Abbeylands Team Ministry a Brochure for the Post of Team Vicar
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Abbeylands Team Ministry A Brochure for the Post of Team Vicar with Special Responsibility for the Parishes of St. Stephen’s Kirkstall and St. Mary’s Hawksworth Wood in the Abbeylands Team Contact details: Rev Nigel Sinclair, Team Rector The Parish Office St. Margaret’s Church Hall Park Avenue Horsforth Leeds LS18 5LY 0113 258 1719 [email protected] The Abbeylands Team Abbeylands Team comprises three parishes, stretching along the Aire Valley two to six miles North West from the centre of Leeds. The Team’s name references Kirkstall Abbey, one of the most complete examples of a medieval Cistercian abbey in Britain, set in parkland along the banks of the River Aire and in the parish of St Stephen’s. The Team Ministry was established in November 2011 with a Team Rector (living in Horsforth) and a Team Vicar (living in Hawksworth Wood) covering three parishes and four churches. The present Team Rector was appointed in May 2013 and soon afterwards an Associate Priest (0.4) was appointed to care for St Stephen’s and a Team Vicar (Pioneer Minister) was appointed to care for St Mary’s & St Andrew’s and to develop new forms of ministry, particularly building on a feasibility study on work with children and their families on the Hawksworth Wood Estate. This slightly higher staffing level allowed us to become more outward looking and over the last four years all three parishes have seen signs of growth, particularly among young families. The new Team Vicar will live in St Mary’s Vicarage and have primary responsibility for both the parishes of St Stephen’s Kirkstall and St Mary’s Hawksworth Wood w. Moor Grange, consolidating and building upon the good work of their predecessors. The Associate Priest role will then change to either that of Mission Priest (developing outreach particularly to the new communities) or a ‘mission enabler’, releasing time & energy for both the Team Rector & Team Vicar to fulfil this role. Abbeylands is a vibrant area of Leeds, home to young professionals, students, families, older and retired people, with a relatively small BME population, mainly of East European, Asian or Afro-Caribbean origin. The area has good communication links via road, rail and air, and there are good primary and secondary schools. Whilst forming part of suburban Leeds, the area has many woods, open green spaces and parkland. Work has recently begun on a number of new housing developments along the banks of the River Aire, most particularly at ‘Kirkstall Forge’ with a new railway station and office developments. The Churches St Stephen’s, Kirkstall St Stephen, Kirkstall, was built in 1829 to serve the significant growth in population during the Industrial Revolution. The church now serves a mixed residential and commercial suburb of Leeds which has an increasing student population. A regular and faithful congregation attend Sunday and Wednesday services. There is a monthly ‘Messy Church’ service on Saturday afternoons and in recent years more families have begun to attend on a Sunday. There are presently 75 names on the Electoral Roll. Average Sunday attendance is 44 adults plus a small Sunday School. Wednesday communion has around a dozen attendees and up to sixty people attend the monthly Messy Church on Saturday afternoons. The church has a choir and a strong musical tradition led by our organist, Tim Knight, who is also a composer and Director of a number of choirs including the Leeds Male Voice Choir and Heritage Singers.. There is an active branch of the Mother’s Union within the church and a ‘community garden’ has been established in an area of the churchyard. The nearby Church Hall is used by the Children’s Centre through the week as well as being rented out to community groups and being used for some church functions. There are many opportunities to build upon God’s mission within the parish both through links with church and more broadly within the community. St Stephen’s takes seriously its call to meet the needs of others both within the city and in other parts of the world. St Mary’s, Hawksworth Wood St. Mary’s, Hawksworth Wood was consecrated in 1933 and located in the then new suburb of Hawksworth Wood, founded by the city council in the 1920s. It is a Grade II listed building that is embossed with Norfolk flint on the outside and has a beautiful set of wood carvings inside. Hawksworth Wood Estate is a large local authority estate originally built for workers at the local forge. The forge was closed over ten years ago, since when the Estate has become among the most economically deprived wards of Leeds with many single parent families and elderly residents. Recently the