Parish Profile: St Mary the Virgin Burghfield Bradfield Deanery, Berkshire

Home , Aldermaston, Burghfield, Greenham, Sulhamstead, Thatcham, Theale

Appointment of Priest-in-Charge Autumn 2016

Introduction from Olivia Graham Archdeacon of Berkshire

Foreword St Mary’s is a flourishing all-age community which is well connected into the life of the parish. It has undergone something of a transformation under the highly appreciated, relational ministry of the previous incumbent. Lay people are active and engaged in all aspects of the ministry of the church, and there is more to do in supporting and encouraging them. Here is a great opportunity for a warm, open-hearted and spiritually mature priest who will build on the strong foundations which have been laid, teach, nurture and equip God’s people in Burghfield, and challenge them to be more.

The new Bishop of Oxford, +Steven Croft, has named his 3 main areas of focus as children & young people, equipping lay people to be Christians where they live and work, and working with those who are suffering from material or social deprivation. He encourages us to serve our communities and be a blessing to the whole world, taking the Church to where people are and being the Church in new ways. Burghfield is already engaging with this agenda, and has the energy and capacity to make a real difference.

Bradfield deanery is small, with a friendly and supportive Chapter. The benefice has just been suspended pending deanery discussions about boundaries and the deanery is thinking further about how mission priorities will shape the organisation of ministry in the future. The opportunity exists to be in at the beginning of this discussion.

I commend this parish to you who are reading this, and if you feel energised by it, and drawn to explore further whether this might be where God is calling you, do feel free to telephone me, or the Area Dean, contact details below, for an informal conversation.

Ven. Olivia Graham Archdeacon of Berkshire 01635 552820

Revd. Will Watts Area Dean of Bradfield Deanery 01491 671714

Parish Profile for St Mary’s Burghfield 2016

St Mary’s is a warm and welcoming church serving the villages of Burghfield and Burghfield Common. We seek to be an inclusive village church. Our church family is diverse in age and in background and in Christian maturity. This makes for a great richness, and affords opportunities to learn from one another and to grow. There is always something interesting and challenging happening at, or led by, or supported by, St Mary’s; either in our church buildings or in the community.

Over the past two decades a lot of energy, hard work and resources have been put into fitting our buildings for twenty first century use. Another very important focus has been to engage more with the community at large. We are now well placed to focus on mission explicitly as we have built the foundations of good relationships with our neighbours, and have somewhere physically appealing to invite them to join us in. We have grown in numbers and wish to continue that growth alongside an eagerness for opportunities for us all to increase in maturity of faith. We are looking forward to working with the next minister that God is sending us to build on our strengths, and to explore new areas of challenge together.

Our strengths:

 We are a warm church family who are increasingly willing to participate in the leadership of the church. There is a strong tradition of raising up and nurturing new lay leaders. Within the congregation people have many and varied gifts, which they willingly share.

 We currently offer a wide range of worship styles across the week and month on a regular basis: perhaps a greater variety than might be expected from a church family of our size, and in this way we hope to provide something to suit most people.

 We are very proud of our recently re-ordered church building (although there are still some improvements to make). We also have lovely modern church hall facilities too, in our attached Parish Centre.

 Strong links with the community have been built over recent years: more residents of the local villages are starting to view St Mary’s as their church, rather than “the church”.

 We have a well-deserved reputation for great hospitality (the “ministry of the teapot” is alive and well in St Mary’s!)

 As a body we are open minded about change and trying new things, even though this may involve stepping outside our comfort zone. Our challenges:

 Our congregations include many new Christian families, in need of nurture. We are not satisfied that we are offering sufficient growth groups, although we do have some established small groups meeting to learn together.

 As a church we all need to grow in depth of faith, now that we have started to grow in numbers.  In addition, we have the scope for inviting many people who already feel they have some connection to our community to “seeker” courses, but we are not currently making the most of this opportunity. The work undertaken in the past few years to involve the church in the local community has created lots of further potential for growth in numbers.  As a village church we want to continue to offer a wide diversity of worship styles but this can be difficult to sustain with limited resources. We have a varied community which we serve, and many sizes are needed to fit many!  We need to increase the offering to older children and teenagers, particularly as the young children already in our congregation reach this age. We wish to build on the recent provision established for young people in the form of “The Boat” which provides both social and teaching opportunities for our youngsters.

Services

At present there are two services each Sunday: a traditional service at 9am and a more contemporary offering at 10.30.

