The United Benefice of Christ Church, Moldgreen and S t J a m es ’ Church, Rawthorpe
Christ Church Moldgreen
St James’ Church and Parish Centre Rawthorpe
PARISH BROCHURE 2017
On The Inside
Welcome to Huddersfield 3
Christ Church, Moldgreen 5
St James’ Church, Rawthorpe 16
Letter to our future Parish Priest 25
OUR MISSION STATEMENTS
St. James’ Church
Transforming our Lives, Church and Community with the Power and Love of God
Christ Church
Living in the love of God, loving one another and making Him known
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Huddersfield is situated in the eastern foothills of the Pennines, halfway between Leeds and Manchester. According to a UK Census, it is the 10th largest town in the country and in the largest urban area in the United Kingdom (Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees). There is easy access to the M62 & M1 and the Railway Station.
Huddersfield has the most splendid Railway Station façade, regarded as second only to St Pancras, in London.
Huddersfield Railway Station
Huddersfield has the third highest number of listed buildings in the country. The Town has an abundance of Victorian architecture, the most conspicuous being Victoria Tower on the top of Castle Hill overlooking the town.
The town and the surrounding areas are ideal for visiting stately homes, restaurants, pubs, farm shops, garden shops as well as for walking, hiking and cycling.
Castle Hill
Huddersfield is still a manufacturing town for textiles, chemicals, engineering and electronics. There are a number of niche manufacturers. The University of Huddersfield is the largest employer.
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A FEW FAMOUS PEOPLE BORN IN HUDDERSFIELD
Harold Wilson KG, Lord Wilson of Rievaulx, winner of four general elections. There is a fabulous statue of him outside our magnificent Railway Station. He promoted the concept of an Open University which was the world’s first successful distance LORD HAROLD WILSON (1916 – 1995) teaching university, founded on the belief that communications In foreground technology could bring high quality degree-level learning to people who had not had the opportunity to attend traditional campus universities.
James Mason was a great English actor of British and American Films.
Gorden Kaye – René from ‘Allo Allo’, who sadly, recently passed away. He attended Moldgreen Primary school.
Sally Wainwright – writer of Happy Valley which was filmed in and around Huddersfield.
JOHN SMITH STADIUM - Huddersfield is literally the home of Rugby League – the town invented the sport in 1895 . The John Smith Stadium is now home to the Huddersfield Giants Rugby team and Huddersfield Town FC who are currently in the Championship League (and are actually playing really well). In 1926 Huddersfield Town became the first English team to win 3 successive league titles; a record which has been matched but never beaten. There is an Odeon multiplex cinema near the John Smith Stadium.
LAWRENCE BATLEY THEATRE – only five minutes away from the University and is situated in the busy town centre. The theatre presents a variety of shows including plays, stand-up comedy, small music gigs and poetry nights. Every year, Huddersfield plays host to the world’s largest contemporary music festival. Huddersfield Choral Society is world famous. The society was founded in 1836 and has gone on to be internationally famous, known as the UK’s best choral society, certainly something to sing about!
HUDDERSFIELD COAT OF ARMS ‘GOD HELPS THE DILIGENT’ 4
The Reredos of the High Altar
In 1941 Mrs A L Barrett made a generous gift to the Church, making it possible for the fitting of a reredos, together with sanctuary panelling and a new pulpit. The reredos was made to the design of Sir Charles A Nicholson by Messrs. E Bowman and Sons of Stamford, the actual carving being done by woodcarvers from Oberammergan who had come to England as refugees during the war.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DESIGN OF THE REREDOS:
“As our parish is dedicated as ‘Christ Church’ Moldgreen, the central figure is our Lord as King – Risen, Ascended; His right hand is raised in blessing and His left hand is holding an Orb which signifies His Lordship over the whole earth. From left to right are two ancestors – King David, His ancestor and the Blessed Virgin Mary, is mother, S. John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Gospel and S. Luke, one of the narrators of the Gospel.
The lower panels represent scenes to illustrate the Apostles’ Creed. From left to right they are: the Annunciation; the Holy Nativity; the descent to Hades; and the Resurrection – this last being illustrated by the central figure of our Lord on the Cross, attended by His Mother and S. John the beloved disciple.” 5
The Parish of Christ Church Moldgreen is part of the Deanery of Almondbury. It is an urban parish that is situated about one and a half miles outside of Huddersfield town centre on the main Huddersfield to Wakefield Road, which dissects the parish.
