Parish Profile 2017 for the Benefice of

Burton Joyce, , and Caythorpe and Gunthorpe

The Two Parishes of the Benefice , Bulcote and Stoke Bardolph (known as BJBSB)

St Helen’s, Burton Joyce

Holy Trinity, Bulcote St Luke’s, Stoke Bardolph

Lowdham with Caythorpe and Gunthorpe (LCG)

St Mary’s, Lowdham

St Aidan’s, Caythorpe St John’s, Gunthorpe Welcome We are two parishes each with a larger village and two smaller villages. We are six churches with different services and therefore different congregations, but we are looking forward to realise one combined Christian future. This Parish Profile is the first physical statement of our working together. We hope it shows the potential we have, the potential you can help us to realise. We are now working together as we have never worked before. We have been younger, vibrant, larger churches with exciting youth and children’s ministry and we are looking to re-kindle these, giving our communities the churches and spiritual life they are looking for. We think our future path is best achieved by working together collaboratively. Although we were put together as a cluster it is only in the last two months we have actively co- operated and planned joint events. We are looking for someone to join us in our journey; someone to help us find ways of working collaboratively together; someone to help us develop patterns of worship; someone to help us develop groups across the benefice to shape our spiritual future.

The quotes in speech bubbles come from responses to three questions that were asked in all the churches and the communities.

1. What do you think the main priorities should be for the next vicar over the next 5 to 7 years?

2. What are the main issues in the civic parish communities that the new vicar needs to engage with?

3. What qualities, strengths and character do you think the next vicar needs to possess?

Contents Our Next Vicar ...... 1 The Diocese of and Southwell ...... 2 Gedling Deanery ...... 3 Ministry Team ...... 5 Our Location ...... 6 Vision ...... 7 Worship ...... 9 Our Churches - BJBSB ...... 11 Our Churches - LCG ...... 12 Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats – BJBSB ...... 13 Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats – LCG ...... 15 Our Communities ...... 17 Halls and Vicarages ...... 18 Current Service Patterns ...... 20 Parish Attendance Statistics 2016 ...... 21 Parish Age Profiles (from 2011 Census) ...... 21 Policies ...... 22 Clubs and Societies in the Benefice ...... 23 Financial Information ...... 25

Our Next Vicar is someone who:  loves God and has a deep, confident faith in Christ and a desire to share that love and hope with others

 really enjoys people of all ages inside and outside the church, can communicate easily with them and offer appropriate pastoral care to them

 has experience in leading a growing church, especially in drawing in younger people, both young families and children

 is an inspiring teacher and preacher enabling members to live out their Christian faith in their everyday lives

 encourages and develops people to release their gifts and will train and work collaboratively with a curate and lay ministry team

 has the personal strength, humour and warmth to resist competing voices while creating an atmosphere of confidence in God and a unity of vision and purpose

 has energy, enthusiasm and imagination to understand, mobilise and challenge a predominantly affluent community, … and will lead us in  new expressions of worship while respecting and valuing more traditional forms

 making contact and building bridges with other leaders in the community

 attracting and involving the whole community into the life of the church, with particular attention to younger families and links with the local schools

 creating a new way of operating across the two benefices, while honouring the distinctiveness of each church and parish,

 the Diocese vision for growing disciples Wider, Younger, Deeper.

… and we can offer  A variety of worship ranging from All-Age services to Book of Common Prayer,

 church groups and initiatives such as House groups, Environmental project, and Churches together events,

 experienced PCC’s looking at ways of working together with a real desire to cooperate,

 vibrant, supportive communities offer something for everyone in all spheres of life: Art and Book festivals, Dramatic societies, sports and leisure clubs,

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The Diocese of Nottingham and Southwell The Arch Deacon writes:

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Gedling Deanery The Area Dean writes: These six churches have been part of an official but underdeveloped relationship since 2007. As Area Dean for twelve years I am in the fortunate position to offer a longer-term perspective. In addition, it has been my privilege to work with them during the last 15 months. Over eight vision meetings we have explored together the history of their communities, the stories of their churches and the current state of their congregations. As a result there is a new Pastoral Scheme going through its legal process where Gunthorpe will re- join Lowdham and Caythorpe in one parish alongside the existing parish of Burton Joyce, Bulcote and Stoke Bardolph within the united benefice. There will be two distinct PCCs although it is envisaged that a joint PCC with delegated powers will work together on issues of discipleship formation, lay leadership development, evangelism and nurture, service patterns and community engagement. It will be for the new Priest in charge to shape that development with formal and informal structures that help the churches to flourish. As soon as the Pastoral Scheme has gone through its legalities, the person appointed as Priest in charge of all six churches will become the incumbent of the new benefice. It is important for applicants to know that this Pastoral scheme has not been imposed - it has been the result of discussion, thinking and praying across all PCCs. There is an abundance of opportunities, some of which the laity have already clearly identified in the work they have done. There is a desire to work well across the new benefice and this combined profile is an example of the trust that is building. Together we believe that there is a real opportunity for something significant to happen across these six communities with a combined population of 8,300. It is a really exciting prospect for someone who can maintain the focus on growing disciples, while building on the many strengths across the benefice, creating and sustaining new ways of working.

