The benefice of St. Michael & All Angels, Stanton-by-Dale with All Saints, and All Saints, Risley

BENEFICE PROFILE & STATEMENT OF NEEDS 2018

srdachurches.org Contents Page Introduction and Summary 2 Traditions and Convictions 3 Where We Are Now 4 Key Attributes of Our New Incumbent 5 Our Benefice 6 Our Churches 12 Our People 19 Spiritual Life and Regular Activities 21 Outreach & Mission 24 Buildings & Other Resources 28 Finances 36 The Local Area 41 Contacts 46 Policies 47

1 Introduction and Summary Welcome to our benefice profile. We are excited to learn what God has in store for us as we welcome our next Minister. As a benefice, our aim is to be one church in three locations. Although we meet in different places, we share the same evangelical conviction. We take our Bible teaching seriously and appreciate inspired preaching as we believe that the Bible is the revealed word of God and therefore aim to make it central in our church life. We would love to see continuing growth and a deeper spiritual maturity across our congregations, building upon the foundations laid by our previous incumbent. We are praying that God will send someone who will lead and challenge us in our devotion and worship to God, our love for one another, and in our service to our village communities. Our aim is to know Christ and to make Him known. We want this to be the vision across our churches that sees others come to a life-changing faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Traditions and Convictions As an evangelical benefice with Christians from a wide-range of backgrounds both within and beyond the Anglican communion, we are bound together by a desire to worship and live for Jesus Christ, who is the foundation of all that we do.

Our core values are: • To know God in Christ through the Holy Spirit • To Know God as He has revealed Himself in the Bible • To make known the Good News of Christ • To enrich and deepen the spiritual life in our church • To promote the life of the Church of Christ • To make known the truths and values of Christ • To serve one another and the communities in which we live

3 Where We Are Now The benefice comprises three churches in two parishes (Stanton by Dale and Dale Abbey have been one parish since the eighteenth century and Risley joined in 1994 to create the current benefice). We understand there are no plans in the diocese to alter this arrangement. Over the last 6 years the three churches have come far more closely together, with joint meetings of the two PCCs, benefice services, members of the churches serving in different locations, sharing a salaried Church Administrator, groups (eg home groups and Sunday Schools) in all three churches following the same materials. We are in the very early stages of working towards sharing finances and having a benefice budget rather than two separate financial arrangements. We also have weekly leadership meetings which view the benefice as a whole. We have had a solid foundation of Biblical teaching and wish to see that continued.

4 Key Attributes of Our New Incumbent • A creative and motivational leader with a vision for the benefice but who is prayerful and always open to following God’s directing. • A passion for evangelism, to see people come to a living faith in Christ. • A commitment to support and build children’s and youth work in the benefice. • A leader who is willing and able to lead the Church but is also a team player willing to listen to and work with the wider leadership team. • A Bible based teacher who is a capable expository preacher. • A commitment and desire to engage in pastoral care. • The ability to engage with village life, building on the foundations which have been laid – an awareness that a village community is different to a suburban or city centre community. • Someone who is happy to embrace a variety of worship styles. • Enthusiasm and a sense of humour.

5 Our Benefice The parishes of Stanton by Dale and Dale Abbey were joined in the eighteenth century and have a single PCC. This parish and the adjoining parish of Risley were joined together in 1994 and became a benefice in 2000. There are therefore three churches and two PCCs. There are no other churches or places of worship within the benefice (two Methodist chapels having closed very many years ago).

The current services are 9:15am at Risley, 11am at Stanton and 3pm at Dale Abbey. Broadly, the services at Stanton and Risley are communion every other week with the intervening week being morning worship and the first Sunday of the month is an all age service (so children stay in rather than going to Sunday School). At Dale Abbey communion services alternate with evening worship. Typically the same sermon is preached at each church. There is also a 7pm mid-week communion service at Risley on Wednesday evenings. Service times and the nature of the services have changed in the past and could do so again.

There are no longer Sunday evening services but we have used Sunday evenings to have benefice wide meetings for teaching on various themes. Typically we have had a series of 6 to 10 consecutive Sunday evenings and then a break

6 for a few weeks until the next series starts. Examples of these Sunday evening teaching series would be: how to understand and argue against pseudo-Christian cults such as Mormons, JWs, etc; looking in detail at some of the 39 Articles. We also used one series to “pilot” the Life Explored course.

