PROFILE the PARISH of LANGLEY MARISH

PROFILE THE PARISH of LANGLEY MARISH

One Parish One Mission Three Churches PROFILE | LANGLEY MARISH

2 PROFILE | LANGLEY MARISH

Langley Marish is a large, suburban multi-cultural parish on the eastern edge of Slough. The main parish church, St Mary’s, planted two smaller churches, St Francis and Christ the Worker, in the 1960s, and all three churches continue to work closely together to be a Christian presence, engaging with the whole of its multi faith community of Langley.

For many years the parish supported 3 full time clergy, each church having its own ‘vicar’ who worked as part of a team. Following the moves of both Team Vicars in 2017, it was decided to appoint a single Team Vicar who would share ministry with the Team Rector and have particular oversight of the congregations of St Francis and Christ the Worker. Foreword The parish has also been a training parish for a full-time stipendiary curate for the last 4 years.

With the appointment of a new Team Rector, the parish will begin an important new phase in its life. Over the next 5-10 years, the churches will need to adjust to less clerical leadership and build their capacity of their existing committed lay leadership teams. The churches will look to the Team Rector to lead them in developing plans to realise their vision to be a Christ-like presence for the whole community, across cultural and faith boundaries. The parish has a stable financial position, but recognises that stewardship will also need to be addressed in the coming years if it is to fulfil its vision.

These are exciting times for the deanery too. Several new appointments have been made in neighbouring benefices and the post of full time InterimArea Dean is also currently being advertised. So there is an opportunity here to be involved in reshaping mission and ministry in both a large parish and a deanery.

The role calls for a priest with experience of ministry in a large, multi-ethnic context who can offer clear leadership, enable growth and equip the laity for mission and ministry in a changing context.

The new Team Rector will be committed to the diocesan vision of becoming a more Christ-like Church for the sake of God’s World – contemplative, compassionate and courageous – and to model and enable a flourishing ministry for all, in line with the diocesan work in this area.

I commend this profile to you and I would welcome conversations about the role with interested candidates. If you’d like a conversation, please contact me on 07525 655756.

Rt Revd Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham

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Contents Page Introduction 5 Our Vision 5 Strengths, Opportunities, Aspirations and Reality 6 The Team Rector we are Searching for 7 Overview of the Parish 8 Parish Map 8 Normal Patterns of Worship 9 Parish Dashboard 10 The Church of England in Langley 11 The Church and its People 11 The People 11 Worship 11 Worship Under Lockdown 12 In Numbers 12 Governance 12 Our Finances 12 Our Mission 13 Forming and Sending Disciples 13 • Lay Involvement 13 • Ecumenical Working 14 • Interfaith Involvement 14 Making a Bigger Difference in the World 14 • Parish Giving 14 • Fair Trade 14 • Parish Initiatives 14 • Team Rector's Ex-Officio Involvement 15 • Individual Initiatives 15 Growing New Congregations 15 Serving our Schools, Children and Young People 16 • Local Schools 16 • Outreach to schools 16 • Lighthouse Langley 16 • Children in Church 16 Our Buildings 17 • The Church and its Buildings 17 • St Mary 17 • St Francis 18 • Christ the Worker 18 • The Churchyard at St Mary 18 The Rectory 19 Local Amenities 19 The Challenges for us in the Near Future 20 Responding to the Pandemic and its aftermath 20 Responding to changes in demography 20 Responding to changes in the congregation 20 Responding to possible changes in patterns of Ministry 20 The Deanery of Burnham and Slough 21 The Diocese of Oxford 22 APPENDIX A Provisonal Role Description 24 APPENDIX B List of Education Centres in the Parish 29 APPENDIX C Latest Audited Accounts & Draft Budget 30

4 PROFILE | LANGLEY MARISH Introduction

To be a Christ-like Church that is contemplative, compassionate and courageous for the sake of God’s world,

and

to provide a Christian presence in Langley, engaging with the whole community, in the context of being a multi-faith Parish. Our Vision

We are delighted that you have chosen to look at our Parish Profile and hope that you will find it interesting and help you discern whether Langley is a place where you might wish to consider serving God for the next few years.

This profile is a thumbnail sketch of who we are with an indication of what we see as some of our strengths as well as some of the challenges we face. Many more details of the three churches of our Parish can be found on the Parish website and Facebook pages.

langleymarish.com/ and www.facebook.com/ParishofLangley

St Mary the Virgin St Mary’s Road, Slough SL3 7EL

St Francis of Assisi Upton Court Road, Langley, Slough SL3 7NE

Christ the Worker Parlaunt Road, Slough SL3 8BB

5 PROFILE | LANGLEY MARISH SOAR Type Diagram | Our Parish

STRENGTHS Friendly, warm, caring and talented congregation from

a wide variety of backgrounds. OPPORTUNITIES

The three congregations working as one Parish, with Scope to enhance and extend our existing links one PCC. with local schools, the majority of which are receptive to church involvement. Members willing to work hard and pitch in as necessary. Exploring further ways of enhancing the ecumenical collaboration that exists in Langley Active in pastoral care including: as well as churches working with community Prayer for Healing Group, a phone network for organisations. pastoral care during the pandemic. Working with agencies like A ring-fenced legacy for the upkeep of our Grade 1 Christians Against Poverty (CAP) in Slough. listed building. Working with secular agencies in Slough on welfare A strong choral music tradition in and social justice issues associated with local, St Mary’s, with an organist and robed choir. national and international remits: for example in refugee support. Annual Festival services and activities, such as the Crib Service, All Souls Service and Easter Garden Participating more enthusiastically in multifaith activity attended from a wide selection of the local organisations and events in Slough. community.

