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MID-FOSSE GROUP Passionate about sharing God’s love with the whole community Page 1 of 23 BISHOP’S INTRODUCTION The people of the Mid-Fosse Group describe themselves as being passionate about sharing God's love with the whole of the community and that is a good description. They want to worship God, to make new disciples and to transform their communities for the better and they certainly do all of those things. As new housing arrives in the area this group of parishes are keen to play their part, together with the wider deanery, to extend a welcome to their new neighbours and serve and share with them the gospel of grace. There are some really good foundations that have been built up by the faithful and imaginative ministry of former incumbents, of which the Church Room at Moreton Morrell is a solid and symbolic example. It shows the readiness of this vibrant Christian community to improve its facilities for their own needs but to provide a resource for mission. There is real opportunity to build on what has been and to release the new work of God in this next and exciting phase of Mid-Fosse’s life. The Diocese of Coventry is a great place to be. Set in the centre of the country we seek to be in the centre of God’s purposes. As you can see from this group of parishes, there’s a strong commitment across the Diocese to our mission purpose of ‘worshipping God, making new disciples, transforming communities’. We believe that the way we can fulfil that purpose is by becoming more fully and faithfully the Church, the body and bride of Christ. That’s why we invest significantly in the healthy church principles identified by Natural Church Development which you will read about in the profile. We know that we are called to be Christ’s people together, so we have a strategy for the Whole Diocese including church schools, the Cathedral and chaplaincies as well as churches themselves as they gather around the Bishop to share in the apostolic ministry and mission given to us by Jesus as “partners together in the message and ministry of reconciliation”. If you feel called to partner with us then I commend this post to you. Page 2 of 23 DEANERY SUMMARY Fosse Deanery comprises the large town and suburban parishes in and around Stratford, a large village (Wellesbourne), and lots of smaller rural parishes. The Deanery currently has 9 stipendiary clergy posts, several self-supporting and retired clergy, and 2 curates serving the 8 benefices with a total of 25 parishes. Recognising the difference between urban and rural ministry, we have decided to differentiate the leadership of these different sections of the deanery by having two ‘Acting Area Deans’. I am responsible for the rural benefices to the east of the Deanery, and Patrick Taylor leads the parishes around the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, including Wellesbourne. There is some overlap however, especially in trying to think strategically about the future shape and structure of the whole deanery to meet the needs of mission. We both see the role of the deanery as ‘Supporting the mission and ministry of the parishes in the deanery’ Mindful of both the many challenges and opportunities facing churches and benefices across the deanery, the Deanery Mission and Pastoral Committee (DMPC), Chapter and Deanery Synod are working on a longer-term, strategic 'Deanery Plan'. The Mid Fosse parishes sit in the centre of Fosse Deanery and they include an exciting opportunity for new mission with a large housing development starting in 2020, adding 8,000-10,000 people into the benefice over 10 years. Our deanery plan is intended to guide how we optimise our resources for mission and ministry while also supporting this new growth, and this Interim Ministry post plays a crucial part in forming that new future Rural ministry perhaps has a reputation for priests running around lots of churches doing services, but basically managing decline. That is not what we seek, and is not what the Diocese encourages! We offer candidates the opportunity to be key players in designing something unique for our context, but not with the automatic assumption that posts will be cut, and/or that clergy will have to take on more and more parishes. Depending on what that future holds, there is the possibility that the subsequent post (for which the current post-holder could apply) could be a permanent appointment. There is a genuine depth of friendship among the clergy and a number of us meet together weekly for quiet prayer and monthly for a prayer breakfast. We support one another through Chapter meetings over a shared lunch, co-operation and generosity in sharing resources, and trying new ways of doing things as we re-imagine rural and town ministry for today. These are both exciting and challenging times, and we welcome colleagues who have a passion for extending God’s kingdom in rural areas, and are prepared to think collegially and innovatively in how to achieve this. The Revd Barry Jackson Acting Area Dean (Fosse - rural) Page 3 of 23 BACKGROUND TO POST Mid-Fosse group is situated in rural south Warwickshire within easy reach of Warwick, Leamington Spa and Stratford upon Avon, and with easy access to the motorway network. While the area is generally regarded as affluent, there are a significant number of families either on low incomes or unwaged in the parishes. The parishes are within a few minutes’ drive of each other, so close that our annual Good Friday walk encompasses all of them. Chesterton, Lighthorne with Lighthorne Heath, Moreton Morrell, Newbold Pacey and Ashorne were brought together in the mid-seventies and work very well as a unit, supported by a strong leadership team of churchwardens, two licensed Readers and a very efficient part time administrator. We are also fortunate to have several retired clergy locally who willingly offer assistance when needed. All in all we work really well together. Of course we have challenges – finance, maintaining ancient buildings, ageing population – to name a few, but we rise to them. Although we may feel a little weary and frustrated at times, we welcome new initiatives and are creative and persistent in bringing ideas to fruition (The ‘Room’ at Moreton Morrell is an outstanding example of this) and we are committed, enthusiastic and passionate about sharing God’s love with the whole community, not just those who meet in buildings for services. Surrounding villages have seen considerable growth in housing in the last few years and there is a proposed new development of several thousand properties, part of which will fall within the boundaries of two of our parishes. We recognise that this may seem to present a daunting challenge in some ways, but we look on it as a great opportunity to refresh and grow our church family. The growth in housing and the diverse nature of this and two neighbouring groups in the deanery mean that some consideration is being given to how we best organise ourselves for mission in our present context. There is no pre-existing plan or thoughts on the part of either Deanery or Diocese to break up the current group of parishes; instead there is an openness to discuss together with other benefices what the best future configuration might be and the successful applicant will play a significant role in that conversation. Page 4 of 23 ROLE DESCRIPTION PERSON SPECIFICATION The role of this post is to lead the church in fulfilling We welcome applications from Spirit-filled the Diocesan Mission Purpose of: candidates who: Worshipping God • relate well to people of all ages and are Making New Disciples experienced in nurturing individuals in Transforming Communities. expressing their own gifts This will be achieved by developing eight essential • preach with sensitivity and an qualities in the life of the church: awareness of rural issues that enables Empowering Leadership them to offer relevant guidance and Gift-oriented Ministry teaching Passionate Spirituality Inspiring Worship • encourage others, having the skills to Holistic Small Groups discern, support and develop potential Need-oriented Outreach worship leaders and Readers Loving Relationships Functional Structures • welcome the challenges and opportunities of the new housing There will be a need to work closely with the area developments and have the enthusiasm dean and the neighbouring parishes. and imagination to help us build a future for the church in our rapidly The role requires a priest with the skills, experience growing communities. and enthusiasm to lead us prayerfully through changing times, to challenge us and to nurture us • nurture the relationship with Moreton spiritually. Morrell CofE Primary School. The Diocese of Coventry is committed to equality and diversity and welcomes applications from under-represented or disadvantaged groups. Page 5 of 23 THE DIOCESAN MISSION PURPOSE AND EIGHT ESSENTIAL QUALITIES OF HEALTHY CHURCHES The Mission Purpose of the Diocese of Coventry is: Worshipping God, Making New Disciples, Transforming Communities. While we offer an assessment (below) of how we see the level of health of each of our churches in relation to the eight essential qualities of natural church development, we have only formally measured these qualities in one of them. As a group we are committed to the Diocesan purpose and to growth and development in these areas of church life. We recognise our need to carry out further surveys soon after the arrival of the successful applicant. Empowering Leadership All five of the churches are blessed with small cores of people willing to lead on the various tasks and initiatives, although these numbers are generally dwindling.

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