In addition, we have a large but irregular Messy Church congregation meeting twice termly on a Saturday afternoon and a small congregation meeting for a Book of Common Prayer Service (followed by fellowship over delicious tea and cakes) monthly on a Sunday afternoon at a service called

“Taste”.

Both regular Sunday services are Eucharistic in nature. The priest will usually wear vestments to preside. The same message is generally preached at each service, but with the particular wording and emphasis adjusted to suit each specific congregation. St Mary’s has a long tradition of encouraging and nurturing lay ministries; although the sermon is most often given by the clergy, many different voices have been heard and appreciated over the past few years, including visiting lay preachers (some formally trained, some not), members of our own congregations and other local congregations, representatives of charities and people from the community with a particular story to tell. Some people attend both services, or may attend either one on a given day. 9am Service

The 9am service is generally attended by smaller numbers, and tends to attract more mature (in both senses of the word!) Christians, although this is not universally true. Enabled by this worship several of these people underpin other aspects of the mission of our church; attending, leading or serving at other services and events, and fulfilling various roles.

The service has music provided by a pre-programmed hymn machine, operated by a small team of volunteers. There is much lay involvement; prayers, the Gloria, and the reading of the first lesson are lay led and the chalice is administered by authorised lay people. The priest is usually assisted by a server. Printed service books are used and the Common Worship Service (Eucharistic Prayer D) forms the basis of the service. At each of these services prayers for healing are offered in the chancel during and after the Eucharist. Members of the congregation come for healing prayers for themselves, or for others, and the healing team offers prayer for others requesting support too.

10.30 Service

The 10.30 service is more contemporary: music is provided by our wonderful music group (piano, guitars and saxophone, to name but a few, combined with lovely voices) and the order of service is projected on a screen rather than using handouts. Again there is plenty of lay involvement: usually with prayers, reading and chalice administration.

At this service provision is made for our children and young people. A team leads the teaching of pre and primary school aged worshippers on a rota basis: a separate group called “The Boat” has recently been established for our pre-teens and teenagers. The Boat provides teaching on some Sundays: at other times the Boat members are part of the main service. On major feast days we combine our services to meet as a single family at 10am, and enjoy all age worship together.

Recently we asked the children what they thought our new vicar should be like. Here are their responses:

Someone who knows lots about God and Jesus; someone who likes quiet; could be a man or a lady; nice; gentle; clever; funny; playful; cool; a little musical; bit of a sense of

humour; fun; awesome; imaginative; loving; kind; caring; powerful. Messy Church

A strength of St Mary’s over the past few years has been an increasingly outward looking face, including going out and “being church” among our friends and neighbours and colleagues, not just remaining within the walls of the physical building. This has encouraged people to count themselves as part of the St Mary’s family, however loosely, and to view St Mary’s as “our church” rather than “the church”. Messy Church is one way in which this outreach has manifested itself: it was begun 5 years ago and has been very successful in reaching out to baptism and other young families. Sometimes we have had large gatherings where the energy and enthusiasm has been palpable and exciting; equally encouraging have been the occasions when numbers have been much smaller but the conversations and relationships built consequently deeper. Prayer

All this activity is supported by a strong tradition of private and group prayer. We have a well-established Prayer Diary, which ensures each of our local streets, as well as particular causes and groups of people, are regularly prayed for. We have had a prayer and healing team for almost 20 years now. Apart from the weekly healing prayer during the 9am service, we have a prayer chain which takes urgent requests for prayer, and faithfully upholds those individuals in prayer on an ongoing basis. A time of soaking prayer, known as “Time out with God”, is also held a few times a year. This gives a pause in busy lives to clear the mind, to centre the self, to pray at a deeper level. The healing experience is based on allowing time and space for the Spirit to heal both the person offering the prayer, and those prayed for.

Another important ministry has been through the Quiet Garden, established by a faithful member of our congregation and healing team. She opens this garden, at her home in Burghfield Common, on a regular basis.

Seasonal Services

We also offer a full range of seasonal services throughout the year, including:

 Toy Service (to mark start of Advent: gifts donated to Berkshire Women’s Refuge)  Parish Candlelit Carol Service  2 Christingle Services on Christmas Eve (because the demand is too great to fit everyone in for 1 service)  Midnight Mass  Christmas Day (combined all age worship)  Epiphany  Ash Wednesday Eucharist  Mothering Sunday celebration  Palm Sunday (occasionally with donkey!)  Holy Week Compline  Maundy Thursday Eucharist  Good Friday “An hour at the cross”  Easter Sunday celebration (including an all age service)  Ascension day  Pentecost (combined all age service)  Harvest Festival (combined all age service)  All Souls Service of commemoration for the recently departed  Remembrance Sunday (our largest congregation of the year at about 600 people)

As the Parish church we also welcome parishioners for baptism, marriage and funerals. The number of each type of service varies a lot from year to year but on average there are of the order of 25 baptisms each year, 10 weddings and 20 funerals.

