Parish Profile

Index

Introduction 1

Meet The Team at St Mary’s 2

Services at St Mary’s 3

Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals 4

Life at St Mary’s 5 - 10

Children & Families’ Ministry 11 - 12

Youth Ministry, Men’s Ministry & Women’s Ministry 13

The Beacon Project 14-15

Where we are 16-17

Links with Local Churches 18

Your Call? 19

Welcome to St Mary’s Church, Ferndown

Introduction

This profile is written to help give you a flavour of St Mary’s Church Ferndown. St Mary’s vision as a church is “Transformation through Jesus” and more will be said about that later. As a church we believe that our highest calling is to worship God and that a desire flows from this to grow up to spiritual maturity and also to reach out with the love of Christ in practical ways.

The church is evangelical and charismatic in its ethos and we play a full part in Deanery and Diocesan life.

The Covid-19 pandemic has given us the unique opportunity to start with a clean slate, building on the good foundations that have already been laid. This is an especially exciting time to be part of Children and Families Ministry at St Mary’s.

We are praying God will speak clearly to you as you read on.

- 1 - Meet The Team at St Mary’s

Team Rector Team Vicar Rev Sarah Pix Rev. Patches Chabala

Worship & Youth Pastor Operations Manager Cafe Manager Mike Orman Tracey Nicholls Paul Craddock

St Mary’s PCC Rev. Sarah Pix (Stipendiary Clergy) Sarah joined our clergy team in 2009 and became our Team Rector in February 2015. She spent three years in Britwell, just West of Slough, completing her curacy. Before ordination Sarah worked as a botanist at Kew Gardens. Sarah is married to Christopher and they have two daughters, Annabella and Ariana. She loves spending time with her family, going for walks, growing things, baking and listening to different types of music from classical to hip hop. Sarah is passionate about people discovering the love of God through Jesus and growing in their relationship with Him.

Rev. Patches Chabala (Stipendiary Clergy) Patches joined our clergy team in 2015 following the completion of his curacy in Chester. Patches and his wife, Zenaida, originally come from Zambia but felt called by God to serve Him in the UK. Patches enjoys spending time with his wife and daughters, Twalumba and Temwani, sports and has a heart for spreading the Gospel message in every aspect of ministry.

Karen Scarfe (Church Warden) Steve Deall (Church Warden) Rob Broadley (Treasurer) Rachel Jobbins (Secretary) VACANCY (Children’s Ministry) Mike Orman (Worship) Gary Tyler (Outreach) Martin Belbin (Property) Robbie-Anne Loader (Youth) Derek White (Mission & Deanery Synod) Tony Thornton (Community Links) Derek Howshall (Deanery & Diocesan Synods)

Others Leaders

Retired Clergy: Rev. Canon Barry Lomax Administration Team: Liz Howard (P/T) and Sandy King (P/T) Pastoral Care: Lynne Rees

- 2 - Services at St Mary’s

SUNDAYS

9am (in Church) - A liturgical Common Worship service with music on the organ or piano. Between 80 to 100 attend this service on a regular basis. Holy Communion is celebrated at this service on the 2nd, 4th and 5th Sundays each month. In order to ensure continuity of teaching across our morning congregations the same speaker preaches at this service and at the 10.45am service.

9am Breakfast Church (in Hall) - This congregation was launched in October 2013 with the aim of attracting people on the fringe to “try church”, and particularly those with younger children, which it has done. We regularly have a congregation of 60-80 (half of whom are children). We enjoy a continental breakfast together before the 45 minute service which includes worship and a short talk. We aim to make it truly all-age with all ages serving and to provide ways to help everyone encounter God.

10am - 10.40am - Coffee-time in the Beacon Cafe This is a great opportunity for members of all the morning congregations to fellowship together.

10.45am - A more lively service, structured but in an informal and seeker-friendly way, and with a worship band leading sung worship. Thanksgivings and Baptisms tend to take place during this service and at Breakfast Church. Each week approx. 120 adults attend with approx 20 children & young people. There is a group for children up to 13 years of age and a self-help crèche. Children are admitted to Communion after baptism with parental commitment and support. Holy Communion is celebrated on the 1st Sunday of each month. Prayer Ministry is available every week.

