VICAR St Mary Magdalene Lillington and St James

PARISH PROFILES

Page 1 of 36 Contents BISHOP’S INTRODUCTIONS ...... 3 DEANERY SUMMARY ...... 4 BACKGROUND TO JOINT POST ...... 5 ROLE SPECIFICATION ...... 6 PERSON SPECIFICATION ...... 6 ST MARY MAGDALENE, LILLINGTON ...... 7 Context ...... 7 St Mary Magdalene and the 8 Essential Qualities ...... 8 The Parish ...... 15 History ...... 15 Population ...... 16 Schools ...... 17 Buildings ...... 18 Vicarage ...... 19 Services ...... 20 School Links ...... 20 Ecumenical Links ...... 21 Administration ...... 21 Finance and Stewardship ...... 22 St Mary Magdalene’s Parish Information ...... 22 ST JAMES OLD MILVERTON ...... 23 Context ...... 23 St James and the 8 Essential Qualities: ...... 26 The Parish ...... 31 History ...... 31 Location ...... 32 Population ...... 32 Buildings: ...... 33 Services ...... 33 School Links ...... 34 Ecumenical Links ...... 35 Administration ...... 35 Finance and Stewardship ...... 35 St James Parish Information ...... 36 FURTHER DETAILS ...... 36

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BISHOP’S INTRODUCTION

St Mary Magdalen Lillington and St James Old Milverton provide an excellent opportunity for a priest with a commitment to the flourishing of the central churchmanship tradition, and developing and valuing lay ministry in both a suburban and small rural setting.

These two parish churches are in good health. St Mary Magdalen is in many senses an ideal, forward thinking Central Church of England parish. It embraces a ministry committed to a large parish which geographically incorporates a wide range of social contexts, and is in a good position to develop this even further, with some very encouraging indicators of health which you can read about in the Parish Profile.

St James Old Milverton is a small rural parish, with an eclectic congregation, and with a long history of excellent lay leadership. Again, indicators of health are very good.

These two parishes have continued their ministry efficiently, generously and quietly, in the sense that much of their work and generosity is understated. There is an admirable humility in how they go about things, combined with a warmth and openness in their approach, which makes them both appealing and effective.

I greatly value the ministry of these two committed church communities in the Diocese and I commend them to you.

With my prayers,

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DEANERY SUMMARY

Warwick and Leamington is a Deanery in the heart of the , at the centre of England. It is very much a Deanery of two halves. The two towns are adjoining, but separated by the River Avon.

The ancient town of is small and charming with boutique shops and beautiful views of the castle. The larger and newer Regency town of Royal Leamington Spa is a wonderful place to shop and eat out. Both places are prosperous and popular places to live, though there are clear pockets of deprivation, including parts of Lillington.

The Church of England in Warwick comprises four parishes in the Warwick Team plus the neighbouring village of , which now also oversees a large new housing estate, Chase Meadow. Each church currently has a full time stipendiary priest. In the Leamington half of the Deanery there are eleven parishes, serving twelve churches, with nine incumbents. Churches cover the whole spectrum of traditions (about half are evangelical) and members of Chapter get on very well together. The Chapter is very friendly, supportive and open, embracing diversity of opinion. At their meetings there is always plenty of laughter, real sharing, and prayer for one another. Both towns are also blessed with a large number of faithful retired and associate ministers.

The Deanery is geographically small and people travel easily from place to place, often choosing the church that best fits their needs. As well as the Anglican churches, there are many other churches in Warwick and Leamington and the ecumenical links are superb. Ministers from the different churches regularly meet together to eat and to pray, and initiatives such as the Food Bank, Street Pastors in Leamington, and Healing in the Streets in Warwick have been envisaged and organised by the different churches working together. The churches are respected by the local councils, and church leaders meet regularly with the local MP.

We are a growing Deanery with large amounts of housing being built in the south, presenting exciting challenges for future mission and ministry. As one of the most prosperous Deaneries in Coventry Diocese we try hard to offer financial support to more deprived areas through the parish share system.

The Deanery is still in ‘Area Dean vacancy’ at the moment (the previous incumbent was Area Dean), but looks forward to welcoming a new priest at Lillington and Old Milverton and will do all they can to support them in their ministry.

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BACKGROUND TO JOINT POST

St Mary Magdalene, Lillington and St James, Old Milverton formed a joint benefice in 2008.

St Mary Magdalene is situated in Lillington, in the north-east of the popular and attractive town of Leamington Spa. Lillington is a large parish with a population of 10,600, with a more affluent section where the church is located, and a less affluent area with more social needs. St Mary Magdalene is in very good health with a very positive congregation.

St James, Old Milverton, (population 573) is located about 2.5 miles away and is an eclectic, rural church on the outskirts of Leamington. It is primarily lay-led and has a very positive history of effective lay leadership. It is also in good health.

The joint Benefice was established largely as a ‘marriage of convenience’ to ensure St James had a legal priest. As the two churches are so different in character they continued to run independently of each other. The incumbent spends about 90% of their time devoted to Lillington, and about 10% to St James. Both churches think this arrangement has worked well and wish it to continue. The post is therefore entirely ‘manageable’ in terms of time allocation but gives the added bonus of varied contexts for ministry.

Both congregations are in good heart and ready to continue their movement forward as indicated by the NCD survey results in relation to the 8 Essential Qualities.

The post has become vacant as the previous incumbent felt God’s call to pioneer an exciting new initiative in the city centre of Coventry, linked with the Cathedral (‘St Clare’s at the Cathedral’). She was much loved and we will miss her but are delighted that she has been given this opportunity to lead people to faith. Both churches are now ready to move on with a new priest who can inspire us, and take us gently forward to meet the needs of our respective Parishes.

The Role Specification and Person Specification below apply to both parishes but thereafter the descriptions of each parish are treated separately.