Funeral services are usually followed by burial in the civic burial ground, or by cremation at the West Berkshire Crematorium at Thatcham, or the Reading Crematorium.

The churchyard has recently been closed for further burials, as it is now full. However, there is an area set aside for the burial of ashes which remains in use. A new parish burial ground has been established and is now in use, directly adjacent to our land, and only separated by a nascent hedge. The churchyard is currently maintained by a combination of volunteers from the church congregation, and visits from a team directed by the Probation Service. However, responsibility for the upkeep of the churchyard will pass to the local Parish Council during 2017.

Involvement with other local churches

We are long standing members of Churches Together in Burghfield and Mortimer. This group works together to hold breakfast meetings (with invited speakers) a few times a year, a couple of ecumenical services (usually at Pentecost, Advent and during the week of Christian Unity). In addition, we participate in events and activities organised by TiM, a local initiative called “Together In Mission”, born from a desire of Christians to be more involved in working together in various ways to benefit our neighbours. http://www.togetherinmission.org.uk/

Perhaps the most obvious of these activities is Café B. Café B is Burghfield’s first ever community café, run by TiM and staffed by members of local churches and volunteers. It is open twice a week at present, and meets in the Methodist Church hall . The Methodist Church is ideally located physically in the centre of the population. There is a craft group comprised of some church family called “Knit Wits and Sew and Sews” which meets there weekly.

A monthly ecumenical Eucharist service takes place at the Methodist church in Burghfield Common. Held during the week, it generally appeals to older members of our church family, with hospitality extended to the whole community via “Café B”.

There is also a Catholic church in Burghfield Common, and more Anglican and Methodist churches (amongst others) in the surrounding villages.

Other key activities include school pastors, the Big Lunch and TiM’s Befriending service which gives the lonely the chance for regular contact, either face to face or via the telephone. Our wider context: Deanery and Diocese The Bradfield Deanery

Bradfield Deanery is a mainly rural deanery, situated around the A4/M4 between Reading and Newbury. Rev Will Watts is the Area Dean. There are 26 churches, 8 benefices and 16 clergy.

Along with 3 other larger communities in the Deanery, Burghfield is a significant parish in terms of growth, mission and ministry opportunities and as a resource for other parishes in the Deanery. We look forward to the new minister playing a full part in the life of the Deanery

The Diocese of Oxford

The Diocese of Oxford serves the mission of the Church in Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire. It is a large and complex Diocese, with more than 600 parishes, over 800 churches, and a diverse population of more than 2 million people located in all types of settings. The Bishop of Oxford retired in October 2014, and the Bishop of Dorchester, the Right Revd Colin Fletcher, has been acting Bishop of Oxford. The new Diocesan Bishop is the Right Revd Steven Croft, who begins his ministry in the Diocese in September 2016. There are also three Area Bishops who exercise strategic oversight for their Episcopal areas.

Since 2009, we have been working with a Diocesan vision entitled “Living Faith for the Future” (See www.oxford.anglican.org/living-faith-for-the-future/) It is expected that all clergy appointed in the Archdeaconry of Berkshire will want to commit themselves to this Diocesan vision and its strategic directions. Living Faith is aimed at encouraging holistic mission and spirituality at the heart of daily life. It contains five key values which inform our strategic directions:

 sustaining the sacred centre  creating vibrant Christian communities  making disciples  making a difference in the world  shaping confident collaborative leaders.

These values are built on the principles of not neglecting the past but building on it; not so much about strategy but culture; not top down but liberating the local; not targets but directions; not about structures but about relationships; not one size fits all but flexibility and not about complexity but elegance.

The Episcopal Area of Reading is the same as the Archdeaconry of Berkshire and is made up of 79 benefices in 6 Deaneries, with over 200 churches and nearly 150 licensed clergy. The Bishop of Reading is the Right Revd Andrew Proud, who has been the Area Bishop since April 2011 and the Venerable Olivia Graham has been Archdeacon of Berkshire since October 2013.

The Berkshire Archdeaconry Plan seeks to encourage and promote the flourishing of a mixed economy of traditional and new forms of church, and a desire to experiment and be open to the movement of God’s Spirit as we both imagine and plan for the next 10 years.

