DIOCESE OF SHEFFIELD
Parochial Church Council Statement (Benefce Measure)
Parish of St John the Evangelist Ranmoor in the Hallam Deanery
ST JOHN’S CHURCH RANMOOR
Address: Ranmoor Park Road Shefeld S10 3GX
Telephone: 0114 230 1199
Email: [email protected]
Church website: www.stjohnsranmoor.org.uk
Parish centre website: www.parishcentre.stjohnsranmoor.org.uk
The Parish Ofce is open: Mondays 9.30am-2.00pm Tuesdays 9.30am-2.00pm Wednesdays 9.30am-2.00pm
2 Welcome to our Parish Profle
Thank you for showing interest in our incumbent vacancy. We are praying that our new incumbent will contnue to lead us, through collaboratve ministry with other clergy and laity, to further appreciate the importance of God’s presence in our lives.
As the Archdeacon writes in his statement:
“St John’s Ranmoor is a strategically important church in South-West Shefeld, with a strong and well-regarded musical traditon and a growing commitment to efectvely reach its parish in mission. It sits alongside some of the largest churches in the diocese and maintains a distnctve ministry that enables it to fourish in such company. From the atached parish profle, you can readily see the opportunites for further developments in mission and the passion of the existng congregaton to grow further, both in terms of the size of the worshipping community and the depth of discipleship.
Hallam Deanery covers the fourteen benefces and one extra-parochial place of South-West Shefeld, which includes most of the largest churches in the diocese (both in terms of congregaton size and electoral roll membership) and encompasses the most afuent part of the city. It is the deanery in which both Shefeld Higher Educaton insttutons sit and, as such, is home to the majority of students. Consequently, it is a deanery of signifcant strength, both demographically and fnancially, and yet is also, like other deaneries, facing the challenges of mission and ministry in a changing Church. The Area Dean will work closely with the Assistant Area Dean and Deanery Lay Chair to provide strategic leadership in the discernment of future shapes of ministry across the deanery, including new paterns for deploying stpendiary clergy and lay leaders.”
We are seeking an incumbent who, through their own personality, energy, spirituality and dedicaton, will:
Excite, energise and educate us to further develop our Christan faith. Collaborate and welcome the involvement in church life of other clergy, lay leaders and volunteers in the Parish and the Mission Partnership. Enable people who share our faith and those seeking faith to become closer followers of Christ. We are a growing community which sees no boundaries to further growth. This profle highlights the areas we are working in now, but also shows some examples of where we feel our faith should be leading us. For example: working with people with dementa and loneliness and also helping more children and young people to develop their faith. 3 Contents
Who are we? ...... Page 5
Our vision statement ...... page 6
Who are we looking for? ...... page 7
Opportunites ...... page 9
About St John’s ...... page 10
Actvites & Groups ...... page 12
Children in Church ...... page 14
Music ...... page 15
Young peoples’ comments ...... page 18
Parishioners’ comments ...... page 19
Finance & Fabric ...... page 23
Ranmoor Parish Centre ...... page 25
The Vicarage ...... page 26
The local area ...... page 26
Appendix A - Summary of Financial Results ...... page 29
Appendix B - Other mission partnership churches ...... page 30
4 Who are we?
The church St John’s Church Ranmoor has an electoral roll of 228. Services take place on most days of the week; we ofer a wide range of services including Common Worship, Book of Common Prayer Matns, Evensong and a monthly All Age service. About 25 weddings take place each year.
Our church family is growing. Our services are supported by a rich choral music traditon involving adult, children’s and mixed choirs.
Through their faith church members are actvely involved in a wide-range of issues including Christan Aid, food banks, homelessness; these include board members of not-for-proft organisatons, fostering and caring. Many people are involved in pastoral care ofering a range of services including home communion, transport, support afer hospitalisaton and other life-changing events.
We have started a lay-led faith and learning group and have started a youth group focused on issues relevant to young people today. We recognise the need to do more for children, young people and those who face the problems of loneliness and mental health challenges.
Our Parish Centre ofers opportunites to meet together; regular users include a toddler group, yoga, singing, language classes, a lunch club and local societes.
Mission St John's is part of an emerging Mission Partnership of fve local churches Partnership within Hallam Deanery, consistng of St Mark's Broomhill, St Timothy's Crookes, St Mary's Walkley, and The Vine (St Stephen's with St Bartholomew's).
The deanery mission plan has allocated four, incumbent-status stpendiary posts to be shared across the fve benefces by 2019.
There has been an inital meetng of representatves from the churches within this fedgling Mission Partnership, at which partes expressed a desire to explore ways in which the deanery mission plan could be realised.
The new incumbent of St John's will be expected to work closely with other churches in the partnership as this contnues to take shape. More informaton about this can be found in the statement by the Archdeacon.
Each of the partnership churches ofers diferent forms of worship and expertse and, through collaboratve working, we will be able to provide current and potental parishioners with a greater range of optons to develop their Christan faith.
A brief descripton of each of our church partners is shown at Appendix B.
Page5 5 Our vision statement
In 2004 and 2006, the parish reviewed its mission with the guidance of the Diocesan Adviser. Following the appointment of a new priest-in-charge in 2009, the church engaged in a major consultaton exercise involving the whole congregaton. We identfed seven key areas for its future mission: educaton, social justce, welcome and hospitality, liturgy and worship, communicaton, pastoral care, as well as the interests of children and young people. Groups, most of them lay-led, have been organised to develop these diferent aspects of our life together and most are progressing well.
Following a consultaton exercise the PCC agreed a vision statement for St John’s:
St John’s Church is a community whose vocaton is to extend to all people the same welcome that we ourselves have received from God in Christ. Our worship, enriched by our strong musical and choral traditons, is at the heart of our community’s shared life. The gospel calls us to lives of discipleship marked by care for one another, by a passion for justce, and by a commitment to the service of our local and wider community.
This statement sets out the things which most of our congregaton value about St John’s. We see ourselves as within the central Anglican traditon, tending towards more liberal churchmanship but with a formal style of worship.
In this we ofer something distnct from our neighbours in Christ Church Fulwood with their conservatve evangelical focus and St Mark’s Broomhill with its liberal and radical theological approach. The fact that a considerable proporton of our congregaton comes from outside the parish boundaries suggests that we do have something of distnctve value to ofer.
Page6 6 Who are we looking for?
Key Role Title: Vicar features of Benefce: St. John the Evangelist, Ranmoor the person Deanery: Hallam we are Archdeanery: Shefeld & Rotherham seeking
St John’s has established over many years a strong positon in the Christan life in this area, with traditons that we need our incumbent to contnue to uphold, while remaining free to respond to the requirements of a changing world.
We seek a man or woman: who will retain our traditonal forms of worship that follow Common Worship and the Book of Common Prayer. who will be robed and appreciates that our robed choirs play a vital part in our services.
We seek a good teacher: whose preaching is relevant in today’s society. who supports and enables Christan educaton. who leads us to a beter appreciaton of how the issues of the world may be addressed through prayer and practcal acton.