Actively involved with local events, including the REALITY Langley Carnival, Langley Lighthouse, Harvest in the O Park and Community Coffee Shop. The electoral roll numbers, and more importantly the number of active church members, is declining. During the pandemic: A group of tech-savvy people supporting effective Current financial strengths and Stewardship levels and impactful Zoom services. may become weakened by a fall in numbers from older members of the congregation who currently Participation in services by those without internet provide the bulk of the Stewardship income. connection facilitated by weekly hand delivered printed material. The majority of younger members are of Primary School age. A recent large cohort of teenagers have moved on to Higher Education and/or employment ASPIRATIONS opportunities outside the parish. Finding ways to broaden, encourage and strengthen our existing talent pool and community whilst In the next few years, we could become a single- acknowledging everyday lives, welfare and income priest parish with a three-church legacy. have been affected by the pandemic. Recently we were a training parish for a curate. Encouraging and supporting younger cohorts to join She left in the New Year to begin her new post. the church and help run it. Revitalising youth work, maybe in collaboration with the Deanery. Our regular choir has recently diminished in size and we need more voices, especially ‘male’ voices to Having holiday activities for school children, such as a sustain our choral musical heritage. music club, maybe even leading to a performance of a musical.

6 PROFILE | LANGLEY MARISH The Team Rector We Are Searching For

We look to our Team Rector to take the lead in further developing our vision, and directing and guiding the Parish, in being a Christian presence in Langley.

We would want the Team Rector to be our spiritual guide:

Be comfortable leading different styles of worship.

Encourage and teach individuals and groups to be prayerful in their lives through, for example, Bible Study and prayer groups.

We would want our Team Rector to be an effective leader:

Be an inclusive and collaborative team leader, working with the team vicar and lay leaders, empathetic with our diverse congregations and able to provide pastoral care for people in their disparate situations.

Be able to inspire good stewardship habits among the congregations, for the financial viability of the parish and to enable us to participate in world mission.

Develop sustainable communities of families, who will grow in faith and become full and active members of the church.

We would want our Team Rector to be outward looking and encouraging a wider vision in the church:

Support lay members in their daily work as well as in their charitable activities.

Continue to maintain and build upon existing good relationships with our schools.

Nurture, and where desirable initiate, joint activities with outside bodies.

7 PROFILE | LANGLEY MARISH Overview of the Parish Parish Map Parish

8 PROFILE | LANGLEY MARISH

We are a single Parish with three churches in Langley, that lies east of Slough, and Christians have been worshipping in the Langley Parish Church of St Mary the Virgin since the 12th Century. The population of Langley is about 30,000, hugely diverse, and is now a multifaith parish, with 43% of the population being Christian and other faiths being 39% (Census 2011) and expected to grow. There were 43 different languages spoken in one of our Primary Schools last year.

The church of St Mary in its current form took shape in the

17th century and the other two churches, St Francis Church on StM Upton Court Road and Christ the Worker Church in Parlaunt Road, were established around 1960 after major development of Langley as an overspill estate for London County Council. There is a Roman Catholic Church and a Free (Baptist) Church in the Parish, and several South Asian and African Caribbean congregations that worship in our buildings, or in other places in Langley.

There are no worship centres for any other faiths in Langley, StF although an Islamic Centre opened here a few years ago but there are several mosques, gurdwaras and a Hindu Temple in Slough. Langely is suburban in nature, and often described as a ‘dormitory’ town, with large numbers of people working at the nearby Heathrow Airport and the ‘Thames Valley Silicon Valley’ as well as in London. However, there are also wide-open spaces like Langley

Park and Black Park that are within the parish boundary. There is CtW a huge disparity in income and housing as well. Langley is part of the unitary local authority, Slough Borough Council.

There are several primary schools in the parish and three secondary schools in or adjacent to the parish boundary. None of them is a Church of England school. They are listed in Appendix B.