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Here are some of the similarities and challenges that have been identified through the vision meetings. Similarities. - Both parishes:

 Contain one main village with two smaller villages.  Contain wealthy residents, often with positions of responsibility in the wider society  Contain well-educated residents and parents with high educational aspirations for their children  Have a rural background even though they are now predominantly commuter villages  Have mission opportunities in engaging with the leisure industry associated with the  Contain primary schools where significant connections exist or have existed, especially with the Church of Primary Schools  Have a high level of engagement with their parish councils  Have conservation and ecological community engagement  Are wrestling with the issues of newer residents who want the benefits of living in a vibrant community, but do not or cannot invest in that community themselves  Are significant community contributors through their parish magazines which are widely used and distributed  Have church buildings that are well cared for  Have a strong core of committed and loyal church members Challenges. Both parishes:

 Know that more needs to be done to engage with younger people inside and outside the church  Know that there is a significant and ever-growing gap with those of all ages who have had little or no effective engagement with the Christian faith.  Have a desire to, or recognise the need to, find their own way of doing evangelism effectively  Need to develop more lay leaders in positions of responsibility who have a sensitivity to their context and a willingness to try new things  Know that new sustainable service patterns need to be explored to offer an opportunity for residents to worship, especially children, young people and younger families.  Make a distinction between wealthy residents and those who attend the church.  Have challenges in reaching 100% parish share payment This post has its focus on growing the church across all six communities. It is NOT about spreading the time and efforts of the new vicar across all six churches simply to cover services. The diocese has doubled the ordained ministry resources from what was envisaged in the previous 2020 deployment plan. This means that the new priest in charge will have the opportunity of selecting a full-time stipendiary curate, who will be based at Lowdham and focus on growing the church in Lowdham, Caythorpe and Gunthorpe. This will be an ideal opportunity for a curate to get experience of a dynamic parish whilst still working with, and learning from, the incumbent. The new Priest in charge will join other recently appointed clergy in the ‘villages group’ within the deanery (see blue boundary of map). There is a genuine desire to act collegially and think

BJBSB and LCG Parish Profile 2017 v6 01/03/2017 4 | P a g e collaboratively on issues that are common across the group. As a deanery we look forward to a new colleague joining us in a very varied deanery covering 104,000 and 22 churches, 16 full time clergy including curates, 10 active retired clergy and over 30 active readers. The deanery has working groups exploring initiatives on prayer, ministry to older people and ministry amongst children and young people. It is developing its global Anglican links with the diocese of Matana in Burundi and all PCCs in the deanery contribute to a Gedling deanery scholarship student at the Bujumbura Christian University. Throughout the year there are three types of deanery chapter meetings: a) Informal clergy lunches for discussion and prayer (four a year), b) Longer daytime meetings three times a year to worship and pray together, to share good practice in growing disciples and discuss wider mission and ministry issues (three a year) c) Wider ministry chapter with retired clergy, readers and recognised lay ministers (one a year). We would expect the next incumbent to make these a priority and look forward to them joining with us on the next phase of our deanery journey. Rev. Phil Williams Ministry Team The ministry team consists of two Readers, David Moore and Marcel Leaver, both based in LCG.

David thrives on the unusual: outdoor services, services with a theme or for a special event. He is involved with 1940s re-enacting, and usually takes a couple of services a year at those events. Marcel brings to the ministry team a range of much appreciated gifts and talents, which include creativity, depth of wisdom and insight that stems from her life experiences and deep connection with God. These, with a wonderful sense of humour and humility have translated into various forms of ministry including thoughtful and precious sermons, a range of offices as well as contemplative meditations and workshops, not only within the parish but also for the Diocese.

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Our Location

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Vision LCG: "Heritage, Hope and Legacy" and "Wider, Younger, Deeper" In Lowdham with Caythorpe we adopted the Heritage, Hope and Legacy Work with other theme for our mission to the community in 2013 when we began our project local churches to involve the wider community in the restoration and care of St Mary's towards a churchyard and its environs. common goal. CELEBRATING the HERITAGE of our community’s history We commemorate our past heritage through projects such as the WW1 Memorial 100 metre hedge planted in autumn 2014 on our adjoining field and the restoration of the many graves in parts of the churchyard many of which had become overgrown and damaged. We are of course also stewards of our church buildings, which are a part of this heritage, and we encourage the community to share in that responsibility. We celebrate the fact that a Christian community has worshipped in St Mary’s for over 900 years.