We seek a leader: who has an inclusive and collaboratve ministry. who welcomes everyone into the Christan family. who ofers a way for new entrants to explore the Christan Gospel for the frst tme, leading to baptsm and confrmaton.
We seek an experienced candidate: who has a young outlook and a sense of humour. who is prepared to enable, encourage and support our work in the areas of pastoral care, social justce and the alleviaton of loneliness. who will identfy suitable candidates to move forward in their commitment to God by further training in leadership.
We seek a caring person: who loves, encourages and responds to our children and people of all ages. who will support our lay- leaders in their special ministry.
The PCC has reached the very clear conclusion that what we need above all for St John’s is a strong, spiritual leader who will build on the many positve developments over recent years, spiritually enthuse, inspire and support the existng congregaton, engage and retain children and families, lead our building project and thus enable us to reach out to the community in the parish and the wider community.
We need leadership and support in strengthening and deepening the Christan witness and teaching in our church. We seek an incumbent with strong commitment to the pastoral care of the congregaton and beyond, to give us a sound basis for growth and witness in our community. This will involve challenging what we do, not simply enhancing the status quo.
Page7 7
Current There are important current strengths in the parish on which we would like to build: strengths of The increased lay involvement, which is refected in the patern of our worship St John’s and diversity of actvites, includes lay people of all ages actng in various roles. The increasing involvement of young families beyond the All Age Service. A holistc system of pastoral care in the parish. The strong traditon of high-quality music and worship. A strong commitment to social justce issues, locally and internatonally; evidenced by our status as a Fairtrade church, the actve social justce group and the commitment to and success of the annual Christan Aid Week. Our commitment to the box collecton scheme operated by The Childrens’ Society. A congregaton which is generous in response to specifc appeals. A congregaton which is proud of the church building itself and the church community to which we all belong.
What you What you can expect from us: can expect Support and maintaining a healthy work/life balance. from us Support in spiritual development. Shared commitment in meetng new challenges. Partcipaton in the mission and ministry of this parish. Support through prayer.
Page 8 8 Opportunites
Opportunites There is an opportunity and a need to reach out to areas of the parish which are for St John’s under-represented in our congregaton, including the less afuent, and to increase to grow our impact with younger people, including students at the city’s two universites, and with young families. This is fully consistent with the diocesan strategy on growth.
Many members of the congregaton are very actve in the city in a voluntary capacity, working on a wide range of issues – social, educatonal and politcal as well as religious. This is a rich resource for the church and also provides opportunites on which we could build further.
Increased There are now 228 people on the electoral roll, a slight increase from the positon Electoral Roll when the previous vicar was appointed. This refects the fact that we have made a good beginning in atractng and retaining younger families while contnuing to meet the needs of our traditonal congregaton. Some of this growth is related to the increase in the number of choirs and our popularity for weddings and occasional ofces.
Increased lay One encouraging development over the last few years has been an increased lay involvement involvement in running the church and its main actvites. We are confdent that this will help us cope with our third interregnum in nine years and we will want to contnue this patern of actvity when a new vicar is appointed.
Two members of our congregaton have recently undergone further training. Caroline Hartley has completed a year-long course in Childrens’ Ministry and Alison Wragg is part way through her training to become a Reader.
There is stll work to be done to systematse the involvement of lay people in the running of the church, to maximise its efectveness and in partcular to enable the PCC to become an efectve strategic body. The PCC meets 10 tmes a year.
There are many capable and willing people in the congregaton and we desire a new vicar who will help us make the most of their expertse and good will. This would involve working with the PCC groups which currently take responsibility for various aspects of the church’s life: please see the sectons “Actvites & Groups” for further details of these groups.
Page 9 9 About St John’s
Who’s Patrons Janet Atkinson who Very Revd. Peter Bradley Pauline Heath Peter Lowe
PCC The Parochial Church Council currently has 14 members
The Vicar Positon currently not flled Clergy Honorary Assistant Priests (Retred) Revd. Bridget Brooke Revd. Malcolm Anker
Lay Authorised Children’s Minister Caroline Hartley Ministry Reader (2nd year of training) Alison Wragg
Church Church Wardens Carl Webber Ofcers & Staf Brian Parfet
Ranmoor Parish Administrator Claire Webber
Director of Music Edward Barbieri
Buildings Manager Steve Dugdale
Safeguarding Ofcer Claire Webber
Treasurer David Booker
Book Keeper & Gif Aid Secretary Sandie Parfet
Page 10 10 Reduced patern Sunday 10.30am Parish Communion of services 6.30pm Choral Evensong whilst the church building is closed Wednesday 10.30am Holy Communion
In early October 2017, a piece of the original plaster ceiling fell to the foor. An investgaton by a plasterwork expert revealed that he was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The PCC considered the report and concluded, for health & safety reasons, that the church should be closed immediately. The PCC is aware of two other similar incidents, fortunately none resulted in people being harmed. Scafolding has been erected through the building and a comprehensive report has been produced that shows how many other panels are in need of repair. The PCC is working with our Architect and the Diocesan Advisory Commitee Secretary to agree a programme of works. We are working towards the church re- opening as soon as possible. We will be undertaking an appeal to members of our congregaton and are seeking grant funding for the repairs, however in order to minimise the amount of tme the church building is closed we also recognise that depleton of our reserves may be necessary in order to ensure that repairs go ahead without delay.
The Bishop has given us permission to undertake public worship in the Parish Centre during this period.
Normal 1st Sunday 8.30am BCP Holy Communion Service Times 10.30am All-age Family Service 6.30pm Parish Communion
2nd, 4th and 5th Sundays 10.30am Parish Communion 6.30pm Choral Evensong
3rd Sunday 9.30am Choral Matns 10.30am Parish Communion 6.30pm Choral Evensong
Tuesday 5.30pm Choral Evensong Wednesday 10.30am Holy Communion - said 5.30pm Choral Evensong Thursday 7.30pm Sung Compline, Choral Vespers or Concert
Numbers Populaton of the parish: 5500 - increasing slightly
Number on Electoral Roll: 228
Parochial Church Council members: 14
Weddings: 2016 23 2017 21 2018 26
Baptsms: 2016 14 2017 15
Funerals: 2016 9 2017 8
Page 11 11 Actvites & Groups (Led by lay-people and volunteers) Bell Ringers
The spire of the church rises to a height of close to 200f and is the highest in Shefeld. The foundatons of the original church were laid in 1877 and William Smith of Hallam Head gave a peal of eight bells cast by James Barwell, a bell founder from Birmingham. The tower, spire and bells survived the fre of 1887 which destroyed the church. In 1934 the bells were recast with two trebles being added and hung in a new frame, making a full circle of the 10 bells we have at present.
The St John's band of ringers consists of both people who were taught to ring at Ranmoor and those who learnt elsewhere and have moved into the area.
As well as ringing for weddings, the bells are heard twice on Sundays for services and at the ringers' Tuesday evening practce. To celebrate special events quarter peals are sometmes rung. The bells are very much part of life at Ranmoor calling to the whole community.
