green and Sambourne respectively, but are generally regarded as being part of Studley. There is a proposal to amend the parish boundaries to include these developments within the Studley Civil Parish. Mappleborough Green, including the Abbeyfields development, has a total population of around 850. Morton Bagot, Oldberrow and Spernal are all still officially separate Civil Parishes within the Stratford District, with a total population between them of about 200.

The table below gives a summary of the key demographic statistics from the 2011 Census for Studley and Mappleborough Green. The populations of Morton Bagot, Oldberrow and Spernal parishes are below the threshold for the publication of detailed statistics.

Mappleborough Green Studley Total %age (inc. Abbeyfields) Population 5879 857 6736 Male 2859 437 3296 48.9 Female 3020 420 3440 51.1 Age <15 947 135 1082 16.1 15-19 374 35 409 6.0 20-39 1196 155 1351 20.1 40-64 2103 364 2467 36.6 ≥ 65 1259 168 1427 21.2 Religion Christian 4181 597 4778 70.9 Other 57 31 88 1.3 None / not 1641 229 1870 27.8 stated Ethnicity White 5727 806 6533 97.0 Mixed race 78 15 93 1.4 Asian 44 30 74 1.1 Black 17 6 23 0.3 other 13 0 13 0.2 Economic Activity (aged 16-74) Employed 2298 327 2625 53.5 Self- 432 118 550 11.2 employed Unemployed 158 16 174 3.5 FT Student 113 13 126 2.5 Retired 783 114 897 18.3 Other 474 65 539 11.0

The statistics are fairly typical of a semi-rural community, with a predominantly White British population and over 70% classifying themselves as Christian. The percentage of retired and unemployed people is slightly higher than the average for Stratford District as a whole. The overall statistics conceal the fact that there are pockets of deprivation within the villages and surrounding rural community.

Page 14 of 24 Much of Studley’s growth in the early 20th century was based around the needle industry, which dominated the wider local economy. Although nothing remains of the original needle manufacturing businesses, there is a continuing legacy in Studley of several small engineering works, along with the sort of retail and service outlets one might expect for a community of 6,000 people. Unfortunately, though, there is no recognisable village ‘centre’, with shops, etc. strung out along the main A435 or along the lower part of the High Street.

It is generally agreed that another legacy of the needle industries is the number of pubs in Studley and Mappleborough Green! At one time the villages boasted at least 15 pubs between them, although that is now reduced to 13.

There are 3 large garden centres along the main A435 at Mappleborough Green with a wide range of accompanying businesses. These attract visitors from across the West Midlands area.

Studley is well provided with schools including Studley Infants School, St. Mary's C of E Academy Junior School, St. Mary's RC Primary School and Studley High School (Academy). Mappleborough Green has a C of E Junior School and the nearby town of Redditch has a wide range of Junior, Middle and High schools. Alcester (4 miles to the south of Studley) also has a number of Junior and High schools, including Alcester Grammar School.

BUILDINGS CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY – STUDLEY The Norman Parish Church was founded around 1105, and probably replaced an earlier Saxon church and settlement. The grade 2 listed Church is located in a tranquil setting by the River Arrow, situated 3/4 mile away from the centre of Studley village. The church has mainly traditional pews, with additional chairs to enable seating for up to 200. Audio- visual equipment is installed in both nave and south aisle.

Restoration work since 1990 has included the replacement of the main building roof timbers and tiles, the re-boarding and leading of the tower roof, a new oil-fired central heating boiler, the re-ordering of the vestry & organ enabling the creation of the Millennium Room which is used for Junior Church and meetings, and an increase in the number of bells from six to eight. In 2012 the toilet facilities were added which are incorporated into a new porch entrance and in 2015 the organ was refurbished.

Current aspirations include the installation of a servery, new lighting and the re-decoration of the church interior.

The churchyard is now restricted for new burials. The memorial garden is open for the interment of ashes. There is a Parish Council Cemetery adjacent to the Church.

Page 15 of 24 THE PARISH CENTRE The church also owns the Parish Centre in the centre of Studley Village, on the site of the old vicarage, with parking for 20 cars and accessible from the main A435. The main hall is able to seat 70, and it has a fully fitted kitchen and toilets.

The building is currently used by the church for mid-week Holy Communion, CentrePoint, Messy Church, Compassion Group, Youth Cafe and Sunbeams (mother and toddler group). The premises are also hired out to local organisations, some of which are associated with the church, so that it is a heavily-used building.