Christ Church & Vicarage
The social context is that of a multi-racial community, with a high proportion of students living in rented accommodation (Huddersfield University is 10 minutes’ walk away). Housing is mainly Victorian terraced properties although there has been in the last 30 years a housing estate of semi-detached and detached properties and more recently new apartment blocks being built. Recreational facilities within the parish are mainly public houses, a park and a children’s play area. Other amenities include one nursing home, a doctor’s surgery, a school, a dentist, a veterinary practice and a number of shops and businesses. In February 2017 a Lifeways supported living complex is due to open on Broad Lane, at the bottom of Brook Street.
The John Smith’s Stadium – situated at the end of stadium way, the boundary between Moldgreen and Rawthorpe Parishes, is a vital part of the recreational life of not only the parish, but also the wider Huddersfield area.
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The Church was built in 1863. However, today what you see on the outside is completely different to the inside. In the late 1980s the whole of the inside of the church was extensively re-modernised to create one multi-purpose building. The chancel was blocked-off to create two large rooms and a kitchen.
The main body of the church was re-ordered. The pews were replaced with chairs and a prayer chapel created. As the dais is portable this means that the direction of the congregation can be flexible either east or north facing. In recent years new altar tables were gifted and a new stained glass window in the prayer chapel was commissioned.
Body of the Church
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Upper Room The stained glass windows were retained in the upper room along with the ornate ceiling thus making a reflective room for small gatherings. Off this room, where the organ loft was situated is a small area which is used by the young people. We are not currently using the upper room as there is no disabled access. There is also a problem with cracks appearing in the decorative ceiling (bosses).
Lower Room
Prayer Chapel There is no graveyard attached to the church but there is a small memorial garden within the grounds where ashes can be interred and plaques fixed to the copingstones.
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All our Sunday morning services start at 11.00 am. On the first Sunday of the month we meet for All Age Worship. On the second and fourth Sunday mornings we meet for Holy Communion, with the young people going into Sunday School for fun based learning, and returning to join us at the Peace. On the third Sunday we meet for a Morning Praise service.
Whenever there is a fifth Sunday in the month a joint service is held with St James’, Rawthorpe (alternating from one parish to the other).
On Wednesday morning we hold a Holy Communion service at 9.30 am.
Our style of worship is evangelical. We use a mix of modern worship songs together with more traditional hymns. We have a small music group comprising of guitar, flute and drums, with singers. We also have a member of the congregation who plays the piano/keyboard and she is willing to play when asked. The congregation expect the Clergy to be robed for Communion services, but other services are less formal. Our Easter and Christmas services are always well attended, with people coming along who do not attend Church on a regular basis.
Christingle Service– December 2016
During the past year we have had one Baptism, one Thanksgiving service and 6 funerals in church. There have also been 6 funerals taken by clergy not in church. We have had one youngster confirmed.
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There are 40 people on the Electoral roll. Approximately half of these live outside the parish. Over the last year our average attendance has been 34 adults and 7 children (under 16). We are very low in ethnic minority, 3 regularly attending.
We consider ourselves to be a warm and welcoming congregation, which is made up of mostly middle-aged and elderly people, together with 4 regularly attending young families.
OTHER CLERGY AND MINISTRIES
Lay Pastoral Ministers We have one Lay Pastoral Minister; Mrs Gillian Davison.
Other Ministries We have a number of people in the congregation involved in other ministries: Bible reading, administering the Chalice, serving refreshments after the service, sidespersons, verger, intercessions and prayer ministry after the service.
Housegroup We have one Housegroup who meet regularly on a fortnightly basis with an attendance of approximately 7 members.
YOUNG PEOPLE’S GROUPS The young people have fun based teaching in Sunday School on the 2nd and 4th Sunday of every month. They are split into three age groups, under 6, 6-9 and 10+ each with their own adult leader. We have an average attendance of 9 young people and this is subject to fluctuation.
Arrangements have been made for our young people to attend activities outside the Church building, allowing them to mix with other young Christians. This last year they attended the Big Night Out at Lightwater Valley near Ripon which is organised for all young people school years 7-11.
Big Night Out at Lightwater Valley 10
The Nativity – December 2016
We have organised Messy Church activities with invitations to the local school and Playgroup.
Our young people are looking forward to the appointment of our new priest and they wanted to give a flavour of the type of person they hope will join us:-
THE CHURCH An Active Prayer Chain provides instant prayer support when needed. Our congregation, though small, are regular worshippers, always willing to help and are open to change. 11
Is of great concern to us and is monitored monthly.
Total Annual Receipts average £30,000.
The total Annual Running Costs (omitting Parish Share) average £13,000.
We aim to give 10% of our Giving to Missions – Home & Abroad. These include The Welcome Centre and our Parish Link with St Paul’s Church, Mogubiri in the Diocese of Musoma, The collection taken at the Christingle Service is given to the Childrens’ Society. Other charities supported include Gideon Bibles and Christian Aid.
