Parish Profile
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WELCOME TO CROSTHWAITE CHURCH KESWICK 1 Our Vision ‘To know Jesus and make Him known’ PARISH OF CROSTHWAITE, ST KENTIGERN, KESWICK PARISH PROFILE Thank you for reading this Parish Profile of St Kentigern’s Church Keswick (more commonly referred to as Crosthwaite Church). We hope it will help you decide whether God is calling you to this Parish to help us continue our journey of faith and service to Christ. WHO ARE WE? We’ve had great difficulties with labels and trying to define ourselves! But here goes… - We are a keen enthusiastic bunch of Christians! We may be predominantly an older congregation but we are young at heart and desire our church to grow and to grow younger. - We would describe ourselves as traditional low-church Anglicans, Open Evangelical, and open to new forms and styles of worship. - We value orthodox theology and belief as well as Bible-based preaching. - We are a Dementia Friendly Church. - We have considered a range of images to describe ourselves (at a planning session), one was of a stump with shoots of new growth – in other words we desire to grow! Why are we appointing a priest in charge (vicar designate)? - The diocese with our ecumenical partners in the County, namely the Methodist Church, the URC and the Salvation Army are committed to finding new, deeper and more effective ways of working together in order to further the mission of the Church. Other Dioceses use various forms of ‘clustering’. In Cumbria we call them ‘Mission Communities’. Each Mission Community is a unique entity due to location, ecclesial composition, local geography and demography. 2 - In Anglican terms, the plan is for each Mission Community to have at least two stipendiary clergy and NSM / House for duty clergy or lay ministers as is appropriate. - In the Diocese the long term plan is for two full time Anglican clergy in the Keswick Mission Community, and two part time: the f/t will be based at St Kentigern Crosthwaite and one at Keswick St John’s with the support of p/t colleagues based in Threlkeld and Braithwaite. The Methodist Minister in Keswick will continue to offer Methodist support to the Keswick, Binsey and Cockermouth Mission Communities. In Keswick there are no URC or Salvation Army places of worship so they are not directly involved in our Mission Community. We do work very closely with our other colleagues in the area through Churches Together in Keswick (CTiK). - Once the incumbent has been appointed to Crosthwaite, the clergy and churches will then work together to formalise appropriate legal structures for the future sustainable mission and ministry in this area. Hence the Priest in charge appointment. The shape beginning to emerge at the moment links the Anglican churches into two sub-units: St John’s Keswick/Borrowdale with Threlkeld/St John’s in the Vale, and Crosthwaite with Thornthwaite/Braithwaite/Newlands. ‘Roles’ for our future incumbent In addition to being the incumbent of Crosthwaite and a key member of the leadership of the Keswick Mission Community, the new priest in charge will negotiate with colleagues in the Mission Community an appropriate allocation of wider roles in the Mission Community, including: - Ministry and ex-officio / other governor roles at local schools (St Herbert’s, Braithwaite, Threlkeld and Borrowdale Primary Schools, and Keswick School) - Developing ministry to hotels & their resident staff, the leisure and retail sectors - Develop and support chaplaincy at the Mary Hewetson Hospital in Keswick (14 beds) - Being an ‘independent listener’ at Keswick School Boarding Department - Engaging with other ministry opportunities in the town The new priest will need to work in close collaboration with all colleagues in the Mission Community and probably especially – given the emerging shape of the Mission Community – with colleagues at Thornthwaite/Braithwaite/Newlands. Mission Action Plan We have worked hard at thinking through who we are, what are our strengths and weaknesses and how we can lay the best foundation for a new incumbent to join us in our shared journey of faith, mission and service to the God we love. This is a summary of what we are working for: 3 What are our strengths? Prayerful congregation and a beautiful listed building that reflects many centuries of prayer - Welcoming and friendly fellowship within the worshipping community - Enriched by shared ministry - Open to varied musical styles - Historic church and churchyard, which is also an untapped natural resource - A Parish Room in the centre of the town used by Church and Community Groups What are our Challenges? - Outreach – we are not good at it, can you help us be better? - Pastoral care – could be better at linking with care homes and the housebound - Children and families – are a clear gap in the congregational