Buildings and grounds

The church here has very ancient roots, being mentioned in the Domesday book. The current building dates from 1843 and has some interesting architectural features, most notably its distinctive “Pepper Pot Tower”. The Victorians bequeathed us a beautiful building with fantastic acoustics but with many practical inconveniences for congregations used to modern living. However, in the past 20 years a lot of work has been done to update our facilities.

The Parish Centre

Before December 2000 we only had the Victorian church building itself to use for all our activities: coffee was served in the back of the church and the washing up had to be taken home to be completed. There was no plumbing of any description. With much hard work and dedication, a 6- year project came to fruition with the completion of our beautiful two storey Parish Centre, comprising two large rooms, a well-appointed kitchen and toilet facilities.

Our vision was that the Parish Centre would be a blessing to the whole community, and this it has proved to be. It is a busy place, used by a nursery school during the weekdays and by numerous clubs and classes for meetings etc. at other times. Of course it is also well used by the church family and we could not have grown in number as we have without these facilities. In addition, the revenue generated by the Parish Centre has been crucial to our finances in some years.

The Parish Centre and church have recently begun to benefit from the wireless internet connection and landline installed earlier in 2016. This was driven in part by the removal of the church office from the Rectory to the church building. An office for the administrator has been created from part of the former choir vestry, and our administrator works there 4 mornings a week. We can envision scope for increasing use of the church buildings for meetings. This would however probably depend upon installing more toilet facilities.

A fairly recent new use has been as the local polling station: we have enjoyed welcoming the community in this way.

The Church Building

The church building itself has also benefitted from recent reordering. This is part of an ongoing project. We have completed phases 1 and 2.

Phase 1 was a very major change: in Autumn 2012 the floor was replaced, with underfloor heating being installed in the process. It now has beautiful tiles, warm to sit on in winter! The church had become unfit for use in winter months as it was so cold: indeed, for the 2 winters of 2010 and 2011 we held services between Christmas and Mothering Sunday in the Parish Centre rather than in our beautiful but freezing church. With the help of generous donations from some local grant giving bodies, combined with sacrificial giving and fundraising from the church family this £150 000 phase was completed.

Phase 2 has involved partial replacement of the pews (the central pews are not fixed to the floor) with modern chairs, which are more comfortable for many. Most of the chairs have been donated either by individuals or by local organisations, including the Burghfield Residents Association. The flexibility of the chairs has allowed us to ring the changes with different layouts for different services: currently we are enjoying worshipping in the round on most Sundays. Indeed, we also have the option to have no seating when the occasion demands. Recently we have removed the chairs completely in order to:

 host a fundraising dance-a-thon by the local dance school  hold a Christmas Tree Fayre, run for the first time in 2015, and well supported by about 20 local organisations, schools and businesses.  host a party, complete with big band.  run an advent wreath making evening for about 80 people.  hold café style church services  host a conference for about 80 delegates

Phase 3 and 4 will be the redecoration of the church and the installation of new lighting: some of the paint is peeling and unsightly, and the old (very ineffective) defunct electric heaters need to be removed. The lighting has not been updated for several decades. No timescale has yet been set for these improvements as yet, and significant funds would be needed. Apart from these elements, the reordering already completed means the church is now well equipped physically to serve the community. We are just beginning to reap the rewards of having a warm and welcoming building that people can, and do, use in a variety of ways, and feel at home in.

The exterior of the Victorian building naturally requires attention from time to time to keep it in good repair. We are delighted that we have recently been awarded a grant (of up to £48k) from the Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Fund towards the repairs to ensure that the building is watertight. This money, combined with fundraising already completed, will allow us erect scaffolding and carry out repairs on the Pepper Pot tower. We hope that this work will be carried out in 2016.

Once we know it is watertight we have a vision of creating a meeting place for our youth in the bell tower: this plan has been enthusiastically embraced by our teenagers! It would be a wonderful space for a small group to worship and study in.

(The bells are only used occasionally at present, mostly for weddings, and we do not have a resident team of bell ringers)

The church has two car parks: a smaller one which is usually sufficient for midweek evenings and smaller services, and also serves during the daytime as a play area for the nursery school. In addition, we have a large car park rented at a peppercorn rent from the local landowners, the Englefield estate. Historically the estate has always been very generous towards the church. We have a beautiful and peaceful churchyard surrounding the church with burials dating back to 1701. It includes a war memorial erected in 1928.

Every year an extremely well attended Remembrance day service is held at the memorial and in the church. It is the largest such service in the area, and is usually attended by our local MP, John Redwood. Burghfield falls within the Wokingham constituency although local government is administered from Newbury by West Berkshire Council.

