† York City Centre Churches Parish Profile

From left to right - All Saints’ Pavement, St Denys, St Martin, St Olave and St Helen

This Parish Profile has been written in October 2012 to offer an overview of five churches held in plurality in York city centre. Contact details The Rev’d Jane Nattrass 01904 623559 or 07568 530503 or [email protected]

Parish Profile for the five City Centre Churches: All Saints Pavement, St Denys, St Helen and St Martin, Coney Street and St Olave’s Page 1 All Saints Pavement, St Denys, St Helen and St Martin, Coney Street and St Olave’s, the five churches which are held in plurality, are exploring ways to be 'one'.

†Introduction

The Revd Jane Nattrass is Priest-in-Charge and is supported by the Rev'd David Simpson who is an SSM, three Readers and many retired clergy. The current House for Duty priest the Rev'd Allan Hughes, retired at the end of September 2012. This vacancy and the York Deanery Plans mean that we are in a position to recruit two colleagues.

1. A House for Duty priest who will live in All Saints' Rectory, 52 St Andrewgate

and

2. A part-time stipendiary priest to take up a .75 post. This is three-quarter time post with three-quarters of a stipend. No Diocesan house or housing allowance is available.

Both colleagues will be expected to support, develop, and bring to fruition the plans for the parishes so that the churches can grow both spiritually and numerically.

York City Centre and its Churches

All Saints Pavement, St Denys, St Helen, St Martin Coney Street and St Olave are five of the seventeen Christian churches in York city centre. There are also a large number of Christian groups and organisations in the city centre, ranging from Churches Together to the Prayer Breakfast, York Workplace Chaplaincy to Family Matters and the Besom Project.

Other Christian organisations also work from the city centre - Riding Lights Theatre Company has a reputation not just in York but throughout the United Kingdom for delivering outstanding theatre performance with strong Christian values. The Spurriergate Centre is a Christian Centre offering good food and drinks in their family friendly cafe as well as providing listening and counselling to those who live and work in York.

The incumbent holds all four parishes in plurality. Their churchmanship, patterns of worship, aspirations for the future, constituent congregations and sizes vary considerably. The city centre position of the parishes offers particular opportunities to engage with other Christians in ministering to a mobile, largely non-resident population, and to civic, retail and service enterprises. One of our challenges is to create a pattern of ministry ranging across a wide diversity of emphases and possibilities, while maintaining the pastoral care of a broad spectrum of people.

Parish Profile for the five City Centre Churches: All Saints Pavement, St Denys, St Helen and St Martin, Coney Street and St Olave’s Page 1 The Future Plans for the parishes are based on the idea of Growing Together both spiritually and numerically. The following is an extract from our plans which are based on hospitality to respond to our generous God.

‘I came that they might have life and have it abundantly’ (John 10:10)

‘Come and see’ (John 1:39)

Christian Hospitality will be used as a means to grow our churches across the City Centre with two focussed tasks for each of the parishes as we build relationships with each other and develop our faith. Alongside this, we will seek ways to add to the life of the City of York and join in where we see God at work. These two ideas are intertwined.

There are two aims for each parish which draw on the distinctiveness of the churches and builds on previous work:- • All Saints– to build on links through the BCP with the life of the Guilds and Regiments and to encourage marriage. • St Denys– to build on hospitality to visitors in the tourist trail and in the community and to pay our parish share • St Martins and St Helens to build on peace and reconciliation and God in the surprises • St Olave’s– to build on family life in every sense of the word and to encourage marriage.

For all churches:- hospitality will be used as a theme to help us to respond to our generous God. Our churches will become known for a high standard of Christian Hospitality to further the kingdom of God, develop our faith and to grow our churches.

