Parish Profile All Saints’ Church Eastbourne 2021
Looking for God’s person to lead us forwards. 1. Mission Statement.
In response to God’s love and in obedience to God’s word and in the power of God’s Spirit, we commit to following Jesus by sharing the good news of Jesus, by growing to be more like Jesus and by serving others for Jesus.
All Saints’ is a vibrant evangelical Anglican church committed to teaching the Bible, following Jesus and sharing the Good News. Our congregations are made up of different ages and backgrounds. We seek to help people come to faith, grow in their faith and to work out practically what day to day living involves for the Christian. Sharing, Growing and Serving. You will find both traditional and contemporary worship in our services because we love the rich heritage of the Church whilst we also seek to be relevant and speak into our ever-changing culture. We recognise that we are only a part of the body of Christ in Eastbourne and we seek to honour and work together with other church fellowships in reaching out with the gospel.
The values below are ones that we hold central in our life together.
HEARING GOD’S WORD The reason we know anything more than generalities about God is because he has spoken and revealed his nature and purposes in the Bible. For this reason we are committed at All Saints’ to teach the Bible in church, home groups and in our families. God breathes his life into us as we hear him speak.
SHARING THE GOOD NEWS The gospel is our passion. It is clear from the suffering and conflict we daily witness that something is not right with our world; but the Good News is that God has acted in history to put all things right in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. There is hope for our world and forgiveness and life for those who trust in all that God has accomplished through Jesus’ death on the cross.
LIVING BY THE SPIRIT In Jesus we discover true humanity. This is how we are supposed to live and the Holy Spirit does the seemingly impossible in our lives by changing us to be like Jesus. He also brings us together in the family of God, the Church. We encourage and support each other, and together take part in God’s mission to redeem us and our communities for his glory and our good. 2. The New Vicar
The person we are looking for as the next vicar of All Saints’:
An Evangelical, who has a deep love for the Lord Jesus Christ and
Who has a genuine belief in the Bible as God’s inspired and authoritative word and is passionate and gifted in teaching it in faithful and engaging ways, equipping us to apply it to our daily lives. Who seeks to build the Kingdom of God, here and now, in the power of the Holy Spirit and pointing towards our eternal salvation. Who is humble and prayerful, and will lead the church family into a more devoted prayer life, both personal and corporate. Who is outward-looking, keen to reach all parts of the parish with the gospel, and will recognise and encourage the spiritual gifts within the congregation to transform lives for Jesus. Who is warm and engaging and is able to relate to a wide range of people of all ages with a pastoral heart. Who is loving and welcoming to all, whilst holding to the traditional teaching of the Church of England with regards to marriage and to the complicated issues surrounding gender and sexuality. Who is keen to participate in all aspects of church life. Who is a team player and has the strategic and personal gifts to lead, support and develop the staff, volunteers and wider congregation. Who is collaborative and will work actively in Eastbourne with other church and town leaders for the gospel and the common good.
In short, we are looking for God’s person to lead us forwards with vision and passion to the glory of God. 3. Eastbourne & The Parish
Eastbourne is a town of approximately 100,000 people and relies heavily on tourism for employment, with some light industry. The town is bordered to the west by the South Downs and the recently created national park. To the east lies the flat land of the Pevensey Marshes and to the north mainly countryside with small market towns and villages. It is a pleasant town with several attractive parks, but its most outstanding feature has to be the seafront which offers lovely walks with views from Beachy Head to Hastings and is lined with some handsome hotels in the west and pretty boarding houses in the east. The town centre, recently updated, has the usual high street shops catering for everyday needs but is, otherwise unremarkable. The station has services to London Victoria, about an hour and a half, Brighton, forty minutes and Hastings thirty minutes. There are good bus services around the town and beyond. Much of the cultural life of Eastbourne takes place within the parish of All Saints’ and centres around the newly upgraded Devonshire Quarter. This area, just a five-minute stroll from the vicarage, contains the Towner Art Gallery, the Congress and Devonshire Park theatres and the Devonshire Park International tennis centre. The parish of All Saints’ is found in the west of the town and offers easy access to many of the town’s amenities. The station, town hall and library are all within walking distance as are the town centre, the Downs, the seafront and the above-mentioned Devonshire Quarter. There are a few convenience stores within the parish, but the main supermarkets are a car-drive away. The parish has a population of between 3,500 and 4,000 people. Many of the lovely Victorian and Edwardian houses have been converted into flats and there are also quite a few purpose-built blocks. This means that the parish population is slightly weighted towards retired people, although our congregation is drawn more widely from across the town. There are several rest and nursing homes near to the church with which All Saints’ has a close relationship. A near neighbour is Eastbourne College public school and this too has close links with the church. There are many hotels in the parish along the seafront and the ever-expanding University of Brighton campus lies just outside the parish’s northern boundary. There are no state schools within the parish, the nearest being St John’s Church of England primary, rated good by Ofsted and, again, All Saints’ has close links with this school. Other schools are a car ride away but all, including the senior schools, have a good Ofsted rating. 4 Church Life: Spiritual
