Welcome to the Benefice of Mereworth, Wateringbury and West Peckham St Lawrence's St John the Baptist's St Dunstan's ME18 5LU ME18 5PA ME18 5JL Welcome! Thank you for sparing the Our Vision 3 time to find out more about the Benefice and the opportunity to lead us Who will flourish in this role? 4 spiritually. We hope you find much to interest you Our Benefice 5 and please contact the Archdeacon if you would like any further Our support 6 information. Where you will be 7 Contact Julie Conalty Parish profiles Mereworth 8 Archdeacon of Tonbridge Wateringbury 10 [email protected]. org 01732 833840 West Peckham 13 Websites Services 15 Mereworth stlawrencemereworth.org Wateringbury wateringburychurch.org.uk West Peckham kmwchurches.org/west-peckham/ 2 Our vision Launched in November 2017, Called Together is the strategic vision for the Diocese of Called together - The Rochester. The vision and core themes were discerned following extensive vision for the Diocese of engagement across the Diocese, seeking to hear what God is calling us to in this place Rochester and time. The three themes – Growing Disciples, Enriching our Communities, and Resourcing our Mission and Ministry – seek to give focus and direction to our priorities over the next five years. Every parish in the Diocese is invited to support the shared vision in a way which fits their local context, working towards the same goals. Called Together marks the beginning of an exciting journey for the Diocese of Rochester. As Bishop James said, “This is a significant moment for us as a Christian community. It has implications not just for how we move forward and connect as a Church family, but how we engage and support people across our communities.” More information can be found on the Diocesan website at http://www.rochester.anglican.org/called-together We are a new benefice. We seek a leader of our flocks, to guide us as we follow in the Growing in Christian footsteps of Jesus, as His disciples, faith and sharing it o to be visible and accessible to the wider community o to help us serve our communities' spiritual hunger with fellowship and faith, o to encourage us to show compassion and charity to all who suffer, o to build us up so that we may grow His body in our Churches as worshipping people, o to inspire us to learn to live with His Word in our lives and to reach out to our communities o to encourage us to offer welcome, generosity, forgiveness and fellowship to others. 3 Who will flourish in this role? The Benefice has an open You are a collaborative leader who You have an open and welcoming Be under no illusion, this mind about who it is looking is not afraid to seek assistance outlook that reflects the diversity is a full-time calling for. Hopefully the following from retired clergy and ministers of the people you will serve and requiring terrific comments will help you outside the Benefice and many work with. reserves of infectious discern whether this role will gifted lay people to grow the enthusiasm and suit you. worshipping community. You will be sensitive to the pragmatism. It is a particular needs and identity of deeply rewarding role You are a prayerful and You engage and inspire a younger each parish but will encourage that offers tremendous inspiring teacher and leader with generation in the faith, building collaboration between them. opportunities for the a firm personal faith and a strong on the existing work of Sunday Rector to develop commitment to pastoral care and Schools, Messy Church, You are IT-literate, comfortable themselves. discipleship. Mereworth Young Singers’ choir, with parish accounts and are uniformed organisations and realistic about time management Your flexibility welcomes a broad other youth activity. and work-life balance. range of worship styles and spirituality. You are comfortable You have a desire to engage with a You are a person who is able to leading a Book of Common Prayer variety of schools by rebuilding encourage many things – such as and Common Worship, Word and and developing the links between choral groups, liturgical tradition Sacrament, a school service or a the Church and Primary Schools. and positive change in our baby and toddler praise. churches. You discern and develop the You are a person who engages gifts, talents and ministries within You are able to find ways to with and encourages the the congregations, teaching and champion stewardship in wider community. Allowing encouraging worshippers of all churches that need to increase the church buildings to be a ages to grow in their spiritual lives levels of regular giving. resource to the villages. You have and developing Christian ministry a place in the life of our among all ages. communities as well as within our 4 congregations. Our Benefice Our Patrons are the