Normal Worship Patterns in the Parish

St Mary the Virgin Sundays 08:00 am Holy Communion (Book of Common Prayer) 11:00 am Family Communion (and Sunday Club for children) 06.30 pm Evening Prayer (Usually a lay-led said service) Third Sunday (only) 09.30 am Family Worship (in addition to above)

St Francis of Assisi 1st, 2 nd and 3rd Sundays 09.30 am Family Communion (and Sunday School for children) 4th Sunday 11.00 am All Age Service Wednesday 10.00 am Holy Communion

Christ the Worker 1st and 3rd Sundays 11.00 am Morning Worship 2nd, 4 th and 5th Sundays 09.30 am Holy Communion

9 PROFILE | LANGLEY MARISH Parish Dashboard

The Statistics for Mission figures for 2019 is available at thislink and reproduced below:

10 PROFILE | LANGLEY MARISH The Church of England in Langley

The Church and its People The People The church membership is widely diverse in terms of ethnicity, age and social backgrounds. We are known to be generally warm and supportive of each other in our churches and in the Parish as a whole, as well as welcoming to newcomers and visitors. We are also a hard-working group of people, willingly and happily getting involved in church life in diverse ways.

Although we are three churches, we work well together as one community, participating in several joint acts of worship as well StM as supporting each other’s social activities, which vary from barn dances to quizzes, from barbecues to cream teas, from Christmas Fayres to International Evenings!

Worship We are three congregations, with our own pattern of worship (see page 7) in our three churches in ‘normal’ times, each celebrating their own Patronal Festivals as well. However even before Covid-19 restrictions struck, as a matter of policy, we StF had a pattern of several joint-services in the year, especially coming together for some Festivals. Our (pre-Covid19) pattern of worship reflects the needs and priorities of our congregations.

At the 11am service and at other special services and Festivals, at St Mary's there is a robed choir and a group of enthusiastic CtW bell ringers who faithfully ring bells for them.

The work with children at St Mary's normally happens alongside the 11am service and is held in the St Mary's Church Centre. The children join the adult congregations at the Communion to discuss and display their work, to great mutual enjoyment. There is all-age worship on other special occasions such as Mothering Sunday, Harvest Festival, Baptisms etc in which children take an active part. Once a month an earlier morning Family Worship takes place at St Mary’s Church which is attended by some regular members as well as some occasional members.

11 PROFILE | LANGLEY MARISH St Francis and Christ the Worker churches have one service each on a Sunday, mostly Communion services, but interspersed with the Service of the Word. Work with children also takes place alongside the service as required.

"Children are part of the life of our church and this brings joy and togetherness."

Worship under Lockdown With places of worship being closed during the lockdown, we opted for one Zoom service each Sunday, open to all three congregations.

One of the positive aspects of the lockdown has been the way the three congregations have come together for worship, and over a period of several months got to know each other better. We have also been able to establish a Morning Prayers routine on Zoom and Bible Study afternoons which now draw members of all three churches.

There was a challenge to be faced in that people who have no internet access should not feel excluded from worship. To mitigate this, we ensured that printed copies of the sermon and news sheet were hand-delivered to them every week, and they were encouraged to attend services by telephone if possible.

When restricted opening was allowed in the autumn, we continued with the Zoom service, but additionally provided one ‘live’ service in each church, with limited seating because of social-distancing.

In response to lockdown restrictions a group of tech-savvy people have come forward and supported effective and impactful Zoom services. During the Zoom services children maintain a strong presence and input to the service. In the absence of facilities for separate Sunday clubs for children, we have maintained a Kids spot in the main service, allowing some interaction with the children attending.

In Numbers Our electoral roll number at the last Annual Meeting was 130, with 90, 20 and 20 being roughly the numbers from St Mary, St Francis and Christ the Worker churches. We have about a dozen families with young children who are regular members, but the majority of members are around retirement age or over. We lose a small number steadily each year due to death, or people moving out of the area.

Governance Our forebears were wise in firmly establishing that, while there are three churches, we are one Parish, with one PCC and a single financial structure. There are two Parish Wardens, supported by a District Council and Deputy (District) Wardens in each of the three churches.

Our Finances Stewardship and financial giving has been taken seriously in the church for nearly 60 years, with Stewardship campaigns every year to encourage generous, pledged giving by members of the congregation. It has never failed to pay its ‘parish share’. However, with falling roll numbers there is a challenge to maintain the levels of income to enable deeper participation in world mission as well as continuing to pay our Parish Share in full. With the advent of the direct debit Parish Giving Scheme,

12 PROFILE | LANGLEY MARISH almost half of our regular donors have moved over to that scheme, reducing the adminstrative burden on us considerably.

The Parish is a registered charity. There are some restricted accounts available at the Parish, the significant ones being the Seymour Bequest to be used for the ‘maintenance of worship at St Mary’s church’ and St Mary’s School Religious Education Trust which is used for general educational purposes in the parish (see Appendix C for Parish Accounts 2019 and the Draft Budget 2021).

We also raise income from hall lettings and fund raising events.

Our Mission

In developing our Mission Action Plan (MAP), the Parish has always been guided by the priorities of the Diocese. The last revision of our MAP was in 2019 and it was published on our website (MAP link). We normally have an ‘Away Day’ to engage the whole Parish in the process before formulating the Plan approved by the PCC.

The vision and process set before us now are to be a Christ-like church, that is contemplative, compassionate and courageous. We are keen to be an integral part of the Christian Presence in Langley, engaging with the community as much as possible. We decided not to revise our MAP in the middle of the pandemic in 2020 but we are very much looking forward to our new Team Rector taking a lead in developing our next MAP.