The Parish Share Year 2016 - £21,039.00.
One third of our members give through Gift Aid.
Twenty of our members are retired.
It is PCC Policy to maintain a balance in the CCLA (CBF Deposit Fund to ensure payment of essential running costs (Insurance etc) in the following year - £9,300 at the end of 2016. However, this money is being held to meet the cost of a new boiler.
Being fully aware of not being able to pay our Parish Share in full is a concern.
Fund raising is generally through Winter and Summer Fayres and social gatherings (quiz nights, coffee mornings and cream teas). This provides enjoyable and popular social fellowship both for the Church members and the wider community. We held a Poverty Sunday frugal lunch to raise funds for Church Action on Poverty.
On Good Friday we give out Hot Cross Buns to the people in Moldgreen. This gives us an opportunity to share the Easter story and occasionally people have been open to us praying with them. We have adapted this on other occasions by giving out small posies of flowers with a Bible verse attached. Again, this gives us a valuable opportunity to meet and engage with ‘Moldgreeners’.
Special appeals take place to raise money for major projects.
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Recent Coffee Morning
OTHER CHURCHES Dalton Methodist Church and United Reformed Church are both situated in the parish on the main Wakefield Road. We have had links with these two churches in the past as part of the Churches Together scheme, which also includes Dalton Baptist. St Joseph’s Catholic Church is also on the edge of the parish boundary.
LOCAL INSTITUTIONS Moldgreen Nursery, Infant & Junior School lies within the parish, but it is not a Church School. Whilst efforts have been made in the past to forge a link with the school, the relationship between the Church and the school requires some nurture.
The following groups use the Church Building: Playgroup - they meet every weekday 9.00 am to 4.00 pm during term time. Rainbows, Brownies & Guides – meet on Friday evening during term time.
We have a close working relationship with both the Playgroup and the uniformed groups. We have recently begun a Coffee Morning every Thursday offering free drinks and biscuits to the mums and dads dropping their children at the Playgroup. This has been very successful and is helping to build relationships with people on the outside of the regular Church activities. Invitations were extended and a number of the parents and children attended the Christingle service for the first time.
We are invited by the Playgroup to provide a Christian input at key festivals - Easter and Christmas, with the Vicar, and more recently the Church Warden, speaking to the children about the birth and life of Jesus.
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The congregation has always played an active part in the care and nurture of our parish priest. We are a close, supportive congregation and the priest has always been part of that inclusive relationship. Members of the congregation have always been willing to utilise their gifts and talents in support of one another. The PCC would pay clergy expenses in full.
HOUSING The vicarage is located within the church grounds. It is a five-bedroom detached house with hall, two reception rooms, kitchen, study, bathroom, separate downstairs toilet, garage and garden. It was built 33 years ago.
MISSION STATEMENT We have a mission statement: ‘Living in the love of God, loving one another and making Him known’. This text is used throughout the year and placed on notices and newssheets etc.
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Our desire is to be a visible Church in the community and we are willing to explore new ways to achieve this. We held a ‘Praise in the Park’ where we took a picnic lunch and then sang worship songs together. This was a Churches Together event.
Praise in the Park
THE CHURCH NOW AND IN THE FUTURE
Strengths We have a strong core group within the congregation who are committed leaders i.e. Children’s Workers, Worship Group, Lay Pastoral Minister, PCC and Churchwardens – all working together as a team.
Weaknesses A steady decline in numbers over the last 10 years and in financial giving are a continued concern. However, the present congregation are an active, caring and supportive group who are forward looking in their Christian life.
Challenges and Opportunities Our biggest challenge/opportunity is looking for ways to be visible and bringing a new generation to faith.
Areas for Development The main key areas that we wish to work on are prayer, teaching/Bible knowledge and community work
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TRANSFORMING OUR LIVES, CHURCH and COMMUNITY with the POWER and LOVE OF GOD
Poppy grown from seeds given to us by the Diocese in 2014 For the commemoration the 100th Anniversary of World War 1
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St. James’ Church and Parish Centre is part of the Joint Benefice with Christ Church and the Deanery of Almondbury, situated in an urban parish about 2 miles from Huddersfield Town Centre. The University of Huddersfield is nearby and there is easy access to the M62 and Leeds.
We are in the middle of two housing estates, Rawthorpe and part of Dalton which were built during the 1930s and 1950s. More houses have been built since then. Some of the houses are privately owned and the others are owned by Kirklees Council and Housing Associations. The community is 70% White British, Caribbean, Black British and other ethnic minorities. The population is 3,434 and is classed as deprived. Within our Parish are two community centres; the DRAM with a sports field and Rawthorpe Community Centre, a library and the Baptist Church.
