BRAILES AND SUTTON UNDER BRAILES; TYSOE, OXHILL AND WHATCOTE St. George’s Church, Brailes St. Thomas à Becket Church, Sutton under Brailes Parish Profile St. Mary’s Church, Tysoe St. Lawrence Church, Oxhill St. Peter’s Church, Whatcote 1 | P a g e CONTENTS Page 3 Bishop’s Introduction Page 4 Deanery Summary Page 5 Background to Post & Role Description Page 6 Person Specification Page 7 St. George’s Church, Brailes Page 11 St. Thomas à Becket’s Church, Sutton under Brailes Page 14 St. Mary’s Church, Tysoe Page 17 St. Lawrence’s Church, Oxhill Page 20 St. Peter’s Church Whatcote Page 23 Vicarage Information Page 24 Current Pattern of Church Services Page 25 Finance and Stewardship Cover photographs from shipstondeanery.co.uk 2 | P a g e BISHOP’S INTRODUCTION These beautiful parishes, set in the centre of England, with their cherished rural environment, their strong commitment to the well being of their villages and their support for the life of the Church, provide a very attractive place in which to live and minister. The opportunity for the new incumbent – and one that is not now readily available in the Church of England – is to follow a priest who has strengthened the stability of these communities with long years of loving service, and given himself very fully to the lives of their parishioners, especially in Brailes and Sutton under Brailes. The challenge – a deeply exciting one – will be to build upon this firm basis, grow the spiritual life of the people, release more of the gifts of the people of God, reach out to those distanced in any way from the Church and lead the different church communities into a more integrated, common mission. With the forthcoming retirement of the Associate (House for Duty) Minister and able retired clergy living in the Benefices, there is a wonderful chance to build a clergy team across the group and, together, to develop an active lay ministry. When I came to the Diocese in 2008, I was charged by the then Archbishop of Canterbury to ‘release the missionary energies of the Diocese of Coventry’. That is what we have been doing over the last years, helped by our clear Mission Purpose and supported by our strategic emphasis on growing healthy church communities. That is the work to be done in these Benefices and I gladly comment it to you With my prayers 3 | P a g e DEANERY SUMMARY This group of churches is part of the Deanery of Shipston, the southernmost tip of the Diocese of Coventry. Shipston Deanery has this group and four Benefices containing 26 parishes, with 28 churches: apart from the market town of Shipston (sadly without an actual market nowadays), each is a small rural community with its own identity – just like those in this group. The Deanery is geographically quite spread out, but with a total population of just 15,500 or thereabouts – smaller than many single urban parishes. It is an area with far more sheep than people, where the farming year is critically important, and which comes with all the privileges, responsibilities and challenges of rural life. When I look at Brailes, Sutton-under-Brailes, Tysoe, Oxhill and Whatcote, I see five welcoming church communities, each trying to be faithful both to God and their churches. I see each individual trying to serve God, each other and the communities in which they are rooted; and each open to learning more about Jesus and their journey of discipleship with him. I see five village communities, in each of which there is a strong place for the church at its heart, and characterised by deep relationships which interweave church and village life. I see five churches each concerned to rise to the challenge of making God’s love known and real, and of seeing lives transformed, in a rapidly changing world. I also see five churches becoming increasing open to and aware of their lives together as part of the body of Christ. In terms of attendance, several of these parishes tend to punch well above their weight: Sutton, the smallest often has a quarter or more of the village population in church on a normal Sunday. Our aim as a Deanery is to celebrate our lives together as the family of God; to learn together, and to speak together of what we have seen and heard. As a Diocese we have spent much time in consultation with those involved in multi-parish benefices in our rural communities, and are actively committed to supporting them. Our small numbers here mean that Shipston Deanery has a vital role in resourcing, supporting and enabling those in the small churches who find some tasks beyond their capabilities. Deanery Synod and Lent and Ascension Services have long formed the backbone of this: increasingly we are running teaching courses, music workshops and social events to enable us to be more fully the body of