Educaton For Advent 2017, our lay-led group met for four weekly evening sessions using the Faith & Learning book 'Advent for Everyone - A journey with the Apostles' by Tom Wright. Study Group
Social The Social Justce Group is a relaxed, yet efectve group. The group has been actve Justce for many years and discussion takes place over issues that we feel are important, Group both to us and the wider community. They realise that many members of the congregaton support and are actve in issues on both natonal and local levels.
The group’s current involvement includes:
Christan Aid - St John’s Ranmoor has supported Christan Aid for many years. At Christmas tme the choirs sing carols in the city centre. Over £4,000 has been raised so far in 2017.
Page 12 12
Food Bank - It was agreed that as a church we would support Burngreave Food Bank.
Baby Basics - This charity provides new-born baby materials to mothers, recommended by a health visitor or midwife.
The Children’s Society - Many in the congregaton are box holders and the annual Christngle Service is always in aid of the Society.
Pastoral The Pastoral Care Group comprises eight members of the congregaton who follow Care Group up requests for short-term care and practcal support for members of our church family. This care happens alongside the extensive informal support which takes place all the tme between members of the congregaton.
The group was formed in 2010 to enable appropriate and comprehensive pastoral care to be provided within the church and in its various outreach actvites. The obvious area that comes to mind is visitng the sick, but in fact pastoral care is needed and provided in many more ways: for example, welcoming people into church, providing short-term support during family crises, support for parents with new-born babies, for baptsm families, wedding couples, and those who have been bereaved; providing communion in the community; providing lunches and support for older people and care for the carers.
Lunch Club The Wednesday Lunch Club meets in the Parish Centre and provides lunch for approximately 16 or more older people each week. A delicious, home-cooked lunch is served each Wednesday, ofen followed by a talk, music or perhaps a quiz. This provides a vital resource for our older members ofering opportunity for friendship.
Social The church regularly have social actvites which can include: Actvites Weekly cofee and biscuits afer the 10.30am Sunday service. Annual coach trips to the seaside. Pie & Pea supper nights. Guest speaker evenings. Quiz nights. Summer Fayres. Summer BBQ. Advent Bonfre. Theatre trips.
Page13 13 Children in Church
Children Children are very welcome at all tmes. They are a very important part of our in church congregaton and, as well as partcipatng in our worship, there is a range of groups and actvites for them to take part in, including every Sunday in the main Parish Communion Service at 10.30am: Footsteps, the Sunday school group, meets as part of the main service at which all children are very welcome; All Age Family Service, 10.30am on the 1st Sunday of the month. There is a crèche area at the back of church which is ideal for small children to play in.
There are further opportunites for children to be involved in church including: local infant and junior schools’ visits; Nethergreen Infants’ School Harvest Festval led by our Childrens’ Minister; singing in the choirs; learn to bell ring; being acolytes at our services; toddler group; assistng as sides people; and setng out children’s refreshments for afer-service juice and biscuits!
Children's Ministry Team
The Children's Ministry Team meet regularly, usually with the Vicar, to plan the weekly children's Sunday School (Footsteps) in line with the lectonary. They also help and support the Vicar in planning and conductng the All Age Family service - usually celebratng the Eucharist. As a team they are also involved with organising the Christngle and Natvity services, which are principally for children, but atract a large congregaton and ofen a full church. With our new incumbent, they would welcome the same level of support and help in providing age-appropriate teaching for all our children and young people in our church family. The team would also work to support the new youth group. The spiritual care of our children in church will be greatly enhanced with the building of the new extension, providing a worship space within the church and the amenites that would go side by side.
Uniformed The Girl Guides, Brownies and Rainbows meet weekly in our Parish Centre and take Groups part in many church actvites and services.
The church also has close links with the Scout Movement who meet in a neighbouring church and they come to support services such as Remembrance Sunday. Safeguarding There is a Parish Safeguarding Ofcer who works closely with the Diocese and regularly updates the Churchwardens and PCC with all maters concerning safeguarding.
As members of the Church of England, we are concerned with the wholeness of each individual within God’s purpose for everyone. We seek to safeguard all members of the church community, of all ages. It is the responsibility of each one of us to protect children, young people and vulnerable adults from physical, emotonal and sexual abuse and from neglect.
Page 14 14 Music
Music As part of our worship, we have a thriving and growing music traditon; it is one of Traditon the last non-cathedral musical foundatons to ofer music at the highest standards on an almost daily basis. St John’s has a long standing traditon of high quality choral singing and music-making. Our Director of Music was appointed in the Summer of 2017 and he started his employment with us two weeks prior to the start of the interregnum. He has a commitment to involving everyone in the music of the Church. He quickly established a wide-ranging comprehensive programme of music that both supported our worship and a programme of concerts, events and occasional ofces for the next academic year. All the choirs and musical groups began to grow both in terms of their numbers and the range of music provided. Unfortunately, in October the building was closed and, since then, worship has been undertaken in the Parish Centre which has greatly limited our musical scope. We are looking for a new incumbent who will bring their own ideas and gifs to support the signifcant opportunity that we have for mission through our music traditon and we remain open to future developments.
Our music combines both liturgical and secular music to create an all-encompassing
unique experience that appeals to all. Musicians fnd themselves part of a partcularly
friendly and welcoming community with a good social network, a strong sense of
community and is an ideal outlet for those that wish to partcipate in music at the highest levels; but we also provide opportunites for the ‘enthusiastc
amateur’ and people who have had no previous involvement in music to
partcipate. Our music supports and complements our worship.
The music team is led by six professional musicians assisted by organ scholars, an
administratve group and multple support members; some paid, some voluntary.
The choral Functoning at the highest musical standards, the choral foundaton - consistng of programme the Boy Choristers, Girl Choristers, Songmen, Consort, St John's Singers, Schola Cantorum, Choral Scholars and the Occasional Singers - maintains the daily round of liturgies and special services (fve to six sung services per week with Communion, Choral Matns, Sung Compline and daily Choral Evensong). There is a programme of concerts and events, recordings, broadcasts and internatonal tours.
Over 150 people are regularly involved in our choirs, orchestra and musical events, with an additonal pool of musicians to draw upon. Page 15 15
Wider In associaton with the annually-appointed Composer-in-Residence and Artst-in- Appeal Residence, and in conjuncton with the Orchestra-in-Residence (the Shefeld Festval Orchestra) as well as other musical partnerships, there is a year-long series of concerts and events every week as well as a full programme of events at Christmas and Easter for the whole family to further enrich the cultural life of Shefeld and the wider area.
Recently, we have undertaken a year-long recording project whereby every service and event in the church involving church musicians is recorded to provide a legacy archive for future generatons as well as to act as a fund-raiser for the Tour Fund.
Opportunites An individual can enter our music programme and sing at the highest possible for all standard and with a role appropriate to their age, complete with suitable training and support, with our remit being to create a centre for music and a beacon for the preservaton and development of the fnest traditonal music. All the choirs sing in rotaton for Sundays across the year.