Here are some of the ways in which we currently address the (Diocesan) areas of priority.

Forming and Sending Disciples We see our prayer and worship as the foundation of our lives: gathering together on Sundays (mainly) and being empowered as lay people to be Christians in their Monday – Saturday lives. So teaching through worship sessions, but also Bible Study, we see as a major resource for our formation and the deepening of our faith. We have an active Mothers' Union which meets once a month, jointly with that at St Laurence Church, Slough, from time to time.

Lay Involvement In addition to our Licensed Lay Minister (Reader) Lay people have led intercessions and read the lessons in most of our services for decades and started preaching in St Mary’s services during the last vacancy. In order to encourage lay leadership more widely in the parish, several lay members attended a Deanery preaching course a few years ago and were authorised by the Bishop. Lay-preaching is a valuable asset that we could re-establish more substantially.

"The team element attracted me to the parish. I feel supported by colleagues and members of the three churches." Revd Shola Aoko

13 PROFILE | LANGLEY MARISH Ecumenical Working In working towards being truly a Christian Presence in Langley, in the recent past we have been successful in working ecumenically, collaborating wherever possible with the Langley Free-Church (Baptist) and the Roman Catholic Church. In the Covid-19 period, we regret that we have not been as outward looking in our mission as we would have liked, because of circumstances.

Interfaith Involvement Although Slough and Langley are multi-faith areas, there have been no direct links with other faith leaders in the parish. However, interfaith awareness is an important attribute for us in our community engagement. To this end, the parish has organised visits to Hindu, Muslim and Sikh places of worship, and attended meetings at the Synagogue in Maidenhead within the past few years. Individual members also regularly participate in events organised by Slough Faith Partnership and the South East England Faiths Forum.

"A diverse fellowship where all are accepted, cared for and encouraged to grow."

Making a Bigger Difference in the World Parish Giving The parish has recognised for the past 40 years and more that we need to engage with Mission Agencies and other charities to join in with God’s mission around the world. So, we have regularly set apart 10% of our income each year to support them, as well as other charities. In 2020, we have had to reduce the level of our giving to 5% as we had to work with a deficit budget for the first time. However, this is viewed by the PCC as a temporary measure necessitated by the pandemic affecting our income from hall lettings, fees and fund-raising events.

Fair Trade The parish was a supporter of Traidcraft initiative from the inception, selling Fair Trade goods to parishioners and others. The amount of direct parish involvement has been strong in the last decade.

Parish Initiatives We have played a major part in local initiatives by starting up the Langley Community Coffee Shop, held every Tuesday morning most recently in the Langley Library. This is attended mostly by elderly people from the community, although open to anyone. It is also interesting to note that most of the volunteers are elderly themselves!

We actively promote the work of Slough Foodbank by regularly taking donations of supplies to them, collecting outside supermarkets and participating in the distribution of the food. And for a few years, we have taken part in the Night Shelter programme in Slough, hosting the event in Christ the Worker church and hall once a week in the winter months.

The Anglican churches have taken a lead in organising community events such as Harvest in the Park day, Remembrance Sunday parade and service, and the faith-based stalls in the annual Langley Carnival.

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Over the last 10 years the churches of Langley have produced a free monthly Community magazine, including local news, items of general interest to the public and faith-related matters. The editorial and administrative functions of this have almost entirely depended on the Church of England churches langleymarish.com/around-langley/

Team Rector's ex officio involvement The Team Rector is an ex officio member of the Langley Marish United Charities that administers the Almshouses close to the parish church. These were originally set up by Sir John Kedermister and then added on to by him and other benefactors. The latest additions came in 1972, making a total of 22 residences. The Team Rector is no longer the Chair of Trustees (and is no longer eligible to receive the honorarium of 6 shillings!).

The Kedermister Library also has the Team Rector as a Trustee. The routine maintenance of the Library comes under the responsibility of the Buckinghamshire County Council, who employs the Curator. It is not directly under the control of the PCC, although, for reasons such as access and alarm settings the Team Rector is occasionally called upon for assistance.

Individual Initiatives We have also been blessed with lay members who, driven by their love to serve people inside and outside the church, are actively and passionately engaged in work that makes a difference in the world, all supported by other members of the congregation: Save the Children, Slough Mencap, Berkshire Vision (Partial Sighted and Blind Club), Christians Against Poverty, Independent Monitoring Boards.

"Our Church is a praying and caring church. It encourages members to grow."

Others have developed more church-based projects of their own, all thriving and much appreciated by the people who take part: for example, mainly for housebound people, Holiday at Home days during the summer, Not-Home-Alone Lunches, Refresh coffee afternoons, Needles and a Yarn group, all of which are organised and run by active and lively senior members; there are also three Toddler Groups for parents/child-minders and toddlers run by our church members.