LOCAL SCHOOLS Rawthorpe St James CE Infant and Nursery School - This is our Church School. Our previous Vicar led assemblies each week alternating between Infant and Junior schools. Rawthorpe Junior School Nether Hall Learning Campus High School
LOCAL SHOPS & BUSINESSES A Takeaway, 2 News agents, a Bridal Shop, a Riding School and a Public House
JOHN SMITH STADIUM - Less than a mile away, Professional Football and Rugby with gymnasium and swimming pool etc. Next door a Coffee Shop, Cinema, Restaurant and Public House. Opposite is a Retail Park.
SYNGENTA - large manufacturing centre of crop protection products. They donated several used computers to us in 2016 so that we could upgrade to Windows 10.
The nearest Doctor and Dentist Surgeries and Pharmacies are situated in Moldgreen and Waterloo. There is an excellent bus service to and from Huddersfield Town Centre.
Google Maps
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In 1933 ST. JAMES’ began in Foxlow House, Rawthorpe. The local people and businesses showed a genuine desire for a Church to be built. Together over the years they made generous contributions towards their new church. In 1960 ST. JAMES’CHURCH (the new building) was consecrated and Foxlow House became the Church Hall with an adjoining Vicarage. In 1999 The Church Hall and the Vicarage were demolished and the land which the Church owned was sold to a housing association. New houses were built on the land in 2000/2001. In 2001 ST. JAMES’ CHURCH was modernised to create a multipurpose building. Downstairs: a Vestry, Office, Kitchen, boiler room, 2 storerooms, toilets & disability toilet. Upstairs: 3 Rooms, 2 storerooms, toilets and shower.
1960 2017
The Altar This is the original hardwood floor of the Church which looks like new. The floor was recently The Hall sanded, levelled & has a protective coating.
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MORNING SERVICE at 9.30 am
1st and 3rd Sunday Family Service and Morning Worship
2nd and 4th Sunday Holy Communion and Sunday school
5th Sunday Joint Service alternates with Christ Church
Monday Morning Prayer Meeting and Prayer Chain 9.30am - Led by our Lay Pastoral
Minister at present in lieu of a Vicar. On occasional Mondays the church wardens and vicar went out to lunch.
St. James is open Evangelical and is flexible and modern in our approach to worship. We use
Modern Common Worship, Seasonal Common Worship, New Patterns Worship and Songs of
Fellowship with traditional & contemporary music. We use an overhead projector, computer and CDs for our music. We do have a piano/organ which is used at funerals and on other occasions. We expect the Clergy to be robed for communion services and other services can be less formal.
This past year we had 3 Baptisms, 1 Thanksgiving, 2 Confirmations and 2 Funerals.
SPECIAL SERVICES
Maundy Thursday - an evening service with a meal. We invited Christ Church, Baptist Church and United Reform Church.
Breakfast Café Church (informal worship) three times a year.
Harvest Service - with a collection for our Foodbank. Christ Church donates their
collection
Carol Service - with afternoon tea and cake and a nativity play performed by our Sunday
school. We invite the community to join us at these services many attend from our
parish.
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OUR CONGREGATION
Although our Congregation is small (average attendance is 28) they are loyal and devout
Christians. They are a mix of white British, Caribbean, black British and Chinese of all ages, male and female. Only one member lives outside of the parish. We always have tea and coffee after our services.
OUR CHARITIES
We support Christian Aid, the Gideon’s and our own Foodbank.
OUR SUNDAY SCHOOL
“Jimmy’s on Sunday” is the name of our Sunday school. It began in July 2014 with 6 children and has now increased to 13. We have a prize giving in July for good attendance and a Christmas
Party. The Nativity Play performed by the children was a resounding success. We are hoping to have a music group in 2017
Sunday School Nativity @ Carol Service 2016
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We have a Centre Manager who was a paid employee until December 2016. Due to our financial situation we can no longer employ him. However he has offered to continue as a volunteer with our other volunteer from January 2017. “I enjoy the challenge of working in an area that requires the community to realise the benefits of working together to achieve more than everyone on their own.”
COMPUTER ROOM – for Family History, Job Search and Lessons - Mon – Fri (28 local people) “I really enjoy volunteering at St James Church & parish centre, as I’ve been doing it for many years. It is good experience for me, making new friends who are a good support for me and thoroughly enjoy being with them and learning new skills. I help people with computer work it is something I enjoy doing as it gives me confidence to improve further skills and meet new people.” BROWNIES --- Rawthorpe Brownie Pack have been at St James for over 50 years. There are 19 members.