Remembrance Day is particularly important to this community as we have serving families posted to an estate within our parish boundaries. In the past this was predominantly RAF families, but the housing is now also used by the Army. In both 2014 and 2015 RAF soldiers living in Burghfield and serving at RAF Odiham were killed in helicopter crashes in Afghanistan. In addition, an 18-year-old soldier who grew up in the area was killed in Afghanistan in 2007, and this grief still resonates in the community. The Remembrance Day Service has in recent years featured a fly-by of a Chinook helicopter, further emphasising the close relationship this community has with the armed services. The Rectory

The other “church building” not yet mentioned is the Rectory. The Victorian centre of population was in Burghfield Village, and this is where the church is situated.

The modern centre of population is 1.5 miles away from the church, in Burghfield Common, and this is where the modern Rectory was built.

It is a spacious detached home (4 bedrooms) with a large private garden set close to all the amenities of Burghfield Common. There is an office/study and cloakroom separate from the rest of the house, to allow the incumbent to receive visitors without impacting on the rest of the household. Also downstairs is a large lounge, dining area and kitchen/utility. It was built in 1991.

Sometimes it can be a challenge to have the Rectory so physically distant from the church building, although the advantage is that the incumbent is situated in the heart of the community. When we have (occasionally) had so much snow that travel to the church was difficult and inadvisable for many, the Rectory has been used for services, with children’s work in the kitchen: a lovely feeling of a family overcoming obstacles to meet together.

Organisation

The Church leadership is, unsurprisingly, comprised of the two churchwardens and the PCC, which has 12 elected members. The PCC members are elected to serve for 3 years. The PCC also has our three Deanery Synod representatives and the clergy as ex-officio members. Our current PCC is relatively young and some members lack experience: however, it is also an enthusiastic body with lots of fresh ideas. As noted above, a strength of the church has been an openness to new thoughts and experiences: we are now learning together as a leadership team to discern which elements we have tried and should retain and build up, and which are not for us to continue with at this moment in time. We are planning to attend the CPAS training course “PCC tonight” in January 2017.

The PCC meets 6 times a year, with the tradition being that one meeting is at the weekend and takes the form of an away day. Our meetings start with dwelling in the Word and/or prayer, and we are beginning to establish the habit of meeting to study the Bible together in between our business meetings. We have found that the away day, being physically absent from our locality, gives us more time to reflect on some larger issues, and builds up our common purpose, as well as providing time for extended fellowship and a shared meal. In addition to the full PCC meetings we have four committees with responsibility for various aspects of church life, who meet separately and then report to the PCC. The PCC has been engaged in Mission Action Planning (MAP): we are currently in the process of producing our third detailed Plan. We have found this a very useful strategic document, enabling us to keep our focus on priorities arrived at after careful prayer and consideration. Staff

The only current staff members are a part time Parish Administrator (working approximately 12 hours per week) and our curate, who has been working and training with us since July 2013, and who has recently completed her training. She will very soon be moving on to her next post. We have benefitted greatly from the experience of having a curate and would welcome any future opportunity to do so.

In the past few weeks the Parish Administrator has moved to be based in an office created in the church building. We hope that the establishing of a Parish Office on site will make it easier for members of the general public to contact the church, and also make frequent interaction with our regular lets, such as the nursery school, more possible and probable. We have had a paid administrator for about four years now, with hours gradually increasing over that period: the current post holder was appointed in Autumn 2015.

Vacancy organisation

In order to facilitate the smooth running of the vacancy period the PCC has appointed “Mission Champions” to oversee key areas of the church’s life. These people all have a heart for the area they are appointed to, and lead the work of the area, asking others to contribute their talents and time as necessary. They report back to and ask for support from the wardens as and when necessary. This continues an important and long standing characteristic of Burghfield St Mary’s: the raising up of new leaders and the sharing of key responsibilities. Communications

As in all organisations, communications are very important. As well as the traditional methods of a weekly pew sheet and a newsletter every two or three months, we are trying to embrace more modern methods of keeping in touch, including social media and our website (http://www.stmarysburghfield.org/). In addition, we are in the process of trialling ways to improve our email communication. The newsletter is delivered by a team of volunteers to every house in the Parish (not an insignificant task!), and is an important witness to our faith and corporate life, as well as a way of imparting information. We have Facebook pages for the church (https://www.facebook.com/St- Marys-Church-Burghfield-161987027181303/) and our Messy Church (https://www.facebook.com/Messy-Church- Burghfield-452414018290949/), which both advertise events and help to keep people connected even when they can’t attend regularly. Finance

Resourcing our church properly is of course also vital. One of our committees of the PCC is the Finance and Stewardship committee. Under the direction of the Treasurer and this committee, the church has faithfully paid its Parish Share in full every year. As well as weekly open plate collections there is a stewardship scheme which many regular members participate in: the gift aid on this regular giving is vital to our ongoing financial health.