Over the last few years PCC meetings have been joint, with short sessions at the end at which the PCCs split into separate rooms to deal with purely parish-specific matters. The current drive is to minimise the number of issues which are considered as parish- specific. We have had some annual PCC away-days, spending the morning discussing how to take the benefice forward in various ways and ending with lunch at a restaurant.

The desire of both PCCs, and of the three congregations, is for increasing unity.

7 Home groups meet weekly, except that once a month they are replaced with a benefice-wide Prayer meeting. Some of the home groups contain members from more than one of the three churches. We currently have 36 attending home groups and we are keen to see this number, and therefore the number of groups, increase.

Children’s and youth work is something we know we need to build up and we are keen to do this. Historically it was very large at Stanton, limited to a very small Sunday School at Risley and non-existent at Dale. However, largely due to the demographics of the congregation, it has significantly reduced at Stanton (sometimes a Sunday sees only 3 or 4 children) but has been growing at Risley (12 on the roll but typically about 6 on any given Sunday). Sunday School at Stanton needs building up and the growth at Risley should be continued.

Above Sunday School age, the Dangerous Boys and Dangerous Girls groups are benefice wide but they do need building up again as numbers have dropped recently, again due to demographics. Likewise the youth “All Soughts” group is benefice-wide but needs building up following the departure of a number to university all at the same time.

8 Almost all of our groups and activities are benefice wide - very little is done on a church by church basis unless it is part of a service such as Sunday School. Even here there is interchange, for example Risley and Stanton Sunday Schools may be run by members of Risley, Stanton or Dale congregations.

It is probably a common issue for all churches, in that we have a committed group of people who seem to be doing the bulk of the work and we are keen to expand the “engaged core” of the church.

We hope our new minister will be able to motivate others to join in and also to lead us in reviewing and revising our activities, perhaps doing fewer things to a higher standard, or new things entirely.

9 Over the last few years, we have become far more engaged in the life of the villages than we have been historically, working with various village organisations, the CofE primary school in the benefice, nursing homes and the hospice in Risley. However, despite good engagement with the primary school, few of the pupils and their families attend the church, which we would like to work on. There is also scope to have more engagement with Risley village than at present – this is another area for ongoing work.

The benefice has a very good range of buildings available, described in more detail later on in this document, and these are well used by the church.

10 We have a sound financial base at Stanton (which from a financial perspective includes Dale Abbey), which has been generating a significant surplus over the last few years. Money is significantly tighter at Risley where it can be a struggle to meet the Common Fund (formerly parish share) assessment. However we are working towards a joint benefice budget and towards using money across the benefice, regardless of where it originated. This is in its very early stages, but is already more than just an aspiration with money having been transferred to help Risley with its Common Fund payment last year and benefice expenses being split on what is perceived to be a realistic basis rather than 50/50. Again, further detail can be found later on in this document.

The church benefits from an experienced, part-time, salaried Church Administrator who works for the benefice as a whole, from the church office adjacent to Stanton church and close to the Rectory.

The Church has a website – www.srdachurches.org - and makes some use of social media.

We have for many years been members of the Evangelical Alliance – www.eauk.org

We have in the last couple of years become members of the Midlands Gospel Partnership - www.midlandsgospel.org.uk

11 Our Churches All three Churches are evangelical and share a Bible based theology. Common Worship is the service used in all three churches. The church members have a traditional understanding of human sexuality and marriage. We would look for our new minister to share these views. It is fair to say that there are different views within the congregations in relation to the ordination of women.

In relation to the remarriage of divorced people the PCCs have left this to the decision of the minister within the Church of ’s guidelines.

The Church baptises children as well as adults and has endeavoured to encourage candidates/parents of candidates for baptism and marriage to attend a Christianity Explored course. In the conviction that baptism is the sacrament of membership of the church, it is currently the practice to give bread at communion to baptised children.

Until our previous incumbent arrived the church ran Alpha courses, following his arrival we changed to Christianity Explored. So long as the teaching which accompanies the courses is right, the PCC has no strong views and would follow the lead of our minister. The PCC is very keen to see some sort of evangelistic course of this type being run and strongly supported our previous ministers in encouraging attendance by non-church members coming for weddings or bringing children to

baptism.