age profile - Our church roof – but we have a keen sub-committee working on this - Like most churches, parts of our life are struggling, but we are developing stronger links with the churches in the Mission Community so we can share strengths and all grow together. - Escalating costs of maintaining the church and churchyard. Our Vision: To know Jesus and make Him known We will do this by: o presenting the Word of God clearly and faithfully, o growing in discipleship, o caring for each other, o connecting effectively with other congregations in the Mission Community, o looking outwards and seeking ways of being faithful and growing - (recognising that growth is not just about numbers or age profile, but is also about discipleship and mission in the broadest senses of those words). Short Term (during the interregnum) - Developing our Dementia Friendly status. - Praying for the life of the church through regular prayer meetings. - Holding Friday Prayer Meetings: a small group of us are committed to meeting every Friday to pray for individuals who need our support and prayers. (This also links to the Prayer Network.) - Sustaining lay-led worship and developing lay skills: the All Age Worship Group, started under the previous incumbent, has continued to lead monthly worship, including preaching. - Reflecting on our successful ‘Time for Giving’ Christmas appeal, which more than met our financial shortfall, we are confident that regular giving will increase. 4 - Devising a fund raising strategy for our building project, The Roof Appeal. Medium Term - Developing our ministry to older people in the parish and town. - Finding ways of engaging and connecting with the newly retired as part of growing a younger congregation. - Finding ways of developing links with our regular visitors (many people come to Keswick a few times a year and we need to find ways of helping them belong to us, as we belong to them, as they grow in their faith) - Developing effective links with schools (see above on the sharing of ministry). - Supporting the finance and appeal sub-committees in their work and continue to value the principle of Christian tithing, as is C of E policy. Long Term Working on developing a shared action plan to help us carry our vision further forward, and in particular: - Helping us to care for the elderly, as a positive strength! - Helping us to grow younger, decade by decade! - Helping us all to be disciples and ambassadors for Christ where we are and where we are sent, as we tend be an ‘eclectic’ congregation who travel in from some distance. Person Spec All the normal things – prayerful, upholding the authority of Scripture, has a passion for sharing the Gospel with clarity and relevance, open to the Spirit leading him/her and us into new things; but also a person who: - Has a good sense of humour to cope with us and our foibles! - Has an ability to work hard and grow effective teams - Is able to share the ministry and to delegate - Is approachable and has interpersonal skills - Is a good verbal communicator (in sermons, groups and conversations) - Has a realistic view of the business aspects of a church and an understanding in the use of social media and IT - Is able to model Christian vocation that is faithful to Christ, lives life, works hard, takes family time and ‘me’ time. As an open evangelical church we look forward to applications from both male and female candidates. WHERE YOU CAN FIND US The ancient market town of Keswick, on the shores of Derwentwater surrounded by stunning Lakeland fells, is the cultural and social centre for the area. A hugely popular tourist destination, Keswick is the “Jewel in the crown” of the North Lakes. Hosting an 5 enormous range of activities throughout the year it is within the recently designated UNESCO World Heritage Site and visitor numbers are expected to rise. There are many Hotels, Bed and Breakfast establishments and a host of self-catering houses and cottages. The town has become an all year round destination and there are many facilities for residents and tourists to enjoy. These include a very popular theatre with productions, concerts and lectures throughout the year, a leisure centre with swimming pool and fitness centre, museums, library and a cinema. Keswick also hosts a number of festivals throughout the year. Words by the Water is a very popular literary festival with renowned speakers from across the globe. The Jazz, Beer, Film and Mountain Festivals continue to draw in the crowds every year as of course does the annual Keswick Convention. The Keswick Convention is an annual event that attracts upwards of 12,000 Christians over a three week period in July. A major multi-million pound re-development of their facilities in the town is due to get under way soon and we would hope to work closely with them in their outreach in the wider community.