St. Bartholomew’s, Westhoughton St. John the Evangelist, Wingates St. Katharine’s, Blackrod St. James the Great, Daisy Hill

in the Deanery of Deane, Archdeaconry of Bolton, Diocese of Manchester

We are looking for a Team Rector to lead this Team Ministry of six centres of worship across four

parishes.

!

Contents:

Page Welcome 3 Where we are 4 Church Background 6 Where you will live 7 St. Bartholomew’s – 8 The Parish Church of Westhoughton St. John the Evangelist, Wingates 12 The other worship centres in Westhoughton parish: 15 - St. George, the Hoskers - St. Thomas, Chequerbent

St. James the Great, Daisy Hill 21

St. Katharine’s, Blackrod 25 Work within the wider Team 29 Team ministers - what will you do? 30

Blackrod, Daisy Hill, Westhoughton, Wingates: 31 A Shared Vision

Is God calling you to our Team? 32

Further Information 33

Appendix 1: Some Facts and Figures (2017) 34

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Welcome:

An exciting and creative opportunity awaits the person God is calling to serve as Team Rector leading this Team Ministry.

The Blackrod, Daisy Hill, Westhoughton and Wingates Team Ministry was established in 2016 and comprises the four parishes of St. Bartholomew’s Westhoughton, St. John the Evangelist Wingates, St. Katharine’s Blackrod and St. James the Great Daisy Hill. Each has a parish church building and congregation, and additionally, St. Bartholomew's parish has two further congregations which meet in schools at St. Thomas’, Chequerbent and St. George’s, The Hoskers. St. Thomas’ was the first church in school worship centre established in the diocese.

Each of the four parishes remains distinct. There is a Team Leaders’ Forum in existence made up of the churchwardens from the four parishes and the licensed ministers. The forum meets three times a year and is a place where thinking and planning can be shared, recognising always that decision making lies with the four Parochial Church Councils. There are no local, Deanery or Diocesan plans for this to change.

The new Team Rector will have a parochial base in the parish of St. Bartholomew’s, Westhoughton, (where s/he will live in the rectory) and will have special responsibility equally for St. Bartholomew’s and St. John’s, Wingates in addition to the wider oversight of and responsibility for the Team ministry shared with ordained and lay colleagues.

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Where we are:

The four parishes of the Team are located in the north western corner of the Diocese of Manchester, bordering parishes in Blackburn and Liverpool dioceses.

Westhoughton is a small town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton. Situated some four miles south west of Bolton, the town and team ministry boundaries are roughly coterminous, the Team having a population of approximately 25,000 people.

The town of Westhoughton incorporates several former smaller villages and hamlets (including Wingates and Daisy Hill) and was, historically, a centre for coal mining, cotton spinning and textile manufacture. Westhoughton is now primarily a residential area though local and national businesses are established in the town. There are a host of corner shops and a market as well as Sainsburys, Lidl and B&M Bargains stores.

Wingates is a geographically large parish but with a small population which includes both residential housing and the large Middlebrook shopping and leisure centre.

Transport links from Westhoughton and Blackrod are very good, with buses and trains (there are railway stations in Westhoughton, Daisy Hill, Blackrod and Horwich). The M61 motorway is easily accessed from within the Team as junctions 5 and 6 are within the Team’s boundaries. This in turn provides easy motorway links across the region and more widely, the country. We are only an hour away from the South Lakes or Peak District and trains from Wigan can be in London in just over two hours.

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Shopping is also easy as the market towns of Chorley, Wigan, Leigh, Bolton and Bury are a short bus ride away and more locally the large Middlebrook shopping centre lies within Wingates parish. Slightly further afield is the Trafford Centre and Manchester itself.

There are good GP and pharmacies locally. Hospitals in Bolton, Chorley, and Wigan are nearest but Salford, Preston and Manchester hospitals also serve the community.

There are three cricket clubs within the area, a sporting hub at Bolton Arena (gym, tennis etc.), a Westhoughton sports centre and golf club and newly built sports facilities nearby at Horwich.

Bolton Wanderers FC Macron Stadium is also nearby.

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Church Background:

The two churches for which the Team Rector will have special responsibility are very different in terms of buildings, history and church tradition which is reflected in all the churches across the team. Any candidate will need to demonstrate an ability to be comfortable with and value the different church traditions.

St. Bartholomew’s church is a light, modern building opened in 1995 on the site of the previous Victorian building which was destroyed by fire, and is in very good condition.