We will have in common across the parishes:-

1. Saying YES to individuals and groups who ask for a venue for a service or event and initiating new events, including special services. This means that we will be good neighbours in our communities and across the city centre. 2. Offering refreshment to visiting groups with several congregation members present and refreshing the welcome tourists 3. Saying to others ‘Come and see’ (John 1:39) and calling them by name. Inviting people to special services and events. 4. Ensuring that everyone who uses our churches and halls knows that they are in a space where a warm welcome, friendship and hospitality are very important. 5. Building a team of clergy, readers and laity to work across the parishes. 6. There will be regular meetings with clergy and churchwardens, weekly staff prayers and meetings, servers meetings and organist meetings. Parties are on the agenda! 7. Making use of “Yourchurchwedding” website to join in with the Wedding Project and actively seeking ways to work with those who provide receptions. 8. Using the services of an administrator, electronic diary and central website as well as mobile phone apps. 9. Ensure that visitors can make donations. 10. Summer and winter programme of social and study events to build relationships across the congregations.

To help us to bring plans to fruition we have already established a network of individuals, organisations and churches who will assist us in our task of joining in where we see God at work.

Parish Profile for the five City Centre Churches: All Saints Pavement, St Denys, St Helen and St Martin, Coney Street and St Olave’s Page 2 Who are the people of York? Who are the people in York– the people we as part of the Church in York are called to serve? Firstly there is the permanent resident population of all ages, reflecting the national trend towards older people. Within this residential group there are the temporary residents - students. Secondly, there is the all year round but particularly summer visiting population. It is estimated that this amounts to some 7 million visitors per year. Tourism, the arts and restaurants are major elements in city life. York is designated as an area of archaeological importance, with the prospect of becoming a World Heritage Site of international significance. The residential population of York at the 2001 census was 191,800, projected to increase to 215,000 by 2021. A new housing and commercial development started in Hungate will directly impact on the city centre. Our city centre churches are located at the heart of all that is going on – city life and society are on our doorstep. York’s culture is diverse - it attracts the world’s leading speakers to the Ebor Lectures series and some of the highest calibre academics to the city’s two Universities.

York has one of the UK’s finest racecourses, high quality retail outlets and a wide range of bars and restaurants. This diversity enriches the city but also brings its own challenges. As a Christian presence we want to reflect and react to what is going on around us, however complex that might be. We realise that we must be forward thinking and inclusive so that we can join in where we see God at work. While we want to be faithful to what has gone on before, we know we must be brave and open minded enough to embrace and adapt to this technical and media dominated society.

A little help from our friends CoRE, the working name for York City Centre Churches Care and Development Trust, is a totally independent, ecumenical body working on behalf of the churches and associated Christian bodies within the walls of York City Centre. Over the last few years CoRE has initiated and supported many of the five churches’ non-worship activities and helped develop collaborative working. The central locations of the Churches, their architecture, acoustics and their compact size make them ideal venues for a wide range of community performances. The Churches are delighted to play their part in welcoming people in through music, dance and song. At Easter 2012 we welcomed over 1,000 people to experience “Missing Mysteries” performed in six churches by the Youth Theatre. A relationship between York Minster and the churches has continued to develop over recent years. This has taken time, and we await the installation of the new Dean. We have also developed strong relationships with the Medieval Guilds of York and many groups who actively work to support the people of York and its economy. The five churches hope that the incumbent and assistant clergy will continue to strengthen these relationships.

Churches Together in York is vibrant offering opportunities for worship and study together. In addition, One Voice York meets for prayer and breakfast every Wednesday and promotes mission in the City and beyond. We work collaboratively with churches of all denominations within the city, The City Council and other agencies on policies such as helping the homeless and people who find themselves in difficulties.

The Challenge It is only recently that these city churches have chosen to be held in plurality - a more structured way of working as one. Yet they have, over the years, already come together through a wide range of activities such as joint ecumenical worship and social events, as well as hosting music performances and talks to which everyone has been welcome.

The churches embarked on a journey that is a truly challenging and sits at the heart of a continuing process of change and growth. At the moment we are only at the start of that process. There is great willingness to work together. Under “Come and See” initiatives we are pleased to invite people to our churches – from across our parishes as well as ecumenical friends and others who are part of city life but would not usually attend church. We also try to respond positively to requests to use our churches for music and arts venues.

