Vacancy in the Parish of the Thorntons & Otteringtons And
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VACANCY IN THE PARISH OF THE THORNTONS & OTTERINGTONS AND POLICE CHAPLAIN FOR NORTH YORKSHIRE POLICE FORCE St. Andrew’s Church, South Otterington St. Michael’s Church, North Otterington St. Leonard’s Church, Thornton le Street 1 | P a g e Contents 1. Introduction 3 2. Our Vision & Mission 3 3. Where we are today: Our Worshipping Community 4 4. Weekly Rotas of Services 5 5. Church Finances 5 6. South Otterington C of E School 6 7. The Qualities and Attributes of Our New Incumbent 7 8. Pastoral Care & Support for the Incumbent 7 9. Vicarage 8 10. Chaplaincy 9 11. Churches and local amenities 10 11.1 Where are we? 10 11.2 South Otterington 12 11.3 Thornton le Street 14 11.4 North Otterington 15 11.5 Thornton le Moor 16 11.6 Thornton le Beans 17 2 | P a g e Introduction The vacancy is for a composite post comprising an incumbent in the parish of the Thorntons and Otteringtons, (half time post) and the Chaplain to the North Yorkshire Yorkshire Police Force (half time post) currently based in Newby Wiske Hall, Newby Wiske. The Thorntons & Otteringtons is a rural parish in North Yorkshire that serves the villages of South Otterington, North Otterington, Newby Wiske, Thornton le Street, Thornton le Moor and Thornton le Beans. There are three churches, St. Andrews, the parish church, at South Otterington, St Michael and All Angels at North Otterington and St Leonard’s at Thornton le Street. The three churches, each with their own individual personality, are united in one parish. There are two elected Church Wardens for St. Andrew’s and two sub-wardens for St. Leonard’s and one for St. Michael’s. Our Vison and Mission As a parish our Mission Statement is Welcoming and encouraging people to discover Jesus and meet with one another. Fellowship is just one of the major concepts that we pursue as a parish. Lay Ministry is another area where we are continuing to grow with one experienced Reader and three current members having just completed the Recognised Parish Assistant training. There is also lay involvement in the planning and delivery of All Age Worship and the Christingle and Nativity services, as well as Bible Readings. A number of the congregation are authorised to act as Eucharistic Ministers at Communion and, at St. Andrew’s, to deliver the intercessions. Keen to be involved in lay ministry, members plan and deliver the monthly Praise and Worship evening service, are involved in pastoral care, hospital visiting and facilitating the House Group sessions. The parish also has two lay representatives on the Deanery Synod. 3 | P a g e Where we are today: Our Worshipping Community In common with most rural communities, attendance has dropped over the last decade. Currently there are 53 on the parish electoral roll. The communities at North Otterington and Thornton le Street are mainly retired, while South Otterington also has a retired population but it also attracts a number of younger adults and at the Christingle and Christmas Eve Nativity a large number of children attend bringing with them parents and grandparents. The fellowship of the church community extends to all members of the parish through the publication and distribution of the monthly newsletter, News & Views where contributions are welcomed and regularly received from the full parish. There are two House Groups that meet in the first and third weeks of the month, although from September to December for this year, they will be joining together for their meetings. The congregations at Thornton le Street and North Otterington welcome traditional style services, while the congregation at South Otterington leans towards more flexible and informal type services. In the parish we have held Alpha, Lent and Confirmation courses in the past. The Deanery has a Covenant Agreement with the Methodist Circuit. On the fifth Sunday the congregation from the Methodist chapel at Thornton le Beans join in the Fifth Sunday Rota of services and on occasions the parish priest is involved in services at the Methodist chapel, usually in the evening. The parish has a policy of welcoming baptised people of any age to receive communion, if they so wish, in all three churches. We are aware that at regular church services the number of children is very limited, so St. Andrew’s is developing closer links with the school by members helping at school events. This is part of our mission to be more relevant to the wider community. The church members have in the past run a Sunday School and Youth Group. A small Sunday Group was started but unfortunately disbanded when the leader retired and no one could be found to take over. On the first Wednesday in the month there is a Jesus and Me (JAM) service in the church with an average of 4 adults and 13 children attending. 