Growing New Congregations After St Francis and Christ the Worker churches were established around 1960, we have not discerned a need or opportunity for growing new church congregations. With the population growth in the Deanery as a whole, the better opportunity to re-think mission in that context now might be at the Deanery level.

15 PROFILE | LANGLEY MARISH Serving our Schools, Children and Young People Local Schools The vast majority of primary schools in the Parish are most receptive to our clergy visiting them, taking assemblies and so forth, although they are not Church of England schools. The previous Team Rector served on the Governing Body of one of the schools and was Chair of Governors for much of his time in this parish. (See Appendix B for School list)

Outreach to schools Whilst Langley Free Church has taken the initiative for organising Messy Church, Christmas Unwrapped and Easter Cracked, our clergy and other members of our church have been actively involved in them. We also had a major part in organising iSingPop weeks in our schools in the past.

Lighthouse Langley We were delighted to have Lighthouse Langley for the first time in 2019. This was very much an ecumenical project, one of the Co- Chairs being our then Curate, and large numbers of volunteers coming from our churches, with an age range of teens to 80s. This was a great success, bringing the community together as well as giving children an enjoyable week of activities, regardless of their faith. We look forward to hosting it again once the pandemic is behind us.

Children in Church We hugely value the children who attend each of our churches. There is a flourishing Sunday Club that, in normal circumstances, meets 11:00 am – 11:45 am each Sunday in St Mary’s Church Centre, joining the main congregation that welcomes hearing about their experience of the morning. There is similar special provision for children in the other churches too, albeit with smaller numbers of children. Children also act as servers at our regular Communion services and there is a Junior Choir that rehearses for and participates in, special services like Mothering Sunday and Christingle and Crib services.

During the pandemic, children continue to be active participators in the Zoom Services.

16 PROFILE | LANGLEY MARISH Our Buildings

The Church and its Buildings The oldest church of St Mary, has parts dating back to the 12th Century and is a Grade 1 listed building. Whilst repairs to this ancient building have been a major concern for the congregation in the past, in 1995 a large legacy specifically for the maintenance of worship at St Mary was left to the Parish by Miss Marjorie Seymour, which has freed us from the financial burden involved in repairs and re-ordering.

On Sundays in the summer months, the church holds open afternoons. A great attraction is the Kedermister Library, a rare surviving example of an early 17th-century parish library as described in Pevsner's definitive book on the Architecture of Buckinghamshire. Visitors constantly remark on how beautiful the church is and how justified its place in Simon Jenkins’ book on the Thousand Best Churches in England.

Part of the land belonging to the church at the corner of Langley Road and St Mary’s Road was sold to a property developer to build a crescent of eight flats, but also to provide a modest church hall and a meeting room, known as St Mary’s Church Centre. The church office is based there. The Centre has been a good source of rental income for the Parish. langleymarish.com/stmary/tour-of-st-marys-church/ will give you an idea of the history and interesting features of the church of St Mary the Virgin. Kedermister Library & Pew Kedermister

"I visited Kedermister Library three years ago and found St Mary's to be a beautiful church. So I attended Sunday Communion three months later. I was so warmly welcomed that I felt completely at home and have stayed."

17 PROFILE | LANGLEY MARISH St Mary's Centre

Like most churches, a significant part of the Parish income comes from letting out our church buildings and the church halls, the scope for rentals being dependent on the facilities we can offer to groups. Prior to lockdowns, we had groups like Asian churches using our church buildings for worship and Brahmakumaris worshipping in a hall; groups as diverse as the Brownies, Slimmers’ World, dance groups and yoga groups are regular customers.

St Francis is a purpose-built church, located on the corner of London Road and Upton Court Road. It is a free-standing building with a reasonable sized garden with a front car park. There is a regular clientele that hire the building, with its large multi-use main hall, a smaller room for meetings and Sunday School, and a kitchen. StF

The Christ the Worker Church & Community Room was built in the 1960s and has been twice enlarged, to create a sanctuary, and an annexe. In accordance with its vision of ‘Church and Community Hall’, the Church building and the pre-fabricated Church Hall with a kitchen that has been added, are both made

available for use by the community, at times without charge. CtW

The Churchyard at St Mary There is a large churchyard around St Mary’s church which is now closed for burials and is maintained by Slough Borough Council and a number of Parish volunteers. There are some ancient Yew trees as well as ancient graves in the churchyard. One of the notable people buried there is Paul Nash, the war artist.

18 PROFILE | LANGLEY MARISH The Rectory

The Rectory is conveniently situated directly opposite the church and was built in the 1960s, set in a moderate sized garden. On the ground floor is a study, a kitchen, a dining room and a sitting room with french windows to the back garden, and there are four bedrooms upstairs.

The drive leads to a garage suitable for one car, while there is room in the drive for two more cars. The Diocese has kept the property in good repair and modernised over the years, with refurbishment being carried out during this vacancy. The previous two occupants of the Rectory were keen gardeners, so the garden is in good health. In addition to mature fruit trees, there are also established fruit bushes and canes as well as vegetable patches and a small greenhouse in the garden. Local Amenities These include in Langley: a railway station, shopping parades, new office blocks, light industrial developments, an FE college, parks and a leisure centre with a swimming pool.