CREATING a new HOPE through social and ecological justice Through the outreach project we aim to bring hope and encouragement to our community about the future of worship in a practical way, and through engagement with the community, we draw people to see Jesus in everyday life.

LEAVING a LEGACY of a thriving and sustainable community We plan to leave a legacy of an improved environment through such ideas as the extensive community orchard planted in 2015 on the church field. But it is not just a legacy of things, but a legacy of lives changed by God.

Wider, Younger, Deeper Since the challenge in 2016 by Bishop Paul to grow disciples "Wider, Younger, Deeper" in the Diocese; we see this mission as being our main contribution to this aim. The Diocese-wide vision is that by 2023 it is hoped to create within the Diocese 7000 new disciples, 1000 younger leaders (15- 30), plant 75 new worshipping communities and facilitate 25 larger resource churches, whilst working as one church confident in the Gospel. In LCG, our response to this challenge is:

 To seek to grow our small but enthusiastic home based bible study group Family and incorporate the use of some of the Christian nurture material outlined orientated – at the recent meetings. aim to bring in  the families To investigate the development of a weekday early evening gathering for that are social and structured discussion linked to a short act of worship, but based drifting away. within the village at a social centre or even a public house function room. This is to encourage those who are possibly intimidated by a church environment such as men and young families. This follows from ideas discussed at Bishop Tony’s recent Men’s Breakfast event.

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BJBSB Vision A strong sense of Over the last 15 months, the Area Dean, leadership team and PCC have community, and been seeking to build trust across the three worshipping communities as an ability to ‘get one parish. This has involved PCC members functioning more as Trustees the message accountable for the resources of the whole parish in the pursuit of the across’. agreed vision. This has led to changes in the accounting processes and in governance. The PCC drew its experience of the vision meetings and expressed its vision as follows: “At Burton Joyce with Bulcote and Stoke Bardolph we have one parochial vision operating across three distinctive but not separate churches” • To grow confident disciples of all ages and backgrounds • To offer vibrant and welcoming Christian worship • To engage more deeply with our communities There is much more to be done in collaboration with the new incumbent but the vision days have established a clearer sense of the priority of Growing Disciples: Wider, Younger and Deeper. In November the PCC identified their three priorities for 2017 as:

Church is for  Undertaking a nurture group for Church and Village Members at Stoke all people, Bardolph including the  Joint Lent Groups with BJBSB and LGC and Burton Joyce Churches Together, mentally and and others using "Whole of Life for Christ" books - Enriching Everyday physically Discipleship. broken.  Reviving the Summer Holiday Club for 7-12 year olds.

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Worship Church Tradition The Benefice is relatively low-church, with a mixture of All-Age, Morning Praise, Book of Common Prayer, Holy Communion and healing services. We are defined by our Anglican heritage and place a strong emphasis on the traditional Christian Festivals. There is a meditative / devotional thread, most prominent around Good Friday. The ‘village Anglican’ theology has an inclusive evangelical thread with strong care for the Community, Environment and Justice themes, with an emphasis on welcoming and forgiving. Schools and Junior Church There are primary school at Burton Joyce, Gunthorpe and Lowdham. Gunthorpe and Lowdham are both C of E voluntary aided schools. It has been common practice for the incumbent to make weekly visit and to lead assemblies at all three schools . Foundation Governors elected by the PCC serve on the governing body of Lowdham Primary and in addition the school visits St Mary's for two services per year (July and December). For Lowdham and Burton Joyce there are occasional class practical history visits. Both Burton Joyce and Lowdham School run after-school and breakfast club facilities. Most of the students leaving Burton Joyce primary school attend Carlton Le Willows Academy (www.clwacademy.co.uk). Some students with a church connection attend The Minster School (www.minster.notts.sch.uk). There are also a few students who attend private education. The Headteacher described Lowdham Primary School as ‘A Traditional school with years of experience in village life, which gives it a unique atmosphere and place in the community. Our children find themselves in a busy and enthusiastic learning environment where there is always so much to do, learn and see’. (www.lowdhamprimaryschool.co.uk). Gunthorpe Primary School’s Headteacher describes his school as ‘We strive to Connect with give our children an understanding of the world that God created; their place in it, families, their value to it and their responsibility for it. Our core values are based in young Christianity. They are: Friendship, Teamwork, Endurance, Wisdom, Trust, Service children and and Forgiveness. We are a busy but friendly school, with lots going on.’ teens. (www.gunthorpeschool.co.uk).