Parish Profile for the five City Centre Churches: All Saints Pavement, St Denys, St Helen and St Martin, Coney Street and St Olave’s Page 3 Though the relevant churchwardens manage many of these requests, it will require both flexibility of attitude and a lot of energy to maximise the churches’ potential as event venues. As a group of churches, we are seeking to find a mutually agreed way forward without losing our individuality, and while preserving our individual traditions. We also nurture the hope and belief that our clergy can not only develop the fabric and security of the church, but also spiritually develop the people, showing them new depths in the love of God.

The People We Seek for the two posts

There will be a degree of flexibility within the clergy team if we are to be successful in deepening the faith of the congregations and growing our churches. We wish to draw on the strengths and gifts of the clergy to cover a range of opportunities in our plans for the parishes. It is imperative that all clergy are willing to exercise pastoral care, lead worship across the churches and join in where we see God at work. This is something which the Readers are starting to do too. A pastoral care co-ordinator (either ordained or lay) is attached to each church to assist the clergy in their task of caring for the congregations.

York city centre has permanent and temporary residents from a wide range of cultural backgrounds. You will need awareness and acceptance of the range of different religious traditions and practices of people passing through the city centre, as well as vision; maturity; prayerfulness and above all a sense of humour! You will also need some other very human qualities: empathy; the willingness to learn; compassion; and the openness to work with others around you. These five historic churches, like the others in York city centre, are an asset as well as a challenge.

Unity but not uniformity Though it lacks a representative of the charismatic evangelical form of worship - catered for outside the group by St Michael-le-Belfry - the York City Centre ‘plurality’ is in some ways a microcosm of the Church of England, including churches with traditions ranging from liberal Anglo-Catholic, via traditional Book of Common Prayer, to ‘informal middle of the road’. It is therefore desirable that the people appointed should not be a crusading or exclusive promoter of any one tradition within the Church. But since in the real world all clergy will privately lean towards one tradition or another, it is enough to ask that the clergy be prepared to subsume their own liturgical preferences for the general good.

Our new clergy colleagues

• Will have a strong commitment and dedication to pastoral work and pastoral care. • Will support the Priest-in-Charge to draw the different congregations together to collaborate in specific ways, at the same time valuing and appreciating their differences. • Will respect and work with the traditions of each of the churches. • Will possess the skills to be an active supporter of the work at the heart of an entirely new structure. • Will possess, essentially, calmness and a practical approach to problem solving. • Will value the diversity and freedom of conscience within the community of faith. • Will inspire and encourage in their preaching and teaching. • Will be supportive of the role of music in liturgy, and also of appropriate concerts as a form of mission. • Will value and support the vision for children and young people. • Will support plans to increase the number of weddings in our churches. • Will collaborate with clerical and lay colleagues, female and male, stipendiary and self-supporting, and with the whole community of laity in all the parishes. • Will be personally approachable, pastorally minded and open to new ideas. • Will be able to listen and work with others – on the streets as well as in the buildings. • Will support and add to the vision for the role of the churches in the city centre. • Will continue to strengthen ecumenical links. • Days off and good time management skills are essential – your rest will be as sacred as your work!

Parish Profile for the five City Centre Churches: All Saints Pavement, St Denys, St Helen and St Martin, Coney Street and St Olave’s Page 4 Finances and buildings Our finances are sound, with the exception of St Denys which has limited finances but there is willingness to help each other. We are blessed with excellent Treasurers and Secretaries. Clergy expenses are paid in full and are shared across the parishes. We try to use our assets for the benefit of others. For example, St Crux Hall, under the care of All Saint's Pavement offers space to local charities and voluntary organisations. This support enables the various organisations to raise over £210,000 per year. On Holy Cross Day there was a well-attended service in All Saints. We invited representatives of the charities using the hall to give thanks for the work at St Crux.

The parish churches benefit greatly from the work of The Feoffees who are most generous in their support to keep our church buildings in good repair. Feoffees are trustees of local charities who hold historical funds to be used for the benefit of the churches and the people of York. The churchwardens work unstintingly to ensure that our beautiful buildings are kept in good order. We try to keep our churches open daily.

The Churches † All Saints', Pavement All Saints Pavement is situated in the heart of York at the busy junction of Piccadilly, Coppergate, High Ousegate, Parliament Street and Pavement. Close by on Pavement is our Church Hall, St Crux. We describe ourselves as ‘Traditional Anglican’ we use The Book of Common Prayer and have a strong tradition of church music.

