Parish Profile for Duxford, Hinxton and Ickleton

Except the LORD build the House, they labour in vain that build it. Psalm 127: 1 Parish Profle: Introducing Hinkledux

Introducing Hinkledux

Hinkledux is a group of three individual churches – Hinxton, Ickleton and Duxford – united by a common desire to reach out further to our communities and share God’s love in word and action. Across the churches there is a range of worship styles and traditions appealing to a broad variety of tastes and ages so that we can engage people at different places on their spiritual journey.

Although we are rooted in our communities we want to broaden our connection with them, reaching more people, especially younger people, and to make Christ relevant to their lives.

Type to enter text

We are looking for a new priest-in-charge to help guide us forward to grow in numbers and discipleship, helping us to deepen our relationships with God and each other. Parish Profle: Introducing Hinkledux

Growing Together…

In the words of our youngest worshippers we are looking for ‘someone warm and welcoming and who smiles easily so we can play at their house’.

In the words of our PCCs: ‘someone whose Christian faith is visible and who will inspire us and others’.

That’s a start, but there are other things too:

• Leading, Prioritising, Communicating The importance of having a good leader with the ability to delegate and set priorities is paramount and we want to work with a new priest to enable them to be as effective as possible. We have some committed and dedicated volunteers and would hope that our new incumbent would be a team player with good communication skills and a collaborative style of ministry.

• Growing families Although we have a Sunday school once a month and a growing youth initiative, we want to reach out to families in our villages. We certainly need help in this area and appreciate that this is not just a matter of getting people to come to church, but rather befriending and seeking new ways to encourage them to see that the Christian faith is relevant to their lives so that they want to be a part of the church community – whether in a formal or informal setting.

• School links We already have strong links with the school in Duxford and want to maintain these. Festival services provide good opportunities to draw people in but now we need to find ways of maintaining and building on relationships made.

• Relationships The relationships between the churches and their communities here are positive and we hope that our new priest will be outgoing and enjoy meeting people. • Pastoral care is vital and in village life there are a number of people in the congregations who gladly get involved; but clergy involvement is important too and we would want to work with a new incumbent on this.

• Multi-church challenges It’s important that the new incumbent is aware of the challenges of serving in multiple churches, which is very different from a one-church ministry. We have good links with the nearby parishes of Whittlesford and Pampisford and want to nurture these as we see value in groups of churches working together – particularly in a rural situation where congregations tend to be small.

And last, but by no means least, we need a new incumbent who will enable us all to grow in our relationship with God in prayer, discipleship and mission. Parish Profle: across the 3 Hinkledux parishes

Hinkledux overview

Before providing information on each church, this section details aspects in common.

Rectory, 13 St. John’s Street, Duxford The spacious 4-bedroom rectory is set in a large garden. All previous vicars have used the adjacent annexe as a parish office. This annexe has a main door independent of the vicarage and is separated from the vicarage building by a lockable internal door. The whole building has been recently renovated to a high standard.

Parish office and administration We are aiming to provide an administrator to work alongside volunteers and the priest -in-charge to facilitate the smooth running of the parishes. Ministerial team As well as the priest-in-charge, we have an Associate Priest and a Licensed Lay Minister.

Phil Sharkey has been our Associate Priest since 2013 and is closely involved in all three parishes regularly leading worship. Phil is also a chaplain at Addenbrookes and Papworth Hospitals.

Julie Baillie is an LLM living in Hinxton with a ministry across all three parishes.

An Authorised Lay Minister (ALM), Margaret Malcolm, is trained in leading worship. She resides in Hinxton and is able to preach occasionally.

We also have links with the neighbouring church of Whittlesford, sharing in some services and Bible studies. Judith Sutcliffe is ‘Reader in charge’ at Pampisford, and resides in Ickleton where she takes services occasionally.

With so much of our activity being relevant across all three churches a ministry team of clergy and volunteers regularly meet to discuss services and agree joint activities.