12 The above said, our three churches do still have different characters and worship styles, which is viewed as a strength not a weakness. In a very broad-brush overview, and recognising that there are exceptions in each case, the following is a rough indication.

Stanton by Dale (often called just “Stanton”)

Electoral roll (which covers the parish of Stanton by Dale with Dale Abbey) – 121 of whom 61 are resident in the parish (41 in Stanton and 20 in Dale) and 60 are non- resident.

Average attendance at Stanton by Dale (not including Dale Abbey) – 60 (52 plus 8 under sixteens).

This is the largest of the three churches, physically and in average congregation and in terms of income and resources.

13 The service style is informal and clergy don’t robe (although there would be no objection to it within reason).

The words for the service and the songs are projected (hard copy also available). There is a music group currently comprising guitar, conga drums, violin, keyboard and celtic harp. Whilst there is a traditional organ it is almost never used except at Christmas and for weddings, etc.

The church has in the past had a very large children’s ministry but this has shrunk significantly over the past few years, largely due to the demographics of the congregation and is something we are keen to build up again. Engagement with the village has been growing in recent years.

There are a number of church members whose attendance is sporadic rather than every Sunday and this is something we would like to work on. In some cases we know it is simply a sign of modern working patterns and we think that the increasing pattern of children’s sports clubs, etc, meeting on Sundays is also having an effect here in diminishing the number of children in Sunday School.

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Risley

Electoral roll – 93 of whom 39 are resident in the parish.

Average attendance – 47 (39 plus 8 under sixteens).

This is the next church in size, in all respects.

The style tends to be more traditional and formal than at Stanton. At Risley the clergy and reader wear cassock, surplice and preaching scarf except at the monthly “All Age” service. Music is from an organ which was fully restored in 2004 and we are blessed with an exceptionally able music teacher as our organist. Hymn books are used. An audio visual system with two projectors has recently been installed and is used during services.

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The church previously had little or no children’s ministry but the Sunday School has been growing in recent years. Engagement with the village has dropped a little in recent years and there is a desire to re-energise this. The average age of the congregation has been falling over the past few years as more young families have started attending.

As with Stanton, there are a number of church members, including children, whose attendance is sporadic rather than every Sunday and we are keen to try to address this.

16 Dale Abbey (often called just “Dale”)

Electoral roll – this is combined with Stanton by Dale as above. Average attendance – 22 (with no under sixteens).

This is the smallest church but its congregation has grown in the past few years from about half a dozen to over 20.

It is a grade 1 listed, semi-detached church which until the dissolution of the monasteries was the Abbey’s infirmary chapel.

The congregation for its Sunday service (3pm) tend to be older people and the style is traditional, with music from an ancient pedal organ.

17 There are no projection facilities so hymn books are used with a service sheet printed for most services, but once a month there is a 1662 communion service and some people come to the Church specifically for this.

Until relatively recently the service was always 1662 but the change to Common Worship for most services was made without any significant comment. In recent years the congregation has been increasing.

Unlike at Stanton and Risley, most of the church members are there every Sunday, which may reflect the fact that they are generally retired people with no children at home.

Engagement with the village has been increasing in recent years and this is something we are keen to continue and expand.

18 Our People

The current leadership team consists of: • 6 Wardens (one of whom is a Reader); • 2 other Readers; • A part-time paid Church Administrator; • A Discipleship Coordinator (a Navigator); • The Curate (who has reached the end of his training). The team meets weekly.

There is the usual complement of Treasurers, PCC secretaries, etc.

The congregation is made up of people who live in the villages and others who come in from nearby due to either the churchmanship or connections with the Churches.

19 There is a wide range of skill-sets within the Churches and this enables us to put on a wide variety of events throughout the year, with catering for events being something we are known for in the area.

20 Spiritual Life & Regular Activities A brief summary of our activities is as follows. Further details are available if required, in the form of a report for each activity which is prepared for our APM.