The Headteacher writes about Burton Joyce Primary School, ‘The ethos of the school is one of high standards and achievement, of co-operation and support for everyone in our school community, respect and an awareness of others and their needs. There are many opportunities for children to develop their skills whatever their level of ability in an equal opportunities environment. We aim to provide a wide range of learning experiences where children will gain a positive self-image to help them on their path as happy and successful lifelong learners’. (www.burtonjoyce.notts.sch.uk)

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For Burton Joyce, Bulcote and Stoke Bardolph the only remaining Junior Church activities undertaken are through a Recorder Group which meets every Friday in the Church Centre and provides performances at the All Age Worship Services and specials services such as the Crib Service at St Helen’s and Christingle at St Luke’s.

Engage with St Helen’s in the recent past (2012) had a thriving Sunday School attracting up to the Primary 35 youngsters. These consequently attracted younger families to worship and Schools. participate in services. Each summer there was a Summer Holiday Club for a week but as the Sunday School’s popularity dropped so did the support for the Holiday Club. In addition, St Helen’s hosted a Pathfinder Group (11-15) on a Sunday Evening. Both St Helen’s and St Mary’s have a Crib service, and in both churches it is the most popular service of the year, each attracting a congregation of over 200 – around half of whom are young children. Until April 2016 a monthly Junior Church met at St Mary's on Sunday afternoons (16.00-17.30) attended by up to 30 children; unfortunately this stopped due to a lack of available leadership but it is hoped this may be resumed in due course. This provided a good contact point with young families in the LCG parish who often also attended the first Sunday All Age worship. On Good Friday morning, a popular craft and Easter egg hunt has been led by Junior Church every year.

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Our Churches - BJBSB St Helen’s, Burton Joyce This is the Parish church of the BJBSB parish. St Helen’s exercises an open and inclusive ministry with an emphasis on shared responsibility. The patterns of worship is flexible and for most services based on Common Worship. The congregation has a wide age range, but the upper age group is increasing. St Helen’s has a purpose-built pipe organ, which is not used as it could be, but provides a good support for sung services. At present, there are average Sunday attendances of about 40 but in the recent past this was over 60. There are no young children or teenage groups although again in the recent past there was a thriving and vibrant Sunday School (which catered for the up to 10 year olds) and a Pathfinder group which catered for those over 10. southwellchurches.nottingham.ac.uk/burton-joyce/hintro.php Holy Trinity, Bulcote Worship is traditional and conducted mainly in accordance with the Book of Common Prayer. The congregation is mainly elderly and retired, but faithful with an average Sunday attendance is 20. The churchyard has been sympathetically tended over many years by the now retiring church warden and lay reader. His expertise and interest has led to a wonderful winter snowdrop display displaced by the daffodils and primroses in Spring before a Summer wild flower meadow becomes established. southwellchurches.nottingham.ac.uk/bulcote/hintro.php

St Luke’s, Stoke Bardolph The congregation is predominantly retired with an average attendance of 12 for the regular Sunday services. An important part of St Luke’s ministry is through specials - occasions such as Christingle, Mothering Sunday, Rogation, Harvest and St Luke’s day. For these services we often have a congregation of about 60 people. Recently we have started a “Tea at 3” event where walkers and local people can enjoy a cup of tea on Sunday before joining in with an informal service. southwellchurches.nottingham.ac.uk/stoke-bardolph/hintro.php

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Our Churches - LCG St Mary the Virgin, Lowdham St Mary's is the Parish Church, and has a regular congregation of about 35 at its Sunday services which increased to nearer 60 when the Junior Church was active at the first Sunday All Age service (Junior Church was suspended in April 2016 due to a lack of leadership). There is a fair spread of age groups and a desire to maintain our historic building and its extensive environs in good order and as a centre of activity for the community. The building dates back to 1170 and is located a little distance outside the main village in a quiet rural setting but is seen as a welcoming place and is well supported by the village in many ways. southwellchurches.nottingham.ac.uk/lowdham/hhistory.php St Aidan's, Caythorpe St Aidan's This is a fairly unique building as it is one of the last "tin tabernacles" still in regular use for worship in the country. With a capacity for sixty we have a monthly united All Age service at which the joint congregation numbers about 40 of which 15 are local residents. The building which dates from 1900 is adjacent to the similar designed Village Hall and is the location of an annual Art Show during the annual Village Show. The Church was threatened with closure in the 1980's but a campaign to maintain its use has led to something of a revival in recent years. southwellchurches.nottingham.ac.uk/caythorpe/hintro.php St John the Baptist, Gunthorpe St John's has a supportive and welcoming regular congregation of about 17 who worship at the church which is located on the village's Main Street. The church is fairly modern in appearance due to an extension providing a reception/refreshment area at the front and side of the older 19th century original building. It has a well-tended garden to the front and side areas but has no graveyard. It is now intended that worship will be based on a monthly united service of Holy Communion. A tea shop is held every Tuesday morning which is supported by the church community and local residents. The church is also well supported in many other tasks, including the gardening, by people who do not attend for Sunday worship. southwellchurches.nottingham.ac.uk/gunthorpe/hintro.php