On Sundays we hold three services, each attracting its own congregation: 9.00am Holy Communion (said) attended by a congregation of 8-12. 10.30am Sung Eucharist on the first Sunday of each month and festivals with Choral Mattins on the remaining Sundays followed by 'Coffee and Fellowship' with a regular congregation of 30-40 although please see below. 6.30pm Evensong with a congregation of around 25-30 although this is growing. Under Phillip Sangwine, the choir contributes to worship in a traditional choral setting. We are currently seeking an Organ Scholar financed by the Feoffees of All Saints' Pavement On Tuesdays the United Reform Church uses All Saints for a Service of the Word at 12.00 midday. On Wednesday a Service of Holy Communion is held at the nearby St Sampson’s Centre for the Over 60s. Being the Guild Church of York we are pleased to host annual services for the seven Guilds of York, and a Joint Guilds’ service. We also host services for several Ex-Service Organisations. These services attract congregations of 100-150 and are attended by The Lord Mayor and Civic Party. There may be opportunities for newly appointed colleagues to share the work of chaplaincy to the Guilds. At Christmas, there are many Carol Services each year for Ex Service and other organisations. These are always very well attended and we arrange suitable refreshments afterwards. Our Electoral Roll is just over 100, most of whom live outside the Parish. Overall we are blessed with a very loyal congregation, the majority of whom work very hard indeed for our Church.

Outreach We actively encourage the use of All Saints for outside activities and we work closely with CoRE and the City Council in this area. We are also committed to work with the other four City Centre Churches. We have links with the Central Methodist Church and with the United Reform Church and we are certain that there is much more that can be done in this area. The work in our hall, St Crux, is a strong element of our mission to the city.

Parish Profile for the five City Centre Churches: All Saints Pavement, St Denys, St Helen and St Martin, Coney Street and St Olave’s Page 5 † St Denys …is a residential and largely working-class parish in the least prettified corner of York city centre. …has a Grade 1 listed mediaeval church with an outstanding array of stained glass. …strives to be a ‘parish church’ welcoming all comers without question, rather than the preserve of a closed congregation. …has a special mission to deaf people and the Traveller Community.

Current Use

The congregation of St Denys is chiefly notable for two qualities: the 'no questions asked' welcome it gives to all comers, and its own internal diversity. Although (unusually for the city centre) many of the congregation live within the parish itself, others are drawn from further afield by the church's friendly atmosphere – and perhaps by its traditional but fairly informal 'middle of the road' style of worship, described as 'neither incense nor guitars'. An adapted form of Common Worship is used for all services.

Services on the first Sunday of the month are signed for the deaf: the congregation at Wednesday services regularly include prayers for the sick and for the pastoral team across the parishes.

Missions, Links and Partnerships

Certainly the most important special mission of St Denys is to deaf and hard-of-hearing people. We have for many years held a fully signed service for the deaf, with a ‘signing choir’ for hymns, on the first Sunday of every month. This is the only church in the Deanery of York where such services are available, so that deaf worshippers are drawn from a wide area: deaf visitors from Eastern Europe have been among their number. St Denys also traditionally enjoys good relations with the Traveller Community, now mainly settled, who frequently hold their baptisms, weddings and funerals with us.

We enjoy friendly relations with our Methodist neighbours of Central Methodist Church; the Roman Catholic Church of St George; the Carmelite Sisters of Thicket Priory, near Thoranby; and for historical reasons with the suburban parish of Fulford (whose choir comes to us once a month). We join in ecumenical services where there are five Sundays in the month and on Ascension Day.

We likewise have close links with the following organisations within the parish, all of which hold their carol services with us: the York Press newspaper; the York Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders [YACRO]; and the adjacent Tax Office.

Parish Profile for the five City Centre Churches: All Saints Pavement, St Denys, St Helen and St Martin, Coney Street and St Olave’s Page 6

†Parish of St Helen with St Martin

†St Martin St Martin, Coney Street is a small and very attractive church on the city’s main shopping street and beside a cinema. With a dedication to peace and reconciliation and an ideal location it offers a great opportunity to serve visitors and city residents through the week.