Safeguarding 2 Parish Safeguarding Links, one for Stanton and Dale and one for Risley JAM Club/Sunday School Sunday School See and Know Mother and Toddler Group Dangerous Boys Club For 11-14 year olds Dangerous Girls Club For 11-14 year olds All Soughts Youth fellowship group Quest Club Run at Risley School at Christmas and Easter School Assemblies At Risley School Ladies’ Nurture Group Bible study and support group Home Groups Meeting weekly Quiet Mornings at Gateway About 5 a year – a time for reflection and prayer

21 Men’s Social group Bi-monthly meetings for men in local pub Dads’ Night Monthly meetings at Rectory for fathers Christmas Choir For carols by candlelight services, plus local pubs and nursing homes.

Women’s events Typically two or three a year, events or activities for women Bookstall Occasional – account with “10 of those” Navigator Connect / Discipleship Our Navigator Connect Worker and Discipleship Coordinator Pastoral Support Group Shares ideas for pastoral support across the benefice Spring Harvest A group from the benefice attends Spring Harvest Music Group Stanton music group for worship Tea and Company Monthly meeting mainly for older people – one in Stanton, one in Dale Celebration in Flowers Dale Abbey outreach event based on scriptural themes Sponsored Children The Churches sponsor a number

22 Church Big Weekend At Home Weekend of events across the benefice Gateway Use of the Gateway Christian Centre for outreach, church activities and others Hermit’s Wood Managed by church and used by walkers, etc Old School Christian Centre Used by Church and outside groups Bell Ringing Stanton has a peal of 8 bells and team of ringers, not all church members Benefice Prayer Meeting Monthly in place of home groups Bonfire The Church has always run the November 5th village bonfire in Stanton by Dale

23 Outreach & Mission

In addition to the outreach and mission which is included in the activities mentioned in the previous section, the following opportunities also exist for us to serve and witness to our local communities.

Treetops Hospice, in Risley, has a Monday to Friday day care unit with some 25 “different guests‟ attending. It has a counselling and emotional support centre for adults, children and families, and provides an extensive “Hospice at Home‟ network of care involving a large number of carers and qualified nurses. Plans are currently being developed to build a 12 bedded unit on site. The Rector is chaplain to the hospice and they would like more chaplaincy. The previous Rector visited on Friday mornings. The Hospice has in the past paid for the chaplain to attend Hospice Chaplains’ Conferences. Each year it organises a “Light Up A Life” event in its grounds which hundreds attend – over the last couple of years the Rector has been able to include a Bible reading and a short homily although it is not a Christian service as such. Shortly before the former Rector left, he organised a communion service for some of the guests in Church which was very well received, and which the Hospice are keen to see more of. Some church members, particularly from Risley, are involved in a variety of ways at the hospice.

24 Risley Lower Grammar Church of England Primary School - www.risley..sch.uk - is the only school actually in the benefice and is located very close to Risley church. The Rector is an ex-officio governor of the School, which involves about 4 meetings a year. The School has its morning assemblies in Risley Church three times a week. The Head Teacher leads the assemblies and the previous Rector and the Curate have both in the past spoken at an assembly a week.

Woodhall Park is 40 bedded nursing home which is currently visited weekly by the Reader in Risley. Over the last couple of years some of the residents have been brought to the Sunday morning service by the carers. At Christmas time the benefice (Christmas) choir have visited to sings carols. The nursing home are keen to develop more links with the church.

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The number of baptisms, weddings and funerals in the three Churches over the past three years have been as set out below. Some of these services are carried out by our Readers. Both the Readers and the ordained Clergy are also asked to conduct services at the local (15 minutes’ drive from the Rectory) crematorium chapel from time to time and the numbers of these services are also set out below.