6.30pm “Hungry” - This is our informal evening service held in the Beacon Cafe, which started at the end of January 2009 and re- launched in a revised format in January 2014. This is a cafe-style service, starting with refreshments and including shorter blocks of worship. This service provides scope for in-depth teaching.

THURSDAYS 10.00am Holy Communion (in church) Probably our most formal service and the only one where clergy robe. We have a regu- lar congregation of approximately 40. Coffee is served in the Church Lounge afterwards. We also hold monthly services in our local nursing and care homes - Amberwood, Clarence House, St Mary’s Mews, Homelands House and Cherrett Court.

- 3 - Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals

Thanksgivings / Baptisms / Renewal of Baptism Vows / Confirmation These services are all incorporated into our main church services as the whole church family like to celebrate together. For infants we invite the parents to attend a Baptism Preparation Course so that they are able to get to know us and vice verse before committing to bringing up their child as part of the church family. We also hold full immersion baptisms in the Hall, especially at Easter. We also encourage those who feel called to reaffirm their faith to consider going forward for confirmation. The number of services we have each year varies.

Weddings and Renewal of Vows We are always happy to welcome wedding couples who are resident or have a qualifying connection with the parish. Numbers vary but in 2019 we had 15 weddings.

We hold a Marriage Preparation Day each February for our couples to attend. Over recent years we have seen an increase in the number of couples wishing to renew their weddings vows, often on the occasion of an anniversary.

Funerals and Memorial Services It is our privilege to come alongside people with the love of Christ during times of grief. Our clergy hold services in church, at the crematoriums in Poole & Bournemouth and local burial grounds. In 2019 thirty funerals/memorial services were taken by our clergy. We also hold an annual “Service of Light” for those who have been bereaved and our Bereavement Team offer ongoing pastoral care if required.

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Life at St Mary’s

At St Mary’s there is an emphasis on good quality preaching, authentic worship, and desire to share the Good News of Jesus in word and action with those who haven’t yet met with Him. We want everyone who comes through our doors to experience a warm welcome and the sense of being part of a family, growing in love - whatever their background, gender, race or sexual orientation. Our Sunday teaching follows a sermon series which links in with small group Bible studies. Recent sermon series have included: “Hope In Exile, “Equipped” and “Salt & Light”

We believe in and constantly strive to develop “every member ministry”, a greater love for and support of each other and a wide range of outreach activities.

We are open to the renewing power of the Holy Spirit and are seeking to encourage the use of spiritual gifts.

Unity is important in our PCC Leadership. We do not vote, but wait until there is a common mind on issues before progressing. This has brought tremendous spiritual strength and unity of purpose to the church and we seek a team member who is comfortable working in such an environment of mutual trust, transparency and accountability. Each member of the PCC heads up an area of ministry (see p. 3)

We are blessed with lots of older members and many families and young children.

Due to the demographics of the parish and cost of housing, it is harder to find single 18-30 year olds, but we are seeking to reach out to that age range more effectively.

Everything we do at St Mary’s is linked in with our vision as a Church to “Transform Ferndown with Jesus” by

 Being Rooted in Jesus  Growing up to Maturity in Jesus  Reaching Out with Jesus (with Welcome & Witness)

- 5 -  Being Rooted in Jesus

We seek to encourage and enable every member of our church family to grow in their faith by putting down strong roots in Jesus by being part of a Sunday or midweek congregation where there is:

 Biblical Teaching and Preaching - God’s Word is central to all our services and activities.  Fellowship (togetherness with other Christians) - There are refreshments served as part of all our Sunday and mid-week services to enable the church family to enjoy fellowship together. We also encourage small group membership where deeper friendships can be developed.  Worship / Holy Communion - We share Communion on a weekly basis and worship in a variety of styles. The appointment of Mike Orman as Worship Pastor has helped us to find greater freedom in worship.  Prayer - Prayer is central to our church-life and all members are encouraged to pray daily and we hold daily prayer gatherings at the church. We have a prayer ministry team who are available after our morning and evening services. We also hold a monthly evening prayer

gathering in church.

