The Benefice of Walton and Trimley Benefice Profile 2019 Welcome and Introduction Welcome to the Benefice of Walton and Trimley and our profile. The Benefice is situated near the end of a peninsula bordered by the river Deben to the north, the river Orwell to the south and the North Sea to the east. Walton originally spanned a large area adjacent to a small fishing hamlet known as Felixstowe, with the Trimleys being slightly further inland. Today Walton and Trimley are considered to be on the outskirts of the town of Felixstowe. The Benefice was formed in 2014 from the parishes of St Mary’s Walton and St Martin’s and St Mary’s Trimley. Each church is happy and active but with its own identity. Both churches are central parts of the community around them and have church families with a heart and a desire for bringing Jesus to the people of their parish and sharing His love for them. The two parishes work closely together, they have equal and separate PCCs but do come together as a Benefice PCC three times a year. Each PCC contributes towards the Parish Share so that as a Benefice this is paid in full. The Benefice churches belong to and support Churches Together in Felixstowe which links the Christian witness in the town and provides joint ventures in which many members of the church families participate. These includes events during Unity Week, a procession of witness from St Mary’s church to the town centre on Good Friday where a united service is held and a ‘Son Rise’ service on Easter Sunday morning at the beach. Links to the associated websites and Facebook pages of the churches in the Benefice can be found by clicking on these images. 2 Our Location 3 Trimley Walton We can offer… • Persistent ongoing prayer and support from those involved in the life of the churches. • Church families that are friendly, enthusiastic and willing, and who are actively involved in their communities. • Administrative support from a salaried Office Manager. • An active group of ministerial colleagues that will work alongside our new incumbent across the Benefice. These include three retired clergy, a Lay Pastor, an Associate Priest, three Readers, eight Lay Elders, music coordinators and many others in the fellowships who read lessons, lead intercessions and visit the sick and housebound. • A clergy house. The previous clergy house has been transferred to a neighbouring parish. The Diocese is actively seeking a new clergy house which will be located on or near the High Road between the two Benefice churches. 4 Areas for Development • We want to continue growing our churches for the future, especially by encouraging younger families to our services. We would like to see stronger links between our churches and the schools within our Benefice. • Both Walton and Trimley are experiencing growth by new large housing developments and we see this as an opportunity to expand our outreach. • We recognise the need to develop our worship through music. • In both parishes there are areas of social housing and deprivation and our concern is the challenge of meeting their associated social needs. Our new Priest will… • Have a pastoral heart and be a person who loves and deeply cares for people. • Preach the Gospel and apply God’s word to today’s issues. • Continue our vision to be Christ-centred and sharing our love of Jesus with the community. • Understand the importance of IT and social media in the modern church. • Possess good time management skills, being able to balance all requirements of the role. • Be a team worker and able to lead the Benefice ministry teams. • Have responsibility for overseeing the Office Manager. • Continue to welcome all those who wish to explore marriage or baptism in the Benefice churches. (We are in the habit in accepting individuals for further marriage.) 5 Worship in the Benefice Central to our church life is the worship of our Lord at our services. Sunday Sunday is when each church comes together as a family, to meet with God and each other. These services encompass a wide range of worship styles and should be the very best that we can offer. 8:00AM A traditional quiet service of Holy “Who is Jesus (St Mary’s) Communion. to you?” 10:00AM Morning Worship services which offer (St Mary’s) opportunities for creative worship & 10:30AM including Holy Communion and All Age (St Martin’s) Worship services. Junior Churches meet during these services and we see the young people as an integral and “How can we valuable part of each church family. All make Jesus services are followed by coffee and visible?” fellowship and an opportunity to discuss the weekly coffee question (see examples). “What do you care about?” 