Finances have never been easy in Burghfield: we have no large reserves or trusts to draw on. However, we have always been blessed with enough to finance our activities. When more has been needed, more has been provided.

We have also been the recipients of several grants and donations, notably from the Greenham Common Trust, the Englefield Estate and the Burghfield Resident’s Association. Most recently we learnt that we have been awarded a grant from Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair Fund, as mentioned above. The Parish Centre generates important revenues for us each year too. A summary of our recent financial position is attached in Appendix 2. Pastoral care

We have tried various approaches to pastoral care. During this time of vacancy we have two people appointed as Pastoral Care Champions. Sometimes we take the opportunity to share family news at the Sunday service, thus enabling a focus on pastoral matters for each of our congregations. The Healing Team and the Prayer Chain obviously also form part of this pastoral care for one another. There is a custom of visiting parishioners who are in hospital or ill at home or housebound and offering home communion if desired. Education

We do have some tradition of studying together, but this is not well embedded, and is an area we wish to increase our offering of in the next few years. We usually have a Lent group, or participate in the local Churches Together course. We currently have one or two Emmaus or Pilgrim courses meeting, and we have in the past run seeker courses, such as Alpha. The core leadership team has begun meeting monthly for study, and this pattern is being extended to the PCC. In due course we would like to see this tradition cascade down and to be a core feature of our common life. Therefore, this is one of our MAP priorities.

We have also enjoyed opportunities to learn together by attending courses and events organised by others as a church group, or as families and friends. Recent examples include:

 The Grand Day Out in Oxford  The Festival of Prayer at Cuddesdon  Spring Harvest  Greenbelt  Visit to Iona  David’s Tent  Forest Church Community involvement

As noted in the introductory summary of strengths, community involvement has been very important in recent times for our church: we have been concerned over the past few years to be taking the church out to where the people already are, rather than immediately expecting them to join us for worship within our four walls. By engaging in both projects initiated by others (which we can join in with), and in our own innovative ventures, we have been building contact with and starting relationships with the people amongst whom we live. Examples of church led occasions which have brought us into contact with lots of new people:

 For older members of the community who usually live and eat alone, we provide a monthly evening meal. Good food and good company, done with care and attention to detail have built up our “Flying Solo” meal into a much valued occasion.

 In the summer we have held “Holiday at Home” attended by around 50 of our more senior citizens, who might not be able to get away for a holiday, yet find the school holidays a period when normal activities are suspended and so time can hang heavy. Particularly popular have been the outings to a garden centre and a concert and sing a long given by local choirs.

 “Carols on the Hatch”: a chance to enjoy a good carol sing about a week before Christmas, around a lit tree on the village green (known as the Hatch). Music provided by a local brass band (which we fund on this occasion), singing led by St Mary’s and hot drinks and mince pies for all. Even when it snowed we had fun together. This has become an important annual event in the village, attended by 200-300 people

 Advent Wreath Making: led by the “Twinkle team” about 80 eager crafty people gather in the church to make their own advent wreath, complete with candles, to enable the true countdown to Christmas to take place. Strong on fun, friendship, laughter and warm hospitality, with just a light touch on why we would want to do this, many of our otherwise non-churchgoing neighbours have enjoyed this event.

 A new event in 2015, but one which we hope will become an annual tradition, the Christmas Tree Fayre saw about 20 different organisations and local businesses decorate a tree. Plans are already been made for 2016…

 All Saints and All Souls Service and Tea. Each year we invite the families of those whose funerals we have held at the church in the past year, and anyone who wants a loved one remembered, for a service of remembrance. This is followed by tea and chat and comforting fellowship.

Examples of community led occasions which we have been able to support as a church body:  The May Fayre is probably the biggest social community event in the local calendar. For the past few years we have been very involved in many aspects of the fayre: running the refreshment tent with the help of other local churches, holding our Sunday worship in a tent just before the fayre starts, manning a prayer stop and providing “Messy” type children’s activities and a Christian puppet show.

 Parish Bike Ride has provided another opportunity to serve the community. We have provided helpers to the Parish Council, who run the event, and many of our congregation participate. Last year over 300 cyclists of all ages shared in the fun, and it was great to be able to play a small part, and to serve God in a different way on a Sunday morning.