Lay volunteers also work alongside clergy to plan and deliver services, especially for families and festivals. Each church has its own PCC meetings and joint PCCs are scheduled to address shared issues. Parish Profle: across the 3 Hinkledux parishes

Duxford Church of England Community Primary School

The school was founded in 1961 and currently has over 200 children drawn from the three villages, and beyond. Links between the churches and school are strong, with the previous priest -in-charge, and a team of other parishioners, taking weekly assemblies as well as running an annual Church Day of Christian-themed events in June. It was inspected most recently by Ofsted in January 2018; the school was rated as GOOD. The SIAMS inspection in 2015 described the church distinctiveness as ‘outstanding’. The detailed report can be found on the school website www.duxford.cambs.sch.uk.

Focus on Families and Young People

Young families are one of our main priorities. Over recent years we have been exploring different ways to engage with children and their parents. All parishes are developing family friendly spaces and together we plan activities for all ages. In Duxford the previous vicar was building relationships with pre-school children and their families through Tiddlers - a monthly toddler group in Duxford church. Another group was exploring new forms of worship including cafe church both in the church and in the school. Currently a monthly Sunday Club for children of all ages is run in Ickleton by volunteers from all three parishes, alongside the monthly Eucharist.

Our parishes lead a deanery youth project called YOUTHINC. This funds a Christian youth worker to support volunteers and clergy. Its main aim is to build relationships with young people as they grow up, helping them explore what it means to know Jesus Christ. A monthly discussion group of 9-14 year olds meets with neighbouring parishes to explore what being a Christian means. The older members of this group have recently formed a Hinkledux Churches Youth Council to help plan church activities and they feedback through PCCs.

Safeguarding Each church has a safeguarding officer who together with the priest-in-charge reviews policies and practice annually. Together we maintain records of Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks for the relevant people in the parishes. Parish Profle: across the 3 Hinkledux parishes

Service pattern across the three churches

The current pattern of services across the three churches ensures that all churches have at least one main parish Eucharist per month at 10 am, and 8 am Holy Communion and evening services where possible.

Regular worship pattern

1st Sunday 8 am Holy Communion (BCP) Duxford

10 am Parish Eucharist & Sunday Club Ickleton

6.30 pm Evensong (BCP) Hinxton

2nd Sunday 10 am Church family service with Holy Communion Duxford

3rd Sunday 8 am Holy Communion (BCP) Ickleton

10 am Parish Eucharist Hinxton

5 pm Taize (lay led) Ickleton

4th Sunday 8 am Holy Communion (BCP) Hinxton

10 am Parish Eucharist Duxford

6.30 pm Evensong (BCP) Ickleton

5th Sunday 10 am Joint parish service with Whittlesford and Pampisford

Other activities

In addition to the regular services there are other activities led from each church: - lay-led Bible study in homes - monthly YOUTHINC discussion group with neighbouring parishes - occasional Hinkledux Church youth council Duxford - Tiddlers monthly toddler group (suspended during interregnum) - seasonal family activities - bell ringing - occasional cafe church, sometimes in school - craft cafe Ickleton - Julian meeting monthly - Window of Prayer - Tuesday coffee morning Parish Profle: across the 3 Hinkledux parishes

!

Website

There is a basic website www.hinkledux.com maintained by a volunteer.

Local area and amenities

In general, the characteristics of the three parishes are similar in terms of ethnic groups and socioeconomic status, although Duxford, as the largest village, has the most diverse population. Across the three villages there is a range of amenities including pubs in all villages, with shops in Duxford and Ickleton. There is easy access to the larger towns of Sawston and Cambridge to the north and Saffron Walden to the south. Transport links: All three villages are well placed, with a motorway junction and mainline train station. Stansted Airport less than half -an- hour away. Roads links include

M11 Junction 10 (north and south entrances / exits) 1½ miles. 20 mins to central Cambridge (on a good day) 25 mins to London Stansted airport 30 mins to M25 Junction 27 A505, A14, A10 and A11 trunk roads are quickly accessed from all the villages Bus: The number 7 bus runs between Cambridge and Saffron Walden; buses pass through the villages every hour (each way). Hinxton, unfortunately, is less well served.