Current aspirations include extending the building to provide enhanced facilities.

HOLY ASCENSION, MAPPLEBOROUGH GREEN The church is located just off the A435 in an idyllic rural setting, two miles north of Studley. It was built by the Jaffray family, and dedicated by the Bishop of Worcester in 1888. Now in the Arden Marches Benefice, the congregation comes largely from nearby Redditch and the surrounding areas.

Set in several acres, the church (capable of seating 150) and grounds have been well maintained, and it has its own small car park. The Bell Tower is unusually fitted with Harrington tubular bells struck by hammers and operated by eight broomsticks!

As a result of two substantial legacies, recent projects completed include: cushions for chair seating; new lighting and electrics; resin stone pathways; overhaul of tubular bells; new audio-visual equipment and sound system. Future projects include investigating the re-surfacing of the drive.

The churchyard is open with space for new burials and a focal point is the Millennium sculpture depicting Christ's Ascension, which was designed, crafted and donated by a local parishioner. The church's location, size and grounds make it a popular venue for weddings.

Page 16 of 24 ANKCORN HOUSE The church has no toilet facilities on site, but a short path leads to Ankcorn House - a Grade II listed building and originally part of The Old School House. It has its own car- park and access from the A435. The well maintained hall can seat 60, has toilet facilities and a new fully-fitted kitchen.

It is predominantly used for refreshments after church services, church meetings and for the occasional rental.

HOLY TRINITY CHURCH, MORTON BAGOT Located two miles to the west of Studley in the hamlet of Morton Bagot, Holy Trinity is a small 13th Century Church set on a bank next to Church Farm in a stunning location. There are open views of the surrounding hills, with an iron age fort to the rear. The church is described as "unrestored but un- neglected"! It has an uncomplicated nave and a peaceful chancel with stone walls, and can seat 40. It has no electricity, so services are lit by candlelight, which adds charm and atmosphere. Despite funds being raised for internal ceiling repairs and work completed to specification, there have been technical complications, which currently means the church has had to be closed for safety reasons whilst solutions are found.

ST MARY'S CHURCH, OLDBERROW Oldberrow, first recorded in 709 and mentioned in The Domesday Book, is a rural community with a long thin parish and an estimated population of around 75. The church, which was rebuilt in 1875 on a site which dates from around the 13th Century, is the only public building. It became part of the Arden Marches group of Parishes in 2007.

The churchyard was designated a Local Wildlife Site (a site of importance for nature conservation) in 2003 for its historic species-rich grassland and is known to be the finest churchyard in Warwickshire for its wildflowers. The colony of slow worms is legendary!

Page 17 of 24 VICARAGE Located in a quiet cul-de-sac off the A435 in the centre of Studley, the Vicarage is a modern 4 bedroom detached house with integral garage. Downstairs accommodation includes a fully-fitted kitchen, dining room, study, large lounge with outlook onto garden, and downstairs cloakroom. Upstairs are 4 bedrooms with en-suite in main, and a family bathroom.

The manageable pleasant rear garden backs onto open fields, and looking west across the river Arrow, you can see Studley C of E Church.

Page 18 of 24 Services An example of an average monthly service rota is shown below. We are willing to consider changes to this.

CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY, STUDLEY

1st Sunday 2nd Sunday 3rd Sunday 4th Sunday

8.00am Holy Communion Holy Communion

(BCP) (BCP)

Celebration Praise Morning Worship Holy Communion for Holy Communion + (Modern Worship) (CW) All / Junior Church 10.00am Junior Church Lay team organised (Visual Liturgy) (CW) Lay team organised and led and led

STUDLEY PARISH CENTRE

1st Sunday 2nd Sunday 3rd Sunday 4th Sunday

Centre+Point 10.00am (Cafe Style/ Modern Worship) Lay team organised and led

OSPREY HOUSE SHELTERED HOUSING CENTRE, STUDLEY 1st Sunday 2nd Sunday 3rd Sunday 4th Sunday

Holy Communion Evensong 6.30pm (BCP) Lay team led

Notes: All Services at 10.00am are projected on to screens using PowerPoint and Easy Worship.

Holy Communion (BCP) is held at the Parish Centre on Thursdays at 9.30am.