External We have close links with both universites (providing musical opportunites for links student singers and instrumentalists - paid and voluntary) as well as many schools (providing us with our renowned Girl and Boy Choristers). We are becoming closely involved with the Shefeld Music Hub adding to the portolio of opportunites available to children and to give us an ongoing steady supply of choristers and choral scholars. Internal and external membership recogniton is a vital part of the chorister programme and as of October 2017 we are in the process of becoming a Learning Destnaton for Shefeld Children’s University which is part of a natonal initatve that encourages and celebrates children and young people who take part in learning actvites outside of school hours and earns them credits towards their higher educaton applicatons.
Page 16 16 Orchestra- The Shefeld Festval Orchestra is Orchestra-in-Residence at St John’s Ranmoor and in-Residence provides accompaniments for liturgies and concerts throughout the year. The orchestra is drawn from advanced players from Shefeld’s many orchestras, the universites and beyond. We are also a partner with the award-winning Harlequin Brass.
Social A full social programme for the musicians and congregaton members has been established for this academic year ranging from Christmas partes to bowling, Laser Quest, and post-rehearsal drinks/dinners for the adults.
Congregatonal Our congregaton is fully involved, both actvely and passively, in our music involvement here. Social media accounts and the website are fully used and atract considerable interest in our church.
Instruments Musical instruments include two organs. The grand organ, a three-manual instrument, at St John’s is generally considered to be one of the fnest pipe organs in the area. It was installed in 1888 by Brindley and Foster. There was a major refurbishment by Nicholson of Worcester in 1963 and a further rebuild by David Wells of Liverpool in 1997. The chamber organ was acquired in 2008 and is used in services and concerts and provides a further dimension to the music making in the church. There are also two
full-size grand pianos - one in the church itself and the other in the Choir Vestry.
Use as St John’s is used regularly as an external music venue. We have regular visits from a venue local primary schools and uniformed organisatons. The church is also used by local secondary schools for concerts and services. In additon, there are concerts by external groups with the church being the preferred venue for concerts by such groups as the Abbeydale Singers and the Shefeld Chorale.
Further details of the music programme may be found at: www.stjohnsranmoor.org.uk/music
Page 17 17 Young peoples’ comments
“Kind to everyone and talks
to people all the tme.”
“Someone who deals “Someone who asks us well with problems ( a what we want to do.” good problem-solver).”
“Someone who makes What would make “Nice, easygoing, church fun and will a good Vicar friendly with a be our friend.” here? sense of humour.”
“Reads the bible with “It would be good if they expression and includes came to school to ask my children in sermons.” friends to come to church.”
“Appreciates music and respects the choirs.”
“I like the people at our church - it’s a nice place. I like how there is stuf for kids to do not just adults - Footsteps, craf and you get cake sometmes when it’s partes.”
“Concerts and performances that “The organ.” we do.”
What things do “The care of our “Working with congregaton—we have a you enjoy about local schools.” very caring congregaton.” our church?
“Everyone is friendly, “The aesthetcs.” welcoming and inclusive.”
“Compliments from the “The involvement of “A very good venue congregaton young children in for singing.” regarding singing.” the congregaton.”
Page 18 18 Parishioners’ comments
"I value St John’s because it has a broad-church style of Anglican catholic liturgy, served by cathedral quality choral music. Our traditonal services allow us to “worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness", as well as providing a warm welcome to everyone. We rejoice in women’s priestly ministry and share a deep concern for social justce.” Deborah Page
______
“St John's is an inclusive church where all are welcome. We aim to cohere as one, giving pastoral care to those in need, and support in prayer and acton many who serve God's mission of peace and justce in the local community, across Shefeld and in the world. Our patern of worship embraces Common Worship at the main weekly Eucharist, Book of Common prayer and All Age services so that all may feel at home and also enjoy and be helped by our fne musical traditon.” Rev’d Bridget Brooke
______
“Why I atend St Johns Ranmoor: I need to hear the Gospel every week and have its message explained. It helps me keep my priorites in order. I feel comfortable in the building because it’s familiar and it holds a lot of memories of friends and family. There is a rightul dignity and stature in the liturgy and worship, enhanced by the architecture and the music . I am among like-minded people who believe in pursuing social justce and the service of others in Christ’s name. “
Peter Lowe
______
“Important aspects of my faith life in worship at St John's are: music, morning prayer and evening services, the church family, Bible study, the Book of Common Prayer, an approachable vicar, quiet tme in church, all-age family services to encourage more young people and young families to join the church family at St John's.” Carolyn Marsden
Page 19 19 Parishioners’ Comments
“I work here at St John’s as the Parish Administrator and have done for nearly 5 years. I am married to Carl (Churchwarden) and we have a wonderful 7-year-old daughter. My lovely mum is a member of the congregaton and she is also on the Pastoral Care team. Family is the most important thing to me and I am blessed to have such a wonderful one. I love worshiping here at St John’s and my church family are very important to me. I am on the PCC as secretary and Safeguarding Ofcer and I help with the children’s Sunday school (Footsteps).” Claire Webber
______
“We have atended St John’s since the late 1960s when we came to Shefeld. It is Susan’s old church, we married there in 1964.
We worship regularly in order to re-charge our spiritual bateries in the company of a friendly and welcoming congregaton, who, like ourselves, fnd the worship enhanced by the beauty of the architecture and the strength of the choral traditon.
We appreciate the eforts made by the congregaton to beneft the local community and those farther afeld, being grateful that global crises are highlighted, with help being provided if possible.” Susan and John Hepworth
Page 20 20 Parishioners’ Comments
What qualites would you like in our new vicar?
Page 21 21 Parishioners’ Comments
What do you like about St John's Church and why do you come here to worship?
Page 22 22 Finance & Fabric
Finances St John’s annual accounts (Charity No. 1135432) had shown defcits for a number of years up to 2013. Since that tme the PCC has endeavoured to balance the books and has engaged in a signifcant reducton of expenditure together with the creaton of extra income streams.
The PCC annually has given 5% of its income in grants for charitable purposes.
We are currently in the process of signing a new contract for the phone mast situated in the spire of the church for 4G mobile phones.
The atached Summary of Financial Results in Appendix A show income from all sources, i.e. unrestricted, restricted and designated funds. In some years there are exceptonal income receipts which are matched by exceptonal costs, e.g. the choir tour to Germany in 2015.
The PCC needs to contnue its eforts to sustain and increase planned giving, as it is recognised that much of the planned giving comes from the older parishioners. A giving campaign is planned for 2018.
The recent fall in masonry from the ceiling in the nave will, in all probability, result in signifcant calls on the Church’s funds.
We currently have important issues to address in relaton to the church building itself which is not ideally suited to our current needs and signifcant developments are planned.
History The frst church was built on pasture land and dedicated in 1879 to a design of E M of the Gibbs. This church was destroyed by fre in 1887 and only the tower and spire were building saved. These were incorporated into the second church on the same “footprint” to a new design also by the same architect. Both the interior and exterior of the church building communicate a consistent theological message: namely, that this community’s worship of God is to be conducted in a place of beauty, one which celebrates human creatvity and crafsmanship. The church was substantally reordered in the late 1980s with the installaton of a forward altar. The churchyard has a consecrated area for the burial of ashes, but there is no graveyard. Page23 23 We are very aware of our responsibilites as the current custodians of this beautful building and are keen to preserve it for future generatons. At the same tme it is not ideally adapted to our current paterns of worship and our wider needs.