Christ. Rev Canon Dr. Jill Tucker Area Dean of Shipston 4 | P a g e BACKGROUND TO POST The Benefices of Brailes, Sutton under Brailes and the Benefice of Tysoe, Oxhill and Whatcote (TOW) are situated in lovely rural southern Warwickshire approximately 10 miles from Stratford upon Avon in Warwickshire and a similar distance from Banbury in Oxfordshire. The previous incumbent, The Revd Canon Nicholas Morgan retired in October 2016, after 37 years in post. He was initially Rector of Sutton under Brailes, and Vicar of Brailes, and became Priest in charge of Tysoe, Oxhill and Whatcote (TOW) about 10 years ago. Nicholas had, what is now a unique ministry, of being able to concentrate his time on the two relatively small villages of Brailes and Sutton-under-Brailes. When the TOW group were added, he was assisted by a House for Duty Priest, who lives at Tysoe Vicarage, who will retire at Easter 2017. The benefices are also blessed by the presence of the Area Dean, the Reverend Canon Jill Tucker, who lives in Oxhill, and two retired priests, the Reverend Canon Tom Moffatt, who lives in Tysoe, and the Reverend Canon George Warner, who lives in Brailes, also Mrs. Jennie Rake, Reader, who lives in Tysoe, all of whom are willing to assist the new post-holder in any way they can. The five Parishes have generally operated as separate worshipping communities and there has been little or no attempt to amalgamate the organisation leadership or worship across the whole group, although the churches of TOW are increasingly working together. This represents an opportunity for the future and is an area which requires further development to encourage fellowship across the group and to make the running of the parishes more manageable. Positive steps have however started to be made towards this, with churchwardens now meeting more regularly together, and a recent quiet day for all churches led by the Area Dean and Dean of Coventry. Also administration is currently carried out by the clergy themselves but we envisage a future situation where a new Priest-in-Charge would benefit from a part time administrator for the five churches working more closely together. This post provides a great opportunity for a priest who wishes to lead a hitherto diverse group of rural churches into greater unity and effectiveness together for the Kingdom of God. 5 | P a g e ROLE DESCRIPTION The role of this post is to lead the Churches in fulfilling the diocesan mission purpose of: Worshipping God Making new disciples Transforming communities This will be achieved by developing 8 essential qualities in the life of the Church: Empowering Leadership Gift-oriented Ministry Passionate Spirituality Inspiring Worship Holistic Small Groups Need-oriented Outreach Loving Relationships Functional Structures PERSON SPECIFICATION We welcome applications from candidates with a gently vibrant, living faith in Jesus Christ who: Can enable both traditional and contemporary forms of worship to be inspiring, and attract a younger age range. This will include a love of all types of music and music-making. Inspire people with the love of Jesus and the Bible, bringing fresh ideas and expressions of faith. Have a successful track record of collaborative leadership, and have a desire to empower, motivate and mentor existing and potential members of the Churches in Christian discipleship and leadership. In a rural context this will inevitably involve developing positive pastoral relationships with the church and village communities. Have the skills, wisdom, and character to lead all 5 parishes towards a much greater mutual working together whilst still retaining their unique identities as the centres of their communities. Have experience of developing excellent relationships with young people and parents in Parishes including through Schools. 6 | P a g e A DESCRIPTION OF THE BENEFICES As the benefices have operated as 5 independent units it would be unrealistic to attempt to give a co-ordinated view of them all. We have therefore chosen to describe each parish separately. St. George’s – Brailes St George’s is popularly known as the “Cathedral of the Feldon” being the grandest church in the Warwickshire “field land” south of the River Avon. The church today stands as a reminder of Brailes’ past and its continuing role as a Christian beacon. Brailes in fact comprises two halves - Upper Brailes and Lower Brailes - but is commonly known to all as “Brailes”. It is a sought-after village known for its strong community spirit and activities. There are many groups and clubs which meet regularly from a children’s drama club to the Mechanical Society. Each August it hosts the Brailes Show which includes show-jumping a flower and produce show as well as side attractions and displays.