 Growing up to Maturity in Jesus We seek to nurture growth in our faith by every church member:

 Being discipled through courses and mentoring. In early 2020 (before the lockdown) we ran The Bible Course with over 150 church members involved. In 2016 we held a Benefice Weekend Away, at Wokefield Park in Reading. A number of St Mary’s members also attend New Wine Summer Conferences and Spring Harvest.  Belonging to a small group to develop accountability, mutual learning & teaching and pastoral care - small groups are vital for discipleship. We currently have 23 small groups which meet on weekdays or evenings throughout the parish on a weekly or fortnightly basis.

- 6 -  Growing up to Maturity in Jesus (continued) We seek to nurture growth in our faith by every church member:  Developing a generous heart to serve God with time, talents and money (at home, at work, in the community and in church ministries). We keenly promote “Every Member Ministry” and are looking into ways to encourage members to use their gifts to help grow God’s Kingdom.  Raising up new Spirit-empowered leaders. We encourage those with leadership gifts to discern where God is calling them to serve in His church and support them with prayer and training.

 Reaching out with Jesus (with Welcome & Witness) We seek to reach out with Jesus into our community and world by:  Every church member playing their part in making St Mary’s a special place of belonging and welcome. We hold regular Newcomers’ Events and a 4-week Connect Course to help new church members to settle in. People usually move on to join small groups after Connect.  Supporting the development of inspirational buildings that aid our mission and ministry in the parish. 2015 saw the construction of The Beacon Project (see pages 12-13) including a cafe and new rooms with great facilities for church and community use to help us shine the light of Christ in Ferndown.  Participating in fruitful outreach strategies in the parish that lead to conversion and baptism. We want every member to be equipped to shine with the light and love of Jesus wherever they go. We run The Alpha Course every year and hold various events to encourage people to “Try Church” including outreach events and services.  Getting involved with wider mission locally For local people seeking friendship and hospitality we hold “Open Doors” a weekly informal service followed by a soup lunch.

We also host “The Lighthouse Club” which is a social club for the elderly on the second Saturday of each month.

St Mary’s also donates food for those in need on a local housing estate via our “Blessing Bins”.

Ferndown Christmas Beacon Project The Lighthouse Club Lights Event Opening Celebration Volunteer Team

- 7 - Charity Abseil Team Community Day Prayers in the Precinct

 Reaching out with Jesus (with Welcome & Witness)

 Getting involved with wider mission locally (continued)

St Mary’s also enjoys positive relationships with the local Town Council and Royal British Legion. The annual Ferndown Civic Service and Remembrance Sunday services are held at St Mary’s.

In the summer of 2019 we held a Community Day which attracted hundreds of people from across Ferndown. We provided hog roast, ice creams, refreshments, entertainment and stalls all completely free of charge to bless the community.

 Getting involved with mission nationally & globally

We have a dedicated Mission Team who oversee our financial support of national and global missions and charities. We have links with Stephen Bell in Croatia via ECM and close links with St Mary’s church members, Simon & Sue Morgan, who are on full time mission in Uganda with Mission Direct and Mission4water. We also support The Bible Society, Gina Forbes on mission in Romania and CPAS. We give 10% of our voluntary income to support these five organizations. Some church members are also involved with Mission Direct and have recently gone on mission trips to Uganda, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe.

St Mary’s, Ferndown is registered as a Fair Trade Parish and we try to use as many Fair Trade products as possible both in the Beacon Café and as part of our church hospitality.

A “Love Ferndown” Church members on Church member on Cream Tea mission in Uganda mission in Sierra Leone

- 8 - Children & Families Ministry

Previously, we employed a Children’s & Families Pastor and an Under 5s Pastor, both on a part time basis. However, over the course of the last 12 months, both of our team members felt that God was calling them to new pastures so this was a unique opportunity for us to review our ministry to children and families. We have therefore decided to recruit a full-time Children’s & Families Pastor to join our team at this exciting time. Our children’s ministry includes groups and activities for children aged 0-13 (Sundays and weekdays).