BAPTISMS WEDDINGS 2017 2016 2015 2017 2016 2015 Stanton by Dale 0 0 2 Stanton by Dale 2 2 2 Dale Abbey 1 0 1 Dale Abbey 2 1 0 Risley 2 1 9 Risley 1 5 4 Total 3 1 12 Total 5 8 6

BURIALS INTERMENT OF CREMATED REMAINS 2017 2016 2015 2017 2016 2015 Stanton by Dale 0 1 4 Stanton by Dale 4 3 3 Dale Abbey 0 3 3 Dale Abbey 1 6 2 Risley 1 2 2 Risley 0 0 3 Total 1 6 9 Total 5 9 8

26 SERVICES AT CREMATORIUM 2017 2016 2015 We also hosted a confirmation service in 2015 at Stanton Stanton by Dale 1 2 3 Church where 17 people, not all from our Benefice, were Dale Abbey 1 1 2 confirmed. Risley 0 1 2 Total 2 4 7

In the valley on the northern edge of Stanton by Dale there used to be a huge industrial complex, which has now almost all been cleared. Around 5,000 new homes could be built there, and construction of the first of these has now started, with consent having been obtained for the first 1,999. The new houses will not all be in the parish of Stanton by Dale but residents are likely to look to Stanton as being the closest church. This is a major opportunity for outreach and mission which has just started and will develop further over the coming years.

27 Buildings & Other Resources The church benefits from having a number of buildings to use in addition to the churches themselves. The buildings are as follows and copies of the Quinquennial Inspection Reports are available on request.

Risley

Risley Church is a grade II* listed building with a carillon of 8 chimes. The Church is in good repair (completely re- roofed about 15 years ago) and includes a vestry and a toilet. It is surrounded by a churchyard which is still open. The Church was originally erected by Katherine Willoughby who lived at Risley Hall. It is unusual in that it is one of only six churches in the country built in Elizabethan times. The Church was doubled in size in 1841. The Church benefited from a new Audio Visual system installed two years ago. This year new bespoke pew runners have replaced the previous carpet ones to improve the comfort of the congregation.

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In addition there is Harrison’s Cottage, the former verger’s cottage adjoining the churchyard (with no access other than through the churchyard) and refurbished a few years ago to form a kitchen and two meeting spaces, used for coffee after church and available for use by church and other groups during the week.

Dale Abbey

The church is a grade 1 listed, semi-detached church which until the dissolution of the monasteries was the Abbey’s infirmary chapel. Its interior fittings are seventeenth century, including some box pews. It is small and is frequently described as “quaint” and/or “charming”. About 7 years ago it was given a thorough structural overhaul, costing more than £100,000 and paid for by various grants, which its grade 1 listing made relatively easy to obtain. There is no vestry or any other facility there, but recent work has improved the heating of it and it is generally viewed as a lovely place to be.

The churchyard around the church is full, but a field on the edge of the village was acquired many years ago and opened as an extension churchyard and this is still open. It is about 5 or 10 minutes’ walk away from the church.

29 The Gateway Centre is the village’s former Methodist chapel, which was acquired by the PCC around 30 years ago and converted for use as a tearooms and meeting/event space with a large kitchen. A rota of church members from across the benefice open it as a tearoom on Sunday afternoons and it is popular with walkers as well as being used for tea and coffee after the 3pm service at Dale church. It is available for use by church and other groups during the week. It was refurbished about 4 years ago and the kitchen has been refurbished completely in the last few months following a burst pipe which resulted in an insurance claim.

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The historic Hermit’s Wood was gifted to the PCC around 30 years ago. It is an ancient woodland and contains a cave which is a scheduled ancient monument and was the home of the hermit whose holy life inspired the foundation of an Abbey at Dale. It is managed by the PCC.

The old village school is owned by a trust which administers the residual lands of the former Earls Stanhope. It is currently leased to the PCC which has for very many years used it to house a church nursery school. However, due to various changes including financial changes to the business of running the nursery, a decision was reluctantly taken to close the nursery with effect from the end of the Summer term 2018. It is therefore not certain what use will be made of this building in the future, or indeed whether or not the lease of it will be renewed.

31 Stanton by Dale

The church building at Stanton is a grade II* listed 13th century building which includes a vestry and a bell tower with a peal of 8 bells. It has a new Audio Visual system. There is no inside toilet but the church has the use of an outside toilet at the almshouses (not church- related) which adjoin the churchyard, it is accessed from a gate in the churchyard wall. The churchyard is still open.