Rail: Whittlesford Parkway Station for trains to London Liverpool Street (approximately 1hr 15 mins) and Cambridge (approximately 11 mins). There are non-stop trains to London Kings Cross from Cambridge.

Local schools (KS3 and 4): Sawston Village College is the nearest secondary school. It was rated as GOOD in its most recent inspection (November 2017). Cambridge is noted for its excellent state Sixth Form Colleges, including Hills Road, Long Road and Netherhall School. St Peter’s, Duxford

The Parish of St. Peter’s, Duxford lies ten miles south of Cambridge, in the most southerly part of Cambridgeshire. It is just three miles from the Essex border, nine miles from Hertfordshire and fourteen miles from Suffolk. It is conveniently close to Cambridge with its outstanding cultural life, excellent shopping and vibrant nightlife. The current population is approximately 3000 people. While Duxford is not ethnically diverse (93% white British) it does feature a wide range of income groups and ages. 71% of people are employed or students, with the remainder retired, caring or unemployed. In the heart of the village is Lacey’s Way, which is a development of warden-attended residences based around a community room The River Granta, a tributary of the Cam runs along the east of the village and Duxford has been an important crossing place since the Bronze Age. Duxford is also world famous for the Imperial War Museum at Duxford Airfield. This outstanding museum welcomes visitors from around the world, attracting thousands of people to its spectacular air shows. It has particularly strong links with visitors from the USA, due to its history as a USAAF base during World War 2.

What does Duxford have?

The village is a good place to live. It is relatively small and most people are at least on nodding terms with their neighbours. It features a mix of executive homes, older cottages and a large estate that once housed the employees of Ciba-Geigy. This large manufacturing facility is now operated by US chemical company Huntsman. There are also two vehicle based businesses in the village: Volvo heavy plant and Welch’s Transport. The village boasts two thriving pubs, a shop, a café, a hotel and two beauty salons. After 9 years of hard work, Duxford village started the building of an urgently needed community centre which is due to be completed in March 2020. Duxford Parish Council is responsible for the build. The management and running of the facility will be the responsibility of the Duxford Community Centre charity created for this purpose as well as fundraising. Built on the recreation ground, and adjacent to the village school, the facility is intended to provide a social focus for the community.

The world renowned Wellcome Genome Campus is in our sister parish of Hinxton and nearby Granta Park is one of the many technology and science centres that ring Cambridge.

Our Church

St. Peter’s is best described as a middle-of-the-road liberal Anglican church. It is friendly and welcoming. We have a well-established pattern of worship that includes traditional BCP communion, Parish Eucharist and Family Worship. We have struggled over the years to get the village community involved in the Church and this situation was really the main focus of the previous vicar’s ministry here which was beginning to yield positive results. This is probably the main thing that we want to focus on in the future in terms of outreach and Christian growth. We have seen some green shoots and are eager to tend them carefully and see them grow. Having the school in the village gives great opportunities to make contact with parents as well as children and this is also something which has been worked on in recent years and is a very important aspect of ministry here. Several café church services held at the school have been well received. The church building is in good order, in spite of a theft of lead from the roof last year. Prompt action saw effective re-roofing to ensure the church was made waterproof and fundraising options are being explored to replace the lead. The report on our recent Quinquennial inspection is due shortly. The inventory and log are up to date and the heating works!

We have a rudimentary organ and a good quality electric piano. The church has a PA system and hearing loop. We have a ring of 6 bells but too few bell ringers; however, we usually manage to get a team together for weddings and significant services. We have undertaken a successful re-ordering programme that has seen the replacement of some of the pews with chairs to enable different forms of worship and to encourage community use of the building, such as a craft café and visits from Duxford Primary School pupils. The challenge of finance is of particular concern and is exacerbated by the current big fund-raising effort locally for the new village hall and also the presence of the beautiful historic church of St John’s which has a loyal following and requires funds to keep it in good order. We have used this redundant Church of St John’s for occasional family orientated services

Churchyard

The churchyard is in good order and we have a verger who works very hard to keep it looking so good.