Children's Groups on Sundays at 10.45am Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, these were our two regular Sunday groups. SPARKLERS (Crèche 0-3 years): This self-help crèche is available in the Beacon Cafe where the service is relayed via an AV link. Parents are able to take their children to the crèche at any time in the services. HEART (for children aged 3 to 13): We meet every Sunday at 10.45am to learn about Jesus through games, stories, chatting, craft and prayer. Within this group we will have an age appropriate message. This group is primarily for children and young people aged 3 - 13, however, older teenagers are very welcome. We are conscious that the number of children attending these groups has declined over recent years and that differentiation between age groups needs to be addressed. We are keen to work with our new Children & Families Pastor to review and develop provision of Children’s Groups on Sundays.

Weekday Children’s Groups SPARKLES - This is a Christian fun-morning for pre-school children and their par- ents/carers. We have lots of fun with crafts, music and other activities and refresh- ments are provided. Sparkles met from 9.15am - 10.45am in the Hall on the third Monday of each month. J.A.M (JESUS AND ME) TODDLERS’ GROUP - We used to meet in the Church Hall on Tuesday afternoons during term-time, from 1.30pm until 3pm. There are plenty of toys for the children to play with plus teas, coffees and biscuits for mums, dads and carers and squash and biscuits for the children. There is a musical slot in each session and an age-appropriate Bible story.

- 9 - Weekday Children’s Groups Continued G-FORCE - This is our very popular after school children’s club which was set up to reach out to children in our community. Aimed at children in school years 4,5 and 6, this youth club includes games, music, a short teaching slot and tuck shop.

Special Services and Activities As a church we firmly believe that children are of the church “NOW” and not just of the future. As well as providing regular groups we also encourage children to be actively involved in our special services at Easter, Harvest, Summer and Christmas. We also organise activities for families as part of our seasonal celebrations and a very popular “Light Fantastic Party” as an alternative at Halloween. In recent years we have also run the “Parenting For Faith” course and are keen to develop our support of parents in their own faith and to equip them to disciple their children.

Links with Schools We have built very positive relationships with four local schools. We welcome chil- dren from Ferndown First School for their festive assemblies at Easter, Summer and Christmas. We also hold assemblies at our local schools and are occasionally involved with R.E lessons, hosting school group visits to the church.

Digital Engagement & Connection during Covid-19 During the pandemic we established our Families Facebook Page and communica- tion with families via ChurchSuite. This is something we are keen to develop as an outreach and ministry tool for families. As we have not been able to meet for ser- vices during the lockdowns we have held “Reconnect” family services via Zoom and when the weather permitted, for open-air services.

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Youth Ministry

At present we have two groups for young people.

3:16 is a youth group for young people in school years 7 - 13 and meets on Thursday evenings, 7.15pm - 8.30pm. There is a chill-out space in The

Beacon Café and games and activities in the Hall. This group is overseen by our Youth & Worship Pastor, Mike Orman.

SOUL is our youth group for 14-18 year olds. This group meets after our Sunday evening service (“Hungry”) each week in the Beacon Room, led by Mike Orman and his team.

Over a number of years SOUL have attended Soul Survivor, a summer Christian youth festival, which has always been a fun and faith-building experience.

Youth Alpha has been held a number of times. Individuals from SOUL have been inspired and encouraged by their experiences to embark on mission trips and youth ministry in other parts of the country and abroad.

Schools Work - We have excellent links with Ferndown Middle School and want to develop relationships with the Upper School as well in the future. We host seasonal services for Ferndown First School and Christmas concerts for the middle and upper schools.

Men’s and Women’s Ministry

We hold bi-monthly Men’s Breakfasts with guest speakers, which provide a great opportunity for church men to bring non-Christian friends to St Mary’s. We have held occasional women’s events but do not have anyone to coordinate this at present.

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The Beacon Project

Looking back, it is easy to see that the history of St Mary’s is one of constant growth in the church family and the church buildings. In each decade there have been building works, or plans for such works, to make sure we have spaces for worship, and the right facilities and atmosphere for other activities and ministries.

