St John Baptist Church Bishop Monkton
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1 Foreword by the Incumbent, the Very Revd John Dobson, the Dean of Ripon The parishes of Burton Leonard and Bishop Monkton are two of the four parishes making up the Ripon Cathedral Benefice. This profile has been prepared to assist the appointment of a house for duty priest to these two parishes. It reveals how much life and vitality there is both within the churches and the communities they serve. This is a delightful area in which to live and a wonderfully rewarding context in which to minister; many people of all ages are enthused and engaged. It is important that we appoint a priest who will help these churches and communities to continue to flourish. Continuing to develop lay leadership and offering ministry within the schools will be clear priorities. There is a good deal of autonomy for the person in this post, but also an enviable amount of support from both the parishes and the wider benefice. The Cathedral’s support often extends beyond that provided by me, to that of Cathedral canons and minor canons and the services of the Cathedral Office. The Area Bishop of Ripon and the Archdeacon of Richmond and Craven also provide valuable encouragement. The other two parishes in the Cathedral benefice are the Cathedral Parish itself, which also contains the village of Littlethorpe, and the Parish of Sharow with Copt Hewick and Marton-le- Moor. The clergy and congregations of the whole benefice look forward to welcoming, and working with, the person who is appointed. I would be delighted to have a conversation with anyone wishing to explore whether God is calling him or her to this particular ministry. The Very Revd John Dobson The Dean of Ripon 2 Overview A warm welcome, led by our incumbent the Very Revd John Dobson, awaits the house for duty priest who comes to share their ministry and mission with our communities in the parishes of St John Baptist Bishop Monkton and St Leonard’s Burton Leonard, two of the four parishes constituting the Ripon Cathedral benefice These are two very picturesque rural villages that boast strong, thriving, diverse communities. The villages are two miles away from each other, are strategically well placed to reach the Cathedral city of Ripon, the Spa town of Harrogate and have close links to the A1. Through farming heritage, active families, professional people of all ages both communities have a beating heart. The priest we would like will be Approachable, visionary, innovative and prayerful. Lead us liturgically and willing to undertake a varied pattern of services Willing to maintain and improve our links with the two Church of England village primary schools and lead regular and inspirational collective worship. Work with us to improve our visiting of the sick or people in need of support Keen to support our music for all ages within services Happy to prepare candidates for confirmation Willing to guide us in ways to increase lay involvement in services Good with using computers Able to help us find a way to explore our faith through house groups Comfortable working alongside families and children of all ages Comfortable coordinating the services of two churches Willing to support our link with the local Methodist church. Willing to be a community participant 3 Bishop Monkton 4 The Village of Bishop Monkton Our award winning website is the perfect place to explore life in Bishop Monkton. www.bishopmonktontoday.btck.co.uk The village has a population of around 850 of mixed ages who are predominantly Caucasian. The population is fairly static but will increase in the near future due to a small new development. There is a Church of England primary school with 106 pupils. The school has an incorporated nursery and pre- school with 24 pupils. Following a SIAMS inspection in 2014 The School was awarded ‘outstanding’. The Primary School offers extended hours school clubs making it attractive to parents living outside the Parish as well as within. The Primary school feeds secondary schools in Boroughbridge, Ripon (which includes the Grammar School), and specifically church schools in Harrogate. The village supports more than 30 different clubs and societies catering for all interests and ages. A number of these clubs make excellent use of the wonderful village hall that was funded by the villagers. Alongside the village hall there are superb sports facilities for croquet, tennis, cricket, bowls and a children’s play area. All this contributes to making Bishop Monkton a vibrant, welcoming place to live that has a great sense of community. 5 About the Church Our Mission Statement Through faithful worship and humble service, we strive to embrace Christ’s love and compassion, and to share the Gospel message with all people within a welcoming and friendly community of faith. Our electoral roll currently numbers 90. A high percentage of this number attend church regularly giving us hope that with a little guidance we can extend our ministry further. Our Services Over the past eight years we have risen to the challenge of finding ways to broaden our worshipping community particularly for young families. Eight years ago we only had two children who regularly attended church but our service pattern has been carefully thought through with the result that we now offer a varied pattern of services that cater for everyone. We continually review our service pattern to ensure that it remains relevant. During the last year we undertook a Parish Review across both parishes when the whole membership of the church was consulted. The aim was to help us draw up plans for future development. The results were discussed at a productive joint PCC away day. Following on from this the first action has been the implementation of a new pattern of services that include regular joint services with our sister church in Burton Leonard (see attached schedules) The first Sunday in the month is an All Age Worship service that has been running in its present form for five years. It is organised by the family service team led by a trained lay worship leader and continues Pumpkins at the November Family service to grow. The children actively participate in the 6 The band playing at a Family service service through playing in a band, singing and reading. The adult choir support the singing at this service. The second and fourth Sunday of the month offers a 9am communion service using the Book of Common Prayer. We offer one Joint evensong service per month at 6pm on the fourth Sunday. This service is joint with Burton Leonard and alternates between the two churches. The Joint choir sings at this service. The third Sunday of the month offers a 10.30 Parish Eucharist service. The choir sing at this service. When there is a fifth Sunday in the month we have a joint 10.30 Eucharist service with our sister church of Burton Leonard alternating churches for the venue. The joint choir from both churches sings at this service. The music tradition of the church is very strong having a choir, a band and two organists. The organist who plays for evensong is also a lay reader who is willing to take the evensong service on occasion. During the summer months we are pleased to welcome holiday makers to our services. Church Management We currently have two churchwardens ably supported by a team of deputy wardens who, on a rota basis, open the church and make sure all is set up prior to the service then clear away and lock up afterwards. They also arrange readers for all services. The PCC works through a series of subgroups to ensure the smooth day to day running of the church from fund raising to maintenance ensuring that we do all we can to keep up to date with everything. Future Aspirations Following on from a successful Journey into Faith course three years ago we would like to develop regular house group meetings. 7 We have congregational participation in services: reading, serving the chalice (we currently have five Eucharistic ministers), lay led intercessions. Our All Age Worship is usually lay led . We are aware that we are lacking in our support of overseas mission and feel there is room for improvement in our support of other charities. Our Church and its Community We undertake weddings baptisms and funerals as requested. We usually have 1 or 2 weddings, 3 baptisms and 5 or 6 funerals per year. Initial contact is usually to the house for duty priest who then works with the churchwardens to make any necessary arrangements for baptisms and funerals. We have a wedding co-ordinator. We have also had four confirmation services in the last eight years drawing candidates from both villages a significant number of whom have been adults. This is particularly encouraging for the development of a committed worshipping community. The Village school has one service in church per term and regular collective worship that is teacher led in school. The head teacher has said she would like the house for duty priest to take the lead in this collective worship on a regular basis. The church elects two foundation governors who represent the church’s voice on the board of school governors. Children from both the Methodist and Anglican Churches attend BLAST (Bible Learning Adventure Station) which is led by the Methodists and provides a forum for the children to learn from the Bible in a fun way. 8 Members of both village churches initiated the HANDS Help and Support Network group within the village that aims to provide help and support to anyone in need in the village.