Page 5 of 36 ROLE SPECIFICATION

The role of this post is to lead the churches in fulfilling the Diocesan Mission Purpose of:

 Worshipping God  Making New Disciples  Transforming Communities.

This will be achieved by developing 8 essential qualities in the life of the church:

Empowering Leadership Gift-oriented Ministry Passionate Spirituality Inspiring Worship Holistic Small Groups Need-oriented Outreach Loving Relationships Functional Structures

PERSON SPECIFICATION

We would welcome candidates who have experience in a forward thinking Central Churchmanship tradition which has enabled growth, and who:

 Are warm, gently inspiring and empowering leaders with the ability to lead uplifting services in a broad range of styles (including newer approaches) that are thought provoking, current and relevant.

 Will embrace the opportunity to support the lay-led nature of St James.

 Have an infectious Christian faith and love of the Bible, and are passionate about sharing this with people of all ages, to help them explore their Christian faith and discipleship.

 Are flexible and relaxed in their approach, open minded to the variety of ways things can be achieved and will work collaboratively with existing teams.

 Have a strong community emphasis, including forming positive relationships with those from all backgrounds.

 Are fun to be with, and who will laugh with us in both our good and more challenging moments.

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ST MARY MAGDALENE, LILLINGTON

Context

St Mary Magdalene has a regular Sunday attendance of around 100 people, across all services. We have an electoral roll of 160. The church can seat 200 comfortably so we still have plenty of room for growth!

We are a loving and giving church community with committed and faithful servants, but we are ageing. We do have some younger families but attendance by people under the age of 40 is poor. We are also aware that we could do more to reach the ‘unreached’ parts of our parish.

We hold numerous social activities during the year which are open to all and are well supported. We definitely enjoy a good party! And friendships within and beyond the church are strong.

We have a Central tradition but are forward looking. Our current congregation cherish this tradition, and many would not want it to change, but we also recognise that our preferences may not be attractive to young families or those who have no church experience. This is somewhat of a dilemma for us! Our previous incumbent has gradually led us through changes and we have come a long way in the last 9 years. We are therefore open to sensible change (by evolution rather than revolution!).

We been blessed with the ministry of women priests, including the last incumbent and our current Associate Ministers.

The church and church hall are attractive and well maintained. We are seen as a beautiful church to be married or baptised in, and people in the local community would see us as ‘their’ church. However, they do not attend church regularly after these occasions.

We are fortunate to have two Associate Ministers and a Reader who are generous with their time and support. They have been very helpful during the vacancy. Whilst we currently have strong and active lay leaders in many aspects of our church life, we have no succession plans and are at risk of losing key people.

The congregation have a somewhat traditional view of their priest, looking to the incumbent for spiritual direction, and someone who can counsel and guide them, combined with being an inspiring leader who can encourage and enable us……and challenge us when necessary!

Page 7 of 36 St Mary Magdalene and the 8 Essential Qualities

The Parish has undertaken two National Church Development surveys, the first in 2015 and the second in July 2016. There has been a marked improvement in the health of the church, improving in every characteristic of the 8 Essential Qualities. Indeed, our results nearly put us in the top 15% of churches nationally who have conducted surveys. In short, this means we are in a good position for growth.

Empowering Leadership

We have several active lay-led groups such as Pastoral Link/Tea & Chat, Home Groups, and the Home Communion Team. These are significant areas that do not rely on the incumbent’s involvement and we are building on the confidence that our previous incumbent has given us. We are strongly encouraging and supportive of each other.

It is through our close relationships with each other that we identify new leaders, trying to work with those who are less active to encourage them to become more involved than they would otherwise be.

However many of our leaders have been in their roles for a long time. We are an ageing congregation, and consequently, as years pass by, there are fewer people than we would like who are willing to come forward and take responsibility, and with not many new people joining, there is a potential shortage of volunteers for the future.

If we are to fulfil our potential, we will need help in developing more effective processes for identifying, encouraging and enabling existing and new lay leadership.

Gift-Oriented Ministry

This is our strongest quality characteristic. Our previous Incumbent was good at recognising people’s skills and making direct requests, and many have responded to approaches over the years. The various groups of the church work well, and most people are actively involved in the life of the church, including leading intercessions, Prayer for Healing through the laying on of hands, and Youth Group.

Page 8 of 36 We are generous with our time and money. However, in recent years, new volunteers rarely come forward in response to requests in the weekly sheet, and we tend to rely on the ‘old faithfuls’ and a few new people who have come from other churches where they were previously active. Again, conversational opportunities identify people’s gifts rather than any formal processes.

Our newest initiative – Love Lillington – started in 2016. This was a community outreach project that required volunteers to pray for people in the community, as well as providing practical help such as gardening and painting. Enough people have come forward to make this work, but as usual most volunteers are the familiar faces, and amount to only around 10% of our electoral roll. We wish to use the talents and gifts of every member of the congregation. We need to discover more about releasing the talents that exist and finding ways of using them to the full, empowering people into new areas of ministry for the church, not just to fulfil the needs of our rotas.

Passionate Spirituality

As our lowest scoring characteristic, this was given considerable attention, and a number of initiatives were introduced which have borne fruit over the year, such as:

 Bible Book Club – a quarterly meeting which has been enthusiastically received by those who attend (but low numbers).  Quiet hour in church 4 days a week (small numbers but regular attendance)  Free Bibles with more modern translations (many still only had a King James version, and the modern translations have proved popular).  Articles on personal approaches to prayer from members of the church in our monthly parish magazine, Crosstalk, which is distributed wider than just our congregations, and also has a web presence.  A revised parish prayer diary issued together with a suggested pattern of daily prayer for home use.  People praying in their own homes for the Love Lillington project is seen as equal to the other two strands of this project (see Need-Oriented Outreach).  Our meetings start and end with prayer much more often than they used to.