Repairs Over the past 12 months we have undertaken essental repairs to the roof and replaced deterioratng stonework; these repairs had been identfed in the 2014 Quinquennial Inspecton. In additon we installed new boilers and an electrical supply to the lof space. Unfortunately though, in October 2017 a piece of ceiling came down. An inspecton revealed that the cause was unclear, with a recommendaton that the 350+ painted ceiling panels should be ‘prod’ tested. Therefore, at the tme of writng this Profle, our worship has been moved out of the church building and is taking place in the Parish Centre. Regular updates about progress on the work are posted on our website.
Maintenance For several years now we have been considering the best ways in which our and updatng Victorian building could be sympathetcally updated to provide safe and appropriate our facilites toilet, catering and meetng room facilites. Several plans have been drafed, but none carried forward. We feel that there is an urgent need to plan and build facilites that enable our children to be kept safe, accessible toilets, appropriate refreshment facilites so that we can provide drinks and light refreshments and sufciently sized meetng rooms. The primary need for meetng space connected to the church building is so that our Footsteps group can meet together without the need to leave the building and cross a road. We have received consent from the Archdeacon to contnue developing draf proposals for these facilites through the interregnum. However, due to the problem outlined in the previous paragraph, progress on the plans to provide the above facilites are unlikely to progress much untl, perhaps, the Summer of 2018.
Page24 24 Ranmoor Parish Centre
St John’s has a related charity, the Ranmoor Parish Centre Trust (Charity No. 511649). The property at 5 Ranmoor Park Road, Shefeld S10 3GX was formerly the old Church Vicarage untl the late 1970s when it was subsequently acquired by the RPCT in 1981 as the Ranmoor Parish Centre to provide the church ofce and rooms for church and community use. The Centre has four recepton rooms (one used as the parish ofce) and a large kitchen, an annexe and two fats upstairs. It is located opposite the church. The Centre provides opportunites for people to meet and partcipate in a wide range of actvites.
The Centre is run as a separate registered charity, with the incumbent of St John’s being the Chair of Trustees. Other Trustees are both the Churchwardens and representatves of the Parochial Church Council. The local Methodist Church and representatves from the community are also Trustees. The charity’s objects are the furtherance of the religious and other charitable work of the Church of England in the ecclesiastcal parish of Saint John the Evangelist, Ranmoor in the Diocese and City of Shefeld.
The Parish Ofce is located in the Centre and the church makes use of the rooms, including a lunch club, a mothers & toddlers group and meetngs of the PCC. The Centre also hires out rooms to not-for-proft and small businesses, e.g. singing groups, yoga, language tuiton etc. On the frst foor there are two fats, one of which is rented out to a private tenant and the other to the church’s Director of Music.
In fnancial terms the 2016/17 income was £44k made up of £25K room letngs,£13k fat rental and £6k for use of the building from St john’s PCC. In most years a surplus is made, but in 2016/17 there was a £1k defcit due to a large amount of repair work on the centre costng £20k. The Balance Sheet at 31 March 2017 showed total unrestricted funds of £259k of which £119k represented the cost of the building, £123k in CCLA investments and £17k in net current assets. The Vicar has in recent years chaired quarterly meetngs of the RPCT trustees.
Page 25 25 The Vicarage
St John’s Vicarage at 389A Fulwood Road, Shefeld S10 3GA, is a four-bedroomed, detached house on three foors, in a good state of repair, a short walk from the church. It is stone built with a garage and hard standing for two cars, and has a pleasant garden with mature trees.
The house is centrally heated. The ground foor comprises a: Open-plan Dining room/kitchen and lounge. Toilet. Study (which can be accessed via a separate outside door).
On the frst foor there is a: Large lounge. Bathroom. Bedroom.
On the second foor there are three further bedrooms.
There is also a good quality summer house with lightng and power. Previous incumbents have used this creatvely, including as an ofce and an art studio.
A regular bus service into the City Centre, passes several schools, shops, a hospital and the Shefeld University on its way. It leaves from opposite the Vicarage. The journey tme varies according to the trafc but is around 20 minutes. All major stores are in the city centre, along with theatres, cinemas and restaurants.
St John’s Church
Vicarage
Page 26 26 The local area
The local area Historically this area was the preferred locaton of the industrialists (principally steel manufacturers) who were responsible for Shefeld’s prosperity in the late 19th and 20th centuries. The church was built by them and their magnifcent houses are a prominent feature of the parish. Most are now used for other purposes: e.g. as a school, a Territorial Army barracks, retrement and nursing homes and as mult- occupaton dwellings.
Local amenites There are two good local shopping areas in the parish and excellent local facilites: parks, easy access to the Peak District Natonal Park, and a wide range of sportng and leisure facilites.
Shefeld There are several good schools within walking distance from St John’s Church Schools vicarage.
For 5-7 year olds: Broomhill Infants - Ofsted rated outstanding. Recently granted Fairtrade status. Nethergreen Infants - Ofsted rated good. St Marie’s Infants - A Catholic faith school. Ofsted rated good. Lydgate Infants - Ofsted rated good.
For 7-11 year olds: Nethergreen Junior - Ofsted rated good. Ecclesall Church of England - Ofsted rated good. St Marie’s - A Catholic faith school. Ofsted rated good. Lydgate Junior - Ofsted rated good.
For 11-18 year olds: Tapton - Ofsted rated outstanding. King Edward the VII - Ofsted rated good. Notre Dame - A Catholic faith school. Ofsted rated good. High Storrs - Ofsted rated good. Hospitals In the locality there are a number of hospitals including Shefeld Teaching Hospitals, and students Shefeld Children’s Hospitals, two private hospitals and Phoenix House, which is a drug and alcohol rehabilitaton centre, a number of retrement and nursing homes, and student halls of residence.
Page27 27 City Ranmoor is a conservaton area only 2.5 miles west of the city centre and is situated centre on the south-facing slope of the Porter Valley with the Grade II-listed St John’s Church as the landmark building at the heart of it. Shefeld is the fourth largest city in the country with all the facilites that would be expected, including two excellent universites – Shefeld and Shefeld Hallam – a natonally-recognised theatre complex, music venues, a range of sportng clubs and high-class medical facilites. Shefeld is the greenest city in the country.
Descripton The propertes within Ranmoor range from high-value Victorian housing to the of the student halls of residence. There are many large detached houses in the parish, populaton semi-detached and terraced houses, purpose-built housing associaton and private fats and bungalows. There has recently been some infll building in the area, mostly of high-value houses and fats, including two developments directly adjacent to the church.
As a result we have a mixed demographic of all ages and professions, ranging from academics to professionals to white-collared and blue-collared workers, the unskilled and the retred.
The contnued development actvity has led to a slight increase in populaton and an ever-increasing diversity in culture.