The church building is in good repair, with the exception of the floor which will need significant repair work in the reasonably near future. Stanton is currently holding a substantial capital sum which should be more or less sufficient to cover this. However another option would be to go further than simply repairing the floor and instead to do a significant re-ordering of Stanton Church in order to provide a kitchen, toilets and creche room as well as replacing the pews with chairs and altering the floor level so as to make the whole church much more accessible to those with disabilities. Initial sketches and overview plans for what this might look like have already been produced by an architect

32 with experience of church re-orderings, but very much on a speculative/initial thoughts basis. This re-ordering would of course cost more than has been set aside for repairs to the floor. It would be a significant project and the PCC has as yet made no decisions about it (not even about whether we want to proceed with it, let alone how to raise the money if we do). The project is “on ice” pending the arrival of our new minister.

There is also a small Church Office, on the path up from the main road to the church and therefore also close to the Rectory.

The Old School Christian Centre is the former village school which was acquired by the PCC about 20 years ago and extended and refurbished about 10 years ago. It is used for many church meetings and functions. It includes a large hall and a smaller hall (with two sets of foldable partition doors between them which can be opened to create almost a single space), plus a large kitchen and a large two storey store-room. There is plenty of parking in the former school yard which surrounds it.

33 School House, a cottage adjoining the Old School Christian Centre, is currently let to a couple who are members of the church who also act as managers of the Centre.

The Old School House Deli-Café, is a single storey building which was built about 15 years ago on the other side of the school yard and which is currently let to tenants who run it as a deli-café. This is a good facility for the village, which has two pubs but no other shops, and generates a small income for the church although the rent is very modest.

Other Resources

Behind the Rectory and the church is the Rectory Field, which is sloping except for a flat area at the top, created a bit over 25 years ago to seat a marquee and which has since then been used for marquees for various church members’ weddings, etc. This field is also used for the village bonfire, on the Saturday closest to 5th November, which the church has for decades organised although recently members of the village have been encouraged to become involved. When not being used by the church, it is let out for horses to graze and so generates a small income which technically belongs to the Rector and has therefore in the past been used as a Rector’s Discretionary Fund for charitable good works.

34 The church owns a variety of useful “bits and pieces” which help us with various church events, including such things as a small marquee, a couple of gas barbecues and even a bouncy castle.

Rectory The house was originally built in around 1750 but has been modernised. On the ground floor there is a good kitchen plus walk-in pantry and utility room, a sizeable dining room, large sitting room and a good sized study with enough space for the Rector to have small meetings in it. Off the hallway is a WC. On the first floor is a bathroom, walk-in airing cupboard and four good sized bedrooms, the main one having an ensuite. There is a further room on the second floor, accessed by a permanent “ladder” from one of the bedrooms. Outside there are four brick sheds of varying sizes, a good sized garage with “apple barn” above it and an outside WC.

The Rectory stands in about an acre of gardens, mainly lawn. The garden has been used a few times each year for Church functions such as the Church Summer Picnic, and strawberries and cream for some of the groups for older people. The PCCs are jointly responsible, via a contractor, for mowing the lawns and the maintenance of the hedges and Virginia creeper.

35 Finances

There are two separate Common Fund assessments (formerly Parish Share), one for Stanton by Dale with Dale Abbey and one for Risley. These have always been paid in full.

The Rector’s working expenses are paid. In 2017, the full year before the vacancy started, they amounted to £2,954.60 which was split equally between the two parishes. So far as we are aware, the Rector claimed all of his working expenses and that is certainly what we would expect our Rector to do, as with most other kinds of employment. In addition, the PCCs jointly pay £600 per year for a contractor to mow the lawns and maintain the hedges and Virginia creeper at the Rectory as we don’t think the Rector should have to pay for that.

The following is a very brief summary of the key figures from our accounts over the past 3 years. Please contact us if you would like copies of the full audited accounts.

Although one parish with a single Common Fund assessment, separate accounts are produced for Stanton and Dale.