At St Mary Mags, for some, talking openly about our faith is easy, but for others their faith is expressed quietly and personally. We need to be more confident in sharing our faith with others and recognising opportunities to do this in a way that still resonates with our style.

We are looking for an incumbent who will guide us in developing our spirituality, who will support us in using the Bible in our daily lives, help us to pray, work with us to hear and discern God’s plans, and lead us to be more confident in our faith.

Page 9 of 36 Inspiring Worship

Holy Communion is the heart-beat of our worship, and our current congregations find it inspiring. It is important to us though that we offer a variety of services for all. Therefore, although our ‘main’ service is Holy Communion Common Worship, we have made room for BCP and more contemporary offerings, including:

 A reflective style of Evening Worship with keyboard or guitar accompaniment once a month, but after 6 years this has ceased. It did not attract people other than a handful from our ‘regular’ services, and the planning team felt that their energies could be best used elsewhere.  Baptisms – This is now a shorter service for the friends and families of those being baptised. The family is invited back the following Sunday to a 9:30 Morning Praise (non-Communion service) to be properly welcomed into the church family. This has been appreciated by the families, but has failed to encourage the majority to return on a more regular basis.  Christingle attendance has been a huge success, inspired by our previous Incumbent. We welcome many families that we do not see at other times of the year and many now see this as a proper start to their Christmas. Christingle has had to be offered at two sittings as we have over 600 people attending! Again, this rarely translates into attendance during the rest of the year, but we never know what seeds have been sown.  We used to offer a weekly Tuesday morning Said Holy Communion service, but attendance was low. This has been moved to a monthly Tuesday lunchtime, just before Tea & Chat, so that members of this group who ordinarily would be unable to attend a Sunday service can come along. This is now a service with music and hymns and a regular congregation of 10-20. It is much appreciated.  Children are encouraged to take communion before confirmation.

Other services that are different and well appreciated include our Children’s Good Friday service and our All Souls’ Day service; Prayers for Healing, through the laying on of hands, has been a regular monthly feature at our 9:30 service for some years and is well taken up.

At our main Sunday service, our clergy robe and our new seasonal vestments and altar frontals are contemporary and stunning. We have Holy Communion at 8:00 and 9:30 most weeks using Common Worship (contemporary language) and a monthly Morning Praise. BCP Evensong is held twice a month, and BCP Holy Communion 3 or 4 times a year at 8:00am.

Our altar used to be East facing so the celebrant always had their back to the congregation. This has now been remodelled, allowing the celebrant to face the congregation, and this has been very well received.

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St Mary Mags has a strong musical tradition with robed choir at our 9.30 Holy Communion service (using Anglican Hymns Old & New) and twice-monthly Evensong (using the New English Hymnal). We have recently appointed a St Mellitus Ordinand for 2 years to lead the choir and support youth work. Music is an important element to our worship and is something that we wish to continue in all its forms.

In general we are happy with our style of worship but we are also open to creative ideas e.g. youth-led services, community Songs of Praise, reflective services et, whilst recognising that we need to translate occasional attendance at occasional offices etc. into more regular discipleship and worship.

Holistic Small Groups

We have two home groups – both borne out of the 8EQ survey. These are now well established and held monthly (one morning and one evening). The members have become very close and supportive of each other in the exploration of their faith and their personal needs.

Page 11 of 36 We also consider that our 8:00am congregation (and to a similar extent 6:30pm Evensong) are in themselves Holistic small groups, as they have a huge sense of relationship and support each other well. One of our Associate Ministers said that taking the 8:00am service ‘is not a burden – it’s special.”

Other small groups include:  Youth Group (for Year 7 upwards, held monthly)  Sunday Club (for pre-school to Age 10 each week)  Tea & Chat – held monthly  Bible Book Club (a monthly group that has a set Book to read before the meeting)  Walkers’ Group

Nevertheless, these groups do not represent the majority of the church, and there are many members of our congregation who are not involved in church life outside of Sunday.

We would welcome a new incumbent who could help us to develop more groups that will support each other in their Christian life.

Need-Oriented Outreach

A project that we are proud of is ‘Love Lillington’. This initiative has three strands – Prayer, Money and Action, and its remit is to help those most in need in our community. Each strand is lay led and is seen as equal to each other. The prayer network is very active – although largely unseen. Donations are constantly coming in and as yet we have not refused anyone who has sought help from the ‘Money’ section, whether it be for new carpets, school uniforms, or even a fishing licence (but that’s another story!). The Action team undertake tasks such as garden clearances, home painting, and taking people to hospital.

‘Looking at Lillington’ – has been successfully running for over 10 years now and supports the local schools in the Key Stage ‘Where we live’. Year 3 children attend the church where they “travel” round the church learning about the history of Lillington, as well as various aspects of church life such as bell ringing, organ music,

Page 12 of 36 baptism and communion. The children on return to school undertake different projects relating to what they have seen and a few months later we have an Open Day in church for the children, their families and the congregation. This has been well received and we consider this to be ‘sowing seeds’ – although we have seen little evidence of any growth.

Our regular term time Babies and Toddlers group has a huge following; it is very relaxed and open to all, and includes Christian songs and a short story from the Bible. Many of the families also attend the Christingle, and sometimes on Easter Sunday (possibly due the Easter Egg Hunt…!)

One of our three local (non-Church) primary schools attends four services in church each year. We are also invited to take Key Stage 2 Assemblies there twice a term, and to visit a different class (from Reception to Year 6) each week to present a short, informal, age-appropriate lesson. Another (infant) school visits church twice a year to stage its own self-planned services and we also provide occasional assemblies there. We are also in friendly contact with the third (junior) school.

A member of our congregation is a co-founder of the Night Shelter in Leamington Spa. We support the shelter regularly with donations of food and clothing. During Advent last year we ran a ‘Reverse Advent Calendar’ and members of the church took boxes to fill with food, clothing and small gifts which were distributed to the local Food Bank and the Night Shelter.