All Saints’ is an evangelical church which draws its congregation from a wide range of spiritual backgrounds and is known to be welcoming and friendly. We are strongly Bible-based. The focus of our Services of Worship and mid-week spiritual meetings is centred on Bible teaching pointing to “Jesus Christ and him crucified” and the desire to co-operate with the work of the Holy Spirit to experience the power of the resurrection life of Jesus living in and through us in our daily lives. Our congregation welcomes and encourages the ministry and service of both men and women throughout Church life. We hold two Sunday services which, between them, reflect the different Church traditions of our people and aim to ensure that everyone feels comfortable in at least one of the services. Our musicians are led by a highly committed team which draws in additional singers and players for specific services throughout the year. 10 am Main Service (held in the Church) Attended by people of all ages from young families to those in their 90’s, it includes an all-age spot after which the children aged 3 - 14 go to the All Saints’ Centre for their activities. A crèche is provided. There are few church members in the 30 - 40 age group. The teaching, based on the Bible readings, is planned on a three-term-per-year calendar. Preaching is done by the clergy, retired clergy, Readers and occasional specially invited speakers. The services are led by them and also by invited members of the congregation. Service leaders have a degree of freedom in putting together the Order of Service. Readers and members of the congregation read the scriptures and lead the intercessions on a rota basis. The hymns and songs, chosen carefully to reflect the broad range of preferences among the congregation, are led by a blend of organ, piano and band. The average attendance is 170 adults and 25 children. (All statistics relate to 2019). At the end of each 10 am service, the opportunity for prayer in the side chapel is offered with pairs of our Prayer and Healing Ministry Team. 6.30 Evening Service (held in the All Saints’ Centre)
This informal, band-led, contemporary service is attended by people of all ages. Café Church is the format on the 2nd Sunday of the month and is very popular with families with teenagers, young Christians and seekers. It has a lively style organised by the Youth Team, with coffee and cake available throughout the hour and an accessible, often in- teractional theme which runs throughout the meeting. The average evening service attendance is 40. Café Church average attendance is 75. As experienced by many churches over the past couple of decades, the numbers of committed members attending regularly one or more Sunday services has gradually declined but we have recently been seeing new members and families finding a spiritual home with us. Special Services There are occasional all-age morning services. At appropriate times of the year, including Remembrance Sunday, Christmas and Easter- tide, special services are held including Carols by Candlelight, Chil- dren’s Crib service and Maundy Thursday and Good Friday events. Some of these services attract people who are not regular members. Twice yearly we hold a Sunday evening Healing Service at which the ongoing healing ministry of Jesus is taught. Here our Prayer and Healing Team have more time to give people who wish to receive individual prayer. We have two retired clergy couples whose past experience has been working with healing ministries. These services attract people from other churches and non-churchgoers. Holy Communion
This is offered weekly on Sundays on a rotational basis either during one of our services or shortly after a morning service. There is also a quiet BCP Holy Communion Service held every Thursday in the side chapel at
11am. The average attendance for the Thursday service is 13. Prayer
Our main prayer meeting, ‘Ascent’, is held monthly on the 4th Thursday at 9.30 am (average attendance 10) and 7.30 pm (14) using the same content and format to pray for our church, our missions, our town and nation. Although we have tried different formats at various times, we have always found it difficult to attract more than a small percentage of church members to our prayer meetings. Since the COVID-19 lockdown, a weekly Thursday prayer meeting has been held via Zoom from 7.15 to 8 pm and there is a suggestion that this might be continued. It has an attendance of about 30 people. A morning and evening Prayer Chain for emergency prayer needs, comprising 24 people, is available on a confidential basis. A bi-monthly Daily Prayer Diary is issued for personal prayer use. A small group of early risers meet each Thursday at 7.20 am to pray and praise in the Lounge. Home Groups
There are fourteen Home Groups meeting weekly or fortnightly, mainly in members’ homes, providing fellow- ship and encouragement for members to grow in their faith and commitment. The groups vary in size and age and in format and style. The average size is 12 members and 156 altogether attend. Some larger groups meet in the All Saints’ Centre, including a Monday weekly afternoon group to which lifts are offered for elderly peo- ple, and a Tuesday lunchtime Women’s Bible Study group. The yearly Lent course offers the opportunity for the various groups to follow a course together, either meeting weekly in the Church or in their separate groups. Alpha
We aim to hold the Alpha course yearly, especially in the autumn term, sometimes using the All Saints’ Centre and sometimes in homes. Christianity Explored has been held less frequently. Pastoral Care A committed and busy team of volunteers befriend and help those who are elderly, housebound or vulnera- ble. Their services include visits to homes, care homes and hospitals, arranging lifts to medical appoint- ments where necessary.