Worship is in the liberal, central tradition with a weekly Eucharist service following Common Worship; vestments are worn.

St. John’s church is a Victorian building but the inside has been thoughtfully and harmoniously modernised to blend the old and new. The church is carpeted and pews have been replaced by very comfortable chairs. A rear partition has been installed creating a kitchen, toilets and social space by the main entrance. The building is well maintained and decorated.

Worship is broadly in the open evangelical tradition and we believe strongly in creating new leaders and encouraging talents from within the church family.

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Where you will live:

The rectory in Westhoughton is a modern, well-appointed two-storey house situated by the side of Barclays Bank and has its own road accessed from Market Street, a couple of minutes walk from St. Bartholomew’s church. We own but share access to the land on which the road sits with Barclays Bank who are allowed to use it under access laws.

Built of modern brick, it was opened in 2005 and has its own grounds front and rear. It has a single garage with a driveway that can accommodate three cars. On entering through the porch, there are two vestibules and a study and cloakroom by the front door. The study and downstairs cloakroom are close to the front door and a further door separates this “work area” from the main “living area” of the house. There is a modern fitted kitchen with utility room and space for dining as well as an additional dining room. The spacious lounge has double doors leading out to the rear of the property.

Upstairs there are three double bedrooms, a single bedroom and two bathrooms. A loft ladder has been fitted to access the large boarded loft.

The rectory has gas central heating, water meter and double glazing throughout.

Well attended gardens surround the rectory, with good fencing and lockable gates at the front and rear.

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St. Bartholomew’s – The Parish Church of Westhoughton:

St. Bartholomew’s is the parish church of Westhoughton and occupies a central and prominent place in the town. Rebuilt in 1995 following a fire in 1990 that destroyed the whole building except for the tower, the church building is well used not only for worship but for concerts, civic events and as a venue for training. St. Bartholomew’s Church of England primary school is adjacent to the church building.

The design of the church is described as a “square on a square” resulting in a star shaped worship area with excellent sight lines. The inclusion of some stained glass and stonework from the old church provides a link between the old tower and the modern building designed to serve the people of Westhoughton into the 21st century. The main sung Parish Eucharist service is held each week at 11:00am. We offer the ministry of healing at our services in the first week of the month. Second Sunday is typically All Age / Parade service with our Sunday school and Uniformed Organisations attending; this is flexible to allow us to mark special occasions.

We have a quieter said service at 8:00am on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month, which is held at St. Thomas’ church on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Sundays.

We hold a midweek communion service every Wednesday at 10:00am to which we welcome children from our church schools.

Worship is in the liberal central tradition. Vestments are worn and there is an organist and small choir to lead the music. Services follow Common Worship and there are a range of service books produced over the last three years to cover each season. The hymn book used is the recently published “Ancient and Modern – Hymns and Songs for Refreshing Worship” which was introduced in November 2016.

Occasional offices The church has a valuable part to play in the wider community, not least through the large number of baptism, wedding and funeral services we conduct each year.

Regular Outreach Events In January, we work with our Methodist colleagues to mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

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In Lent each year we host the Easter Experience for a week in which pupils from all our local schools can attend and learn about the events of Holy Week and Easter. We hold a full programme of services across the team to mark Holy Week and Easter. St. Bartholomew’s school attends and leads part of our Mothering Sunday worship.

We hold a Bible study group which has met fortnightly for the past year.

We host the annual confirmation service, usually on a Sunday afternoon in May. We also hold a civic service each May to welcome the new Town Mayor. Collections are held in church this month for Christian Aid week.

We mark St. Bartholomew’s day each year and usually follow this service with a lunch.

Harvest Festival is marked on the second Sunday of October usually with collections for Urban Outreach, which we support throughout the year with the Green Grub Tubs. On the Sunday afternoon nearest All Souls’ Day, we hold a memorial service to which we invite especially those bereaved throughout the previous 12 months.

The annual Remembrance Sunday Civic service in November in church and at the War Memorial attracts between 500 – 1000 people.

December is a particularly community-focused month. On Advent Sunday we hold our Parish Christingle Service, raising funds for the Children’s Society. We hold a Toy Service each year which are distributed by Bolton Lions. The Switching on of the Westhoughton Town Lights happens as part of a Carol Service at which local schools participate attracting an over-capacity congregation. We hold our Carol Service as the 11:00am service and have the usual Christmas Eve and Christmas day services. In addition, local schools will also hold their Christmas celebrations in church.