36 Stanton by Dale

Item 2017 2016 2015 Total Income £84,867 £81,234 £72,677 (of which Giving/legacies) £64,593 £59,596 £55,001 Common Fund £32,397 £32,807 £32,164 Other Expenses & Tithe £35,516 £39,069 £47,409 Surplus (Deficit) £16,954 £9,358 £(6,896)1 Total Assets £137,190 £119,841 £110,045 (of which fixed assets £84,105) (of which fixed assets £84,105) (of which fixed assets £84,105)

Dale Abbey

Dale does not have its own Common Fund assessment, but aims to contribute to the Stanton accounts a sum equal to at least 1 month’s Common Fund payment. Item 2017 2016 2015 Total Income £14,255 £9,654 £6,874 (of which Giving/legacies) £3,507 £3,513 £2,702 Common Fund £2,611 £1,000 £1,000 Contribution to Stanton Other Expenses & Tithe £7,506 £5,030 £5,844 Surplus (Deficit) £4,138 £3,623 £29 Total Assets £26,435 £22,262) £18,581

1 £14,500 was spent on works to Church buildings this year

37 Risley

Item 2017 2016 2015 Total Income £39,798 £36,891 £43,875 (of which Giving/legacies) £19,309 £23,755 £22,050 Common Fund £22,483 £22,2002 £19,200 Other Expenses & Charity £18,309 £21,348 £23,291 Surplus (Deficit) £(994) deficit £(6,657) deficit £6,384 Total Assets £57,016 £58,010 £64,668 (of which fixed assets £55,900) (of which fixed assets £55,900) (of which fixed assets £55,900)

CHARITABLE GIVING

The following are details of the charitable giving by the Churches last year. We have included this information as it may tell you something about the Churches beyond just the figures. It is an aspiration to draw the charitable giving of the Churches together into a single policy.

Stanton by Dale with Dale Abbey parish: 2017

Our policy is to give a Tithe, ie 10% of monthly Direct Credits and Weekly Collections. We do not give a tithe of payments given to us for specific things (eg Hermit’s Wood) and we do not give a tithe of the annual Tax Credit.

2 £2,000 of this sum was not paid in 2016 but we made it up by a payment in 2017 before the Diocesan contribution year had closed.

38 The specific money given for Sponsored Children is also excluded from the Tithe (ie we do not count it as part of the Tithe, it is paid in addition). We do, though, include the monthly debits to “Compassion” (5 sponsored children) when setting out the amounts given to Charities as below. For our Tithe £4,608 given to:

Support for a Church teenager doing Charity work in UCCF Namibia Teen Challenge Erewash Deanery Synod (for Barnabas Fund) Bible Society Bell Repair Fund Archbishop’s Council Evangelical Alliance (membership donation) Royal British Legion Care For The Family Compassion (for sponsored children’s birthdays & Christian Solidarity Worldwide Christmas) Leprosy Mission Children’s Society CMS Sozein Trust CMJ TearFund Church Housing Trust Care Trust Church Army Barnabas Fund Feba Radio Sponsored Children

Also £1,868 in special collections in Church for:

Children in Distress Samaritan’s Purse (Hurricane support) TearFund (East Africa famine) Compassion (sponsored children) Samaritan’s Purse (WLGYL appeal) Total Donated to Charities: £6,476

39 We also do a regular food collection for the Padley Centre – www.padleygroup.com – a homeless and refugee shelter in .

Risley parish: 2017

The policy has been to tithe, but last year this was not possible and the charitable giving was only £1,000.

Over the past few years Risley’s charitable giving has been

to Compassion, Toybox, Barnabas Fund, Leprosy Mission and the Padley Centre. Risley supports a child through Compassion and another through Toybox.

As at Stanton, there is a monthly food collection for the Padley Centre.

40 The Local Area

Overview The benefice is roughly half way between Derby to the West and to the East, each about 10 miles away. About a mile to the North of Stanton by Dale is the town of and about a mile to the South of Risley is the town of .

Stanton by Dale, Dale Abbey and Risley are adjoining but distinct village communities. Housing is expensive in all three villages and their populations are therefore generally either retired people who have lived there for a long time, or affluent incomers. The number of children and young people in the villages is therefore far less than one would normally expect given the population numbers.

41 Dale Abbey is the smallest and most rural, with the strongest connections to farming. Its residents are generally either retired (these make up a higher than normal part of the population) or work in Nottingham or Derby. Dale is about half the size of Stanton but it is difficult to get an accurate population figure as the civil parish, on which the census figures are based, is huge and includes part of , an outlying part of Ilkeston.

Stanton by Dale is larger, based on the 2011 census the population is 505. Like Dale Abbey it is surrounded by countryside but “feels” less rural. Most of its residents work in Nottingham or Derby.