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Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats – BJBSB OUR STRENGTHS We are loyal and committed congregations to our churches and to the local community offering a wide range of services. There are good community links which take the form of coffee chit chat events and participation in local community events. During the interregnum we have had support from several deanery readers. They recognise the need for continued support once an incumbent has been appointed and would be willing to continue for the forseeable future. The three churches are well maintained and have a strong and significant community presence. The three churches complement and enhance the spiritual life of the area. Each church offering different experiences. A variety of musical talent- a robed choir, Recorder group – including several youngsters, a music group (piano, saxophone, clarinet, flute, violin – enhanced by other stringed instruments for special occasions) and an occasional choir meeting for special events. During the interregnum we have had support from several deanery readers. They recognise the need for continued support once an incumbent has been appointed and would be willing to continue for the forseeable future. We are beginning to feel reinvigorated. A recent visiting reader expressed the view that the feeling was of a welcoming and caring congregation which had the potential to grow. The PCC has a variety of length of experience and spiritual experience. OUR WEAKNESSES Our largest weakness is the loss of our Children’s group which has led to a New people significant reduction in younger families. The only children’s ministry is through means all the recorder group. ages. Because of the lack of younger families we are an aged congregation.

In some ways we had become complacent. We have enjoyed many fruitful years where we have had larger congregations (St Helen’s regularly had 60+ for a Sunday morning worship). As a result of the larger congregations, and the ability to attract wealthier generous donors we had larger collections and donations and hence a secure financial position.

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There are the same number of jobs – but because of the fall in numbers these jobs have had to be shared out between a fewer number of people. OPPORTUNITIES The opportunity to work in a different way with another parish with similar Teach the problems and opportunities. Gospel At some services – our with fun. Remembrance Day Service, our crib service and a recent “Hymn Sing” service St Helen’s church was full with over 200 people. This shows us that the local community has not forgotten us and are willing to participate in events we put on. We have committed to a Giving Campaign for Autumn 2017, and to the Diocesan Focus of attracting disciples Wider, Deeper, Younger. We want to grow Wider through a welcoming course, Deeper through a Study Group and Younger through a Summer Holiday Club. THREATS The feeling is the communities are looking and waiting for the next appointment to come in and do everything. Quite clearly there will not be enough time for one person to manage that – especially with having to manage two parishes. The retirement of a long-established, well respected leader (also a lay reader) who does a lot of work within the parish will have a significant effect. Inability to pay full parish share. Until recently we had a considerable level of unrestricted reserves and were paying our full parish share. Over the last 10 years we have had significant rises in our parish share and a falling congregation, coupled with several significant benefactors dying. This has led to these reserves reaching a critical level and a failing to meet our parish share by a significant margin.

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Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats – LCG OUR STRENGTHS We are a welcoming, inclusive and open-minded congregation committed to our churches and to the local community. There is a team of experienced readers and volunteers with a wide variety of useful skills. We have a joint church and community Greening Project based at St Mary's which involves teams of local residents and community groups maintaining the churchyard and developing alternative uses such as a WW1 memorial hedge, Forest School events and a fledgling community orchard. There are good community links with schools, local businesses and charities such as the Emmanuel House Day Centre in Nottingham and Lowdham Grange Prison. We have three very different but beautiful churches which vary in age and size. The parish has a vibrant main community centred on Lowdham with regular events including monthly folk concerts, a nationally renowned Book Festival and Film Festival, spring and autumn shows and many smaller events. We support those less well-off through regular giving to local and worldwide mission and relief charities. There are various annual Church events including a very successful Christmas Tree festival, Snowdrop Day, Strawberry Teas, concerts, coffee mornings, and art shows, several of which are run in conjunction with other local organisations. Christmas is big in the parish, with well- attended Christingle Service, Carol Service and Crib Service, a huge turnout for switching on the Christmas lights, carol singing round the village and a big Christmas Fair in the village hall. We have good links to other local churches, having joint services with neighbouring parishes during the vacancy, and a joint Women’s World Day of Prayer event with the Burton Joyce parish, BJ Community Church and the Lowdham Independent Primitive Methodists. The PCC is committed to God’s work. OUR WEAKNESSES Need to develop spiritual understanding through both traditional and more modern forms of worship, and greater participation at Bible Study / Prayer groups (currently just one small group meeting). St Mary’s is geographically quite separate from the rest of Lowdham village and does not have its own church hall.