 Burghfield United Charities has the incumbent as one of its trustees. This body combines the work of two historic charities established in the 1700s to help the “poor of the parish” and to enable apprenticeships. Although the amounts involved are relatively small the work is significant to those who benefit from it. Involvement in the wider world

We have been building up our interactions with the world beyond our immediate neighbours too.

One form this has taken is a rise in our external giving from our income. Over the past few years we have gradually increased the amount that we give to reach our target of 5% of planned giving. The charities we support vary, but we try to address both UK and international needs. Recently we have tended to support smaller charities where we feel that our gift has a bigger impact. The charities to be supported are suggested by the congregation, discussed in detail by the Finance committee, and then agreed by the PCC.

We have a long history of supporting the Children’s Society. A small but dedicated team run quizzes, cake stalls and other fundraisers, in addition to a house to house collection and the two annual Christingle services raising more funds for the charity.

The toys and other gifts donated on Advent Sunday are given to women and children at local refuges.

On Good Friday we usually hold Super Soup lunches as part of fundraising for Christian Aid. In some years we have also collected house to house for Christian Aid.

We have a collection point for the local food bank and have given food and drink gifts to a contact who helps people suffering in the refugee camps in Calais.

We are taking various steps to try to live more sustainably as a church family, and be better stewards of the earth’s resources:

 We are a Fairtrade Church  When we installed new heating in 2012 we chose an underfloor system with the capacity to convert to a greener energy source (ground heat pump) in the future.  We share lifts to church where possible. Schools

Burghfield St Mary’s C of E Primary School (voluntary controlled) (http://www.burghfield.westberks.dbprimary.com/westberks/primary/burghfield) is just up the road from the church building, situated in the centre of Burghfield Village. Members of the church (and clergy) take assemblies in the school once a week, and occasions such as harvest festival, the nativity play and the leavers’ service are held in the church. The previous incumbent was a close and valued friend of the school and took the role of a Foundation governor.

Assemblies at other schools provide another opportunity to reach out to the community. Garland Junior School (http://garland.westberks.dbprimary.com/westberks/primary/garland), Mrs Bland’s Infant School (http://www.mrsblandsinfants.co.uk/) and the Willink Secondary School (http://www.willink.org.uk/) all fall within Parish boundaries, and we have in the past enjoyed some links with each of them.

School pastors is an initiative of TIM (Together In Mission). It is based on the Street pastors idea and operates at the secondary school, The Willink. Members of clergy and congregation have been involved in this work recently, and we hope to take part again in the future, either as a body or individually.

Facts about the local area

Burghfield is part of the Bradfield Deanery of the Diocese of Oxford. The parish boundaries are the same as those of the civic area of the Burghfield Ward, part of West Berkshire.

West Berkshire has excellent transport links, both national and international, and in several modes of transport: road (M4, A34), rail and air(Heathrow). Southampton is also less than 40 miles away, providing access to ferries. The Thames and the Kennet and Avon canal flow through the county. The borders with South Oxfordshire and North Hampshire are both less than 10 miles from Burghfield. The area has all the advantages of these links with urban amenities, but also many beautiful and varied green spaces. There are woodland, common and waterside areas to explore and enjoy.

The Englefield Estate is a major landowner in the area. The church itself and the church school is surrounded by Englefield land: the estate is generous in its dealings with the community and with the church. It also makes charitable grants for various reasons from time to time, from which the church has benefitted.

Burghfield Parish is a mix of sparsely inhabited countryside combined with three centres of population:

 Burghfield Village (where the church building is situated),  Burghfield Common (where the majority of the population reside) and  Sheffield Bottom (probably regarded by most people as part of the large neighbouring village of Theale)

Burghfield is a rural area, but is regarded as an “urban service area” as it is situated between the major centres of Reading, Basingstoke and Newbury, and indeed London and many other towns are also within commuting distance. Naturally this leads to some residents living in Burghfield Parish, but earning their living elsewhere. Public transport links to Reading (by bus) are reasonably good, but travelling to and from other places can be more difficult.

There are two railway stations nearby, in Mortimer (Basingstoke line) and Theale (London/west country line). Many people rely on travelling by private transport (only 8% of local households do not own a car or van), and this can exacerbate the difficulties of getting to know your neighbours, and generally building community.