Page 28 28 Appendix A - Summary of Financial Results
Figures are in £000s 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 9 months INCOME Giving and tax recovered 133 135 138 134 99 Collectons and donatons 15 16 21 22 10 Legacies 0 2 10 15 0 Investment income 2 2 2 2 2 Weddings and funerals 9 9 7 7 6 O2 mast rent 25 13 13 13 10 Choir tours and sundry income 21 16 29 27 10 Other 21 18 31 14 10 Parish Hall Trust 0 21 0 0 32 TOTAL INCOME 226 232 251 234 179
EXPENDITURE Grants 13 8 8 6 4 Common Fund 77 79 80 82 62 Service costs 9 3 4 2 2 Organ & pianos 4 2 2 4 1 Music & Choirs 29 18 39 16 10 Staf Salaries 45 42 45 32 25 Parish Centre 6 6 7 7 5 Utlites 21 19 17 14 7 Repairs 10 11 22 10 33 Trading Costs 10 5 4 3 3 Building - special projects 7 0 0 0 35
Other 19 24 39 17 12
TOTAL EXPENDITURE 250 217 267 193 199
SURPLUS/(DEFICIT) FOR YEAR -24 15 -16 41 -20
Notes: 1. Sundry income in 2016 included a grant from the Friends of Cathedral Music of £25k to be held as an endowment. The income to fund an organ scholar. 2. Repairs in the current year of £35k included signifcant Quinquennial roofng repairs, which were antcipated. 3. Special project expenditure of £35k represented the installaton of new gas boilers, which should help to reduce future church heatng revenue costs. The expenses was matched by a grant of £32k from the Parish Hall Trust.
Page 29 29 Appendix B - Other mission partnership churches
St Mark’s Living Thinking Loving Faith Broomhill St Marks Church aims to be an open and inclusive community of people. We celebrate the wonderful diversity of human life, taking our inspiraton from the life and teachings of Jesus which revealed God’s extraordinary love for all people. Our worship is centred on Eucharist and we include contemporary and creatve expressions of liturgy. We appreciate that people have very diferent experiences of faith and have many doubts and questons - and we welcome these!
All churches are engaged in the work of God’s kingdom and at St Marks we do whatever we can to be part of God’s work of transformaton and hope.
Our patern of worship is broad. Our Sunday Services include a Book of Common Prayer 8.00am Eucharist, a Parish Eucharist at 10.00am atended by 120 – 200 people aged 0 – 95 years!, and an 8.00pm Contemplatve Night Service to which 20 – 50 young and not so young people come.
We are a “Visible Congregaton” as part of the One Body One Faith network, and we are a member of Inclusive Church. Our social outreach includes a weekly Saturday night Soup Run held on Division Street, Friday morning Broomhall Breakfast and we part-fund a Worker for Older People.
Page 30 30 St Mary’s Parish - quirky, upwardly mobile transience, increasing gentrifcaton Walkley Walkley is an old artsan area of Shefeld and stll atracts those who work in the arts and crafs. The church (built in 1869) was built before most of the houses and Walkley is called an urban village which is a good descripton, as it stll has a relatvely good sense of community. The majority of houses are Victorian terraces, with the newer houses built on the steep hillside of the Rivelin Valley. There are stll shops and small businesses as well as three community halls, a Church of England primary school, and a library run very successfully by volunteers. There are several other places of Christan worship, including the Methodist church, a Buddhist centre and a large cemetery. Each year there is a Walkley Festval run by the Walkley Forum. Unfortunately, many people reluctantly have to leave Walkley as the houses are not seen as big enough for the needs of a modern family.
Church - inclusive, eucharistc, a safe place to be with God The St Mary’s congregaton is mixed and broad in churchmanship; many have a spiritually open and independent outlook on life. St Mary’s is an ordinary Anglican parish church with strong lay leadership and an undergirding theology that is catholic and tolerant rather than liberal. The building and liturgy (mainly eucharistc) are important, but St Mary’s has also had to work out new ways of doing things due to a lack of resources. Unusually, St Mary’s is efectve in reaching the de-churched, the disillusioned and those seeking a non-judgemental place of healing. There is a general hunger to learn more about the Christan faith, in a way that does not give easy answers but rather opens up the questons so that an answer may be found. Mission for St Mary’s is about making friends and working with the community as well as holding a sacred space in which God can work. There are plenty of visitors from all over the world and the congregaton delights in anyone on placement as a part of training (we have nurtured and sent out many leaders over the years). People come into contact with St Mary’s in many diferent ways. The church runs a well-used community hall; has a strong and evolving partnership with the church school; oversees, with the support of a friends group, a large cemetery which is valued by the community for its wildlife and heritage; and a peal of bells, used for training new bell ringers, is rung regularly for services and generally enjoyed by the community.
Context of locaton - urban village near to university Walkley benefts from good transport links to the city centre, and being near the University of Shefeld. It is also on the outskirts of Shefeld on the edge of the beautful Rivelin Valley. We hold a distnctve positon among the churches in the locality and bear fruit for the beneft of others.
Page 31 31 St Timothy’s Crookes
St Timothy’s seeks to be an outward looking church, and is well rooted in the community, running several locally based ministries. Generous relatonships are very important to us and we fnd the inspiraton for this from the Kingdom teaching of Jesus and prayer. Basically Evangelical / Charismatc in its theology, St Tim’s comes from a broad Anglican traditon and atracts people who appreciate a more open, less prescriptve approach.
In 2008 we completed an extensive building project to make the building more versatle for the 21st century: we have transformed the worship area, created a creche within the church, opened up the main entrance, creatng a wi-f enabled Welcome area and cafe, and made it all disabled access friendly. The Church Centre now has an ofce which is open most mornings, and a variety of actvites take place in the week.
Our aim is to encourage a radical, personal encounter with God, equipping us for mission in a fast changing world that is in great need of the Gospel. A partcular focus for us at present is to try to take much more literally the teaching of Jesus regarding our lifestyle, i.e. trustng in our Father to provide the necessites of life – and so be free to live generously, working for God to build and proclaim his Kingdom in a world where there is much sufering.
Our normal Sunday Worship patern is three services, at 9.30am, 11.00am and 6.30pm. We also have a midweek informal Holy Communion service on Wednesdays at 12.00pm.
Our music and liturgy draw on modern as well as traditonal streams, and there is an appreciaton of quiet moments for personal refecton to complement Biblical teaching.
Page 32 32
The Vine The Vine was formed in July 2013 with the joining of two parishes: St Stephens, Netherthorpe and St Bartholomews, Langset. We have retained both buildings, which are used for diferent purposes, so we are one church with two great venues.
The Vine has been in interregnum since June 2017 and is currently led by a strong “Ministry Leadership Team” and overseen by a commited PCC.
There are 60-70 on our electoral roll and this has been steadily growing for a few years. We are a not-just-Sunday church, so in additon to our Sunday congregatons there is a network of people who consider themselves part of The Vine family, but are not traditonal Sunday church-goers.
We work well in partnership with other churches and local organisatons to achieve more than we could otherwise as a small-ish church. In partcular we have worked closely with St Mary’s, Bramall Lane to develop our Foodcycle and TimeBuilders projects, which have greatly enhanced engagement with our community.