Pastoral visiting is undertaken by a team of volunteers which provides contact and support for people in their own homes, as well as the monthly social ‘Tea & Chat’. The Home communion Team are well established and take communion to housebound members of the congregation and also to local Nursing and Care Homes. We have no enquirers' groups or discipleship courses although we have confirmation classes occasionally.

There are opportunities areas here for more development, particularly in reaching the areas of high deprivation. We also need to have a more structured approach to evangelism and exploring Christian faith and discipleship.

Page 13 of 36 Loving Relationships

There is a lot of laughter and fellowship in our church! People who have stayed with us have said that they have had a good welcome which was key to them deciding to stay.

We respect others who may have different views or cultures, and there are no long-standing resentments. There are those, for example, who would like to see more regular use of the Book of Common Prayer, and others who would prefer the traditional Lord’s Prayer, but they still take part in the worship.

The Charity group meets once a year to identify a charity to support each month for the following year, with special charities for Lent, Harvest and Advent. Giving to charities is based on 10% of our giving. Charities include local projects to help young homeless, African Vision Malawi (founder member in our congregation), Embrace the Middle East, and Thare Machi.

We have valued our relationship with our previous incumbent, and have been like a family. She has left us ‘well-loved’. We will offer a similar warmth of ‘loving relationship’ to our next incumbent.

Functional Structures

The PCC meetings are relaxed, full of laughter and prayerful. The establishment of an admin team during our previous vacancy, now a properly established Standing Committee, has helped remove some of the minutiae from the agenda of the PCC. Members respect each other’s views and there are no factions within the group. A new system has been introduced to schedule an annual review of the more important aspect of the church’s life, throughout the year, such as Safeguarding, 8EQ survey, churchyard policy, Children’s work, Love Lillington etc.

Our APCMs are joyous and a lively celebration of the church life over the year. At our last meeting the Treasurer had a tremendous response as he made the finance report interesting and fun! We usually attract over 50 members of the congregation to each APCM.

Even without an incumbent the Church continues to run smoothly and even progress! Examples include:

 The employment of a St Mellitus Ordinand. This post has gone ahead despite the fact that we have not had an incumbent.  The new roof project has continued and will be completed during the vacancy.  Services have not been cancelled or changed.

Support for the Church Administrator continues from the Standing Committee. We have been blessed with Associate Ministers and a Reader and, during the

Page 14 of 36 incumbent’s recent sabbatical and subsequent vacancy, they have been a tremendous support, willingly giving of their own time and expertise.

We have been a training benefice and would welcome this opportunity again.

We will welcome a new Incumbent with supportive people and structures.

The Parish History

There has been a settlement in Lillington since the 8th Century and the first Vicar arrived in 1252. The lands originally contained a manor house and farm lands. However there was large-scale development post-war and Lillington is now almost exclusively residential.

St Mary Magdalene Church, Lillington is a Grade II listed building. The church fabric is largely Victorian although it is thought that there has been a place of worship on this site since the 10th century.

In 2007 the neighbouring rural parish of St James, Old Milverton (about 2.5 miles away) was joined with St Mary Magdalene, Lillington to form a benefice; however the parishes of Lillington and Old Milverton are totally separate.

Location

Lillington is an area on the NE outskirts of the town of Leamington Spa, .

Lillington was formerly a village which existed before the time of time of the Domesday Book (1086), until it was subsumed into Leamington Spa, the parish being incorporated into that borough in 1890.

Lillington is one of the many places claiming to be the centre of England. Which, unlike the others, it is!

Midland Oak, Lillington

Page 15 of 36 Lillington parish comprises two areas:

 Manor Ward - contains the former village with the parish church of St. Mary Magdalene, the manor house, some Victorian terraced houses as well as estates of predominantly semi-detached houses built since 1930.

 Crown Ward - built during the 1950s, was developed around the Crown Way shopping precinct. This Ward has a large amount of social housing, and contains the "most socially excluded area" in .

We have many local facilities including a local post office, library and a community centre this latter being modernised and extended in 2006. Crown Way also includes the C.H.A.I.N. office (Community Help And Information Network), and a Children's Centre. In addition there is a range of shops including a Tesco Express, Spar, three take-aways, a chemist, charity shop … but sadly no pub!

Population

Lillington has a population of approximately 10,600 of whom 90% were born in the UK and 15% have an ethnic minority background. There are 4,450 households of which 64% are owner occupied, 9% are private rental and 27% are social rental.

Age Profile 0-4 years 7% 5-15 years 13% 16-64 years 61% 65+ years 19%

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The information below, extracted from the 2011 census Nomis official labour market statistics, is based on the two largest wards in Lillington. As these wards extend beyond the parish boundaries it is not possible to isolate the Parish data. However the following tables clearly show the disparity between Manor Ward and Crown Ward.

Manor Ward Crown Ward Employment by Occupation Managers And Senior Officials 621 15.0% 207 7.9% Professional 1,299 31.3% 430 16.4% Associate Professional & Technical 649 15.6% 244 9.3% Administrative & Secretarial 435 10.5% 293 11.2% Skilled Trades 272 6.6% 288 11.0% Personal Services 272 6.6% 303 11.6% Sales And Customer Services 259 6.2% 257 9.8% Process Plant And Machine Operatives 109 2.6% 205 7.8% Elementary Occupations 236 5.7% 394 15.0% Totals 4152 2621

Residential care in Lillington

 Homes for elderly people  Fourways, including Dementia care  James Hirons Home  Homes for people with mental or physical disabilities  Castel Froma  Eden Place  Sheltered housing  Charles Watson Court  Acorn Court  Southfields

Schools

The following schools are located within the parish boundary:  Telford Infant School  Telford Junior School  Lillington Primary School

Page 17 of 36 The primary school has a largely 'disadvantaged' catchment area with much social housing, while the other two schools draw mainly from a private housing area. Although these are non-church schools a parish Schools Representative maintains contact (at various levels) with all of them (see Need-Oriented Outreach above).