London is within easy reach: there are trains directly from Langley, and trains from Slough take you to Paddington within 15 minutes. When the Elizabeth Line comes into operation, travel into the heart of London will only take half an hour. M4, M25 and M40 give easy road access elsewhere by bus or car.

The Thames Valley has enjoyed a long economic boom, with high employment and increasing personal incomes. Slough has shopping malls, supermarkets and a 10-screen cinema, an ice-rink, leisure centres, an orchestra and a choral society. Windsor is next door with its castle, shops and Theatre Royal. The Thames Valley contains areas of outstanding natural beauty: apart from the amenities provided by the Thames itself and the Jubilee River, there are also two country parks, Langley Park and Black Park, in the Parish. The Colne Valley Trust has opened up parts of the Green Belt close by. Not far away are the Windsor Great Park, Virginia Water and Savill Gardens.

19 PROFILE | LANGLEY MARISH The Challenges we Face in the Near Future

Responding to the Pandemic and its aftermath Our immediate response to the Coronavirus crisis, in terms of holding together as a worshipping congregation, and providing pastoral care with oversight shared between clergy and lay people has worked as well as could have been expected. However, there are major challenges to face in the short term: continuing to organise corporate worship in a safe way, building up community groups again, resuming the social activities of the parish will all take planning and resources, especially human resources.

A major consequence of the lockdown has been that it became easier to be more inward-looking and we need to learn to break out of that and return to having a more outward-looking approach.

"I like coming to church because I feel welcomed and loved."

Responding to changes in demography Over the last few decades the demography of Langley has changed enormously, with in-fill estates being built continually, mostly occupied by people of other faiths (or none). In the 2011 census, Christians were 43% of the population, with other faiths being 39% and expected to grow.

A consequence of this change has been a rather steeper decline in church membership than might have been expected. Our community engagements and our interactions for example with mother- and-toddler sessions bring greater understanding of other faiths, but it is not clear how they can build up church numbers. Some of the activities ‘Fresh Expressions’, Toddler services, Family worship, while valuable in themselves, have not produced growth in the regular congregations, or in Stewardship.

Responding to changes in the congregation We, in common with many churches in the Church of England, have an ageing congregation. Many people of retirement age including members of our congregations are moving out of the area. And we have our fair share of our members dying as well. As several of these people were staunch Stewardship donors, the income of the church is adversely affected by this depletion of our congregations. Furthermore, the pool of members from which Officers and volunteers for church duties can be drawn is also diminishing in size. There is a challenge for us to identify, train and deploy suitable people to maintain the smooth running of the Parish.

Responding to possible changes in patterns of Ministry The parish currently has a ministry team of a Team Rector and a Team Vicar as well as one LLM. For the first time in decades, we were also fortunate to have been selected as a training parish recently and our Curate left the parish only a few weeks ago to take up her first post. The Parish pays its Parish Share in full, and covered the cost of our clergy, although this has become more of a struggle in recent years. We are, however, committed to paying our Share in full and understand that finance and stewardship will need to be an area of focus in the future.

A major challenge for us in the next few years will be to re-think radically how we can be effective as a church doing God’s mission, probably having only one stipendiary clergyperson appointed to the Parish.

20 PROFILE | LANGLEY MARISH The Deanery of Burnham and Slough

Burnham and Slough Deanery is in the Buckingham Archdeaconry of the Oxford Diocese. The area covered by the Deanery includes urban, suburban and rural areas; it covers the entirety of the Slough Unitary Authority and half of South Bucks District, as well as parishes in the Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead.

It is a lively deanery with a range of worship styles and approaches. There are approximately 32 clergy in the Deanery, including curates in training and those with Permission to Officiate. For the past seven years there has been a full-time Area Dean in post (currently in vacancy).

The Deanery is divided into four Group Ministries to foster collaborative working and resource sharing on a more local level; Langley Marish is in the Southern Group.

Deanery Synod meets four times per year. In addition to routine business, such as finance, meetings usually feature a presentation of something of importance to the local community, such as foodbanks, refugee concerns or children’s summer events. There is a Deanery Missioner, Revd Sue Sampson, who seeks to promote mission activity across the Deanery; for example, there are plans to establish a Social Hub at one church that can be a resource for those in need in the Slough area.

See more about the Deanery - parishes, personnel and neighbouring Deaneries here.

Archdeacon of Buckingham.

21 PROFILE | LANGLEY MARISH The Diocese of Oxford

The Diocese of Oxford serves the mission of the Church in Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire. The Diocese comprises more than 600 parishes, with over 800 churches, serving a diverse population of more than 2 million people located in all types of settings.

Due to the size and complexity of the Diocese, we have three Area Bishops who exercise considerable strategic and pastoral oversight for their Areas. The Bishop of Buckingham is the Rt Revd Alan Wilson who has been the Area Bishop since 2003. The Archdeacon of Buckingham is Ven Guy Elsmore who has been in post since 2016. In September 2020, Revd Canon Chris Bull was appointed Associate Archdeacon of Buckingham.

