THE CHURCH of ST JOHN the EVANGELIST BEN RHYDDING ILKLEY in the Diocese of Bradford
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THE CHURCH OF ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST BEN RHYDDING ILKLEY In the Diocese of Bradford St John’s, Ben Rhydding Parish Profile Introduction St John’s is the Parish Church of Ben Rhydding and is part of the Otley Deanery in the Diocese of Bradford. It is the only Church of England church in Ben Rhydding. The churchmanship is open evangelical with a welcoming atmosphere and a broad based spirituality. The church is diverse in nature, offering a wide range of activities that enable members to experience Jesus and grow spiritually in a way that is meaningful for them personally. The congregation is drawn largely from the middle class community of the parish itself, with approximately 25% of the congregation coming from outside the parish. At the AGM in March 2006, there were 162 members on the Electoral Roll, of whom two- thirds were women of various ages. There are also a significant number of families in their 30’s. We have very few members in the age range 18-30, young single people or people from the ‘social housing’ area of the parish. St John's recently enjoyed a year of Centenary Celebrations, the foundation stone having been laid in October 1905. Besides the church building itself there is now a large hall, a parish lounge and a meeting room, all of which are in excellent condition. The Parish of Ben Rhydding Ben Rhydding is a very pleasant residential area situated at the eastern fringe of Ilkley, between the moors and the A65. Ilkley itself is a small resort town on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales with a good range of local amenities. At the 2001 census, the parish population was 3,550. It is a settled community with a large proportion of professional people. Ben Rhydding has a Post Office, baker, butcher, deli and various other trade premises. Up until recently Ben Rhydding also had a public house, which served as a hub of community life. Unfortunately, this was lost four years ago. Since then, much community spirit has been shown in trying to reinstate it, with many church members involved in the campaign. Ben Rhydding is popular with young families as well as being within easy commuting distance of the cities of Leeds and Bradford. 80% of homes in Ben Rhydding are owner occupied and there is little unemployment. We do not share the ethnic diversity of local cities such as Bradford and Leeds. 1 St John’s, Ben Rhydding Parish Profile There are two primary schools within the parish – Ben Rhydding Primary and Moorfield Preparatory School for Girls. Although St John’s does not have official links with either school, a great many informal links have been developed over the years and both schools use the church for their own Harvest, Christmas and Easter services. Ilkley itself is a thriving spa town, set in the Wharfe valley and with the stunning backdrop of Ilkley Moor and the famous Cow and Calf rocks. There are a number of excellent primary schools in Ilkley and the older children have the benefit of Ilkley Grammar School, which continues to achieve outstanding exam results. Ilkley is culturally rich, hosting the Ilkley Literature Festival once a year, which draws in many famous speakers such as Jeremy Paxman, Andrew Motion, Melvyn Bragg, and Kate Adie. The town boasts a thriving theatre, live concert venue, a number of choirs and many other performing arts related activities. There is also the Moor Music festival, Ilkley Summer Festival, May Day Carnival, annual French market and frequent Good Food and Organic produce fairs. Ilkley has been designated a Fairtrade town and this is fully supported within St John’s. Churchmanship St John’s is a welcoming and friendly church that accepts people wherever they are on their journey of faith. St John's has many members of the congregation coming from backgrounds other than Church of England and indeed a variety of backgrounds within the Church of England. This can make for an exciting and diverse spiritual mix. We range in age from 0-90+ with all age groups mixing well. There are currently several styles of service through the month and there is a lot of potential for development in this area. Some church members prefer liturgical based worship, whilst others prefer more informal services that allow for the opportunity to exercise charismatic gifts. Others again simply enjoy the variety that is provided! However, the congregation as a whole appreciates and enjoys spiritual growth through biblical teaching and responds positively to special services of prayer, fasting and healing. Worship The present Sunday worship pattern is as follows: 8am – Holy Communion service following 1662 BCP, except the fifth