Godly Play is a big part of what we do. Many from our church are Godly Play trainers and we run an organisaton called Mutual Blessings, which ofers spiritually- enriching practces using the principles of Godly Play to people of all ages or needs.
We are currently considering how to make best use of our buildings and looking towards a major redevelopment of the St Bart’s site, to beter cater for the work we do.
St Stephens, Netherthorpe
St Bartholomews, Langset
Page 33 33
Role Description
Details of Post
Role Title: Vicar and Area Dean of Hallam
Name of Benefice: Ranmoor St John the Evangelist
Deanery: Hallam
Archdeaconry: Sheffield & Rotherham
Role Purpose
1. To exercise the cure of souls in collaboration with the bishop 2. To grow Christ-like, lively and diverse Christian communities in this place which are effective in making disciples and in seeking to transform our society and God's world 3. To represent the Church of England in the wider community 4. To support, encourage and resource colleagues in the deanery and diocese, as together we seek to realise our diocesan vision
General Responsibilities
1. To fulfill the responsibilities of clergy as described in the Canons, the Ordinal, the Guidelines for the Professional Conduct for the Clergy and other relevant legislation. 2. To watch over yourself. 3. To ensure that a high standard of worship, preaching and pastoral care is offered. 4. To develop the ministry of the laity such that all are using their gifts for the common good and to develop a ministry team. 5. To offer the gospel in a lively and engaging way to those who are outside the church 6. To offer a way for people to explore the Christian gospel for the first time leading to baptism and confirmation. 7. To offer clear pathways for young Christians to grow to maturity as Christian disciples. 8. To lead the church in responding to human need by loving service. 9. To participate in diocesan, national and international initiatives to transform unjust structures of society. 10. To seek at all times to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth.
11. To encourage Christian stewardship of people’s time, money and abilities. 12. To collaborate with Churchwardens to ensure the church building(s) serve the church’s wider mission in the community. 13. To seek ecumenical cooperation wherever appropriate and possible. 14. To collaborate with the deanery in mission and ministry and cooperate in the implementation of the deanery plan. 15. To ensure full compliance at all times with the Diocesan Safeguarding Policy. 16. To explore opportunities for pioneer expressions of mission and ministry wherever appropriate and possible. 17. To fulfil the bishops’ requirement of full engagement with continuing professional development through Leading Well, Continuing Ministerial Development and diocesan events that aim to inspire and equip lay and ordained leaders.
Specific Responsibilities
1. To lead the team of retired clergy, lay ministers, paid staff and church officers in developing the distinctive musical tradition of St John’s, exploring new opportunities for mission and growth. 2. To grow the church younger by prioritizing the development of ministry amongst children, young people, students and young families. 3. To continue to develop the active involvement of lay volunteers in the ministries of the church, supporting existing lay-led initiatives and providing good oversight for the various teams. 4. To proactively work with clergy and lay leaders across the mission partnership to develop closer links in mission and ministry between the churches, and shape an overall strategy for future deployment of stipendiary clergy across the five benefices. 5. To fulfill the responsibilities of Area Dean of Hallam, as described in the appended Role Description.
Key colleagues within the church (local, deanery, diocese and ecumenical)
• The Bishop of Sheffield and the Bishop of Doncaster • The Archdeacon of Sheffield and Rotherham • The Assistant Area Dean and Lay Chair of Hallam Deanery • The Clergy Chapter and Deanery Synod • The Clergy and Lay Leaders from the churches in the Mission Partnership • The Churchwardens • The PCC, staff, lay ministers and retired clergy in the parish
Key partners in the wider community (individuals and organisations)
• Lydgate Infant and Junior Schools • Tapton Secondary School • Notre Dam Catholic Secondary School • Phoenix Futures drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre • Sheffield Chorale and Abbeydale singers • Burngreave food bank • Christian Aid
Statement by the Archdeacon on behalf of the Diocese:
The Bishop of Sheffield is looking to appoint an experienced priest to this significant benefice, who will also serve as Area Dean of Hallam for an initial 5-year term. St John’s Ranmoor is a strategically important church in South-West Sheffield, with a strong and well-regarded musical tradition and a growing commitment to effectively reach its parish in mission. It sits alongside some of the largest churches in the diocese and maintains a distinctive ministry that enables it to flourish in such company. From the attached parish profile, you can readily see the opportunities for further developments in mission and the passion of the existing congregation to grow further, both in terms of the size of the worshipping community and the depth of discipleship.
Hallam Deanery covers the fourteen benefices and one extra-parochial place of South-West Sheffield, which includes most of the largest churches in the diocese (both in terms of congregation size and electoral roll membership) and encompasses the most affluent part of the city. It is the deanery in which both Sheffield Higher Education institutions sit and, as such, is home to the majority of students. Consequently, it is a deanery of significant strength, both demographically and financially, and yet is also, like other deaneries, facing the challenges of mission and ministry in a changing Church. The Area Dean will work closely with the Assistant Area Dean and Deanery Lay Chair to provide strategic leadership in the discernment of future shapes of ministry across the deanery, including new patterns for deploying stipendiary clergy and lay leaders.
The Sheffield Diocesan strategy for developing Mission Partnerships is a response to the Church’s need to re-imagine ministry for effective mission in the 21st century, recognising the reality of changing resources and contexts whilst remaining committed to local presence mission and ministry. In short, it is a strategy for growing the church by creating larger mission units of several parishes that are better resourced, with multiple stipendiary clergy as well as paid lay posts, to engage more effectively in local mission. The vision is set out in the 2012 strategy booklet Re-Imagining Ministry for Mission (see http://www.sheffield.anglican.org/UserFiles/File/Strategy_documents/BOOKLETS_Re_imagining.pdf).
St John’s Ranmoor is part of a fledgling Mission Partnership, encompassing St Timothy Crookes, St Mark’s Broomhill, The Vine Sheffield and St Mary’s Walkley. In the existing Deanery Mission Plan for 2019, this partnership of five benefices is to be served by four stipendiary clergy, working alongside self-supporting clergy and lay leadership teams. However, given the fact that this mission partnership is not yet sufficiently developed to have a clear strategy for sharing four ordained posts, the Bishop’s Staff have agreed to commit additional short-term resources to enable interim appointments to be made at both The Vine and St Timothy Crookes in 2018, meaning that the mission partnership will continue to enjoy five stipendiary posts for the next 2-3 years. It is essential that the new Vicar of Ranmoor, both as an Incumbent in the mission partnership and as Area Dean, is fully committed to working with the other clergy and lay leaders across the partnership to discern together the future shape of deployment beyond this, being ready to take on additional responsibilities if necessary.
Area Dean Role Description
The Diocese of Sheffield is called to grow a sustainable network of Christ-like, lively and diverse Christian communities in every place which are effective in making disciples and in seeking to transform our society and God’s world.