Since the appointment in 2017 of the Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft as Bishop of Oxford, a new Common Vision has emerged for the Diocese of Oxford. The vision is based on the qualities described in The Beatitudes and addresses what kind of church we are called to be:

a more Christ-like Church for the sake of God’s world: contemplative, compassionate, courageous.

As our Common Vision continues to emerge, we have identified together six themes for our common life. These are not a description of everything the Church does, but they do represent the areas God is currently calling us to:

• Environmental action • Christian formation and discipleship • Growing new congregations • Schools, children and young people • Addressing poverty and inequality • Celebrate and bless Milton Keynes

These priorities are being supported centrally by resources, training, conferences, workshops, and much more. The diocese is inviting benefices and their priests to share a vision rather than demanding a response. It wants all its clergy and people to flourish in ministry and to deepen their enjoyment of God. More information about the diocesan work on Flourishing in Ministry can be found on the diocesan website.

It is hoped that all clergy appointed into the Archdeaconry of Buckingham will want to commit to the Diocesan Common Vision, to encouraging their benefices to share in becoming a more Christ-like church for the sake of God’s world and to enabling all to flourish in ministry.

August 2019

22 PROFILE | LANGLEY MARISH

23 PROFILE | LANGLEY MARISH APPENDIX A

The following provisional role description will apply from the date of licensing. It will be reviewed by the postholder and the Archdeacon of Buckingham approximately six months after the date of licensing. Amendments will be made where necessary, by agreement.

PROVISIONAL ROLE DESCRIPTION

SECTION ONE: DETAILS OF POST

Role title: Team Rector

Type of Role: Full time stipendiary

Name of benefice: Langley Marish

APPENDIX A APPENDIX Episcopal area: Buckingham

Deanery: Burnham and Slough

Archdeaconry: Buckingham

Conditions of Service: Please refer to Statements of Particulars document issued in conjunction with this role description

Key contact for Clergy Terms of Service: Archdeacon of Buckingham

This role falls within the Clergy Terms of Service formally known as Common Tenure. The Archdeacon of Buckingham is the designated person by the Bishop of Oxford to issue the Statement of Particulars for the post holder

Accountability: Priests share with the Bishop in the oversight of the Church. Whilst, as an office holder, the individual is expected to lead and prioritise work in line with the purpose of the role, they are encouraged to inform the Archdeacon and Churchwardens about any issues exceptional or otherwise that have the potential to affect ongoing delivery of ministry

Additional Responsibility: None

SECTION TWO: CONTEXT Wider Context The Diocese of Oxford serves the mission of the Church in Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire. The Diocese comprises more than 600 parishes, with over 800 churches, serving a diverse population of more than 2 million people located in all types of settings.

Due to the size and complexity of the Diocese, we have three Area Bishops who exercise considerable

24 PROFILE | LANGLEY MARISH strategic and pastoral oversight for their Areas. The Bishop of Buckingham is the Rt Revd Alan Wilson who has been the Area Bishop since 2003. The Archdeacon of Buckingham is Ven Guy Elsmore who has been in post since 2016. In September 2020, Revd Canon Chris Bull was appointed Associate Archdeacon of Buckingham.

a more Christ-like Church for the sake of God’s world: contemplative, compassionate, courageous.

• Environmental action

• Christian formation and discipleship A APPENDIX • Growing new congregations • Schools, children and young people • Addressing poverty and inequality • Celebrate and bless Milton Keynes

Local Context Langley Marish is a single Parish with three warm and supportive churches that lie to the east of Slough. Christians have been worshipping in the parish church of St Mary the Virgin since the 12th Century. Both St Francis and Christ the Worker churches were plants from the parish church in the 1960s. The population of Langley is about 30,000, hugely diverse in terms of faith and culture. This is reflected in church membership, which encompasses a wide diversity of ethnicity, age and social background. The three churches work well together, although worshipping separately most of the time.

The vision of the churches is to be a Christ-like Church that is contemplative, compassionate and courageous for the sake of God’s world, and to provide a Christian presence in Langley, engaging with the whole community, in the context of being a multi-faith Parish. Within this, they aspire to:

• Finding ways to broaden, encourage and strengthen our existing talent pool and community while acknowledging everyday lives, welfare and income have been affected by the pandemic. • Encouraging and supporting younger cohorts to join the church and help run it. Revitalising youth work, maybe in collaboration with the Deanery. • Having holiday activities for school children, such as a music club, maybe even leading to a performance of a musical.

25 PROFILE | LANGLEY MARISH The churches are very much looking forward to the new Rector taking a lead in developing the next Mission Action Plan.

For more information, see the parish profile.