December 21st marks the anniversary of the Pretoria Pit Disaster in 1910 in which over 300 people lost their lives and we host the annual commemoration service on this date.

Stewardship and finance Westhoughton Parish is a registered Charity whose accounts and financial report can be found on the Charity Commission website. We have negotiated a three year Parish Share agreement with the Diocese of Manchester (2017/19) which the PCC has committed to pay in full. The Parish did pay its share in full in 2017.

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We hold a Stewardship Sunday every year when we encourage the congregation to give their time, talents and money by the most efficient and effective methods.

Each church maintains its own accounts overseen by each church committee, responsible to the PCC. We have an excellent finance team who complete our annual financial report and budget for the year and claim Gift Aided tax refunds. The annual accounts are available on request.

The quinquennial inspection was completed in 2015. More minor work noted in this has been completed. Reports on major work required to the Grade II listed tower are being completed, however, which will need to be instigated in the near future. The church has some funds available but will also need to investigate the possibility of grant applications to complete this work.

Publicity We run a weekly news sheet and a monthly newsletter jointly across the parish. We also have a website, Facebook account and Twitter feed.

Events The fine acoustics of the church make it an ideal concert venue for organ recitals, an annual concert by the Bolton Chamber Orchestra (usually in November) and by local groups such as Wingates Brass Band and The Houghton Weavers. We also host church school events throughout the year including the St. Bartholomew’s school summer production.

There is a full peal of eight bells in the tower which are rung each Sunday and attract ringers from around the country.

We run a luncheon club following the Wednesday Eucharist once a month.

Refreshments are served in the meeting room after each service. Smaller fundraising and charity events are held in the room which is also hired out for small groups and meetings.

Committees Committee structures and procedures have been streamlined over the past three years to improve meetings and facilitate decision making. Each of the three churches in the parish has its own committee which meet each quarter and monitor the day-to- day running and finance of each church. The PCC maintains legal oversight and also meets quarterly to focus on parish-wide issues and future planning. As part of the Mission Action Plan, it is hoped to form parish-wide PCC subgroups which will focus on the areas of Worship, Communication, Social Events and Mission and Pastoral outreach.

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Links with St. Bartholomew’s School The Team Rector will be expected to serve on the governing body of St. Bartholomew’s school. Meetings are held termly between the clergy and the heads of St. Bartholomew’s, St. Thomas' and St. George’s church schools and it is expected that these will continue.

Community Links The Parish has sought to develop links with the local community through groups such as Senior Solutions (working with the elderly) and the Westhoughton Youth project. We hold fundraising events to support both local and national charitable causes.

The Team Rector appointed will be expected to lead and develop links with local Civic and community groups embedding the Church in the life of the community as part of the Mission Action Plan.

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St. John the Evangelist, Wingates:

St. John the Evangelist, Wingates, consecrated in 1859, stands in a prominent position on the A6 which runs through Blackrod and Westhoughton. We were originally a rural parish on the fringes of Westhoughton but now with much new building adding to the housing stock and two industrial estates within the parish boundaries. Population is approximately 3,000 and increasing.

Common Worship: 9:30 am

1st Sunday of the month: Holy Communion 2nd Sunday of the month: Baptism or Morning Worship 3rd Sunday of the month: Family Service 4th Sunday of the month: Holy Communion with Healing 5th Sunday of the month: Morning Worship

In addition, on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month: 8:00 am Holy Communion using the Book of Common Prayer

THE AIM OF THE PARISH is: “to grow in love, in faith, in spirituality, and in the number of committed Christians”. Our vision for the future is to implement this aim.

We are a vibrant, family friendly, growing church with a wide range of ages and have recently completed a refurbishment plan for our church building. We had our Quinquennial inspection in April 2017 and have a working party arranging a schedule of work. We are currently working on our Mission Action Plan and Stewardship campaigns.

Our Churchmanship is broadly in the open evangelical tradition and we believe strongly in creating new leaders and encouraging talents from within the church family and in collaborative ministry – between lay and ordained ministers and between the churches in the Team.

We have one OLM (newly retired), one Reader and four Authorised Lay Ministers, two trained in pastoral care and two trained in worship, one more person in training for ALM and one exploring Ordination.

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There is a Lay Pastoral & Healing Prayer Team in place. Three of our members were in the Archdeaconry Healing Group and we have run an Acorn course on the Healing Ministry for all the Anglican churches in Westhoughton.