Sunday 10am – this service varies throughout the month as follows: 2 St John’s, Ben Rhydding Parish Profile • on the first, third and any fifth Sunday - Holy Communion (Common Worship), plus crèche, Sunday School and Pathfinders • on the second Sunday - Service of the Word and TRY Church, plus Sunday School and Pathfinders • on the fourth Sunday - Celebration Service, plus crèche Church Attendance 25 180 160 20 140 120 15 100 80 10 60 40 5 20 0 0 0 2 3 4 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 0 0 0 0 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 0 0 0 0 1 1991 1 1 1 1995 1 1 1 199 2 2 2 2 marriages baptisms 8 a.m. 10 a.m. Electoral Roll confirmation funerals Except for the Celebration, the music group leads all 10am services using a variety of piano and organ based music, together with occasional guitar, flute and clarinet accompaniment. A contemporary worship team leads the Celebration Service, lending a more informal atmosphere to this service. Hymns and songs of worship are printed each week from a variety of sources and are available in large print. The church also has a hearing loop. A number of the congregation take part in reading the lesson and leading intercessions. The president and assistant usually wear scarves, but not vestments or coloured stoles. There are also a variety of special services interspersed throughout the church calendar. For example, we hold a day of prayer and fasting twice a year, with all members of the community welcome to visit the church for prayer and spiritual guidance. We also hold a healing service around three times a year, which many members of the congregation find to be extremely beneficial and comforting. A Gift Day service takes place once a year to highlight the work that is done by the congregation through the Diocesan Share and our Mission partners. In July, we held our first ever Environment service, focusing on the wonderful gift of Creation and challenging the congregation to be better custodians of God’s great gift to us. There are no evening or, despite the strong children’s work, family services at present. TRY Church (The Really Young Church) is a monthly short service that runs concurrently with the main service for the under-5s and their parents, whether regular or non-church going. Image removed for child protection reasons 3 St John’s, Ben Rhydding Parish Profile We are seeking to develop “Fresh Expressions” of church through what we call the ‘Café evenings, mentioned in greater detail under the Creative Arts section. Though numbers tend to be higher in winter, about 50% of regular worshippers attend on any given Sunday. Short communion services are also taken monthly in the parish's “When I enter two residential homes, Kirkwood and Rosegarth, while four Lay St John’s I feel Eucharistic Attendants take communion to the sick and God’s housebound. presence” Though St John's has no formal covenant with any other denomination, there are several informal contacts through the year. These include an exchange of pulpits with the local Methodists, Lenten House Groups, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, an Easter Day Sunrise service at the Cow and Calf Rocks and singing in the centre of Ilkley at Christmas and Easter. More work is possible with the Methodist Church that is situated just around the corner from St John’s and this is an area that we could develop further in the future. Small Groups We provide a number of small groups within the church, which provide a place where people can explore their relationship with Jesus and get to know each other better in a setting less formal than the Sunday Service. Each of the groups provides its own unique experience. Discipleship Groups Discipleship Groups meet fortnightly for worship, study and prayer. The studies have been wide and varied, sometimes focussing on a book of The Bible. On other occasions, groups look at contemporary issues such as the Environment, Euthanasia, gay rights and war, considering what our Christian response to such issues should be, and study books such as The Screwtape Letters. Spiritual Growth Groups We have Spiritual Growth Groups that follow Richard Foster’s Renovaré model. Over the years, there have been a number of Renovaré Conferences held at St John’s for the region and beyond. Transitions This group meets monthly and arose from a series of Myers Briggs seminars. Members seek to bring change to their patterns of behaviour and hence their lives so that they might enjoy more fully the richness of life that Jesus offered us. They do this through creative experience, such as art, painting, dance, bible sculpt, pictures, poetry, stories and through individual reflection. Transitions use books by authors such as Gerard Hughes, Margaret Silf and Anthony de Mello for guidance.