SECTION THREE: ROLE PURPOSE AND KEY RESPONSIBILITIES General: A. To exercise the cure of souls shared with the bishop in this benefice in collaboration with colleagues, including the praying of the Daily Office, the administration of the sacraments and preaching

B. To have regard to the calling and responsibilities of the clergy (as described in the Canons, the Ordinal, the Code of Professional Conduct for the Clergy) and other relevant legislation including • bringing the grace and truth of Christ to this generation and making him known to those in your care • instructing the parishioners in the Christian faith

APPENDIX A APPENDIX • preparing candidates for baptism and confirmation • diligently visiting the parishioners of the benefice, particularly those who are sick and infirm • providing spiritual counsel and advice • consulting with the Parochial Church Council on matters of general concern and importance to the benefice • bringing the needs of the world before God in intercession • calling your hearers to repentance and declaring in Christ's name the absolution and forgiveness of their sins • blessing people in God’s name • preparing people for their death • discerning and fostering the gifts of all God’s people • being faithful in prayer, expectant and watchful for the signs of God’s presence, as he reveals his kingdom among us

C. To share in the wider work of the deanery and diocese as appropriate, for the building up of the whole Body of Christ

Key responsibilities specific to the local situation • Taking the lead in further developing the vision of the churches as they seek to be a Christian presence in Langley • Being a spiritual guide to the churches • Being an effective leader • Being outward looking and encouraging a wider vision in the church

Other responsibilities • Participate in the Bishop’s Ministerial Development Review scheme and engage in Continuing Ministerial Development • Carry out any other duties and responsibilities as required in line with the benefice needs. • Take care for their wellbeing including health and safety and building a good repertoire of spiritual and psychological strategies

26 PROFILE | LANGLEY MARISH SECTION FOUR: BENEFICE SUMMARY The Benefice of

Benefice: Langley Marish

Patron(s): Patronage Board (Bishop of Oxford; Team Ministry; Dean & Canons of Queens Free Chapel of St George, Windsor)

PCCs: 1

DCCs: 3

Churchwardens: 2 and 6 District Wardens

Benefice paid staff: 1 Team Vicar

Benefice unpaid staff/ volunteers: A APPENDIX 1 Licensed Lay Minister; some authorised preachers

Buildings: 3

Churchyard(s): 1

Church Tradition: Liberal Catholic

Pastoral Reorganisation proposals: None

For more detailed information, see the parish profile.

SECTION FIVE: KEY CONTACTS FOR THE ROLE Generic and specific to the role Groups & committees • The PCC • Deanery Chapter • Deanery Synod • Deanery Pastoral Committee

In the benefice • Churchwardens • Ministerial Colleagues • Head teacher(s) of local school(s)

Support structures • Area Dean • Area Bishop • Area Archdeacon • Spiritual director, work consultant, etc • Staff at The Diocesan Office with key responsibilities for various aspects of supporting

27 PROFILE | LANGLEY MARISH SECTION SIX: OTHER This role description is issued alongside and should be read in conjunction with the following documents:

• The Ordinal • The Canons of the Church of England • Guidance for the Professional Conduct of Clergy • Bishop’s Licence • Statement of Particulars issued to the office-holder on successful appointment • Diocesan Clergy Handbook • Parish Profile • Mission Action Plans (MAPs) • Any objectives discussed and agreed between the post holder and the supervising minister

Role description signed off by: The Venerable Guy Elsmore, Archdeacon of Buckingham APPENDIX A APPENDIX

Date: tba

To be reviewed next on: tba

28 PROFILE | LANGLEY MARISH APPENDIX B

Schools in the Parish Primary schools: Langley Heritage Primary, Kennett Road, Langley, SL3 8EQ Foxborough Primary School, Common Road, Langley, SL3 8TX Marish Primary School, Swabey Road, Langley, SL3 8NZ Langley Hall Primary Academy, Station Road, Langley, SL3 8GW Holy Family Catholic Primary School High Street, Langley, SL3 8NF Ryvers Trelawney Avenue, Langley, SL3 7TS Castleview Primary School, Woodstock Avenue, Langley, SL3 7LJ Langley Academy Primary, Langley Road, Langley, SL3 7EF

Secondary schools: Langley Grammar School, Reddington Drive, Langley, SL3 7QS The Langley Academy, Langley Road, Langley SL3 7EF Ditton Park Academy, Kings Reach, Langley SL3 7UX St Bernard's Catholic Grammar School, 1 Langley Road, Langley SL3 7AF Upton Court Grammar (just outside the Parish boundary) Lascelles Road SL3 7PR.

Further Education College: Langley College (Windsor Forest Group), Station Road, Langley, SL3 8BY APPENDIX B

29 PROFILE | LANGLEY MARISH APPENDIX C Latest Audited Accounts Audited Latest (2019) APPENDIX C

30 PROFILE | LANGLEY MARISH APPENDIX C Parochial Church Council: Draft Budget for 2021 for Draft Budget Council: Church Parochial APPENDIX C

31 Thank You LANGLEY MARISH THE PARISH FROM of Upton Court Road,Upton Court Langley, SloughSL37NE St Mary’s Road, SloughSL37EL Parlaunt Road, Slough SL38BB © The Parish ofLangley Marish2021 St Francis of Assisi Christ the Worker Christ St Mary the St Mary Virgin