We have an established choir, a resident organist and a music group, teams of readers, people leading intercessions, organising and leading the Family Service and running the sound system.

The church interior has been brought up to date with redecoration, new carpeting, heating and lighting and very comfortable chairs allowing for a flexible worship space including a new sound system. This has allowed the development of a community space at the rear of the church with a well-appointed kitchen and toilets. Also, our building and facilities are easily accessible for wheelchairs.

We have a Children’s Church, which takes place in the Foyer.

The Women’s Guild meets weekly on a Tuesday afternoon and holds a monthly celebration of Holy Communion. Men from St John’s meet at 9am on the first Saturday of the month to share in fellowship and enjoy a hearty breakfast. Every quarter, we invite a guest speaker. All are welcome and it is intended that men from outside our church will join our growing numbers.

We have regular Church Fairs and other fund-raising events including our Early Bird Christmas Fair in mid- November!

We have experienced increased usage of the building, allowing concerts and other events to take place throughout the year. These have included our champion Wingates Brass Band, the local Houghton Weavers and Travellin’ Strings!

"Tiddliwinks" meets every Thursday morning (in term time) for toddlers and parents. We have a Brownie group which meets in church and a Rainbow group is planned.

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We support Urban Outreach with their food bank collections and contributions from our Harvest Services go to Fortalice (the local Women’s Refuge). Also, we have strong links with the Wingates Residential Home, (where we administer a monthly service of Holy Communion and are their place of refuge in emergencies) and we maintain our relationship with the Gates Primary School.

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The other worship centres in Westhoughton parish: St. George’s, the Hoskers:

History St. George’s church was opened in 1996 and is located within St. George’s Church of England primary school. The school is Anglican church-aided and was built to replace a school in Hart Common which was unable to meet the requirements of the growing community in the area. The church in Hart Common was also transferred to the school with some of the features of the old church being incorporated into the building. The services are held in the school hall.

Although set up as a Local Ecumenical Partnership (LEP) with the Methodist and URC churches, with the local Methodist and URC ministers moving to new posts and with their staffing shortages, it has allowed us to review the future and dissolve the LEP amicably. We are still committed to ecumenical working, however, through events such as Christian Unity Week services, The Women’s World Day of Prayer and Christian Aid collections. The church has a close relationship with the school, with the ministers regularly leading assemblies. The school has a strong Christian ethos. Many of the children are active in the church, making up almost 50% of the congregation. As the children are accompanied by their parents a significant proportion of the remaining congregation are also young with all age ranges represented.

Worship The church has one service on Sundays commencing at 9:15am and is usually a communion service. On alternate Sundays, we offer an All Age Communion Service where children are encouraged to participate. Services follow the Common Worship order and lectionary with seasonal service booklets introduced over the last two years. Hymns come from the expanded Hymns and Songs of Fellowship, but facilities exist to project hymns and services onto large screens.

Special services involving the school are held for Lent, Easter, Mothering Sunday, Harvest, Advent, the Sunday School Nativity Service and our popular Christmas Eve Crib Service with Christmas Carols.

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We welcome families for Baptism services; these are incorporated into the Sunday services or may be held at St. Bartholomew’s church on Sunday afternoons.

Sunday School St. George's Sunday School meets fortnightly from September to July during the church service from 9.15am. We welcome children from Reception age to Year 6. We begin with a prayer and a collection is taken followed by a Bible reading, before breaking into groups.

We follow the Church Liturgy with Bible readings, stories, prayers & activities matched to the various age groups. We bring the children into Church for Communion and sit together on the front rows so we can join in the service.

We offer accommodation in the Church Room where parents can take younger children for crèche facilities.

Church Congregation The congregation is largely local reflecting the children and parents associated with the school.

There is an active ministry of the whole congregation with rotas for readers, Sunday school teachers, flower arrangers, cleaners, and a regular pianist.

Many events and services are held across the Westhoughton parish or wider team including Easter Experience, Lent and Holy Week services, an All Souls’ Memorial service and services to mark Christian Unity Week and the Women’s World Day of Prayer. There is a wide programme of services over Advent and Christmas including popular Nativity services, Carol services and a Christmas Eve

Crib service.

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Links with St. George’s School We hold weekly assemblies in school. Classes, and sometimes the whole school, will attend St. Bartholomew’s church each term. For further details see their website http://www.stgeorges.bolton.sch.uk/ or twitter feed @WestGeorges1.