Risley is the largest village. Based on the 2011 census its population is 711. Its population works mainly in Nottingham or Derby. One end of Risley village blends into which, with very minor gaps, is more or less one of Nottingham’s outermost suburbs.

42 There are good road connections to Ilkeston, Long Eaton, Nottingham and Derby. Indeed Junction 25 of the M1 is in a corner of Risley parish. Risley is well connected by buses. Stanton has a more limited bus service and Dale Abbey has no buses passing through the village (but a 10 minute walk up a fairly steep road with no pavements reaches a bigger road where buses are available).

Risley has no shops but does have a pub and a hotel with a restaurant. Stanton has two pubs and the deli-café. Dale Abbey has a pub and two tea rooms (in addition to the Gateway). Ilkeston and Long Eaton have a variety of large supermarkets and other shops. Nottingham and Derby are both very good shopping centres and also have very good theatres, restaurants, concert venues, etc (they also have football teams, the relative merits of which are occasionally a matter of debate between different members of the congregation). The countryside in and around the benefice is very pretty and interlaced with many footpaths, bridleways and cycle paths. For more adventurous walking the Peak District is within easy reach. There are cricket clubs in both Stanton and Risley and two golf clubs in the benefice. There are canals nearby and the Sawley marina, one of the biggest in the country, is a few minutes away.

43 Deanery For many years the benefice was part of Erewash Deanery but, following a diocesan reorganisation of deaneries, since April 1st 2018 the benefice has become part of a new and larger South East Derbyshire Deanery, which essentially comprises the former Erewash Deanery and Heanor Deanery and part of the former Alfreton Deanery. Our benefice’s representation and attendance at Deanery Synod meetings had dwindled to sometimes a single member (who was also the Deanery Secretary) from Stanton and two from Risley, but following the reorganisation and creation of the new Deanery, we are trying to have a greater presence at Deanery Synod and hope to engage more with it. The Deanery has asked us to include the following statement.

“The south-east Deanery is situated along the M1 corridor. In October 2016 we adopted a set of priorities as a deanery following consultation, that identified five mission areas for action that focussed on: i: Children and young people; ii: Community and social outreach; iii: Working with the elderly; iv: Working with the ‘middle years’ (18 - 60- year olds) v: Spirituality and discipleship. All synod meetings have focused on one of those strands with additional events held to develop ideas, promote good practice and share what is working well. We have a regular deanery newsletter sharing news and encouragement. We benefit from a part time administrator who has proved useful in both deanery work and supporting local parishes with administrative tasks. The richness of diverse churchmanship in the deanery produces mutual learning, respect and good relationships across church traditions, celebrating what we share rather than focusing on differences. Chapter meets regularly and is a supportive environment of learning and encouragement. There is desire in the deanery for growth and real examples of stepping out beyond the traditional church model which we are all learning from. It is hoped that the new incumbent will play a full part in deanery life.”

44 Local Schools

Risley Lower Grammar Church of England Primary School is the only school actually in the benefice and is located very close to Risley church - www.risley.derbyshire.sch.uk

Friesland School, a Foundation Academy with a sixth form, is virtually in Risley although technically it adjoins Risley parish (being the other side of the road which forms the parish boundary) - www.frieslandschool.com

Many children of church members have in the past attended the Nottingham Bluecoat Academy, a Church of England school in Nottingham, again with a sixth form - www.bluecoatwollaton.co.uk and www.bluecoataspley.co.uk

There are also several outstanding independent schools nearby, including Nottingham High School, Trent College, School, Nottingham Girls’ High School, Derby High School, Derby Grammar School, Loughborough High School and Loughborough Grammar School.

45 Contacts Website: www.srdachurches.org

If you would like any further information from us, or to apply to be our new minister, please contact the following.

Parish Representative – main contact Roger Jones 01332 678 290 [email protected] 2 Holyhead Drive, Oakwood, Derby, DE21 2TD

Parish Representative – if main contact is not available Elaine Warren 07949 888890 [email protected]

5, Manor Court, Breaston, Derbyshire, DE72 3AW

46 Policies The following policies are available on request from the Church Office: • Safeguarding Policy • GDPR Policy • Accounts policy for Stanton

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