6:30PM These services tend to be quieter and (St Mary’s) more reflective and include a monthly Holy Communion and an occasional Taizé service. Messy Church Messy Church services are held regularly at two different locations throughout the Benefice, one weekly, one monthly. “If we received a Midweek Worship letter from Jesus, what Morning prayer is held every Monday and Wednesday at St might it say?” Mary’s, with a Holy Communion on the first Wednesday of “How do we each month. love those that are hard to A weekly Holy Communion service is held at St Martin’s every love?” Wednesday. 6 Special Services through the Church Year Ice Cream Sunday 7 Growing in God in the Benefice • Sunday Services • Messy Church • Morning Prayer (Mon & Wed) • Junior Church • Clergy • • Midweek Communion Exodus Youth Group • Lay Pastor • Home Groups • Coffee Questions • Readers and Lay Elders • Prayer Cell/Group • Encouraging Discernment • School Experiences • Mothers’ Union • Pop-up Shop and Community Café • Men’s Fellowships • St. Philip’s Church and Hall • Churches Together in Felixstowe • Men’s Breakfast • Church Hall • Christians Against Poverty (CAP) • Bowls Club • Victoria Cottage • Walton Parish Nursing • Trimley Book Club • Salaried Office Manager • Hope Trust • Choirs • Book Keeper • Tower Fund • Boost (Felixstowe Academy Chaplain) • Café 10 • Town Pastors • Christmas Sales • On the Level Project • 123 and Trimley Tots (Toddler Groups) • Community Carol Service • The Churches are open during • Craft2gether • Concerts the week • Spring Fairs • Links with retirement/care homes • Open Gardens • Walton Business Community 8 Association Our Mission Partners Supporting older people Lay Chaplaincy for Felixstowe Academy Business and service in Christ Whole person healthcare in the community Logos are hyperlinked for ease of access. 9 St Mary’s, Walton Our Vision “To share God’s love and deepen our relationship with Jesus.” We are a loving and Open Evangelical Church that welcomes everyone and has a passion for bringing Jesus to our local community. We love to worship, proclaim the Gospel and praise God together. We are an active church and there are numerous activities throughout the week which help us ‘grow in God’. The church is an interesting medieval building dating back to the mid-1300s. A new tower was added in 1899 after the old tower was struck by lightning. The building has been loved and cared for and is in very good order. Within our church building we have a flexible worship space with moveable chairs for 180. We are developing this in order to make our church more accessible to everyone, our On the Level Project started in early 2019 and Phase 1 has recently been completed. This has improved access to the church, levelled the floor throughout the building and upgraded several of our existing facilities. The surrounding church yard is closed and managed by East Suffolk Council. There is a car park at the rear of the church. 10 The parish population is approximately 6,000 but the new housing development at Walton Gate will increase this to nearer 7,000. We have links with the three schools in our parish. These are two primary schools, Maidstone Road Infants and Causton Junior, and the town’s secondary school Felixstowe Academy. This school has a Christian ethos with its own Chaplain, Josh Hunt (Boost), which is funded by local churches. Assemblies are taken at these schools on a regular basis and our incumbent has previously been a governor of the Maidstone & Causton Federation. As part of our growing relationship we have been able to welcome the children of the primary schools into church for various school experiences. Each school experience has a theme, such as Christmas, Easter, Creation and through this we have been able to welcome 250-400 children (and staff) into church twice a year. We work closely with the Methodist and Baptist Churches in Walton and join with them for Advent and Lent courses. All three churches support Walton Parish Nursing (WPN), a pioneering service which is much valued in the parish. The Benefice incumbent is one of the trustees of Walton Parish Nursing. Each year we commit to give 5% of our church giving income to chosen charities, currently Walton Parish Nursing, Boost, CPAS and the Bishop’s Lent Appeal for Kagera. We are also fundraising for our ongoing On the Level Project. Other buildings in our care • St Philip’s Church and Hall – This is a small twin building comprising a church and hall, but no longer functions as a church. St Philip’s hosts our popular and much needed weekly pop-up shop and community café every Tuesday morning. BASIC Life Charity is our partner in this. All are welcome to come to the pop-up shop, whether on a regular or occasional basis. There are no requirements to be met to be able to use it. Up to two bags can be filled with food for the cost of £2 per bag and the money raised is donated to WPN and CAP who visit regularly to offer their services to those that attend.