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Café Church Every other Thursday in term time 3:30 – 4:15pm

From April 2017 we have been offering a new fortnightly time for worship straight after school to which all children, parents, grandparents and carers are invited. It offers a variety of activities in a different worship style to Sundays with the church set out in a café style. It starts immediately after the school day ends in the school hall at 3:30pm with a drink and a biscuit for the children. There is a short Act of Worship starting at 3:45pm promptly which finishes by 4:15pm. The service is simple and family- friendly including a song, a Bible reading, and short prayers and attracts 30 – 40 people each time.

We see this as a vital part of our witness within the school and wider community and any candidate would be expected to work as part of the organising team to develop this fresh expression of church.

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St. Thomas’, Chequerbent:

The parish has another Church of England primary school used as a place of worship, St. Thomas’ Chequerbent.

St. Thomas’ was the first church in school to be established in the Diocese of Manchester and enjoys very good relationships with the school.

There is an average attendance of 35 adults at its 9.15 am service and a large Sunday School. We are aware that one of the factors influencing church attendance is the requirements for entry into the oversubscribed church school. There is an 8.00am service alternating with St. Bartholomew’s.

We hold weekly assemblies in school. Classes, and sometimes the whole school, will attend St. Bartholomew’s church each term. Special services involving the school are held for Lent, Easter, Mothering Sunday, Harvest, Advent, the Sunday School Nativity Service and our popular Christmas Eve Crib Service with Christmas Carols. We welcome families for Baptism services; these are incorporated into the Sunday services or may be held at St. Bartholomew’s church on Sunday afternoons.

We have links with uniformed organisations such as the church-affiliated scouts, brownies and guide groups which meet in the school.

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Café church has also started running at St. Thomas’ on alternate Wednesdays in term-time following the model pioneered at St. George’s.

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St. James the Great, Daisy Hill:

Worship St. James’ has a well-established moderate catholic Eucharistic tradition with vestments. Music is a central part of our worship and is supported by a small robed choir and resident organist.

Sunday Eucharists 8.00am (2nd, 4th and 5th Sundays each month) - BCP 10.45am (weekly) – Common Worship

Wednesday Eucharist 10:00am - BCP

Congregation and occasional offices Baptisms take place at dedicated services on one Sunday afternoon each month bringing together two or three families, or occasionally by request during the Sunday morning Eucharist, following an open baptism policy.

There is an active team of people who read the bible lessons, lead intercessions, altar servers, flower arrangers etc. There is also a building group which can advise the PCC.

We hold an annual service of Thanksgiving for Departed Loved Ones and hold a particular service to that effect on All Souls’ Day. Remembrance Day services are also part of the annual calendar. There is a wide programme of services over Advent, Christmas (including Christingle and Crib service) and Holy Week; Experience Easter and Holy Week joint services are run in conjunction with the wider Team.

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Sunday School We have a weekly Sunday School which meets in the school hall. The children then join the Sunday service at the beginning of the Eucharistic prayer.

The wider community Although there is no church hall, there are limited refreshment facilities and recently installed toilet facilities which allow us to serve refreshments in church after services. Frugal lunches of home-made soup and bread are served each Wednesday in Lent with donations to Christian Aid; mulled wine and mince pies are available after the carol service and coffee mornings serve fresh coffee, tea and cakes. There is a regular, well organised and advertised concert series held in church. Events are also held at St. James’ school hall at weekends.

We have a hard working Fundraising, Social and Outreach Committee which arranges concerts and events to involve more people in the life of the church. For the first time in 2017, we welcomed many new people as we opened the church with a series of events for the nationwide Heritage Open Days.

Our young people In conjunction with all churches across the team, the PCC has agreed to proceed with Admission of Children to Communion before confirmation and will run the first course in spring 2018. There are Guide and Scout groups which meet on the school premises but have links with the church through regular events and church parade services.

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Stewardship and finance St. James the Great is a financially viable church which has always striven to pay its Parish Share and paid in full in 2016 and 2017. It is currently undertaking fundraising for church maintenance and upgrading.

In October 2017 we held a Stewardship Sunday when we encouraged the congregation to give their time, talents and resources to help the greater good. We have a conscientious treasurer who completes our annual financial report and budget for the year and we claim Gift Aided tax refunds. The annual accounts are available on request.