4 | P a g e Weekly Rota of Services St. Andrew’s St. Leonards St. Michael’s South Otterington Thornton le Street North Otterington 1st Sunday Holy Communion Holy Communion 10.45 9.00 2nd Sunday All Age Communion Holy Communion Morning Prayer 9.15 10.45 9.00 (Reader) 3rd Sunday All Age Worship Holy Communion 10.45 9.00 4th Sunday Holy Communion Morning Prayer 9.00 Holy Communion 10.45 (Reader) 9.15 5th Sunday Services are combined for Holy Communion, including the congregation of Thornton le Beans, at 10.00 Church Finances We are a solvent parish with each church traditionally having its own treasurer and financial accounts, which are co-ordinated by the parish treasurer. The finances for the last year were; CHURCH INCOME EXPENDITURE COLLECTIONS/ PARISH MISSION/CHARITIES SHARE DONATIONS £30,900 ST. £35,227 £27,330 £18,548 £17613 ANDREW’S (57%) £1,410 ST. £13,963 £14,761 £8,000 £8034 LEONARD’S (26%) ST. £8,309 £8,653 £4,715 £5,253 MICHAEL’S (17%) Within the full parish there are 45 people using Gift Aid for their giving to church funds 5 | P a g e South Otterington Church of England Primary School (Voluntary Controlled) A new building, South Otterington CE Primary School, was built in 1993 to accommodate an expansion in pupil numbers following the closure of the schools in nearby Newby Wiske and Thornton le Moor. It serves the villages of South and North Otterington, Newby Wiske, Thornton le Moor and with a small number of children from Northallerton. It incorporates pre-school facilities. The parish priest is welcomed onto the Board of Governors and normally leads one school assembly a month. Local ministers from a variety of Christian denominations also lead regular school assemblies. Both the recent Ofsted and National Society Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools Reports awarded the school a grade of “Outstanding”. The school and church are next to each other on the village church green and the children are welcomed into the church on special occasions such as Harvest and Christmas. The school, with 112 children between the ages of 4 to 11, believes spirituality is shown by the sharing and expression of individual’s beliefs. This is promoted through an enjoyment of and fascination of our universe. The school offers the opportunity to learn about the love of God the Father; the life and teachings of Jesus and to experience the grace of the Holy Spirit. Their worship services are open for any members of the parish to join. From the age of 11 children from South Otterington, North Otterington, Thornton le Moor, Newby Wiske and Thornton le Beans attend the Allertonshire School and Northallerton College. Those from Thornton le Street attend South Kilvington Church of England Primary School from the age of 4 then from 11 years Thirsk School and Sixth Form College. 6 | P a g e The Qualities and Attributes we are looking for in our New Incumbent : Encourage the congregation to grow in faith with God through preaching, worship, teaching, prayer and service to the community and be prepared to reach out with the good news of Jesus while respecting existing practices Maintain the close connection with South Otterington Church of England School to make a positive impact on school life and be inclusive of younger people in church services. Show an appreciation of country life, its benefits and challenges and a passion and enthusiasm for our rural area. Show a strong ecumenical approach, fostering ecumenical relations and activities. Value and support individuals who wish to use their skills in lay ministry, including as Readers, RPA’s and lay development. Show flexibility towards service patterns and types, with a willingness to explore fresh worship forms suitable for the parish. Be a person of Vision who is skilled at attracting and building a team Recognise the time it takes to achieve results in a challenging area and have “staying power" Is able to communicate confidently with people of all ages, cultures and backgrounds, and is outgoing, open-minded, adaptable, and energetic. Pastoral Care and support for the Incumbent The new vicar will be supported by a network of loyal, hardworking volunteers drawn from the PCC, church members and other members of our communities who offer significant time and resources to mission, parish administration and activities such as the community News & Views. At present there is one licensed Reader in the Benefice who delivers pre-baptism training, leads services of Morning Prayer, Services of the Word and conducts funerals. She is also involved in Safe Guarding training in the Diocese. Cover for communion services, weddings etc. during holiday or vacancy periods is provided by a number of active retired priests living in and around the deanery area.