The Benefice of St Gerrans with St Anthony in Roseland and St Philleigh Profile 2019
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The Benefice of St Gerrans with St Anthony in Roseland and St Philleigh Profile 2019 St Anthony in Roseland St Philleigh We believe that knowing the difference Jesus can make in people’s lives brings such great value, freedom and joy. We seek to both live that out and share it by being the church at the heart of our community. 2 | P age Contents Bishop’s letter ................................................................................. 4 Archdeacon’s letter ......................................................................... 5 Vision .............................................................................................. 7 Our new priest ................................................................................ 7 Welcome to our Benefice ............................................................... 8 St Philleigh Church ....................................................................... 10 St Gerrans Church ....................................................................... 14 Portscatho and Gerrans ............................................................... 16 Patterns of Worship ...................................................................... 18 What else do we do ...................................................................... 19 Communications/Useful Links ...................................................... 22 Parish Information – Statistics ...................................................... 23 3 | P age Bishop's letter In this Diocese of Truro we are deeply committed to ‘Discovering God’s Kingdom: Growing the Church’. Ordained ministers are crucial to this task, so I sketch out here the kind of priests we invite to work with us. First and foremost, we are looking for joyful disciples and ambassadors of Christ, who share the Gospel they have come to know themselves both in word and deed - and above all with love. We seek people who are committed to setting the whole people of God free in mission, ministry, and in loving service. We are looking for people who, on this journey, are imaginative and realistic, creative and determined and are hopeful of a better future. But we also want to work with those who recognise that they are not perfect and will sometimes fail, who learn from their mistakes and will take the initiative in seeking reconciliation with others. We are convinced that all ministers need the support and companionship of others and we help priests in a number of ways so that they never work alone. In this spirit, we encourage priests who can forge good relations with others and actively collaborate with them for the sake of the Kingdom to join us in Cornwall: a very special place with its own distinctive identity and Christian heritage which we are called to value, serve and love. I pray that as you consider this position you might discern God’s calling and purpose for you in this next chapter of your discipleship and service. + Philip 4 | P age Archdeacon’s Letter The benefice of Gerrans with St Anthony-in-Roseland and Philleigh is looking for a House for Duty (or Self-supporting) Priest. The benefice is set amongst three other benefices on the Roseland Peninsula: • St Just-in-Roseland and St Mawes; • Tregony with St Cuby and Cornelly; and • Veryan with Ruanlanihorne. The clerical provision in the other benefices is: • a stipendiary post (Revd Emma Walker to be licensed in January 2020), • a 50% stipendiary post (to become vacant January 2020), Archdeacon Paul • and a house for duty post (Revd Philip Greenhalgh) respectively. Through a deanery planning process, the four benefices of the Roseland have recently committed to mutual missional, ministerial and financial support to make the life of their churches more effective in the contexts in which they are set. The process has begun to establish a Bishop’s Mission Order across the four benefices, and the priest in charge of Gerrans with St Antony-in-Roseland and Philleigh will be expected to play their part in the setting up and the working of the BMO. The priest we are seeking therefore needs not only to be able to lead this benefice forward and continue to develop and enable a team of lay people within the parishes, but also we would expect you to work well with colleagues across benefice boundaries and to help initiate this new and cooperative way of being church. The usual expectation for a ‘house for duty’ post is that of Sundays plus the equivalent of two additional days per week. Whilst this Priest in Charge post is being advertised as ‘house for duty’ it could equally be open to a priest on a self-supporting basis. Thank you for your expression of interest and for reading this document. If you would like an informal conversation about the role at any stage, please don’t hesitate to be in touch. 5 | P age OUR VISION To embrace the Diocesan vision “To discover God’s Kingdom and grow the Church” and make it a reality here in our communities In summary we are churches where: • we believe that everything should be underpinned by individual and corporate prayer and based on Scripture; • we aim to be places of hospitality where all people want to be, because they feel secure, loved, included and valued; • God’s offer of salvation through the cross of Christ is presented clearly and in ways that can be heard and understood; • people are encouraged to recognise the gifts God has given them and have the opportunity to use them to further His Kingdom; • we aim to protect the environment that God has entrusted to us; • we are willing to embrace change to become a church that is transformed from the inside out; • we believe “a giving church is a receiving church”. We need someone to build on these basic values and take us forward to work towards our vision 6 | P age Our ideal person will be someone who will: • be a shepherd to our communities, who will act as an example and model the love of God; • be a spiritual guide who believes that everything should be underpinned by prayer and based on Scripture; • work enthusiastically with the families and young people in our communities and with our many visitors; • have experience of a broad range of worship styles and traditions and be committed to develop this further; • be dynamic and able to develop a bold and creative vision for growth; • be a compassionate leader who becomes known in the local communities and is able to reach out to multiple groups and individuals. We would love to welcome a new Priest to lead us on our continuing journey to fulfil God’s purpose for this Benefice. 7 | P age Welcome to our Benefice, at the heart of the Roseland Peninsula. The official title of the Benefice is St Gerrans, with St Anthony in Roseland and St Philleigh. St Anthony is decommissioned and is administered by The Churches Conservation Trust. The two open churches are St Gerrans, which serves a coastal community, and St Philleigh which serves a rural one. Two very different communities which complement each other and have a long tradition of working together. The Benefice has the service of a Reader who gives much support to both churches. We have two active PCCs each with their own treasurer and secretary and each church has two Wardens. We share two pastoral visitors and there are two Worship Leaders in both churches plus a team of Eucharistic ministers. The Benefice is part of the Roseland Cluster of Churches which has historically had close links but now is working even closer together to benefit all the churches in the Roseland. 8 | P age As a cluster we want to attract greater numbers to our church communities and at the same time achieve spiritual growth. The other churches in the cluster include, St. Just and St. Mawes, St. Symphorium and St. Rumon, St. Cuby and St. Cornelius and the Ecumenical project in Portloe. We have a shared vision to further God’s Kingdom here and to ensure we have the clergy and Laity to support that vision and of course the funds to do so. The Rectory is a light, spacious, four bedroom detached house. It was built approximately 14 years ago, and lies in a select development of four houses located opposite the cricket field in Gerrans. St Gerrans church, several beaches and the village facilities at Portscatho are within walking distance. 9 | P age Our Churches and Parishes St Philleigh Church The Church sits in the very centre of the village right next to The Roseland Inn. It is at the heart of the community. There has been a church in Philleigh since the seventh century. The Tower is thirteenth century with the rest being a Victorian restoration of later additions. The village’s old name was in fact Eglos Ros, meaning Heath Church before the church and consequently village adopted the name of the Parish saint St Filius thought to have come from Ireland. As part of our mission to further God’s kingdom the windows of the church are regularly dressed to act as a pointer to any visitor for prayer and reflection. At Christmas, Easter and Harvest they are decorated by Parishioners, the windows telling the seasonal stories. We use our ‘gift of hospitality’ always finding an opportunity to feed our neighbours, with regular events involving a meal after a service. James 2:15-16 says ‘Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?’ We commit to this by holding monthly collections of food,clothing,bedding,toiletries and medicines for Refugees. 10 | P age The electoral roll has 20 members at present. The average congregation for 2018 was 15. We have three young families from the farming community who regularly attend family/messy church. Special services have a much higher attendance including on occasions a Shetland pony, (playing the part of a donkey when needed) and other animals! The Friends of the Church of St. Philleigh The Friends of the church of St. Philleigh is a charitable organisation that was set up to advance the Christian Religion by the maintenance and preservation of St.