Mission Action Planning As we look to the future of the church, the PCC recently held a Way Forward planning meeting to explore how we can continue to grow St. James’ as an important part of the community. From this a full report was produced including practical short- term objectives as well as long term ambitions. To make this plan achievable, this document has been further broken down so the PCC can then continue every month to make progress on our ever-growing mission to serve God in our community.

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Links with St. James’ Primary School http://stjamesdaisyhillceprimary.co.uk

The church maintains very close links with our large three tier primary school of around 400 pupils. In September 2017 the school also opened a pre-school nursery around the corner.

We currently hold PCC meetings and some fundraising events in the school. Our relationship with the school is one of the cornerstones of our future as a Parish church in Daisy Hill and provides an important channel to reach out to parents and children who do not currently attend our church services.

In the parish there is another school, Eatock Primary School. The school has made visits to the church and we hope to develop this connection further in the future.

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St. Katharine’s, Blackrod:

The people of our community are rightly proud of the fine parish church that for many centuries has stood at the top of the hill of Blackrod as a majestic and visible witness to the glory of Almighty God. In 1999/2000 we successfully re-ordered the interior of our church building to make it more compatible to the needs of the community and in line with the demands of contemporary Eucharistic worship. The last Quinquennial inspection took place some four years ago and no major work is outstanding. Recently we have been made aware of work required on the Chancel steps owing to subsidence and corrosion. It is anticipated some £20000 will be required for the remedial work. The work is due to start 31st May 2018 and the funds are in place.

Worship St. Katharine’s has a well-established liberal catholic tradition, with vestments and robed choir.

Services follow the pattern of: Sunday Eucharists 8.00am and 11.00am Tuesday Eucharist 9.30am All are Common Worship.

The church is open for prayer each Thursday and Saturday morning from 10 – 12 noon.

Major saints days and festivals, have been marked with a Eucharist. Holy Week has been observed for many years with services throughout the week, including a Maundy Thursday Vigil, Good Friday and an Easter Eve Vigil and Service of Light. These services are often attended by people from other parishes in the area and by the Methodist congregation in Blackrod.

The office team of volunteers produces a comprehensive service sheet for each Sunday enabling a rich liturgical diet throughout the year. Holy Communion is offered monthly to housebound parishioners and to those residents in local Nursing Homes.

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Congregation and occasional offices Baptisms take place monthly within the main Sunday Eucharist, following an open baptism policy.

The congregation is largely ageing, but devout and supportive. A wide range of talent and commitment came forward during the recent vacancy for which we are truly grateful. The average weekly attendance is 100, with15 - 20 children present.

Sunday school is strong and well led and we are exploring how we can encourage the children and young adults to become more involved with Church life. The PCC has just obtained permission from the Bishop to offer communion before confirmation for our regular young attenders from Year 3 upwards.

Several retired clergy live and/or worship in Blackrod and their ministry is greatly valued. In addition, there is an Emeritus Reader and a large team of Eucharistic Lay ministers, a fine organist, a small but faithful choir, a sacristan, crucifers and young acolytes. We produce a vibrant monthly magazine with a circulation of 450. The editorial team meets monthly.

We hold an annual service of Thanksgiving for Departed Loved Ones on or near All Souls’ Day. The church plays a valued role in the Civic life of Blackrod participating in an annual Civic Service and Remembrance Day services as well as switching on the Christmas tree lights!

There is an active ministry of the whole congregation with rotas for intercessors, readers, Sunday school teachers, flower arrangers, open church welcomers, cleaners, website operators, office staff, office hour group (for pastoral care and outreach in booking baptisms, weddings etc.), an Events Group organising social and fundraising ideas such as coffee mornings, Christmas & Spring Fairs, plant sales, parish outings and a Last Night of the Proms. Many people willingly service practical needs as required.

Faith in action is the aim of many of our church activities such as a well-run Christian Aid committee, a Food Bank tub and giving to Winter Watch, an annual Toy Service, a Harvest charity, chosen differently each year. We provide regular support to USPG, The Children’s Society, and Urban Outreach. A team organises the filling of shoe boxes each year for distribution to children in various parts of the world.

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Our young people The church was the first in the Manchester Diocese to be awarded the Child Friendly accreditation and retains a lively Sunday school ethos. The Sunday school regularly takes part in Church services in many ways, notably during baptisms, and the annual nativity play.