Connected Organisations
We have a strong relationship with Sussex Gospel Partnership and Churches Together in Eastbourne. Church Life: Fellowship
In any church, but especially in a large church like All Saints’, fellowship is vital. It brings together people who might not have an opportunity to engage with one another, it gives people time to get to know one another in an informal setting and it affords scope for inviting those who may not otherwise venture into church. At All Saints’ there are clubs, groups and activities aimed at engendering a sense of friendship and belonging.
Throughout the year there are numerous occasions for celebration and welcome. A cream tea seems to be woven into the life of All Saints’. We hold teas and lunches for newcomers as well as a ‘Thank you’ for all helpers and leaders. Harvest teas or suppers are always well attended. We like to open the church whenever possible so that members of All Saints’ can invite friends and neighbours to enjoy being in the church in a very informal manner.
Flowers have played a big part in the life of All Saints’ and over the past few years we have had 3 flower festi- vals, 2 art and craft festivals and a combined flower and craft festival. All these events have been enjoyed by the wider community and been successful in providing a relaxed and leisurely way of getting to know others as there is ample opportunity to wander round and chat. Naturally, tea and cake play a very important role.
Music is another area that is so important. At All Saints’ we are very blessed with some outstanding musicians. Our organ is a superb instrument and as well as our regular organist we have at least two other members of the congregation who can play. We have numerous pianists, drummers, guitarists and singers and all are wel- come to join the choir. As our choir leader says, it doesn’t matter if you can’t read music, just so long as you can sing in tune. We just want to make a cheerful noise for the Lord. We do not have a regular choir. We only rehearse for special occasions like the Christmas Carol Service or the Good Friday Praise Concert. Our superb music leader and his gifted family work tirelessly to bring the joy of music into our services and all aspects of All Saints’ life. On Wednesdays we have a gathering, Table Talk, for the elderly. This alternates between a tea and board games afternoon and a lunch. Lifts are offered for those who need them. A ladies’ knit and stitch afternoon meets every other Monday and this has proved to be an excellent way of bringing friends and neighbours to meet members of the church. Aroma, our ladies’ breakfast, meets regularly on a Saturday morning for a lovely meal followed by a speaker. The topics are very varied and the mornings are well attended by ladies from other churches which gives a lovely sense of the wider church community. Our men are catered for with a regular breakfast, called J21:12, which follows the format of the ladies with a wide range of guests speakers as well as occasional outings, most memorably to a local brewery. Fun is always on the cards at All Saints’. Our Christmas panto is a splendid example and is the perfect event for bringing together actors, singers, musicians, props makers, young and old. It is a highlight of the Christmas season. We have also enjoyed mystery-solving dinners, quizzes, concerts and any excuse to get together and enjoy laughter, fellowship and cakes. 6. Children, Youth & Families
All Saints’ delights in welcoming families of all shapes and sizes into our services, our community and our Faith.
Our main Sunday service welcomes about 25 children each week, who stay in to enjoy the first fifteen minutes of worship (including an all-age talk) before going out to crèche or one of four Sunday School classes. During the COVID-19 lockdown, packs of Bible study, craft and games have been delivered to 48 children ready for each online gathering.
There are two paid Children, Family & Youth Work- ers (Julian Dale and Annelie Cooper) and a team of about 50 DBS Volunteers who are called on to as- sist at different times in the year with teaching, youth groups, drama, leading groups at Holiday Club or helping at crèche and Panda Toddler Group.
In normal times the Youth Team runs two weekly toddler groups (about 80 children per week), two schools’ groups (40 children) and three youth groups (35 children). They also undertake assemblies at two local Primary Schools (St John’s Meads and The Haven) plus occasional involve- ment as the chaplains at Moira House School (currently closed). For a number of years' clergy at All Saints' have served in chaplaincy roles at the University of Brighton (Eastbourne Campus)
We normally run a family camping weekend, two Holiday Clubs each summer and occasional trips to London or further afield (Kabubbu in Uganda is planned for autumn 2021!)