Most older pupils attend a large comprehensive academy () which lies just outside the parish boundary (in the parish of Old Milverton). Neither parish has strong links with this school.

Buildings

In 1121 a chapel and land in Lillington were granted to Priory. This chapel may have originated in the 10th century, evidenced by a surviving Saxon doorway which now stands between the lady chapel and sacristy. The first vicar was installed in 1252, since when there have been 47 Incumbents. By 1360 the chapel is thought to have developed into a parish church with chancel, nave and short south aisle. The south wall of the present chancel survives from this building. The west tower was added around 1480 and a bell, dedicated to St Katharine at this time, still hangs in the tower today. Further bells were added in 1625, 1675 and 1927.

Population growth in the parish in the early 19th century necessitated a comprehensive restoration and enlargement of the church in 1847. The old south aisle was extended, and a new north aisle and vestry added. Then in 1868 the old south aisle and its extension were demolished, and the present, wider aisle and south porch built. The chancel was extended eastwards in 1884.

In 1897 the church clock was installed and is unusual because it has a face on all four sides of the tower. The choir vestry was added in 1914 and now serves both as vestry and church office.

The existing organ, a three-manual Rushworth and Dreaper was given in 1936 and in recent years has been totally refurbished. A welcome addition in 1987 was an octagonal church hall built close to the main door of the church. It will accommodate c. 50 people and has a small kitchen. It is used for church meetings, functions and refreshments after the Sunday service. It is also hired out raising in excess of £6,000 for church funds last year.

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More recent additions include:

 New sound system (2013)  New heating system (2014)

The latest Quinquennial Inspection (QI), carried out in 2015, raised concerns about the general state of the roof and advised that significant repairs would be needed within the quinquennium. While carrying out maintenance repairs, in accordance with the recommendations of the 2015 QI Report, it was discovered that the roof was in a rather worse state than reported. Fortunately, with the help of a significant grant from the Listed Places of Worship Roof Repair fund together with other grants, donations and a church "Gift Day", sufficient funding was secured to enable the whole roof to be replaced. This work was completed in July 2017. A new incumbent hopefully will not have to worry about this church’s roof for a long time!!

The churchyard is officially closed for burials, although there is still some room for interment of ashes. Being closed, the churchyard is maintained by Warwick District Council (WDC), however the "upper" churchyard (that is the area around the church) is maintained by a team of church volunteers who are able to take a more considerate approach than WDC could provide. A botanical survey carried out by Warwick County Council Biodiversity Unit in May 2015 identified over 120 different species of flora.

The church also owns a 3 bedroomed semi-detached house. It’s primary purpose is for a Curate, but in recent years it has not been needed and is let out providing a regular income to the Church.

Vicarage

The Vicarage is a 1960s detached house. There is a large garden and a large drive with capacity for at least 3 cars, together with an integral garage. The house is fully double glazed and has gas central heating throughout. Inside there is a large lounge, a dining room, kitchen, study and cloakroom. Upstairs there are 4 bedrooms and a bathroom.

The house is in a good state of decoration and has benefitted from replacement uPVC windows & doors and the kitchen, utility and bathroom have been refurbished. The boiler is new and the property has been decorated throughout.

Page 19 of 36 There has been some work completed recently to minimise the effects of some identified subsidence. This caused some disruption to the previous incumbent. The Diocese has recently inspected the Vicarage and found no evidence that the issue of movement had reoccurred and it was concluded that, so far as could be determined, extensive work undertaken by Ecclesiastical seems to have been successful. Overall, this is an excellent property – well placed for mission and of a size and layout that is consistent with the standard expected for clergy housing.

Services

An example of an average monthly service rota is shown below. We are willing to consider changes to this.

Sundays 8:00am HOLY 1st - 4th Sundays Common Worship COMMUNION 5th Sunday Book of Common Prayer (Said) 9:30am MORNING PRAISE 1st Sunday with SUNDAY CLUB for 3 - 10 year olds during term time plus Welcome to newly baptised. HOLY Other Sundays with SUNDAY CLUB for 3 - 10 year COMMUNION olds during term time and Ministry of Healing on 2nd Sunday 11:15am BAPTISM 4th Sunday of the month 6:30pm EVENSONG 1st and 3rd Sunday

Weekdays 12.00noon – Quiet Hour in Monday – Thursday 1:00pm church 1:30pm HOLY 4th Tuesday Common Worship (followed by COMMUNION Tea & Chat in the Octagon)

In 2016 9 baptisms, 25 funerals and 17 weddings took place

School Links

Although none of our local schools are church schools, we have strong links through our Reader who meets regularly with the Head Teachers to find ways in which the Church can support their work.

Our Church welcomes schools for various activities and services throughout the year, in particular the Looking at Lillington event previously referred to.

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Ecumenical Links

Within the parish there is a Roman Catholic Church, a Free Church and a Community Church. There are monthly prayer meetings held together with these churches attended by a couple of representatives from each church.

We join with other churches in Lillington in the Crown Way Precinct at Christmas and Easter in singing Carols, giving out sweets etc. and also information on services over these special times for the local churches. Lillington Community Fun Day has been running for 4 years now and set out to be an opportunity for families who cannot afford a holiday to have some leisure activities on their doorstep. It was set up and promoted by all the Lillington churches and has been strongly supported by the local council. Each church attends to promote its own involvement in the community.

In the past there was a regular Ecumenical group but this has long been abandoned due to lack of interest from the congregations in all the churches concerned.