PCC

The PCC is friendly, positive and forward thinking. It embraces change and most importantly is committed to meet the challenges raised by ‘People Fully Alive: Ely 2025’.

We currently have just one Churchwarden. St Mary and St John, Hinxton ______

Hinxton is the smallest of the three villages with 150 homes and includes the small community of Hinxton Grange on the east side of the A130. What Hinxton lacks in size it makes up for in the many lively social events which take place throughout the year. These are organised either by the church, the Friends of Hinxton Church or the Village Hall Committee; and are invariably extremely popular. We don’t have a shop but there is a pub, the Red Lion, in the middle of the village, a useful village hall and of course the church itself

Hinxton has a population of around 350 residents of whom about 50 are children with a wide age range from birth to late teens.

Like many other places Hinxton is a target for business and development. The Genome campus, famous worldwide for its work on DNA and the human genome is within the parish. Although in the past, with the employees in mind, we had a short midweek church service this had to be abandoned as it was so poorly attended. There are currently approved plans for a major expansion of the campus on the other side of A1301 which includes a total of 1500 new homes.

Our building

The church building itself dates back to the 11th century and is in good condition thanks to excellent support by the village. It is kept open 365 days per year. Improvements made in the last 2-3 years are:

Installation of a sound system with loop Refurbishment of the organ Restoration work on the front door Re-pointing and repair of exterior stonework

The church does not have a hall of its own but does have a small room above the vestry which is used for PCC and other meetings. The only concession to modernity is one cold water tap which does enable us to have coffee after the 10 am service, but catering is obviously restricted, and unfortunately there are no toilet facilities. Churchyard The large churchyard is still open for burials and the trustees of the Ann Howsden Charity provide funds for cutting the grass. The Friends of Hinxton Church provide invaluable financial assistance with this.

Giving

Hinxton is a generous community and to date we have been able to pay our diocesan share as well as contributing significant amounts towards the upkeep of the building. However, we cannot be complacent as our congregation is getting older and that brings many challenges for the years ahead unless we see significant growth in the congregation. Gifts are given to a variety of charities at special collections or as a result of raffles at fund-raising events. !

Mission

We do not have a regular commitment to any particular mission other than the annual collection for the Children’s Society and also to the Royal British Legion. Most other giving to ‘outside’ activities results from raffles and special events such as carol singing around the village.

Friends of Hinxton Church

The fundraising activities of the Friends have made a major contribution to the maintenance of the building. They host a variety of imaginative events during the course of the year ! which raise a good deal of money for projects concerning the fabric of the church. The activities also contribute to the well- being of the village itself by providing social events which bring people together for fun and recreation. Anne Howsden Trust

This trust was set up four hundred years ago by a very generous parishioner and provides low cost housing in three pensioner bungalows, as well as assisting some of the elderly and other needy members of the village. It has in recent years purchased a forth bungalow which is let commercially and provides for the upkeep of the other bungalows. St Mary Magdalene Ickleton

______

People have worshipped in St Mary Magdalene since Saxon times and the current congregation strives to maintain this historic church as a living, breathing church which plays a central role in the local community.

Ickleton itself is a village of some 650 people on the Essex/ Cambridgeshire border. It is the southernmost village in the Diocese of Ely. There are bus routes to Cambridge and Saffron Walden and a nearby train station. Over 200 people come to work in newly developed business facilities on the edge of the village.

It is a friendly community served by a pub and shop. The village hall and recreation ground are used by many active clubs and societies. The monthly magazine, Icene, is distributed to approximately 300 house and acts as a great source of village information https://ickleton.org.uk/ wordpress/ Our church

The church building with its rare and beautiful wall paintings is of historical importance and has many international visitors. We cherish these paintings and are in the process of launching a fundraising project to restore them.