In the last year, the Youth Team has also hosted a Christian dance group, organised a church-wide trip to Wintershall, a pancake party, a Christingle & craft afternoon, a Light Party and family games afternoons.
Eastbourne College also uses the church for whole school services several times a year.
We give safeguarding children and vulnerable adults a top priority and have both a Safeguarding Co-ordinator and a Safeguarding Team who meet regularly. 7. Mission Outreach
We have 13 higher profile missions. Each has an All Saints’ rep on the Missions Com- mittee to promote them in the church and beyond in prayer, publicity and giving.
Local Agencies Family Support Work (Chichester Diocese) PARCHE (supporting regular Christian services in care homes) People Matter (supporting the unemployed) Speak Life (mainly digital worldwide evangelistic outreach from Eastbourne’s Revival centre)
National Falcon Camps (with CPAS) London City Missions Spinnaker (primary schools work in the Eastbourne area)
International Compassion (All Saints’ sponsors 4 children) BEST (part of Interserve supporting 2 overseas students in ministry training) CMS (supporting Charles Johnston in Argentina) Tearfund Karen Terry (in Kenya. CMS associate involved with pastoral and schools’ work) Wycliffe Bible Translators
Lower profile missions which do not have committee rep: Away from it All (AfiA) and Parents’ Contact Centre (both run by Mothers’ Union) Release International Beachy Head rescue Chaplaincy Dohnavur childrens’ rescue home in India Fatfleshed (feeding needy people at weekends) Kingdom Way Trust (Winter Night Shelter) UCCF (Colleges & Universities)
The church also has an active Mother’s Union Branch, including as a member Kathryn Anderson, who is the Provincial President of the Canterbury Province of the Mothers’ Union. 8. Staff Team
Rev Jon Haines - Curate. Jon grew up in Hove and joined us as Curate in the summer of 2018. After 14 years living in London (working as a drummer and a banker!), Jon is delighted to be living back in Sussex with his wife Gaby and three young children Octavia, Lysander and Averett.
Hilary Dale - Church Administrator Hilary has been a member of All Saints’ since she was 4 years old and is married to Julian (see below) with two grown-up daughters. She became Church Administrator in 2018 having previously been a House Matron to 80 teenage boys.
Andy Anderson - Bookings Manager and Hon. Treasurer Andy “retired” from being Church Administrator two years ago and now works very nearly as hard as our Booking Manager and (unpaid) Treasurer. He comes from a background in local government and has a keen understanding of IT, AV, GDPR and several other mysteries! He is married to Kathryn (see reference above to Mother’s Union)
Julian Dale - Children, Youth & Families Worker Julian joined All Saints’ as full-time Youth Worker in April 2017 after 25 years as a Criminal Barrister. He has been involved in Sunday School and youth groups with us for 20 years, since his daughters Katie and Annabelle were toddlers. He oversees the church panto each year (Oh yes, he does!) and helps run a local homeless charity.
Annelie Cooper - Children, Youth & Families Worker Annelie grew up in All Saints’ and gave up her job as a primary school teacher to join the youth team in 2017. She has two young boys, Josh and Rory, and is married to Peter, who is on the PCC and helps run a social group for church dads, called ASBO!
Wider Staff Retired Clergy Rev Harry Owen Rev David Hague Rev Colin Crook Rev David Cross Rev Malcolm White
Readers Murray King Margaret Gardner Ian Gardner Bill Owen Pip Pawley
Church Wardens Sue Walker & Bill Owen
Safeguarding Co-ordinator Jo Whiteman
Caretaker Vaughan Schultz 9a. Properties
The Church A church has been on this site since 1879. The foundation stone was laid on1 November 1877. In Sep- tember 1927, as the parish was beginning to look forward to celebrating its golden jubilee, disaster struck when the church was gutted by fire. The inside of the church was reduced to a mass of charred and twisted wreckage, leaving only the tower and the outside shell.
With improved plans the new building was built and the first service was held in the present building in June 1929. The church is a grade 2 listed building built of rough-cut stone and is Gothic in style. A tower with a cap-style spire stands at the north-west corner. A chapel is on the north side of the church. The church organ is unique and distinctive by Harrison and Harrison. Since its reopening the building has been used continually to the praise and glory of our God. It can accommodate 350 people.