Dean and Chapter of Rochester Cathedral and Viscount Falmouth. The Benefice of Mereworth, scheme was inaugurated on 1st The cluster clergy collaborate in The Benefice of Wateringbury and West Peckham August 2019. Following the arrangements for service cover Mereworth, was created as part of the Malling incumbent’s appointment to and funerals and weddings (along Wateringbury and West Deanery Ministry and Mission another parish in the Diocese the with retired clergy). There is a Peckham is looking for a Plan. This was adopted to address current vacancy has arisen. shared parish administrator who new Rector; could it be the deployment of stipendiary is also the first point of contact for you? clergy given the likelihood of fewer The Benefice works in an those seeking to arrange funerals, clergy and restricted finances. informal cluster arrangement with baptisms and weddings. There was a need to respond the adjoining parishes of West missionally to areas of new Malling, Offham and St Gabriel’s The Benefice offers a wealth of population growth and to identify created in 2017 by a Bishop’s opportunity for creative and whether there were better ways in Mission Order to serve the housing collegiate working and for which parishes could be organised estate of Kings Hill where further identifying those things on which to enhance ministry and mission. development is taking place. There it would be better for the three is currently no church building on parishes to work together. At the The existing priest-in-charge of Kings Hill and use is made of moment we are working as three Mereworth with West Peckham school premises. separate parishes that come became the first rector when the together on occasion. In our newly created Benefice we recognise a need to build up a shared sense of purpose between our parishes in working for God’s kingdom, belonging to each other and belonging to God. 5 Our support The Benefice has no church hall or In addition to each parish’s Our new rector will meeting room other than the APCM, currently each PCC meets be living in a beautiful rectory or the churches. There is, several times a year. The sub- location and well however, a well-appointed village committees meet regularly supported from across hall in each parish. between the PCC meetings and the the Benefice and the rector is not expected to attend all wider Diocese. of these. Minutes and other Benefice Administrator documents are circulated by email. Rectory The Benefice currently has a 39% The rectory at 72 The Street, share of a part-time parish Finances administrator, who also supports Mereworth ME18 5NA was built in The parishes produce separate Mereworth Rectory 1958 and will be the home of the St Mary’s West Malling, St Michael’s Offham and St Gabriel’s, accounts and finances are rector of the Benefice. The house managed prudently. is located 400 metres south-west Kings Hill. of Saint Lawrence’s church, on the Safeguarding south side of The Street. At 134 PCCs Deanery square metres on two floors, it Each parish has adopted the comprises sitting-room, dining- Each parish has its own PCC with Our new rector will receive Diocesan Safeguarding policy and room, study, kitchen, ground floor various committees looking after support from the Deanery and will the House of Bishops WC, four bedrooms and one worship and mission in the be expected to play an active role recommendation for safer bathroom. There is a garage for parishes, the fabric of our church in the Deanery, supporting the recruitment. one car and a large garden buildings and organising parish Area Dean and developing the containing mature trees. It is events. Deanery Mission and Ministry surrounded by farmland. Plan. 6 Where you will be The Benefice is in an excellent location, close to the county town of Maidstone in Kent. It lies in the Medway Valley and Metropolitan Green Belt, eight miles west of Maidstone and seven miles east of Tonbridge. The M20 and A20 run to the north of the Benefice, linking you to London, the M25, Maidstone, the Medway towns and the Channel ports. The A26 runs to the south, which connects Maidstone to Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells. It is a short drive between the three Parishes. The rectory is in Mereworth, a short drive from mainline stations with services to London in under an hour, Maidstone and the Channel ports. Wateringbury has a station which is on the railway line between the Medway towns and Tonbridge. The Benefice is close to shopping centres in Maidstone, Bluewater, Tunbridge Wells and London and we have plenty of choice for groceries with Map showing Mereworth, Wateringbury and West Peckham parish boundaries Asda, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco (From the Malling Deanery map with Kings Hill BMO area inset).