Team Vicar for St Bartholomew’s Sutton-cum-Lound, All Saints Babworth, St John’s Scofton and St Michael’s West Retford, within the Retford Area Team Ministry and within the Deanery of Bassetlaw & Bawtry CONTENTS Introduction page 1 The Parish of St Bartholomew, Sutton cum Lound page 2 The Parish of All Saints, Babworth page 2 The Parish of St John’s, Scofton page 3 The Town of Retford page 4 The Parish of Retford page 5 The Churches of the Parish of Retford – St Michael’s page 6 The Retford Area Team Ministry page 7 Introduction We are looking for an enthusiastic and able Team Vicar who will spend approximately half time ministering among the village communities based around Sutton-cum-Lound, Babworth, and Scofton and half time ministering in the Parish of Retford with responsibility for St Michael’s, West Retford. See the individual church profiles for details of each church. The intention is that the person appointed will exercise elements of traditional parish ministry (Sunday worship and occasional offices etc). However, a significant part of their time will be spent leading on the Growing Disciples element of the diocesan vision to welcome 7,000 new disciples into our churches in the years ahead. As a diocese we are working through the implications of last year’s report produced by the Church of England entitled: ‘Released for Mission – Growing the Rural Church’. We believe this will help us to deliver our vision. The priest appointed will be based in Sutton-cum-Lound whilst working across the parishes. She/he will be joining a significant ministerial team in the Retford Area Team Ministry. This post represents an exciting opportunity to work with inherited church structures but to develop new ways of being church. The general goodwill to the church that exists needs to be consolidated into a more embedded numerical growth in church life and, it is anticipated, in new worshipping communities. Inevitably, the information in this pack gives factual details. The real excitement here is that the post opens up a new future which is difficult to define or describe at present but which we believe will see existing potential turned into new life as we continue to “Join in the Transforming Mission of God” in this diocese. Key features of the role are: A vision for discipleship in the rural church - the role will involve growing and nurturing disciples within existing congregations and new Christians Develop new forms of outreach and work collaboratively with the other members of the ministerial team (clergy and lay) to enable the churches to “Grow Disciples Wider, Younger, Deeper” in accordance with the diocesan vision Play a leading role (along with the Deanery Missioner to Children and Young People in Schools) in growing disciples in schools, especially in Sutton-cum-Lound C of E Primary School and Ranby C of E Primary School The Person Appointed will • enjoy getting out and about amongst people and being visible within the community • have a proven track record of being able to work collaboratively with male and female clergy colleagues and with male and female lay people • be good at seeing the gifts of others and at encouraging their use • be comfortable working with a variety of church traditions • be able to work ecumenically, especially with the Methodist Church • be able to delegate The Parish of St Bartholomew, Sutton cum Lound The Parish consists of three villages, Sutton, Lound and Barnby Moor all being served by the one Church in Sutton. The villages are situated about three miles to the north west of Retford town centre. The housing is very mixed varying from the very wealthy to former council housing. The population of the three villages is a mix of professional commuters, retired people and those not so well off, many of whom live on the former council estates. The Church is 13th Century and well maintained. Population: 1700 Electoral Roll: 23 Parish Worship At present the Team Vicar takes the Communion Service once a month. Other services are led by the Reader and a lay member of the congregation. 1st Sunday – Sung Mattins 2nd Sunday – Common Worship Communion 3rd Sunday – Family Service. 