Current use

The church is open daily. The two regular weekly services, at 12.15pm on Wednesday and 10.00am on Saturday, follow the pattern of Common Worship. The Coventry litany from The Community of the Cross of Nails is part of each service together with prayers for peace. Attendance is typically 10 to 20 (more on occasion).

In addition there is a weekly study, at 11.00am on Wednesday, of the lectionary readings for the coming Sunday, and services are usually followed by 'Coffee and Fellowship' or lunch. Visitors to the service are invited to stay for lunch and are made very welcome. Numbers have grown in the past two years.

A regular programme of vigils and prayers is used to draw attention to events and causes relating to peace and reconciliation. ‘The Upper Room' is also used for meetings and an Amnesty group uses it monthly. Street Angels work from St Martins on a weekly basis. From October until Christmas the church is used by Cards for Good Causes for the sale of charity Christmas cards. There are other occasional services and exhibitions.

St Martin’s has a clear remit for Peace and Reconciliation. A group meets on a regular basis to oversee this work and is chaired by one of the retired clergy. The church is a partner in the Community of the Cross of Nails. There are many opportunities to develop the role of peace and reconciliation.

Parish Profile for the five City Centre Churches: All Saints Pavement, St Denys, St Helen and St Martin, Coney Street and St Olave’s Page 7

†St Helen

A mediaeval church facing one of the city’s principal squares and the Mansion House and Guildhall, described by a former leader of the city council and the chair of the York Business Pride as being on one of the most valuable sites in the city, St Helen offers both challenge and opportunity.

Current use

There is a regular Sunday service in Mandarin run by York Chinese Church (an independent church), under what are intended as temporary arrangements. The congregation is 40-50. The church is open daily to visitors for prayer and meditation and for sightseeing. It is also used for concerts, for charity Christmas card sales from early October until Christmas, and occasional stalls for the sale of fairly traded goods, Feed the Minds etc. The sacrament is reserved.

The Future St Helen's Church provides us with a unique and rare opportunity. It is almost 10 years since the last Anglican service was held on a Sunday. Without an established congregation belonging to the parish we hope to create something new and distinctive where people can find 'God in the surprises' to engage with the Christian narrative.

Ideas proposed so far for exploiting the potential of the building outside services include the following:-

• To take advantage of the steady flow of people who pass and those who queue to eat at Betty's Tea Rooms. •We need to encourage people into the building perhaps by educating visitors in international concerns, styles of worship unique in York, and Christian belief • To celebrate the Patronal festival of St Helen and the links with Constantine • •Offering a space to eat and a space to experience bible stories for children on school visits to The Minster as well as other links with the Minster. • To grow the musical life of the church. It is a good size for solo and ensemble concerts, with a • good acoustic and organ. City policy is to encourage cultural attractions for tourists. The church • has developed a reputation for being welcoming to musicians. • To improve its presentation to visitors and to encourage them to recognise its significance as a sacred space . In October 2012 the PCC began work to explore the possibilities for St Helen’s. While discussions are going on there are plans to starting awakening St Helen's from her slumbers with a programme of special services from January 2013. We hope that these services will start in the streets around St Helen’s with lively processions which will attract others to join in.

Parish Profile for the five City Centre Churches: All Saints Pavement, St Denys, St Helen and St Martin, Coney Street and St Olave’s Page 8 †St Olave

St Olave’s liberal Catholic tradition of liturgy enriched by music, prayer, theological understanding and preaching, is inspired by the values of Affirming Catholicism. It represents an important part of the wide spectrum of Anglicanism. St Olave nowadays has an eclectic, diverse but predominantly white professional congregation, drawn from a wider area than the parish itself.

Current Use The Eucharist is at the heart of our life as a community at St Olave, holding us together in our diversity. Our worship is formal, with an emphasis on ritual that is performed carefully but with a lightness of touch, creating time for reflection and allowing a sense of God’s presence. It is an intentionally inclusive form of worship that creates the space for us to be ourselves and yet simultaneously part of a greater whole. There is an emphasis on the ministry of the word and sacraments as well as music.