Burghfield ward is a relatively affluent area, with good scores in measures of employment and health. There are many families who are reasonably comfortable financially, but also pockets of deprivation. West Berkshire as a whole fares well in terms of rural deprivation, but there is an area of social housing within the parish which forms one of the 10 most deprived rural areas in West Berkshire. (Figures from the 2010 Index of Multiple Deprivation IMD: the IMD only measures the presence of deprivation and does not necessarily suggest the absence of wealth.)

60% of the population live as a married couple or in a civil partnership. 5% are lone parents with dependent children.

Houses are primarily detached or semidetached (totalling 81% of all housing stock) and are 72% owner occupied.

In terms of size, the total population of the Parish in 2013 (most recent figures available) was just under 6000. The ethnic mix is less varied than the south east as a whole, being 93% white British (compared to 85% for the south east area). The mean age in 2013 was 39.2, and the age profile of the population was;

Population has been relatively stable for the past decade, but in the next 20 years there are plans for significant growth, with at least 400 more houses planned in the Parish (compared with 2272 households in 2011 census).

The parish is well served by various shops, a doctors’ surgery, a dentist surgery, pharmacy, garages, library (currently reprieved from a threat of closure due to the need for West Berkshire Council to cut their budget substantially) and schools. It also has a leisure centre, with swimming pool, gym and other sporting facilities. However, it lacks a “high street” or village centre which can make it difficult for the population to meet casually. There is increasing community cohesiveness fostered by the Parish Council events, the Burghfield Residents’ Association and various on line communities for local people.

The parish has various schools and playgroups for all age groups:

 Little Tots http://www.littletotsnurseries.com/www.littletotsnurseries.coms/info.php?p=1) meets in our Parish Centre  Mrs Williams Playgroup  Rainbow Montessori  Three schools for primary age children (one of which is the church school associated with our parish)  A secondary school (The Willink) of about 1000 students which draws pupils from the surrounding villages of Mortimer, Aldermaston, Sulhamstead and Ufton Nervet as well as Burghfield itself.

All the schools enjoy a good reputation and we are fortunate to have such a range of quality schooling available.

Major employers in the area include the Atomic Weapons Establishments at both Aldermaston and Burghfield and the armed services. In addition, there are a larger than usual number of self-employed people and small businesses. As already mentioned, many residents commute to work.

The villages have a number of “supported living” homes, for elderly and young people, and for those who cannot live alone for mental health reasons. These include some small establishments based in normal residential housing, and some larger homes, such as sheltered accommodation at Bland’s Court, and a nursing home called “The Hollies”

The congregation is not necessarily particularly representative of the parish as a whole, but nevertheless our church family make up is inevitably influenced by our physical, social and economic setting. In addition to parishioners regularly attending our church we also draw a few of our congregation from outside the parish boundaries.

More information on the local area can be found at http://legacy.oxford.anglican.org/2014-parish- spotlights/Bradfield/BRADFIELD%20270348%20Burghfield.pdf Conclusion

We are both tested and excited by this time of change that the vacancy and the new appointment represents. We have tried to reflect the many opportunities that our church offers, as well as thinking about the challenges which we face. We hope that we have shown the warmth and energy of the St Mary’s family, which many visitors and more recent members have remarked upon. The Spirit is moving in this place, and we prayerfully seek the person who will lead us in to the next phase.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 11:29)

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact the churchwardens (Alison Eves [email protected] or Michael Wood [email protected] ) or visit our website/facebook pages. You would of course be very welcome to visit us at any time. Thank you for your interest.

Appendix 1: MAP and the role for our new Priest-in-Charge

The formal MAP is currently being updated but briefly our priorities are:

 Sustaining the Sacred Centre o Continue to provide variety of styles of worship according to the needs of each congregation o Guide and enthuse people in the habit and practice of prayer, both personal and “corporate” o The work of our pastoral and healing teams  Making Disciples o Establish a programme of seeker and nurture courses o Foster a culture of membership of small study groups for all o Encourage and develop our children’s and youth worship  Confident and Collaborative Leadership o Promote lay ministry to share the load and broaden perspectives o Actively encourage people to explore their gifts and how they can be used to further the mission of the church o Raise a group of leaders who are confident to lead Bible Study  Making a Difference in the World o Encourage and enable our Church to live sustainability through teaching, prayer and action o Encourage and equip our Church in serving the Burghfield community, through bridge-building, hospitality and care o Encourage and challenge our Church to express a concern for the welfare of our global community through teaching, giving and participation  Being a Vibrant Christian Community o Increase our visible presence to reinforce the message of our Christian Ethos at Outreach events o Encourage a culture of responsible, committed Christian giving o Improve our internal and outward-facing communication, including the pro-active use of Information Technology and Social Media

Appendix 2: Finances