Page 19 of 24 CHURCH OF THE HOLY ASCENSION, MAPPLEBOROUGH GREEN

1st Sunday 2nd Sunday 3rd Sunday 4th Sunday

10.00am All Age Celebration Holy Communion Morning Worship Communion (Modern Worship) (CW) (CW) for All Lay team organised Lay team organised (Visual Liturgy) and led and led

Soul Space 4.00pm (Reflective style of Worship) Lay team organised and led

On Fifth Sundays there is a Group Service at 10.00 a.m. which alternates between Studley and Mappleborough Green. The parish is licensed for visual worship.

HOLY TRINITY, MORTON BAGOT AND ST MARY’S, OLDBERROW

1st Sunday 2nd Sunday 3rd Sunday 4th Sunday

Holy Communion Holy Communion 4.00pm (BCP) (BCP) or or Evensong (Lay Led) Evensong (Lay Led)

Services may vary to accommodate Christmas, Easter and Harvest Services, the annual Bluebell Walk Service at Morton Bagot and the Wild Flower Festival Songs of Praise Service at Oldberrow.

ARDEN MARCHES CHURCHES – STATISTICS 2016 Church Baptisms Weddings Funerals Under 1 - 4 5 - 12 13+ Church Crematorium 1 year years years years MORTON BAGOT 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 OLDBERROW 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 MAPPLEBOROUGH GREEN 9 0 0 1 5 3 2 STUDLEY 12 11 0 2 7 19 8

Page 20 of 24

School Links STUDLEY ST MARY’S CHURCH OF ENGLAND ACADEMY We have strong links with our church school which covers Years 3-6 and has over 200 pupils. As a member of the Coventry Diocese Multi Academy Trust, the school has church representation on the governing board and this should always include the incumbent. The whole school visits the church building at Christmas and Easter, and two years ago we instituted a church-led end-of-year celebration service in July.

Church members provide an assembly once a week throughout the year, and are also involved in counselling and other support. The previous incumbent and curate both made frequent visits to the school and it is expected that this close involvement would be continued. There is also the opportunity to lead assemblies in the local Community Infants and High schools, something which has gone into abeyance whilst we have had no full-time clergy.

MAPPLEBOROUGH GREEN CHURCH OF ENGLAND PRIMARY SCHOOL Mappleborough Green school is a small village school with 120 children aged between 4 and 11 years. The majority of the children come from the neighbouring area of Redditch. The school was rated Good in a recent short Ofsted Inspection. It was also rated Good by the SIAMS inspection undertaken four years ago. Two church members serve as Foundation Governors who attend a specific meeting once a term with the Headteacher, as well as the regular Governor meetings, to discuss Church and Religious Education matters.

Congregation members lead a Collective Worship assembly at the school once a week and a Church service takes place once a term during school hours for all the children, parents and staff from the school. This is planned jointly by school staff and church members. The two Foundation Governors plus two church members volunteer weekly within the classrooms. One Foundation Governor leads a weekly voluntary lunch-time group named "Lighting the Candle" for Year 5 children. Twice a year the school invites the Church Friendship Group, consisting largely of elderly and/or housebound members of the community, to an afternoon of entertainment with tea and cakes. At the beginning of the school year, in September, church members invite the new parents to an informal 'breakfast' with tea/coffee, cakes/pastries and tissues! Church members also volunteer at the school's Christmas and Summer Fairs, usually serving teas and cakes. Church services are announced on the School's weekly newsletter.

Page 21 of 24 ECUMENICAL LINKS The Churches Together committee consists of representatives of all 4 churches in Studley (CofE, RC, Methodist & Baptist) and meets every 2 - 3 months to discuss and plan joint activities. It is currently chaired by Steve Dunton, the Deacon at the RC church. Currently the main annual activities are a quiz (just to get to know each other), the joint Lent course, a joint service to mark the week of prayer for Christian unity, a walk of witness round Studley on Good Friday and the Remembrance Sunday service at the war memorial. This year we are also planning a Pentecost praise service and a healing service in July. A sub-group, comprising 2 women from each church, meet separately to organise 3 other annual village events: The World Day of Prayer on the 1st Friday in March, The Mothers Union Ecumenical Service on the first Wednesday in October and fund-raising activities for Christian Aid Week in mid-May.

ADMINISTRATION We have a part-time Parish Administrator, who works primarily from home and is paid for 60 hours per month. The administration team, comprising the incumbent, the church wardens and the Parish Administrator meets weekly to deal with general administration matters.