4th Sunday – Songs of Praise 5th Sunday – A Service of Hymns and Readings Mission priorities The PCC recognises that their primary mission field is Sutton cum Lound Church of England Primary School which is situated in Sutton village. They are committed to continue to build on the good relationship that has been developed over the last three years since the arrival of the Head Teacher. The School recently received a ‘Good’ Ofsted and an ‘Outstanding’ SIAMS (Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools), with the Church and School jointly delivering Messy Church in the School. The Parish of All Saints, Babworth Babworth parish boasts two churches: the nine hundred year old parish church of All Saints at Babworth and the modern chapel- of-ease in the village of Ranby, St Martin’s. Replacing a tin tabernacle which had served Ranby since 1926, St Martin’s is now half a century old. All Saints’ has been called the “church among the trees” for its somewhat isolated and quintessential rural England setting. Both churches offer a friendly welcome to regular and occasional worshippers alike. They are well looked after and carefully – and at times expensively – maintained. St Martin’s Ranby Page | 2 Ranby has a thriving church primary school. Relations between the parish and Ranby Primary School, always good, have nevertheless strengthened in the last couple of years since the start of Messy Church @ Ranby School which takes place usually once a term. A considerable proportion of worshippers at both churches live outside the parish and are attracted by the continued use of the Book of Common Prayer. All Saints, Babworth Having a substantial car park All Saints is able to host a popular Snowdrop Festival weekend in February which attracts visitors from as far afield as Sheffield to the west and Humberside to the east. They come for a variety of reasons – to admire the medieval church; to savour the refreshments on sale; to purchase the fresh farm produce donated by worshippers; to listen to the background organ music; and especially to hear the short talk on All Saints as the birthplace of the Pilgrim Fathers movement. The profits from the weekend are largely donated to a number of charities supported by the PCC. Many Americans, too, visit All Saints Church to see one of the origins of the USA. A parish supper, a rogation walk and many visiting choirs and performers all add to the community spirit of the church. Over the next few years there will be huge opportunities both to “market” the church and to grow new disciples as All Saints Church will play a leading role in the Commemoration of the th A group of Pilgrims enjoying a church 400 Anniversary of the Mayflower Pilgrims in 2020. service in Babworth Population: 1329 Electoral Roll: 40 Average Sunday attendance 30 Last year (2015) there were 2 Baptisms, 2 Burials and 8 Weddings; up to July 2016 there have been 3 Baptisms, 4 Burials and 4 Weddings Current pattern of Sunday Services - all Sunday services are Book of Common Prayer (1662) First Sunday 11.00am Holy Communion at St Martin’s, Ranby 6.30pm Evening Prayer at All Saints, Babworth Second Sunday 11.00am Holy Communion at All Saints, Babworth Third Sunday 11.00am Matins at All Saints, Babworth Fourth Sunday 11.00am Holy Communion at All Saints, Babworth The Parish of St. John, Scofton with Osberton We are a friendly group of people who love our parish church for many different reasons, who come from different backgrounds and churchmanship, and have different skills and gifts to offer. Our regular congregation’s ages range from babies to over 90, although only about half of them actually live within the parish. In its beautiful rural setting St. John’s church is a very peaceful place, surrounded by ancient parkland with grazing cattle and sheep. Many a city dweller has been enchanted by the contentment to be found here. The river Ryton and the Chesterfield Canal run through the parish, and the population is spread over a wide area of tenanted farms. Page | 3 We hope to find someone who will spend a little time in the parish, and in the primary school in Ranby to which the younger children go. We are looking for some help in exploring a way forward to make the church more attractive to the younger generation. We are not looking for change as such, but for support and enthusiasm as we work to spread the appeal of the church and its activities more widely, together with some clergy presence in the parish. We are looking forward to a good party to welcome our new Team Vicar! We hope to find somebody to join us, bringing new ideas and energy, some pastoral care, and a sense of humour, as well as a thick jersey to wear on those cold winter mornings in the country. We offer a warm welcome and, we hope, open minds, as we strive to encourage more of our community in the blessings of the church. Population: 102 Electoral Roll: 37 Current pattern of Sunday Services First Sunday: 9.00am Holy Communion Book of Common Prayer (1662) The Town of Retford Retford is an attractive and thriving market town in North Nottinghamshire, with a population of about 22,000 people. It is close to the A1 motorway. Trains stop at Retford going north/south on the main London-Edinburgh railway, and going east/west on the line from Sheffield (Meadowhall) to Lincoln and Cleethorpes.