Parish of St Mary, Whitegate, Parish Profile 2018

Contents Page 4 Where and who we are Page 5 Organisations in the parish Page 7 Ministry Team and lay participation Page 8 The PCC Page 9 Church groups & activities Page 10 Worship at St Mary’s Page 13 Church buildings Page 16 Finances Page 18 Church Education Page 20 Whitegate School Page 21 Outreach and mission Page 22 Are you called to be our new Vicar?

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OUR PARISH Whitegate is a small village in Cheshire located between the towns of and , with easy links to motorways and mainline railways. The ecclesiastical parish includes parts of Winsford, Hartford and and has a population of 2907.

There is a mixed population of retired, middle-aged and young families which includes professional, executive, manual and unemployed people. Whitegate has approximately 95% owner-occupied properties with approximately 5% being rented either from the local authority or privately. The parish also contains 4 residential park home sites. The main industry is agriculture which continues to go through change. Nowadays, a large proportion of the parish population commutes to outside the parish for work.

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Whitegate Church of England Aided Primary School sits next to the church, at the heart of our community.

Brownies and a Scout group meet weekly in the parish. They occasionally attend special services, in particular Remembrance Sunday.

The village has a strong WI Group which holds a monthly “Soup & Sandwich” in The Mews.

The Petty Pool Trust is an outdoor centre and college for young people with learning disabilities. Our fresh harvest produce was delivered to them in October 2017.

Whitegate Pre-School Nursery is open every day in the Recreation Room.

Our local pub/restaurant, The Plough Inn is a well- known meeting place, hosting our popular Hub in the Pub every January.

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Vale Royal Abbey is now a Golf Club and Banqueting venue. St Mary’s has strong links with it for wedding receptions, choral and orchestral concerts and other parish events.

Winsford Rock Salt Mine, operated by Compass Minerals, lies in the parish alongside the River Weaver at Meadowbank. Having a high degree of mechanisation, the plant now employs fewer people than in the past. In recent years a Remembrance service has been held at the war memorial situated at the gates of the mine. Parishioners, staff and former employees attend and the refreshments that follow the solemn ceremony offer a grand opportunity for reminiscing and exchanges of family and military history.

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MINISTRY TEAM AND LAY PARTICIPATION The Ministry team comprises: • The Vicar • SSM Curate (part-time) • Reader Emeritus • Licensed Pastoral Worker (part-time) • Qualified Children’s Worker (part-time) We share this team with St Peter’s Little Budworth.

At St Mary’s, enriching our worship and ensuring the smooth-running of the services, we also have: • A dedicated organist and choirmaster • A choir with 16 members • 4 chalice assistants • 3 sacristans • 2 churchwardens • A team of 21 who read Lessons • A team of 17 sidespersons

Our Children’s Worker leads the Sunday school (Little Fishes). Our baby & toddler group (Minnows) is led by the Pastoral Worker, assisted by the Children’s Worker.

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THE PAROCHIAL CHURCH COUNCIL The PCC is a vibrant body which meets nine times a year. The incumbent chairs these meetings. The elected officers are Secretary, Treasurer and Vice Chairman. The Head teacher of Whitegate C/ E Primary School is an ex officio member. The PCC operates through several committees and officers. • Standing Committee • Fabric and Churchyard Committee with a remit for Health and Safety under the guidance of a Fabric Officer • Church Magazine Editor and Team • Social and Fundraising Committee • Pastoral & Fellowship Committee • Village Fair Committee • Mission and Giving Group • The Mews Management Committee • The PCC is responsible for electing a number of the school governors • Gardener sub-contracted by the PCC

Many other voluntary roles are undertaken by members of the congregation and PCC. • Mews (Church Hall) Letting Officer • Church Cleaning Team • Sunday Coffee Team • Pastoral Visiting Team • Clock Winding Team • Banking Team

Flower Group The talented Flower Group at St Mary’s portrays the message of the Gospel using flowers and floral art, incorporating artefacts, especially at Festival Seasons to enhance spirituality and prayer. Each sacred area of the church is used to remind people of the Christian pathway.

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OTHER CHURCH GROUPS • A Mothers’ Union group was re-established in 2011 and has grown to 17 members. • Crafty Coffee is a group of up to 16 ladies who meet weekly in The Mews. Various crafts are undertaken over a cup of coffee and a chat. • Men’s Breakfast is held on the second Wednesday of the month at the Red Lion in Little Budworth. It is attended by between 10-20 gentlemen from St Peter’s and St Mary’s. Many activities are organised by the Pastoral & Fellowship committee: ❖ Gentlemen’s ❖ Lent Lunches dinner twice a year ❖ Summer Lunch ❖ Ladies Brunch ❖ Advent Lunch ❖ Ladies Afternoon Tea

Our current church wardens are: Mrs Christine Ball Mr Peter Hayward Marton Sands House Broomhay Marton 59 Carnoustie Close Winsford Winsford CW7 2PY CW7 2LQ Tel: 01606 593260 Tel: 01606 591766 E-mail: E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]

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WORSHIP AT ST MARY’S Our worship follows the liberal catholic tradition and vestments are worn by the clergy. We seek to ensure a warm welcome to everyone and want our services to be accessible to all in our diverse rural/village/suburban population. Music plays a very important part in our worship and our enthusiastic choir gives a strong lead in the Sung Eucharist and Choral Evensong services. Hymn books used at the 9.30am service are ‘Hymns Old and New’ and the ‘New English Hymnal’ is used in an evening. The average weekly attendance during 2017 was 85 adults and 10 under sixteen. However, this increased at festivals. The electoral roll stands at 302 of which 140 are resident within the parish. Our regular pattern of worship Day Time Service 1st 3rd & 5th Sunday 9.30am Sung Eucharist (CW) 2nd Sunday 9.30am Morning Worship(CW) 4th Sunday 9.30am All Age Worship (CW) 1st 3rd & 5th Sunday 6.30pm Evensong (BCP) 2nd Sunday 6.30pm Choral Evensong (BCP) shared with St Peter’s 4th Sunday 6.30pm Holy Communion with Prayers for Healing (BCP) 1st 3rd & 5th 9.30am Holy Communion (CW) Wednesday 2nd & 4th Wednesdays at St Peter’s

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Special Services

All Age Worship in 9.30am Lambing service January Candlemas 9.30am Blessing of candles Ash Wednesday 7.30pm Sung Eucharist with Ashing (CW) Maundy Thursday 7.30pm Sung Eucharist with stripping of the altar Good Friday 10.00am Children’s Workshop 11.00am Family service with Hot Cross Buns around the cross on the Village Green 2.00pm One-hour devotion Ascension 7.30pm Sung Eucharist (CW) September 9.30am Patronal Festival Second Sunday 9.30am & Harvest October 6.30pm November 9.30am Remembrance service November 6.30pm All Souls Service December 6.00pm Christingle Christmas Eve 4.00pm Crib Service Christmas Eve 11.30pm Sung Eucharist (CW) Christmas Day 9.30am Sung Eucharist (CW)

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OCCASIONAL SERVICES During 2017 there were 11 baptisms. These services are usually held at 1.00pm and are attended by our Pastoral and Children’s Workers, together with a member of the Mothers’ Union. (St Mary’s has an open baptism policy).

10 weddings were held during the year and 9 funerals. There were 5 burials in the churchyard and 5 sets of ashes were interred also.

A confirmation service is usually held each year, alternating with St Peter’s. In