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Loss of Junior Church and related congregation due to lack of leaders. We need to encourage more congregation participation from within the church and more community participation from the wider area. We would like (but do not have) a youth worker or other paid assistance for various projects but rely on volunteers and many of those work full time so have limited resources. Our service offering is currently more limited than some of the congregation would like e.g. loss of the BCP services some enjoyed and no Midnight Mass for the last few years. OPPORTUNITIES Development of our Heritage, Hope and Legacy Initiative which is the umbrella for projects and events such as the Greening project, orchard and churchyard restoration. Increasing community partnerships and links through the annual Christmas Tree festival. The potential to use the space around St Mary’s church for events and gatherings. The possibility of developing further and better links with other groups and organizations within and around the village from those which already exist within the congregation.

Be a good Training leaders/succession planning/developing/nurturing. listener, and St Mary’s and St Aidan’s developing better links with St John’s Gunthorpe and an effective using each other’s facilities. team leader. New types of worship, such as Messy Church services, or a less formal café church or pub church, with the right support and training. The potential to win back some Christians who live in the villages but travel out to other churches. We have a fundraising committee, and hope for opportunities to significantly increase income. THREATS Time pressures due to family, work and caring responsibilities. Need for funding to realise projects/ideas eg storage, facilities, Not meeting the needs of families and the hidden disadvantaged in our villages. The need to encourage 20-40 year olds to join the church. Gunthorpe as a separate parish have recently had a high Parish Share to pay, for a congregation of 17, and have paid on average around half of it. This will have an impact on the merged parish of LCG. (Lowdham and Caythorpe has always paid share in full). The kitchen is damp, we have just one toilet (which is not enough for larger events in church), and we do not have sufficient storage space.

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Our Communities Both parishes comprise of a larger village with two smaller villages close by. The parishes are well served by the usual range of village Engage with village groups shops and businesses – Co-op, Bakery, Post Office, Library and a Take church into the village number of pubs serving food and takeaway food. There are also specialist businesses such as Computer Repair, Estate Agents, a ‘There’s a lot of goodwill in bookshop, soft furnishings, three garages and car, van and caravan the parish’ and motor home dealerships. There are two Doctor’s practices sharing a building in Lowdham (www.thejubileepractice.co.uk and ivymedicalgroup.com, which also has operates in Burton Joyce). Burton Joyce has another practice, www.appletreemedicalpractice.co.uk. Overall the villages are predominantly commuter villages for Nottingham and further afield or retirement. Those over 65 comprise over 25% of the population. The housing reflects this with homes for the retired as well as specialised supported housing for those over 55. The average house price across the benefice is £373,000 against a national average of £220,000 (December 2016) In the remaining population, there are a large number of high paid jobs such as company directors, administrators and other professional jobs. Although not formally assessed there seems to be a degree of loneliness among a proportion of the community. This is evidenced by a large uptake of people attending events such as Coffee Chit Chat, Poetry Teas and attending the Community Market (all have cheap coffee available). The main village in each parish is served by a good rail service (Links to Nottingham, Newark, Lincoln) and a good bus service (Southwell – Nottingham). Children Burton Joyce Church Hall hosts a Parent and Toddler group twice a week. We want someone This is nominally connected to the church. Within the main villages there who is kind, helpful, are three nurseries, there is a Pre-School Group in Lowdham Village Hall, and fun, who will and a Baby and Toddler group in the Methodist Chapel. help us to know God.

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Halls and Vicarages BJBSB

Vicarage This is a spacious family house, situated centrally in the village within easy walking distance of all the village amenities and St Helen’s Church. It was built in the 1960s and purchased by the diocese in 1974. The ground floor comprises a fitted kitchen, dining room with a wood block floor, carpeted lounge with fire place, large study with laminate floor, toilet facilities and a lobby. There is access from the back door to a covered walkway leading to a side door of the garage and a utility room which is plumbed for washing facilities and a small store. The first floor has 4 carpeted bedrooms, a bathroom with overhead shower and separate toilet. The property is centrally heated by gas and is double glazed throughout and the loft has been insulated. Externally there is a large driveway with parking for three/four cars, a garage, front garden with lawn and fruit trees and shrubbery. A secured garden to the side and rear with lawns and shrubbery offers privacy.

Church Centre The Church Centre was built in 1993 and is linked to the church from the South porch. It can be divided into three sections, has a recently upgraded kitchen, toilets, disabled toilet, a sound system and storage area. It can accommodate 70 seated and is in regular use for Church activities and is a popular venue for Diocesan events.

The Old Church Hall This was built in the 1950s and until the new Church Centre was built was used for all church social events. It is now used by a variety of church and non-church affiliated groups including Baby & Toddlers, flower arranging classes, and coffee mornings. There has been an ongoing programme of refurbishment and the hall is self-financing and managed by a small committee who report to the PCC.