Administration

The church employs one part-time Church Administrator (16 hours) and from September a part-time Director of Music/Youth Worker (St Mellitus Ordinand) on 20 hours per week. The monthly magazine, website (www.lillingtonparishchurch.org) and our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/LillingtonParishChurch/) are all maintained by volunteers.

The church office is very busy with church members ‘popping in’ and visitors. It is in the church building and is open Monday , Tuesday and Thursday mornings from 9:30am to 1pm

Page 21 of 36 Finance and Stewardship

The table below summarises our financial situation in 2015 and 2016. Full sets of accounts for the last three years are available on request.

2016 2015 General Income £52,517 £46,510 Planned Giving £44,852 £45,616 Gift-Aid £13,552 £13,256 Fundraising (e.g. fetes) £4,077 £4,030 Grants - -

General Expenditure £54,358 £50,881 Parish Share Contribution £58,850 £60,000 Unrestricted Reserves £46,595 £47,757 Restricted Reserves £148,270*£18,816

*Funds for the new roof have increased the Restricted Reserves in 2016/2017.

Clergy expenses are met in full.

Parishes are expected to fund the costs of their own ordained ministry. This in effect means paying the full cost of all clergy. Currently the contribution for an Incumbent with all ancillary costs is approximately £56,500 per annum so Lillington and Old Milverton Benefice recognises there is a surplus between current contributions and the full costs.

We recognise the contribution to mission other churches in the Deanery and Diocese make who are not able to pay their way, and so in a spirit of generosity we are willing to support other churches by an additional contribution to the parish share system.

St Mary Magdalene’s Parish Information

You are welcome to contact our churchwarden, Glyn Wright, for an informal conversation and/or copies of the accounts, the 8EQs survey results and the APCM minutes. Email: [email protected] or telephone 01926 773786. Website: http://www.lillingtonparishchurch.org

Page 22 of 36 ST JAMES OLD MILVERTON

Context

St James the Great is set in beautiful rural countryside on the outskirts of Leamington Spa.

There is a public footpath which wends its way through our fabulously peaceful churchyard that is much loved by many of the local community.

St James Church is small but beautifully formed. Though it has capacity for only around 100 worshippers it has an electoral roll of 78 (of whom 6 reside within the parish) and a regular active congregation of about 40.

We are conscious that our parish share only pays for 10% of the incumbent’s time but the good news is that due to our history (see page 32) we are well used to being a laity led church.

Page 23 of 36 We have two non-stipendiary clergy who are supported by an active and hands-on PCC. There are various well established and proactive teams that ensure that worship, finance, fabric, churchyard, pastoral care and administration, communications and the social life of the church are all well catered for. There are 4 lay worship leaders, a team of 30 readers and intercessors, 4 Sunday Club helpers, an active Prayer Team with 20 members and 2 committed and effective churchwardens. This all enables the incumbent to focus his/her efforts on guiding and developing our spiritual life.

Our previous incumbent took a service every other month and we have always looked forward to welcoming her. Our hope and expectation is that the new incumbent would continue this pattern and lead inspiring worship which lifts our spirits and deepens our faith. There is also an expectation that the new incumbent will attend PCC meetings every other month and support our Worship Team.

Challenges for you in this benefice:

 To demonstrate wisdom and understanding in managing the requirements of two quite different parishes.

 To have confidence in the laity led nature of our church at St James whilst also helping us to develop and grow.

 To refresh our efforts to play a meaningful role in the local community, for whilst our electoral role has recently increased to 78, 6 of these reside within the parish. The remainder are drawn to join us from all parts of Kenilworth, Leamington and Warwick.

Where we are now:

We celebrate the fact that:

 Our numbers are increasing. Visitors to St James often become regular members of the congregation. They tell us that they are struck by our inclusive, warm welcome; our traditional approach to worship in a beautiful and informal environment; and the overall impression of care shown for the buildings, their surroundings and, most importantly, the people within.

Page 24 of 36  We have completed the NCD ‘8 Essential Qualities’ survey and the results are very positive. We are already taking steps to address our weakest area, which in common with many other churches is ‘Passionate Spirituality’, (see section on 8EQ’s, page 27)

 We are blessed with two enthusiastic non- stipendiary clergy, Rev Felicity who has led us from the beginning of our laity led practice and more recently Rev Sue, who as a former churchwarden, having first trained as a reader, has recently been ordained and now plays a vital part both in our church community and that of St Mary Magdalene.

 We have embraced the new safeguarding requirements and update these regularly

 We have established a proactive and outward looking communications team who have created a website and are instigating new ways of keeping in touch with the congregation and the wider community.

 Whilst not sacrificing the traditional services loved by all, our non-stipendiary clergy are constantly reviewing our patterns of worship and have bravely introduced new forms of service which have been extremely well received; for example a summer service for walkers and their dogs held in the churchyard.

 We have recently looked at the organisation of our PCC meetings and, in order to make our discussions more productive, now have a pattern of items to review throughout the year and the various committee chairs submit papers to go out with the agenda in order to give members a chance to reflect on matters for discussion before the meetings.

 We have recently completed a successful quinquennial inspection.

 Even when things don’t go according to plan we are always ready to laugh at ourselves and pitch-in to put it right!

We hope that this gives an honest but encouraging background to our current position. We now seek a motivated leader to help us to continue to grow in our personal Christian lives and to help us spread the word of Jesus Christ throughout our communities so that all can become aware of his amazing saving grace. We want to become better disciples of Jesus Christ and to enable as many people as possible in our communities to come to know him as their Lord and Saviour.

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St James and the 8 Essential Qualities:

Full 8 EQs Survey results available on request

Empowering Leadership

 There is a well-established tradition of lay leadership within St James so it is perhaps not surprising that this is one of our top three qualities.

 Many of our regular congregation play an active part in church life and others are enthusiastically encouraged to join them.

 The survey indicated that our style of leadership is empowering and our current team are keen to encourage and support new volunteers.