The Vicarage The Vicarage was completed in 1980 and is spacious and warm. The house is reached by a drive from the road in Jevington Gardens. It has four bedrooms, a bathroom and separate shower room upstairs, a down- stairs cloakroom, lounge, dining room screened from the kitchen, a utility room, a study, a garage and plenty of off-road parking. The main entrance door is through a security porch. There is a large enclosed private garden and a rear garden adjoining the church centre which is regularly used for various church functions and groups. The All Saints’ Centre The church centre is on the South side of the church and can seat approximately 150 people for a meeting and approximately 100 people for a meal. The former church hall was signifi- cantly extended in 2007 to include a larger flexible space, a larger kitchen, additional toilets, a toilet for the disabled, a church office, a lift and stairs to two large upstairs meeting rooms and another church office.
The main hall can be divided into two or three by partitions and is suitable for a range of functions. It is fully fitted with a screen, projector and full AV system.
The upstairs has a carpeted lounge with flexibility to allow for PCC, prayer and other meetings. The other room is built as an activity room for children’s work.
The Curate’s House The curate’s house is 1f Grassington Road, a quiet close just a short walk away from the church. It is a modern end-of-terrace house with three bedrooms, a lounge-dining room, study, kitchen, a small garden and garage. This property is currently rented out to tenants. 10 FINANCES Overall, the church is in a healthy financial position, with assets in excess of £1m. The audited accounts for 2019 show an income of £362k and an expenditure of £374k.
Although the PCC seeks to agree a balanced budget each year, this has not always been possible for a few years now (the PCC has made a deliberate decision to invest heavily in youth and children’s work) and our income has not always been sufficient to cover our expenditure. The PCC receives financial reports to each of its meetings and closely scrutinises income streams and expenditure with a view to maximising one whilst trying to reduce the other; but uppermost is maintaining and enhancing the mission and ministry of the church.
Our main source of income is from our congregation via regular monthly giving and Gift Aid which represented 60% of our unrestricted income for 2019 (excluding legacies). The hiring out of our facilities and the rental from a property we own generated a further 17%, the remainder being legacies, gifts & Sunday collections.
We have a large church building and a superb church centre. Running and maintaining these facilities does not come cheap. We have 4 paid members of staff, one full-time and three part-time. Excluding expenditure on re- stricted funds, our main areas of spend in 2019 were:
Youth, Children’s & Families work - 22% Maintenance of Buildings - 21% Diocesan Quota (paid in full) - 20% Management & Admin - 18% Missions & Charitable Giving - 13% (of eligible income)
LETTINGS It is acknowledged that we have some of the finest facilities in Eastbourne for use by external hirers.
Main Church – full audio-visual system and sound desk available, seating for 350. It is used by Eastbourne College for services and events, and up to 24 full choral and/or orchestral concerts are held annually.
Church Centre – full audio-visual system and sound cabinet available, and can be divided into three if re- quired, with each part having separate AV facilities if required. A fully fitted kitchen is available. Depending on the room layout, up to 150 people can be seated.
Upstairs Lounge – carpets and soft chairs make this a very popular meeting room for smaller groups. It has a full AV system available and small kitchen facilities. Depending on layout, up to 40 people can be seated.
Upstairs Hall – also known as the YAK (Youth & Kids) room, has evolved into a very popular training room for up to 50 people (depending on layout). It has a full AV system available and small kitchenette.
Aside from services, internal groups also fully use the church and centre for youth and children’s work, pas- toral and prayer groups and other meetings.
Many of the groups, both internal and external have regular weekly or monthly bookings. The centre is used by several choirs for rehearsal space, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Cocaine Anonymous (CA), County Council, NHS, Probation Service, U3A groups, Brownies to name but a few, and is fully utilised each year by the Bible by the Beach conference.
We also make it available for local and national elections as a Polling Centre.
In total, there were 1700 bookings in 2019, excluding church services and Sundays when facilities are not generally available for external hire, which equates to an average of 5 per day. Of these, 59% were from external hirers and 41% for internal use. Rev Robert & Marian Lovatt All Saints’ Church 2004-2020 “What a privilege it was to serve at All Saints' for 16 years! Not only did we share in the teaching, we ourselves were taught. We were taught by the amazing care shown to our older people, the servant heartedness of those who served in the winter night shelter and certainly from the sermons of our colleagues. It was a place where we grew enormously as Christians. All Saints excelled in warmth and friendliness. We both experienced periods of ill health and the church community was amazingly loving and supportive when we were not at our best.” Any new vicar will be concerned about their home. We loved living in the vicarage. A 5 minute walk and you were along the sea front. The house is nothing special from the outside but inside it is comfortable and convenient. Marian and I had 16 very happy years and we pray and trust you will also.”
This document seeks to describe All Saints’ in normal times. For the best idea of what we have done in the Corona virus lockdowns, please go to the “All Saints’ Eastbourne” YouTube channel and watch a couple of our services - maybe one from the Spring and one of our live-streamed services from early autumn?