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Carnarvon Rooms This was built in 1863 as a school. The building has been refurbished and is jointly used by the Church and Burton Joyce History Society. It provides accommodation for the Parish office and also houses an exhibition featuring village history and life. The venue is used for church run coffee every Monday morning. The parish obtains extra income by renting this space out on an occasional basis.

Parish Office The Parish office is located within the Carnarvon Rooms, which is close to both the Church and Vicarage. The Parish employs a part time administrator who acts as secretary to the Priest in Charge, deals with matters of administration, typing and printing, and co-ordination of the weekly Pew News. The office is staffed on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and is equipped with a BT land line, computer and photocopier. LCG We do not have any church hall of our own, although the village hall at Caythorpe is on the same site as the church, and we routinely use the hall for refreshments after the services.

Former Vicarage The former vicarage at 12 Old Tannery Drive is a substantial 4-bedroom house with study. It is currently let to tenants by the diocese. It is anticipated that the diocese will provide suitable accommodation for a curate, when appointed.

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Current Service Patterns

Date St Helen’s Holy Trinity St Luke’s Burton Joyce Bulcote Stoke Bardolph

1st Sunday 8.00am Holy 9.00am Holy Communion (BCP) Communion (Common Worship) 10.30 All Age Worship

2nd Sunday 10.30 Holy 9.00am Morning Communion Prayer (BCP) (Common Worship)

3rd Sunday 8.00am Holy 9.00am Holy 4.00pm Evening Communion Communion (BCP) Prayer (BCP) (Common Worship)

10.30 Morning Worship (Common Worship)

4th Sunday 10.30 Holy 9.00am Morning Communion Prayer (BCP) (Common Worship)

Date St Mary’s St John’s St Aidan’s Lowdham Gunthorpe Caythorpe

1st Sunday 10:30 All Age Worship

2nd Sunday 10.30 Holy Communion

3rd Sunday 10:30 All Age Worship

4th Sunday 10.30 Holy Communion

5th Sunday 10:30 United Service at various locations

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Parish Attendance Statistics 2016 BJBSB Average attendance at St Helen’s 35 adults and 3 children Average attendance at Holy Trinity 20 adults Average attendance at St Luke’s 12 adults Occasional Offices Xx baptisms, xx confirmations, xx weddings, xx funerals

LCG Average attendance at St Mary's and St Aidan's 30 adults & 5 children Average attendance at Gunthorpe 17 Adults Easter services including Easter vigil 80 with 54 communicants Occasional Offices Xx baptisms, xx confirmations, xx weddings, xx funerals

Parish Age Profiles (from 2011 Census) BJBSB 0-4 195 5% of parish 5-15 468 12% of parish 16-64 2,262 58% of parish 65+ 975 25% of parish LCG 0-4 168 4% of parish 5-15 456 10% of parish 16-64 2,972 67% of parish 65+ 840 19% of parish

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Policies

Safeguarding The benefice is proactive in ensuring DBS checks, and ensures child and vulnerable adult protection and safeguarding training is undertaken by all involved in care. The safeguarding lead is covered by one of the PCC members in each Parish.

Health & Safety The benefice has Health and Safety policies and procedures in place and the lead officer is one of the Church Wardens in each Parish.

Infant Baptism We welcome requests from all parents for infant baptism and older children and people. Because the individual being baptised is being welcomed into the church family we usually conduct Baptisms during the 10.30 a.m. Sunday service.

Holy Communion The church invites all visitors who take communion in their own churches to participate in Holy Communion. It has also been policy to allow children to receive communion before confirmation in line with Diocesan guidelines.

Remarriage of divorced people There are no fixed policies on this matter. It is left to the discretion of the incumbent so that all couples can be considered on an individual basis.

Priests (Ordination of Women) Measure The benefice has been served by ministry from both men and women. We fully support the ordination of women and their equality with men within the church. The PCC’s would wish to see appointed to the position of Vicar the best person irrespective of gender.

Burton Joyce Old School Trust The incumbent is de facto a member of the Burton Joyce Old School Trust which makes funds available for the education of the poor and needy of the parish of BJBSB

