Vicar of All Saints’ and Pontefract St Giles with St Mary’s in the Episcopal Area of the Anglican Diocese of

Welcome to Pontefract! You may well remember Pontefract (Pomfret) Castle from reading Shakespeare’s Richard II at school or have a weakness for Pontefract cakes or have an eye to the runners at the or you may well have seen the sign on the motorway or even experienced the magnificent Xscape shopping and leisure centre.

Pontefract is an historic on the move. It’s a great place to live and a great place to minister.

St Giles, St Mary’s and All Saints’ are at the centre of the town’s life: churches alive and reaching out to these diverse local communities; taking the faith seriously and taking their social responsibility seriously.

All Saints’ and St Giles with St Mary’s are at a crossroads in their history. Now working together in the missionary challenge of this town, they are looking for a Vicar, hungry for the church to do well, who will get stuck in, make a difference and lead them forward.

The person appointed will be:

 A spiritual leader in mission and pastoral care who will be a visible presence in our community.

 Inspirational, innovative and an able communicator.

 Well organised and flexible and able to plan ahead.

 A good listener with a sense of humour and young at heart who is comfortable with ministering to all ages and backgrounds.

 A team player, capable of generating cooperation, fellowship and shared goals with both church goers and the wider community.

 Committed to strengthening and building on the important links we have with our schools and youth groups by encouraging youngsters to join our worshipping community.

 Confident in sharing our faith in Jesus and commending His way of life.

 Computer literate and aware of social media.

 An enabler of lay ministry to people of all ages and a bridge builder with those who are unwilling to engage with church life.

We are also a new and growing Diocese. The Anglican Diocese of Leeds comprises of five Episcopal Areas, each co-terminous with an Archdeaconry. This is now one of the largest Dioceses in the country and its creation is unprecedented in the history of the Church of . It covers an area of around 2,425 square miles, and a population of around 2,642,400 people.

The three former Dioceses were created in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to cater for massive population changes brought about by industrialisation and, later, mass immigration. The Diocese comprises major cities (, Leeds, Wakefield), large industrial and post-industrial towns (Halifax, , ), market towns (Harrogate, Skipton, Ripon, Richmond and ), and deeply rural areas (the Dales). The whole of life is here, along with all the richness, diversity and complexities of a changing world.

The Diocesan Bishop is assisted by five Area Bishops (Bradford, Huddersfield, Kirkstall, Wakefield and Ripon) and five archdeacons (Bradford, Halifax, Leeds, Pontefract, Richmond & Craven).

Our vision as the Diocese is about confident clergy equipping confident Christians to live and tell the good news of Jesus Christ. For all of our appointments we are seeking clergy who have a joyful and confident faith which has inspired a track record of church growth, both numerically and spiritually.

The people of Pontefract are praying that God would be preparing the heart, mind and soul of the person to be their next Vicar. The attached papers will give you a glimpse of their life and what they are looking for in their next Vicar.

Come and help us to continue making our vision a reality!