Our distinctive contribution to the City Centre Churches comes from the strength and richness of our existing diversity offering an opportunity for further trust, learning and service to develop. Our mission is to bring Christ into the world as an expression of his love. It arises from the power of the Eucharist to change us and to transform what we are called to do in our everyday lives. Thus we wish to look outward and to focus on the world. Our Anglo-Catholic tradition is reflected in the use of vestments and incense and a full team of servers within the context of traditional ceremonial. Central to the life of the church is the Sunday 10.30am Sung Eucharist, which attracts an average Congregation of 110 with a Sunday School of around 20 young people. A Sung Eucharist is also used to celebrate major festivals. A said Mass is offered every Sunday at 8.30am, and on Friday at 12 noon. A healing Eucharist is held once a quarter.

The congregation

Nearly half of those on the electoral roll live within the parish itself. The average age of the congregation is in the early 50s, although those joining the congregation in recent years have tended to be younger and predominantly in their 30s. Sunday School caters for babies to up to 12 years old. We have recently engaged a children's work coordinator. St Olave attracts retired clergy some of whom are still active.

The high standard of Sung worship at St Olave is led our Director of Music, Keith Wright and by a mixed robed choir presently comprising adults, teenagers and the Junior Choir. We are fortunate in being able to draw upon a wide repertoire. Music is very closely linked to the liturgy at St Olave and much thought and effort goes towards ensuring that what is sung enriches our liturgy.

St Olave tries to be a warm, welcoming, loving and inclusive community. It is full of people with widely differing gifts. Individuals at St Olave have a deep Christian faith that is not afraid of dialogue and debate. Thus, the community of the church attracts people who are questioning or who have found other churches too dogmatic or too conservative.

Parish Profile for the five City Centre Churches: All Saints Pavement, St Denys, St Helen and St Martin, Coney Street and St Olave’s Page 9 Bell ringers

Organised by the ringers at St Olave's, who ring on Sundays and for others services, bell ringers from across the city now ring the church bells for events being held in the neighbouring Hospitium in The Museum Gardens. St Martins’ bells are used for special services and for fund raising events. We welcome visiting ringers.

Affirming Catholicism

Since its inception in the early 1990s, Affirming Catholicism in the York Diocese has effectively been based at St Olave’s Church. We initiate and maintain a yearly series of talks, pursuing the movement’s values and intentions. The meetings are well attended followed by lunch.

Housing

The Priest-in-Charge lives in St Olave’s Vicarage on Bootham which is well used by the parishes for meetings and social gatherings. It is referred to throughout the parishes as ‘The Vicarage’. Our new house for duty priest will live in All Saints’ Rectory, 52 St Andrewgate in the city centre. The house is well appointed with a garage and is situated in a quiet residential area within the city walls.

There is no housing, housing allowance or contributions to housing costs available from either the parishes or the diocese for a new three-quarter time priest.

Support for Clergy

The Chapter of York Deanery meets regularly. In addition, a group of seven ecumenical colleagues meet at The Vicarage once a month for lunch. This has proved fruitful in working together and we recently embarked on a project together to provide mobile phone apps for nine of our churches.

York is a city of learning so there are many opportunities for theological debate and lectures with historical or future themes. It is very easy to find individuals or groups to work with on projects where the church can join in with or add to the life of the city. For example, as part of York 800 celebrations in the city, our churches organised a successful Pancake Race. Churches are given the opportunity to chat to onlookers and to hand out information about Lent courses etc. This will now be an annual event in collaboration with the City Council and City Centre businesses.

The Diocese provides support through the usual channels of Rural Dean, Archdeacon and Bishop as well as pastoral and training support provided by officers of the Diocese. Churches Together in York is a good network and One Voice meets every Wednesday for prayer and breakfast. These networks of support together with excellent opportunities for meeting the laity in the parishes means that clergy can feel very supported in their work.

Parish Profile for the five City Centre Churches: All Saints Pavement, St Denys, St Helen and St Martin, Coney Street and St Olave’s Page 10