Page 26 of 36

Gift-Oriented Ministry

 We recognise the importance of talking to people to find out what they might like to do; more than 80% of our regular congregation have a specific role within our different groups and the survey confirmed that people feel they have the opportunity to use their gifts for St James and that they enjoy what they do and feel appreciated.

 The wide range of roles encompasses the practical, the technical and the spiritual; giving a real sense of fellowship through ministry.

Passionate Spirituality

 Our responses to these questions suggest that we are reserved about sharing our faith both within our church community and with people outside that group. However in subsequent conversations we agreed that we are probably all a lot more reflective than we think! For example attendance at lent courses is generally good and, given a ‘safe space’, people do talk to one another about their faith journeys.

 The survey results also point to the fact that people don’t read their bibles during the week very much. As a result we have made our engagement with the bible our 8EQs priority for this year and have set ourselves the following challenges:

a. we ran a ‘Bible Reading Challenge’ for Lent, which was enthusiastically supported, and we will build on this positive start b. the theme of the family service in June was ‘The Bible’ c. we have made Bibles available in the pews d. a new Bible Book Club has started this year

 As a second focus we are underpinning growth in our prayer life by supporting and developing the work of both the prayer team and intercessors.

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Inspiring Worship

 Our results suggest that our regular congregation enjoy coming to our services and that they help us to make contact with God. In recent years our congregation has grown steadily. Once introduced to the family of St James people stay because they enjoy the atmosphere and style of worship we offer, rather than because they live within the parish. We think of ourselves as the St James family but a family that welcomes new members and enjoys meeting new people.

 Our style of worship is Central and we enjoy a variety of services across each month. (see table on page 34) Our congregation attends church regardless of the type of service on offer.

 Our one-off special services are especially popular and well supported (e.g. a Thanksgiving for Baptism service in 2016, where we invited all those we had baptised over the previous 5 years).

 Our music is fairly traditional, and we are fortunate to have a team of committed organists who play for us.

Holistic Small Groups

 Our small groups are very largely activity based, and through these around 80% of the congregation are actively involved in the life of St James.

 Our survey results suggest that we trust one another and we feel ‘at home’ in our activity groups.

 Our monthly Wednesday Worship service, with its small but regular congregation, effectively operates as a house group.

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Need-Oriented Outreach

 This is not an easy one to approach at St James, given the location and make-up of our parish. However, many members of our congregation give of their time and gifts in need orientated ministry within the wider community of Leamington and Warwick.

 The family of St James also supports such projects as; African Vision Malawi, Leamington Salvation Army, Christian Aid and the Children’s Society, Street Pastors, Leamington Nightlight project and Leamington Night Shelter.

 We are delighted that our Harvest and Christmas services often entice people from the village to attend. We are keen to build on this relationship and to this end for the past 3 years we have held a church stall at the Village Horticultural Show. Last year we held one of our churchyard clearing days on the same day as the village ‘Clean for the Queen’ morning and joined a full hall of people for a bring and share lunch. Members of the congregation regularly support fund raising social events at the Parish Room and a member of our PCC is on the Parish Room committee.

 A good sign of a growth in new disciples has been the confirmation of five adults, from their 40s to their 70s in the past two years.

 We know that there is more to be done in this area and our answers to the 8EQs survey suggest that we are good at bringing in new people and helping them to integrate into our church but perhaps not so good at helping them come to faith by talking to them or praying for them.

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Loving Relationships

 Visitors to St James often comment on the warmth of the community that they find here and it was no surprise that this scored highly in the survey.

 We care a great deal about one another, we laugh together and differences are sorted out quickly and in a spirit of love and understanding. Our pastoral care of one another is a particular strength.

 We are open minded and flexible and are very supportive and encouraging of our young people.

 Moving our coffee into the church last year, after communion services, has been very successful and many members of the congregation stay, enjoying one another’s company after the services.

Functional Structures

 A large part of the success of our structures is the breadth and depth of involvement of people with many different skills and gifts at St James. We would want that same level of lay involvement to be encouraged and supported by a new incumbent.

 The PCC meets six times per year, with sub-committees meeting regularly in between. These sub-committees feed back to the PCC so that members can be confident that all areas of church life function effectively.

 PCC meetings are positive occasions, with much laughter and lively debate. In the past two years, as well as ‘regular’ business, we have, for example: o conducted our first 8EQs survey and considered its results. o created a new communications committee to improve the ways in which we share information with both our congregation and the wider family of St James. o given a lot of time and thought as to whether it would be feasible to bring water up into the churchyard.

The minutes of the latest APCM are available on request.

Page 30 of 36 The Parish

History

 There has been a church on the site since the 12th century, originally a daughter church to . The present building dates from 1880.

 St James had its own incumbent until 1977, when the vicar left and the diocese proposed closing the church and dispersing the congregation elsewhere.

 There was strong opposition from the churchwardens and the congregation so the diocese agreed that the church could be run by the congregation under the overseeing eye of their rural dean and the Bishop.

 For the next 7 years, St James was basically autonomous.

 In 1984 the diocese felt it was time to link St James once again with a priest-in-charge and since then, we have been attached to a variety of churches in north Leamington – links generally with the priest-in-charge only and not specifically with the congregations. It is only since being linked with St Mary Magdalene in 2008 that we became a joint benefice but the two churches continue to operate completely independently.

 Of necessity, St James has developed a strong system of lay leadership, supported by the two Associate Ministers, this continues to be a real strength to the present day. The PCC, chaired by our lay vice-chair, has overall responsibility for the day to day running of St James, and there are sub-committees that cover all aspects of church life, reporting back into the PCC. Page 31 of 36 Location

 St James Church has a lovely rural setting in the tiny hamlet of Old Milverton on the edge of Leamington Spa. It is at the end of a picturesque country lane, surrounded by farmland and has a popular public footpath through the churchyard.