Volunteers also carry out other duties, including

 Two people manage wedding bookings across the group of churches  A Lay Reader manages the baptism information evening and liaises with clergy to officiate at those services  Churchwardens and the PCC Treasurer maintain the services rota, scheduling services and ensuring that personnel are available to officiate at services  A team of three treasurers works with the PCC Treasurer to ensure that accounts are produced for the churches  The PCC Treasurer also maintains the fees account which does not form part of the church accounts  Two PTOs and two Lay Readers undertake funeral services within the group of churches

We have recently been reviewing the communications within the church group and with the wider community. Our web site for the whole group of churches (www.ardenmarches.co.uk) was recently reconfigured and is maintained by the Parish Administrator. We are working towards establishing a prayer network using email and social media.

A weekly News Sheet (2 sides A4) is produced and distributed to all the churches. Until the end of January 2017 the Parish Magazine was produced eleven times a year by the Parish Administrator as an additional paid job. However, the magazine is currently being produced quarterly by a small team of volunteers while its future is under review. A Parish Contacts database was set up over 6 years ago and is maintained by the Parish Administrator.

Page 22 of 24 Finance and Stewardship The table below summarises our financial situation in 2016. Full sets of accounts for the last three years are available on request.

Year to 31/12/2016 Studley Mappleborough Green Morton Bagot Oldberrow Total Church Hall Fabric Church Hall Fabric Church Fabric Church INCOME £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ General Income 15,050 8,653 341 10,618 2,666 1,021 1,192 957 40,498 Planned Giving 32,040 1,789 19,323 464 1,480 1,749 56,845 Gift-Aid 7,504 428 4,642 113 1,351 25 548 14,611 Fundraising 1,135 1,135 Grants/Donations 600 400 1,084 851 1,050 3,985 Total Income 55,194 8,653 2,558 36,118 2,666 2,682 4,874 25 4,304 117,074 EXPENDITURE General Expenditure 16,164 5,071 4,354 12,547 1,575 3,735 1,662 1,031 1,840 47,979 Parish Share 40,053 20,027 2,100 1,702 63,882 Total Expenditure 56,217 5,071 4,354 32,574 1,575 3,735 3,762 1,031 3,542 111,861 Unrestricted 75,574 131,048 16,029 7,780 230,431 Reserves Restricted Reserves 300 17,901 7,769 947 1,458 76,647 5,184 110,206 Any special Income Possible Possible Income Possible Possible Church Possible considerations, includes fees extension to projects includes fees upgrade of projects currently upgrade of and interest. existing include and interest. toilets in hall. include closed due to electrics and future expenditure building if servery, resurfacing of collapsed replacement etc? funding can church church drive ceiling. of heaters. be secured. redecoration and pathway. and lighting.

N.B. Mappleborough Green Unrestricted Reserve includes £97k designated for future church roof replacement. Parishes are expected to fund the costs of their own ordained ministry. This in effect means paying the full costs of all clergy. In 2017 the contribution for a vicar, with all ancillary costs, is £56,434 (£55,765 in 2016). Arden Marches Group of Churches recognises the contribution to mission that other churches in the Deanery and Diocese make but are not able to pay their way, and so in a spirit of generosity is willing to support other churches by an additional contribution to the parish share system. Last year this additional amount was £16,138 which equates to 29% of a full post.

Parish Share of £63,882 comprises of Clergy and Deanery costs of £55,765, plus Deanery costs of £269 less statutory fees of £8,290 refunded by the Diocese plus contribution of £16,138 to Support Fund as mentioned above. In addition to the above accounts there is a central PCC account that is used to collect income for central costs and paying them e.g. Parish Share and central administration costs. This account also has a balance of approximately £6,300 held for youth work and outreach.

Page 23 of 24

FURTHER DETAILS

Further details and application form are available from http://www.dioceseofcoventry.org/vacancies/current_vacancies

Informal conversations welcome: Archdeacon Missioner, The Venerable Morris Rodham on 07506 731 892 ([email protected])

Closing date for applications: Noon, Friday 13th October Interviews: Monday 30th and Tuesday 31st October.

This is a Lord Chancellor’s appointment.

An application form can be downloaded from the Diocesan Website: http://www.dioceseofcoventry.org/vacancies/current_vacancies

Page 24 of 24