Stewardship and Finance As a registered Charity we are a financially viable church whose accounts and financial report can be found on the Charity Commission website Reg Charity No 1144084. We have always striven to pay our Parish Share and have contributed over a quarter of a million pounds to the Diocese over the last five years. We recently undertook a major refurbishment of the church bells and framework for which over £36,000 was raised by the community.

We encourage the congregation to give their time, talents and resources to help the greater good. We have a conscientious treasurer who completes our annual financial report and budget for the year and we aim to claim around £9000/year in Gift Aided tax refunds. Our annual harvest charity is donated to a charitable trust, and is alternated with a home or overseas charity nominated by the PCC.

The wider community Blackrod with its population of approximately 5000 people retains much of its village atmosphere and life. Various shops are to be found in the village including a post office, a small supermarket, butchers, a baker, and various food outlets. The population has massively changed from the farming and mining stock it used to be and is gradually rising. Over a hundred new homes are currently under construction.

In Blackrod, the church lies at the heart of the community with strong connections to community life, the local council, two primary schools, two nurseries and two residential care homes.

Pupils of secondary age must leave the village to go to school; mostly to Rivington and Blackrod High School, a controlled C of E school. Others go to Albany Academy in Chorley or to the church-aided schools of Canon Slade in Bolton or St. Michael’s in Chorley. Some choose to attend the independent Bolton School. These schools are easily accessed from Blackrod.

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Several community social events derive from or are centred on the church including a longrunning Stitch and Knit Group, an equally popular Senior Moments Film Club & buffet, a Flower Club, a Men’s Fellowship Group and a Ladies Who lunch Group. The highly successful and popular Blackrod Scarecrow Festival (now in its 12th year) has a strong base at St. Katharine’s.

For some years, a strong ecumenical friendship has been fostered with Methodists and Roman Catholics in the village and we have shared such things as Lent Talks, Women’s World Day of Prayer, House Groups and social activities. The local ministers/priests share a rota to conduct prayers before meetings of the Local District Council.

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Work within the wider Team:

The occasional offices play a major part in the life of the team parishes. On the basis of services conducted so far and the patterns from previous years, we average approximately 140 baptisms, 35 weddings and 100 funerals. These are seen as pastoral and missional opportunities in the team.

The baptism policy is an open one in that following preparation, we welcome all who request baptism. Confirmation is also a significant part of the spiritual life of our churches with three confirmation services in the team each year. All PCCs have agreed that qualifying couples can be married in any of the four parish churches across the team.

All PCCs across the team have agreed to the admission to communion before confirmation of baptised children. The first courses ran in November 2017 with a special admission service on Advent Sunday. A second course is planned for Lent 2018 with admission on Palm Sunday with a following course in November 2018.

Candidates will be expected to work collaboratively with other colleagues in the outreach ministry offered by the preparation, celebration and follow-up from these occasional offices across the Team.

Schools play a significant role in the life of the town and of the Team Ministry. There are three Church of England Aided and two Church of England Controlled primary schools in the Team, together with three further community primary schools, one Roman Catholic primary school and one 11-16 high school. Many 11 – 16 year olds travel outside the Team to St. James C of E High School or Canon Slade School.

Candidates will be expected to develop the links and opportunities for ministry through our church schools, especially as a governor at St. Bartholomew’s.

The Deanery of Deane is a pilot area within the Diocese of Manchester for the development of Mission Action Planning. All churches within the team have begun to look at ways of developing and implementing their Mission Action Plan

Candidates will be expected to demonstrate strategic planning skills to help guide, lead, develop and implement Mission Action plans, across the team in line with Deanery and Diocesan recommendations and frameworks.

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Team ministers - what will you do?

As Team Rector, you will retain oversight of the whole Team.

There has been a focus in this profile on the parishes of Westhoughton and Wingates. It is in Westhoughton that you will live and be expected to act as Rector of the parishes of Westhoughton and Wingates.

Though all ministers licensed in the Team contribute something to its wider life, each has distinctive responsibilities. Clergy do lead services occasionally across all our churches on a rota basis.

The Team Vicar, The Revd Angela Wynne was appointed as the present team came into existence in October 2016, having previously served as a self-supporting minister in the Blackburn Diocese. Angela has day to day responsibility for the parish of St. Katharine’s, Blackrod (where she lives) and St. Thomas’, Chequerbent in the Westhoughton Parish.