Needlepoint hassocks worked by members of the village over the years provide glimpses into the history of both the village and the church. St Mary Magdalene is open every day of the year and is equipped with toilet, kitchen, sound system and hearing loop.

Although the churchyard is closed for burials, except the interment of ashes, Ickleton has a chapel of rest surrounded by a lovely burial ground. Both are maintained in partnership with the Parish Council.

We have a strong choral tradition with a regular church choir and excellent organist. This is augmented by children at festival services. We have a diversity of worship enabling traditional and informal to flourish side-by-side. The lay-led Taize service is currently held in a parishioner’s home. The Window of Prayer and Julian meetings are also held in Ickleton. Reaching out to All Ages On the first Sunday of each month we host a Sunday Club for children of all ages. Between 8 and 14 children attend the Club. Importantly this has encouraged a number of young families to become more involved in church. It is run by volunteers from all three parishes at the same time as the 10 a.m. Eucharist service. Villagers of all ages value festival services and we have noticed a growing congregation on occasions such as Remembrance Sunday.

Active Parishioners at the Heart of the Community We have an engaged PCC and one churchwarden as well as many dedicated parishioners who contribute to the life of the church. A lively social and fund raising group organises a variety of local events from fashions shows to concerts. These occasions are great fun and build relationships across generations as well as raising money. The culmination of the year is our annual June fete.

Tuesday coffee mornings are held regularly. Volunteers provide tea, coffee and homemade cakes at this get- together for non-church goers and church goers alike. Running for almost 10 years with a crowd of 30 to 40 people, there’s a great atmosphere and fellowship. The coffee morning came second in the South Cambs District Council award for Outstanding Local Service in 2016.The church is a wonderful venue for concerts - hosting perfomers from a wide range of genres from Bluegrass to Gospel and choirs. In the past the congregation, community and school have come together to stage a Passion play. These have aided mission and fellowship.

Supporting Others We are a collection hub for the local food bank and grateful to all those who donate and transport the gifts. We donate collections from festival services to charities such as Traidcraft, Save the Children, the Children’s Society and The Royal British Legion. Ickleton parish has two charities of which the vicar is an ex- officio trustee. They provide subsidised accomodation for residents and help for those in need, including Christmas grants towards fuel and groceries and the provision of lifeline personal alarms. Finances

Until now our three parishes have been blessed with having a full-time priest, but for financial reasons we now need to cut back to a part-time appointment. We realise that this will have a considerable impact on the life of our churches. However it will mean that we can spend more time with a focus on ministry rather than worrying about finance.

Duxford

2019

revenue £26,500

expenditure 28,620

balance -£2,120

Hinxton

2019 2018 2017

revenue 30968 38488 32509

expenditure 30433 42070 33410

balance 535 (3582) (901)

* The above figures for 2018 and 2019 are misleading in that no claim was made for recovery of tax in 2018. However a rebate of £4962.05 was obtained in 2019. Therefore, over the two years a small surplus was achieved.

Ickleton

2019

revenue £32,000

expenditure £35,000

balance -£3000 Congregations and average attendances over a year 2019

St Peter’s Duxford

electoral role 31

average 10 am service 22

evening service ( now suspended) 6

Baptisms/ blessings 0

weddings 1

St Mary and St John Hinxton

electoral role 22

average 10 am service 18

Holy Communion 7

evening service 7

Baptisms/ blessings 0

weddings 2

St Mary Magdalene Ickleton

electoral role 68

10 am service 36

8 am Holy Communion 8

Evening service 11

Baptisms/ blessings 3

weddings 0 COULD YOU BE OUR VICAR?

WHAT WOULD WE LIKE IN A VICAR: • openness • willing to answer questions • set an example of being kind and caring • invites new people • supportive

WHAT WE WOULD LIKE THEM TO DO: • spread the message that church is for everyone • encourage adult and children to make connections • try out new things in services e.g. Lego Easter • create space for personal conversations

Hinkledux Youth Council