 There are only about 30 houses in the village, which has hardly changed over the years. It was originally all part of the Heber Percy Estate. The estate still owns farmland and buildings within the village including the Parish Room which is let to the community on a peppercorn rent and which St James Church books regularly for its Sunday Club, various social events and for use of the toilets and access to water.

 Blackdown is about a mile down the country lane and is a quite separate and even smaller settlement. Both Old Milverton and Blackdown are essentially commuter villages with some retired residents. Population

 Population: 573  Electoral Roll: 78, 6 of whom reside in the Parish  There are no pubs or shops and the only school is a large academy with whom we have no special links. There is a private hospital, a residential home, a care home for those suffering from multiple sclerosis, brain damage and strokes. The latter two are regularly visited by our non-stipendiary clergy and volunteers who also offer Communion to those who would like it. There are a few scattered businesses, two rugby clubs, a Plymouth Brethren Meeting Room and the Babe Ke Gurdwara.

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Buildings: Quinquennial Report available on request.

 Our only building is the church itself. The latest quinquennial report was completed in Spring 2017 and confirms that thanks to our excellent fabric team all is in a good state of repair with no major items outstanding. Over the past year emergency lighting has been installed, the heating system has been replaced and the electrics overhauled.

 There are neither toilet facilities nor water on site. A working group spent much of the last two years looking into the logistics of providing these but the cost and disruption to our neighbours has ruled this out for the foreseeable future. However we do have access to both in the Parish Room, 100 yards away.

 The churchyard is maintained by volunteers. It is a considerable task for members of the mowing rota, the gardeners and those who turn up for the occasional churchyard clearing days but the results are impressive and in spite of all the hard work a real sense of fellowship is fostered amongst those involved.

Services

An example of an average monthly service rota for St James Old Milverton is shown below.

1st Sunday 2nd Sunday 3rd Sunday 4th Sunday 5th Sunday

10.30am 10.30am 10.30am 10.30am 10.30am St James, Holy BCP Matins Holy Morning Holy Old Communion Communion Worship Communion, Milverton Sunday Club Sunday Club Morning Worship or 6.30pm special Evensong services (summer months only)

 The pattern of services is agreed annually by the Worship Committee.  We hold just one service on a Sunday to ensure that the whole congregation meets together rather than splitting into smaller groups

Page 33 of 36  Currently, the Holy Communion services are shared between our PTO Associate Minister Felicity, Associate Minister Sue, Incumbent and visiting clergy. Matins on the 2nd Sunday is led by a lay worship leader, with a visiting preacher. The 4th Sunday Morning Worship is taken either by an Associate Minster or one of our lay Worship Leaders with a visiting preacher.  All-age Services take place about every four months on a 4th Sunday.  Evensong is held in summer months only, both to enjoy the traditional service and to take advantage of our lovely setting.  The Sunday Club meets on Communion Sundays: currently there are about 4-6 children attending fairly regularly.  Baptisms take place either in the 4th Sunday Morning Worship service or as a separate service at 12.15, depending on the preference of the family.  A mid-week service is held once a month: ‘Wednesday Worship’ is a fairly short, reflective service offering a quiet space for its small but regular congregation.  Holy Communion is also offered at both Helen Ley Care Home (twice a month) and Priors House Residential Home (once a month). This is led either by a Worship Leader or one of our Associate Ministers.

Last year we held:

6 Baptisms 5 Weddings 6 Funeral services in church 3 Funeral services at the Crematorium

There were 4 burials and 3 interment of ashes in the churchyard last year.

This year’s figures look likely to be higher in all areas.

School Links

There is one school within the parish, a large academy with whom we have no special links.

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Ecumenical Links

 We are part of a north Leamington group of Anglican churches and our PTO Associate Minister Felicity took an active part in organising joint services in 2015 and 2016 as part of Leamington’s Hope15 activities. She has also forged links within our deanery through Churches Together in Leamington.  There is a Plymouth Brethren Meeting Room and Gurdwara locally with whom we have negligible links

Administration

 All administration is carried out on a voluntary basis at St James.  Our Associate Minister Sue prepares and prints orders of service as necessary.  Individual committees are responsible for their own paperwork.  The communications team runs the church website and co-ordinates other publicity and email contacts with the wider parish and community.  We have a parish magazine, published bi-monthly.

Finance and Stewardship

The table below summarises our financial situation in 2016. Full sets of accounts for the last three years are available on request.

St James Old Milverton General Income £ 36,003 Planned Giving £ 15,000 Gift-Aid £ 5,752 Fundraising (e g fetes) £ 1,450 Grants None General Expenditure £ 32,581 Parish Share £ 14,080 Contribution St James’ percentage of clergy costs is £ 5,655 for 2017. In a spirit of (included in General generosity, we support other churches within the diocese with an Expenditure) additional payment to the parish share system. In the current year, this additional amount is £ 9,659 (made up of £ 1,314 in parochial fees paid to the diocese and a further voluntary contribution of £ 8,345). Unrestricted Reserves £ 60,890 Restricted Reserves £ 484 Any special Planned fabric costs for 2017 = £ 13,200 considerations, future expenditure etc?

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St James Parish Information

You are welcome to contact our churchwarden, Michael Rayner, for an informal conversation and/or copies of the accounts, the 8EQs survey results and the APCM minutes. [email protected] Website: http://www.stjamesoldmilverton.co.uk

FURTHER DETAILS

For further information about the post please contact the Archdeacon Missioner, the Venerable Morris Rodham on 07506 731892 ([email protected]).

Informal conversations are very welcome!

An application form can be downloaded from the Diocesan Website: http://www.dioceseofcoventry.org/vacancies/current_vacancies

Closing date for applications: Noon 23rd February 2018 Interview will be held over 2 days: 13th and 14th March 2018

An enhanced DBS disclosure is required for this post.

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