ACTIVE SOCIAL CLUB – for young adults with various special needs, they have lunch and activities on Thursdays from 10.00a.m.to 2.00p.m. (30 people)
DANCE SCHOOL – A well-established school with lessons in ballet, modern and tap Monday to Thursday 4.00pm – 9.00pm and Saturday 8.am – 5pm (100 pupils) “The room is spacious and has a good floor surface and always clean and tidy. I have found the members and committee most friendly and helpful. There is always a welcoming atmosphere.”
ST JAMES SCHOOL Infant and Nursery – they hold their end of term assemblies and Messy Church here. The Church Wardens assist.
POLLING STATION – for LOCAL & NATIONAL ELECTIONS
UPSTAIRS ROOM – casual hire
HALL HIRE – for children’s birthday parties 2 or 3 per month Hall can even fit a bouncy castle
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God has blessed us by giving us all different talents and we are able to put them to good use. We are an active group and work together as a team. We meet once a month and publish a newsletter each month showing our Services and other events. Our Church Warden and Secretary attend Deanery Meetings.
We have opened a Food bank to which we all, including the congregation contribute. Together with Christ Church we donate our Harvest collection to our Foodbank. We open on Tuesday mornings and offer tea and cake, a chat and a prayer.
Stocking our Foodbank
Harvest collection We are able to help people who need our assistance
We have been to retreats with Christ Church to the Shrine of our Lady of Walsingham, Foxhill and Ellel Grange.
Walsingham
We have a joint Christmas meal at a pub every year.
Christmas Meal We organise day trips to interesting places in Yorkshire. We invite Christ Church and others from the community to join us. We have been to The Lavender Farm, York Chocolate factory, Rhubarb Farm and Newsome Hall for a picnic and more besides.
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We have a Table Top Fair twice a year to raise funds for minor emergency repairs. They are very successful. Fun for all with many interesting stalls. Refreshments were available and Father Christmas paid a visit to the children.
Christmas Table Top Fair Christmas Table Top Fair
We had a wonderful Carol Service this past December a number from the community of our parish joined us. We had tea and cake and watched our Sunday School perform their Nativity Play.
For the Queen’s 90th Birthday Celebrations we invited the community to join us for a party.
Floral Arrangement at Queen’s Birthday Party Orb & Crown Decorations
Children giving a gift to the Vicar at the end of her last Service
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Tithing is of great concern. The only solution would be an increase in our congregation. The lettings of the Parish centre are very important to us as they give us an income to enable us to pay our way. Parish Share 2015 - £12,636.00 paid in full. 2016 - £13,113.00 paid £2,000.00 We will endeavour to pay our parish share in 2017. Clergy working expenses are always paid in full.
Our desire is for the Church to grow both spiritually and numerically. We do have a good relationship with some of the community. However we do need to find more ways to reach out to the people who live on the estates and to bring them together with us in our worship of God and to increase our congregation.
We have been out and about in our parish amongst our communities. On Good Friday morning we went out and offered Hot Cross Buns and a “Why Jesus” booklet to those that we met on the streets, in the shops and at the bus stops.
We made small posies of fresh flowers and attached a Biblical Message which we laid on walls, benches, bus stops and outside the school for people to pick-up to keep or to give to someone else.
We have done some door-knocking in part of the Dalton Estate and gave out “Why Jesus” booklets and offered prayers if wanted.
We hope that in the future to be able to cover the whole of our Parish.
THE CROSS MADE FROM THE PEWS OF WAKEFIELD CATHEDRAL 2012
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The PCCs and congregations have discussed at length what type of person we would like as our new Priest. We are praying for someone who has a genuine calling from God to do His work here in socio-economic deprived parishes like ours.
To be friendly, kind, empathic, understanding, constructive, a good listener and good communicator with all ages including young adults and children. To have a good sense of humour.
To have good leadership skills and an understanding of financial matters to be able to continue with our growth. To be a visible presence to show our Christian Faith in our Churches, schools and in the wider communities.
In return we offer you friendly, warm and welcoming congregations with supportive, hardworking and enthusiastic PCCs. We know that working with Christ Church and St. James together with the University will be a challenge.
However we will all support you in your ministry with God’s Help and our prayers. Therefore we are confident that together our future will be bright with the right person to lead us to carry on with God’s work.
Are you that Person?
Thank you for reading our Brochure.
Christ Church St. James Church & Parish Centre 35 Church Street, Moldgreen, 1 St James Way, Rawthorpe Huddersfield HD5 9DL Huddersfield HD5 9NG Telephone 01484/424432 Telephone 01484/532955
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