socio- economic make up has become more varied and is continually evolving, with young professionals beginning to move into the area. Outside the estate there are many owner-occupied properties, particularly in the area of Abbeydales and the Vesper Gates. The congregation of St Mary’s averages 35 adults and there are 52 names on the Electoral Roll. There is a Junior Church (usually about 9 children) led by a paid Children’s Worker and we have two volunteer organist who share the leading of music. Recently the church used ‘Jesus Shaped People’ to encourage discipleship and a Thursday morning ‘Tea & Toast’ session has developed community links. A few years ago the Hawkworth Older People Support Services (HOPS) took out a lease on the Church Hall but St Mary’s continue to have access for coffee after services, children’s work and occasional events. The grant-making & community development body the ‘Hawksworth, Abbeydales & Vespers Association’ also operates from the Church Hall. In 2012 a major feasibility study on work with children and their families living in St Mary’s Parish was conducted which led to the appointment of a ‘Children’s Champion’ and a ‘Children’s Pastor’. This in turn has led to a number of initiatives including ‘Lift’ a meeting for young people on Sunday afternoons; ‘High School Heroes’, a structured programme of preparing and supporting children in the transition from Primary to Secondary School and an enlarged Junior Church on Sunday mornings. St Andrew’s, Moor Grange St Andrew’s is a Chapel of Ease built in 1967 to serve Moor Grange Estate, a housing estate begun in 1955. Two years ago, the parish’s congregations combined for a single Sunday service at St Mary’s while retaining a Wednesday morning service at St Andrew’s attended by around 10 people. More recently the nearby Abbey Grange C. of E. Academy has begun to use St Andrew’s as an off- site facility for supporting vulnerable students. There is a need for further work to be done considering future ministry to the Moor Grange area of the parish and the best use of St Andrew’s building. St Margaret’s Church, Horsforth St Margaret’s was built in 1883 to replace an earlier building as the population of Horsforth expnded. Once known as the largest village in England; Horsforth is now a suburb of the city with a good range of shops and a wide variety of different types of housing. The church of St Margaret’s is led by the Team Rector. It has three services each Sunday and a strong choir and Junior Church. The Team Vicar usually takes services there on a bi-monthly basis. The main service has an average congregation of 82. The church and Parish Centre are used extensively by the local community hosting weekly retirement groups, pre-school classes, and choir rehearsals as well as events and parties. St Margaret’s also runs a Real Junk Food Project café every Monday and hosts a Craft Aid International workshop for the disabled on Fridays. Our Worship In preparation for the appointment of a Team Vicar responsible for both St Mary’s and St Stephens, we have recently agreed an adjustment of service times to allow one priest to be present at both services on a Sunday morning. From January 2018 the monthly service plan for the Team will be as follows: St. Margaret’s St Stephen’s St. Mary’s 8am 10am 6pm 8am 9.30am 9am 11am Parish Parish Said All Age 6th January BCP Communion Taize Communion Communion Service Epiphany Communion . Parish Said Parish 14th January BCP Family Communion Evensong Communion Communion Epiphany 2 Communion Service Parish Parish Parish 21st January BCP Café Epiphany 2 Communion Communion Service Communion Communion 28th January BCP Morning ‘Pilgrim’ Said Parish Parish Epiphany 2 Communion Worship Study Communion Communion Communion The Team Vicar will usually cover the St Stephen’s & St Mary’s services. Sometimes the Team Rector, Associate Priest or curate will assist or take a whole service and sometimes the Team Vicar will be at St Margaret’s. The children’s worker at St Mary’s usually assists with or leads the All Age Service. There is also room to consider the possibility of a Sunday evening service at St Stephen’s, St Mary’s or St Andrew’s and the future of the 8am service is open to question. Occasionally (two or three times a year) joint Team services happen in one of the churches on a rotational basis. Who are we looking for? We would love to welcome a priest who: . has visionary leadership skills, able to inspire our congregations, help us grow in faith and encourage new people into our Church life, especially younger families, whilst still having regard for the older members of our congregations . is a sociable communicator, approachable and happy to mix in with all aspects of life in the communities.