There is a second, currently vacant, full-time stipendary Team Vicar post. The person appointed to this post will be part of the team and have day to day responsibility for St. James’, Daisy Hill (where they will live) and St. George’s churches. It is planned, currently, not to fill this post until after the Team Rector vacancy has been filled, thus enabling them to work with the parishes and the Diocese in the appointment of a suitable team vicar.

Revd Kirsty Screeton is curate in the Westhoughton Parish and works across the team, having been ordained deacon in 2016 and priest in June 2017. In this training role, her ministry has developed from the Westhoughton parish to cover the team. Kirsty will be on maternity leave from Aug/Sept 2018.

There has been a strong emphasis on training and developing ordained, reader, ALM and lay ministry and candidates will be expected to demonstrate a commitment to developing an all-member ministry.

The team has three Readers who minister across the six places of worship, though each has a ‘home’ church or churches. In addition, there are seven Authorised Lay Ministers (ALM) who minster in all six places of worship. We are also very fortunate to have regular assistance from a number of retired clergy and readers. The stipendiary clergy meet weekly for prayer and planning.

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Blackrod, Daisy Hill, Westhoughton, Wingates: A Shared Vision

• We aim to see the worshipping communities in all our parishes increasingly reaching out in the name of Jesus Christ to provide an all-age environment where young and old alike feel welcomed and valued.

• We believe that all members of the Christian Church, and of all races and backgrounds, are always to be equally honoured and respected as beloved members of the Body of Christ.

• We wish to see each member of the Church becoming confident and firmly rooted in the Christian Faith so that Jesus is constantly proclaimed and adored in the quality of the worship that we offer, in our prayers, and in our dealings one with another.

• We pray that the people of our parishes continue to grow into becoming strong, effective and obedient disciples of Jesus by reaching out into the community alongside our fellow Christians of other traditions.

• We desire that every member of the Church becomes increasingly empowered by the Holy Spirit, both in ministry and in mission, in order to more effectively use their gifts to God’s eternal praise and glory.

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Is God calling you to our Team?

We are keen to work with someone who is:

a. Of deep faith, spiritually robust and who can respect, work with and lead the range of church traditions across the Team.

b. Pastorally sensitive, who enjoys meeting people and has the ability to nurture across diverse congregations.

c. Able to demonstrate experience of leading a team of ordained and lay colleagues in working collaboratively across a range of different centres of worship.

d. Who is able to think strategically and with a hands-on approach to enable God’s mission and the church presence to become reality within the wider community through development of Mission Action Plans.

e. Able to demonstrate an ability to develop existing links with schools and pioneer new opportunities to develop work with civic and community groups across the Team.

f. Committed to play a full part in the leadership of the spiritual, administrative and pastoral life of the Team. Be a leader who encourages and develops the gifts of others.

g. Ready to embrace the opportunities offered to engage with the wider community, especially through baptisms, weddings and funerals.

h. Able to demonstrate an ability to develop the spiritual life of the church through Bible study groups, prayer groups, Christian basics courses, café church initiatives and new ways of being “Church in a Different World.”

i. An awareness of and competence in IT and social media

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Further Information:

Further information is available from:

The Venerable Jean Burgess, Archdeacon of Bolton Telephone: 0161 761 6117

Revd Angela Wynne, Team Vicar [email protected]

Websites: www.westhoughtonchurches.org.uk www.stjohnswingates.org.uk www.stjamesdaisyhill.com www.stkatharines.net

Twitter: @Wparishchurch @stjohnswingates

Facebook: Westhoughtonparish StJohnsWingatesChurch

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Appendix 1: Some Facts and Figures (2017)

Westhoughton Parish Daisy Hill Blackrod Wingates

St. St. St. St. St. St. Bartholomew Thomas George James Katharine John Parish 16077 6617 5003 2445 Population

No. 60 - 70 2* 2* 29 32 11 baptisms

No. 17 admitted to communion confirmation 21 adults & children 17 6 before candidates confirmation

No. 12 - 15 ** ** 3 6 7 weddings No. 58 9 28 6 funerals

179 156 290 148 Electoral Roll (40 nonresident) (104 nonresident)

20-30 80 – 100 30 – 40 87 100 69 Average adults adults adults adults adults adults Weekly 15-25 20 - 30 30 - 50 35 15-20 28 under attendance under 16 under 16 under 16 under 16 under 16 16

* can opt for baptism within the Sunday morning service or at an individual Sunday afternoon baptism service at St. Bartholomew’s church

** not licensed for marriage services

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