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Clubs and Societies in the Benefice Church Organisations Junior Recorder Group Mother’s Union MADE Group – Make A Difference Everybody Burton Joyce Outing Group Churches Together Sport Burton Joyce Football Team. www.burtonjoycejfc.co.uk Burton Joyce Cricket Club. burtonjoycecc.play-cricket.com Burton Joyce Bowling Club. burtonjoycebowlsclub.co.uk Burton Joyce Archery Club. www.burtonjoycearchers.org.uk Burton Joyce Tennis Club. bjtennisclub.wixsite.com/bjtc Lowdham Colts Football Club. lowdhamcolts.info Caythorpe Cricket Club. www.caythorpecc-notts.org.uk Lowdham Cricket Club. lowdham.info Lowdham Bowling Club. Culture Burton Joyce Amateur Dramatic Society. www.burtonjoyceplayers.co.uk Burton Joyce Choral Society. www.bjchoralsociety.org.uk Trent Valley Singers Phoenix Art Society Painting for Pleasure Gunthorpe Art Phoenix Art Society Stoke Bardolph Art Group Yoga, U3A. www.bju3a.co.uk Burton Joyce Scouts, Guides, Brownies, Cubs, Rainbows and Beavers Trentside Beavers, Cubs and Scouts Lowdham Pantomime Group. www.lowdhampanto.co.uk

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Lowdham Film Festival. www.lowdham.net/lowdham-film-festival-2016 Lowdham Book Festival. www.lowdhambookfestival.co.uk Warthogs Promotions: live music in Lowdham. www.warthogpromotions.com Special Interest Burton Joyce Women’s Institute Dover Beck Club Flower Arrangement Burton Joyce Local History Society Stoke Bardolph Local History Society Trent Valley Dog Club Burton Joyce Community Market Bulcote Social Committee Lowdham Women’s Institute Lowdham Horticultural Society. www.lowdhamhortsoc.org.uk Lowdham Flower Club Lowdham Writers Group Lowdham Local History Society Lowdham Young Farmers Gunthorpe Yoga and Exercise Club Gunthorpe Friday Community Club Lowdham Railway Heritage. facebook.com/lowdhamsignalbox Village Websites www.burtonjoyceparishcouncil.org.uk www.lowdham.net www.gunthorpe.org.uk

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Financial Information 2016 2015 Income and Expenditure BJBSB LC Gun BJBSB LC Gun Income Collections 5,193 6,180 1,099 5,746 4,509 2,020 Gift Aid 17,451 22,574 7,162 21,432 23,730 8,965 Tax Recovered 5,361 6,280 1,926 5,288 7,268 2,529 Other donations 4,398 940 0 7,033 1,895 1,448 Church and Hall Hire 10,539 405 1,081 8,259 250 135 Fund Raising 3,966 156 2,188 2,478 1,450 2,877 Churchyard Income 0 9,442 0 0 385 0 Fees to PCC 3,362 4,186 4,719 5,206 954 Sales (Concert tickets/Magazines) 21,291 7,607 0 22,412 10,902 0 Interest / Investment income 1,039 349 33 4,676 387 45 TOTAL INCOME 72,600 58,119 13,489 82,043 55,982 18,973

Expenditure Grants (Charitable giving) 1,224 2,118 206 1,942 1,792 57 Parish Share 41,724 35,568 11,000 62,796 34,870 13,380 Church Consumables 2,841 414 145 3,877 536 190 Church Gas + Electricity + Water 3,032 1,522 802 4,955 1,623 1,376 Church Insurance 2,835 3,974 989 3,577 3,703 2,000 Church Maintenance 8,639 1,866 1,359 2,760 60 134 Major Repairs 1,224 0 0 0 0 0 Churchyard / Green Space 1,285 8,446 0 900 234 0 Clergy Expenses 0 951 0 0 1,534 0 Local Mission 0 201 0 0 117 0 Parish Magazine 14,907 9,644 0 14,072 10,299 0 Fund Raising costs 55 230 0 0 59 0 Hall costs 5,973 0 8,276 0 0 Administration 4,863 0 0 3,543 426 0 TOTAL EXPENDITURE 88,602 64,934 14,501 106,698 55,253 17,137 Surplus / Deficit -16,002 -6,815 -1,012 -24,655 729 1,836

2,016 2,015 Balance Sheet BJBSB LC Gun BJBSB LC Gun Endowment Funds 25,600 8,681 0 25,500 7,834 0 Buildings, chancel and organ funds 268,963 0 0 268,063 0 0 Restricted Funds 6,933 2,535 7,061 6,833 2,314 7,028 Unrestricted 1,267 2,586 3,756 18,369 6,113 4,786 Deposit Account 17,435 7 19,377 7 Magazine account 12,959 0 10,922 0 Total Funds 302,763 44,196 10,824 318,765 46,560 11,821

Parish Share allotted 65,400 35,568 26,892 62,796 34,870 26,760 Parish Share percent paid 64% 100% 41% 100% 100% 50%

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Notes Fees to the Diocese have been ‘netted off’ so they don’t appear here. Although Gunthorpe paid half or less share in 2016 and 2015, it had previously paid share in full. LCG is on Receipts and Payments basis. BJBSB has changed from Accruals in 2015 to R&P in 2016. An explanation of the large restricted funds for BJBSB is necessary. The following is from the 2015 accounts:

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