PARISH PROFILE the Parish of St
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PARISH PROFILE The Parish of St. Margaret’s Iver Heath in the Archdeaconry of Buckingham, Diocese of Oxford, is vacant following the appointment of the Reverend William Hazlewood as the Vicar of the United Benefice of Dartmouth and Dittisham in August 2011. Location and amenities Iver Heath is a village of 5,000 people within a green belt conservation zone of South Buckinghamshire. Until the 19 th century it was an area of heath land, which was crossed by the roads from Denham and Uxbridge leading towards Upton and Burnham and the site of modern Slough. After St. Margaret's Church was built in 1862, housing development followed in the village. This process has continued ever since. The best known feature of Iver Heath is the world famous Pinewood Studios, situated next to Black Park Country Park. This park and the neighbouring Langley Park are major amenities for the area. Many of the houses built before the Second World War were for the employees of Pinewood Studios. Some local people continue to work there as well as in Slough and West London, such as at Heathrow Airport. Iver Heath is within easy access of the M4, M25 and M40 motorways and the railway system. From Iver station, in the neighbouring parish, London (Paddington) can be reached in approximately 25 minutes and there is access to Wales and the West of England via Slough. Denham is on the Chiltern line from Birmingham to London. Uxbridge is served by the London Underground trains on the Piccadilly and Metropolitan lines. There is also a local bus service into Slough and Uxbridge which both have large shopping centres and entertainment facilities. At present Pinewood Studios are seeking planning permission to build a living film set (Project Pinewood) that would include 1,400 homes and would almost double the population of Iver Heath. This caused controversy and was subject to public enquiry, the findings of which are due to be published in early 2012. There are two Health Centres, a Library and two small parades of shops, as well as several public houses and restaurants. There is a village hall which is widely used by the local community for local clubs etc. and the Church has one room in the hall for its use. The recreational ground includes bowls, tennis, football and a children’s playground. The village have uniformed youth groups, the Evreham Youth Centre and thriving Scouts, Cubs and Beavers www.stmargaretiverheath.org Page 1 The Good News about our Parish In the past 8 years, we have seen some important developments in the mission and ministry of our church which we want to build upon and take forward. We are committed to reaching out to the community of Iver Heath and our relationships with local schools, uniformed and other local organisations are significant . The church is central to key community events each year such as the Apple Day celebrations. Pinewood Studios is within the parish and the strong relationships developed there have opened many opportunities for mission as the incumbent took on an informal chaplaincy role. We seek a priest who will wish to play a leading role in developing the involvement of the Church in the community, someone who is personable and approachable and who has the ability to communicate and interact informally with a variety of individuals from different backgrounds. At this point it is important to note that the congregation has been affected by the Ordination of Women Measures and is likely to be affected by the consecration of women as bishops. The last two incumbents were opposed to this development on theological grounds. The PCC first passed resolutions A, B & C under the Episcopal Ministry Act of Synod 1993 in 2003 during the previous interregnum. On 28 th September, 2011, the PCC voted to retain Resolutions A and B (8 voted For and 6 voted Against, there were two absentees). This was after a congregation survey, the results of which mirrored the voting at the PCC. It should be noted that this vote was much closer than the previous vote in 2003 and therefore in our new priest we are looking for someone who is willing to work and engage with these differences of opinion. He needs to be committed to the whole congregation, who are very faithful, and be able to help all ages travel together, holding and managing these tensions. We do not wish this issue to become the focus of our attention as a church; our calling is to our community The Bishops of Oxford and Buckingham continue therefore to share Episcopal care with the Bishop of Ebbsfleet. The appointment will be shared by the Bishops of Buckingham and Ebbsfleet. We believe there is great potential for a new Priest with his own vision. Some of the ways forward that might be pursued are listed below, but there is plenty of scope for different ideas. Building on what already exists In and for our community 1. Involvement in local schools 2. The Friends of St. Margaret’s 3. Links with local organisations – the British Legion, Scouts and Guides, Pinewood Studios etc 4. Supporting the elderly Within the church 1. Working with children - ‘Living Stones’ Junior Church and the new Youth Group 2. Worship - the Family Service and BCP Evening Prayer and the Choir 3. Initiatives to encourage personal study, thought and prayer, including house groups 4. Activities and events which bring church members together 5. The link with Walsingham 6. Encouragement of the congregation to be more generous to the church and finding new ways to raise funds 7. Links with other churches and within our own Deanery www.stmargaretiverheath.org Page 2 Initiating new projects In and for our community 1. Community use of the building 2. Finding space for what is uplifting – the arts in church life 3. Being a voice in the community – standing up for all that is good and wholesome in local life 4. If ‘Project Pinewood’ goes ahead, planning for the presence of the church among the newly arriving population 5. Being a voice for Christianity against fashionable atheism Within the church 1. Empowering and enabling church members to use their gifts more effectively 2. Exploring ways to nurture people and help them become full members of the church 3. Development of the space made available by the future removal of the redundant pipe organ 4. Part-time staff – what do we need? 5. Creating a children’s choir 6. Mothers’ Union – Young Wives Group – Young Families Group – ‘Toddlers’ service 7. Mission overseas The New Parish Priest of St. Margaret’s, Iver Heath The parish is looking for a traditional priest, who will give clear leadership and will work closely with the laity, sharing responsibility for pastoral and parish community matters, and delegate secular and administrative matters as much as possible. The parish seeks a priest who: 1. Has his prayer life, the saying of The Office and the celebration of the Eucharist and the preaching of the Gospel as the centre of his ministry. 2. Is community focussed, approachable, active and outgoing, who will maintain and grow relationships with the people of Iver Heath. 3. Will promote and maintain excellence in music and liturgy and sound preaching. 4. Will encourage greater participation by all in the riches of traditional Anglican devotional life. 5. Is committed to expanding and developing work with children and young people both in the church and the local community. 6. Is ecumenical in outlook, willing to encourage and participate in cooperation between other local churches of whatever churchmanship or denomination. The Rectory (see Appendix 3) The Rectory is a lovely art deco detached 4-bedroom house built in the 1930's near Pinewood Studios. It is situated in a quiet cul-de-sac about a mile from the church and has a garage and off-the-road parking. There is a large sitting room with an open fireplace and patio door to the garden, a dining room, kitchen and utility room as well as a downstairs toilet and a study. The bedrooms and bathroom are on the first floor. Outside, the front garden is all lawn and the rear large garden has a substantial lawn, shrub borders, vegetable patch, and trees. In the rear garden there is a green house, large shed, and a wood store and coal bunker. The house is in good condition with double glazing throughout and gas central heating. www.stmargaretiverheath.org Page 3 The Church building St. Margaret's Church was completed in 1862 and is situated on the A412 road from Slough to Denham. The architect was a local man, C.F Reeks. The building is of stone, faced with flint in the decorated style. It has a wide nave, chancel and two short transepts and seats 180 people. A tower with clock and two bells is situated above the south transept. It has a small chapel dedicated to St Martin in the north transept. The east window, reredos and festival altar frontal are by the renowned 20 th century artist Martin Travers. The choir vestry has been extended to make an attractive Parish Centre with access for the disabled and good kitchen and toilet facilities. The church has a modern central heating system and has been equipped with a loop hearing facility, radio microphones, and other amplification equipment including a CD player and laptop/iplayer port. The main church entrance also has a disabled access. There are no significant repairs outstanding from the 2010 quinquennial report and it is expected that the cost of necessary repairs can be met by the fabric fund that has been built up over the past five years by the brilliant efforts of the Fundraising Committee.