Purpose of post: to share in leading the parishes and benefices of the Deanery in God’s mission and in realising the Diocesan vision
Key relationships: The Archdeacon of Sheffield & Rotherham Assistant Area Dean of Hallam Deanery Lay Chair of Hallam Deanery Council Deanery Clergy Chapter Church House Officers and Staff
Objectives: 1. To fulfil the statutory duties of Area Deans with care and enthusiasm 2. To encourage the growth of a sustainable network of Christ-like, lively and diverse Christian communities throughout the Deanery, and be an advocate for local mission partnerships. 3. To increase the effectiveness of these Christian communities in making disciples and in seeking to transform our society and God’s world 4. To contribute to the formation of diocesan strategy
Hours: This is a notional one-day a week responsibility and, in order to sustain this, Area Deans should identify (where there isn’t already one and in agreement with the Archdeacon) an assistant with whom to share the workload. The working relationship with the Lay Chair is also key in sharing responsibilities.
Tasks and challenges:
1. To fulfil the statutory duties of Area Deans with care and enthusiasm (see Appendix A) Key challenges: a. Leading change: the pastoral care of Clergy, churchwardens and other officers in a time of major change b. Vacancies and Pastoral Reorganisation: working with the Bishops and Archdeacon in making good appointments to well shaped roles c. Conducting Parish Visitations on behalf of the Archdeacon
2. To grow a sustainable network of Christ-like, lively and diverse Christian communities throughout the Deanery, and be an advocate for local mission partnerships Key challenges: a. Shaping the changing role of stipendiary clergy and encouraging vocations to Self-Supporting and Stipendiary ordained ministry b. Resourcing churches for mission, fostering the development of effective mission partnerships and encouraging every member ministry c. Advocating for a mixed-economy understanding of, and approach to, Church and mission
3. To increase the effectiveness of these Christian communities in making disciples and in seeking to transform our society and God’s world Key challenges: a. Developing a culture of whole-life discipleship b. Engaging with significant issues in society, working in partnership with other churches, chaplains, ecumenical colleagues, faith groups, community groups c. Developing new ways of meeting as Chapter and Synod, prioritising relationships and prayer
4. To contribute to the formation and implementation of diocesan strategy a. Working with Senior Staff on all areas of vision, values and strategy b. Working with deanery colleagues to develop a culture and positive strategies for growing generous Christian giving in each parish, with a prioritised commitment to the Common Fund
Term of office: initially 5 years renewable for a further 3 years.
Work will be regularly reviewed with the Archdeacon with significant reviews after 1 year, 3 years and 5 years.
Expenses: working expenses up to £1500 a year. Area Deans are also encouraged to apply to the grants committee for additional earmarked funding to pay for modest administrative support.
Review Date:
Signature of Office Holder: Date:
Signature of Archdeacon: Date:
Appendix A – Canon C23
For information Canon C23 (‘Of Rural Deans’) states the following (substituting Area deans for Rural Deans):
1. Every Area Dean shall report to the Bishop any matter in any parish within the Deanery which it may be necessary or useful for the Bishop to know, particularly any case of serious illness or other form of distress amongst the clergy, the vacancy of any cure of souls and the measures taken by the sequestrators to secure the ministration of the word and sacraments and other rites of the Church during the said vacancy, and any case of a minister from another diocese officiating in any place otherwise than as provided in Canon C8 [Of ministers exercising their ministry].
2. In the case of any omission in any parish to prepare and maintain a church electoral roll or to form or maintain a parochial church council or to hold the annual parochial church meeting, the Area Dean on such omission being brought to their notice shall ascertain and report to the Bishop the cause thereof.
3.If at any time the Area Dean has reason to believe that there is any serious defect in the fabric, ornament and furniture of any church of chapel, or that the building of any benefice are in a state of disrepair, they shall report the matter to the Archdeacon.
4. The Area Dean shall be a joint chair (with a member of the House of Laity) of the Deanery Synod.
Appendix B - Support
Bishop’s Extended Staff meetings - approx. twice per year (12.00pm to 3.30pm) - to build relationships, communication and strategy
Meeting of Area Deans with Archdeacon – approx. four times a year with additional socials - for more detailed review of deanery strategy and to share concerns
Regular one-to-one contact (either in person or by telephone) with Archdeacon - for detailed discussion of appointments / pastoral reorganisation / workload etc
National conference for Area Deans and regional conference for new Area Deans are resources that some Area Deans have found to be helpful.
Note: It is recognised that Area Dean roles have gradually expanded, becoming more proactive and strategic. In addition to parish duties, this can at times lead to a heavy and unrealistic workload. Area Deans are encouraged to keep this under review with the Archdeacon.
DIOCESE OF SHEFFIELD
THE PARISH OF ST JOHN THE EVANGELIST, RANMOOR
PERSON SPECIFICATION
CRITERIA ESSENTIAL DESIRABLE Qualifications/Training Ordained man or woman in the Church of Graduate or post-graduate qualification England. in theology. Spirituality and Prayer Life A person of deep personal faith which is lived out in their daily life and activities.
The ability to relate all the church’s
activities to the call of the gospel.
The ability to lead the sacramental ministry, spiritual life and development of St John’s by teaching and by personal example. A person who understands and recognizes the intrinsic nature and importance of the Eucharist to St John’s. Knowledge Knowledge of effective ways of reaching A good knowledge and understanding of and engaging young families, teenagers the liturgical resources of the Church of and children in the life of the church within England and can draw on these an ageing congregation. creatively to support our tradition. An interest in the liturgy and innovative approaches to it, in the context of respect
for traditional forms and approaches. Experience and knowledge of current safeguarding legislation and practice. Experience Experience of collaborative ministry that Experience of working with ordained and has grown the congregation’s commitment laity in the development of innovative to God’s work in parish life. forms of working across traditional parish boundaries. Substantial recent church experience in a leadership role. Experience of leading paid staff, volunteers, laity and clergy. Experience in developing ministry with a diverse range of ages from the very young Experience of working in a church setting to the older generation. where choral music is integral to ministry and outreach. Experience of working with people who are exploring or deepening their faith. Experience in reaching out from the church to the wider community.
CRITERIA ESSENTIAL DESIRABLE Skills and Abilities An ability to encourage, develop and An ability to manage a small team of support lay leadership and involvement in parish employees. all aspects of church life. An ability to use modern technology
A person who can demonstrate their effectively and imaginatively.
understanding and commitment to the An ability to welcome and support the important role that high quality church involvement of ordained clergy (e.g., music has in supporting worship. retired clergy) in the life of the church. An ability to give a clear lead and sense of An ability to identify, encourage and direction to lay members of the develop the involvement of volunteers in congregation while encouraging and all aspects of church life. enabling others to play key roles in a team effort. An ability to identify ways in which our church can grow, then, working with the An ability to lead and play a strong church community, to plan and deliver personal role in the parish’s pastoral care the growth. of the congregation and the wider community in Ranmoor. Personal Attributes A stimulating preacher, able to relate A person who has the ability to multi- spiritual teaching to the day-to-day task. activities of the church and its witness in
the community. A person who is compelling, energetic and well organized. A person who develops relationships with people of all ages across the community. A person with a strong commitment to equality and inclusiveness in all aspects of the church’s life and work, including working with female lay or ordained ministers.