Laying of the foundation St Mary’s in 1934 stone in 1933

St Mary’s in the 1970’s Aerial view of St Mary’s in 2009 with hall complex

Like St Mary’s church members who have gone before us we want to grow God’s Kingdom by developing our relationship with God, and growing our church buildings to meet the changing needs of the town and nearby areas. The vision of The Beacon Project was to create a place of belonging in the heart of Ferndown and to shine the light of Christ in our community. Over the course of 15 years the plans evolved and in 2015 The official opening of the vision became a physical reality. The Beacon Centre on 3rd October 2015

The Beacon Project saw the extension of our hall building forwards to create a light, spacious and welcoming foyer, an additional multipurpose side-room, an office suite and a store room. This area then flows through to the Beacon Cafe, a light and comfortable space to be used as a commercial community cafe during the week and as a venue for coffee time on Sundays. The Beacon Centre was officially opened on Sunday 3rd October 2015 by The Right Rev. Nicholas Holtham (Bishop of Salisbury) and the Beacon Cafe opening followed on Monday 7th December.

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The Beacon Project

Our new facilities have proved very popular and we are now accommodating more community and commercial bookings and seeing a high foot-fall in The Beacon Cafe. The Cafe is managed by Paul Craddock (a full time member of staff) and it is run day-to-day by an amazing team of over 60 church volunteers. The Cafe is open Monday - Friday from 8.30am - 4pm serving a range of hot and cold drinks, snacks and light lunches - all in the name of Jesus!

Our cafe volunteers pray before their shifts and are sensitive to the needs of those who come through our doors - some just want a cup of coffee but others need someone friendly to talk to and some request prayer. We have seen a number of “God-incidences” already and we know that there is much more to come!

The Cafe space also provides a wonderful setting for smaller church gatherings and courses - so far we have held The Alpha Course, Marriage Preparation Days, Men’s Breakfasts and Baptism Preparation Sessions in the Café and there is plenty of scope for more.

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Where we are

Ferndown is well positioned a few miles from the end of the M27, near to the A31 trunk road, on the edge of the New Forest. It is the largest settlement in the East Dorset District, with a population of about 22,000. It is largely a modern town, taking its prosperity from neighbouring Bournemouth and Poole (6-7 miles away) as well as its own thriving industry centred around the Ferndown Industrial Estate. Ferndown is also close to the Bournemouth International Airport, located at Hurn. St Mary’s comes under the Wimborne Deanery, in the Diocese of Salisbury.

Wimborne Minster Salisbury Cathedral

- 14 - All about Ferndown

Shopping and Leisure: Ferndown has a modern shopping complex, and has two large supermarkets (Tesco and Sainsburys). Nearby market town Wimborne has a Waitrose and a Co-Op. Both Ferndown and Wimborne have a number of small shops, banks, building societies, pubs, restaurants and takeaways.

Penny’s Walk (shopping precinct) Victoria Road, Ferndown

King George’s Playing Just along the road from St Mary’s church is Fields and Park King George’s Playing Fields (including children’s playground, skate park and tennis courts) and a leisure centre with swimming pool, squash courts and Kinetica gym.

Ferndown Leisure Centre

The Barrington Centre The town also has a library, a day centre for the elderly, and a thriving community centre called the Barrington Centre, which also includes a theatre. The Town Council offices are also based here. One of the largest employers is the Dorset Health Authority, which has its headquarters in the town.

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Poor Common Longham Lakes Ferndown is a haven for wildlife, with many heathlands and wooded areas dotted around the town. Longham Lakes is ideal for wildlife and bird spotting as well as angling.

The Dudsbury Golf Club There is also a Championship Golf Club in Ferndown and another in the Benefice with a hotel, spa and restaurant which is popular for weddings.

Moors Valley and Avon Heath Country Parks

We are only 5 miles from both Moors Valley and Avon Heath Country Parks …

On the cliff tops at Studland … as well as being just 7 miles from the Bournemouth & Poole beaches beautiful Bournemouth and Poole beaches and Purbeck coastline and within easy reach of The New Forest.

- 16 - Demographics: Ferndown’s Population - Percentage Age Range ethnicity is 95.5% white, with 82.5% From 2011 census of housing being owner occupied Age Ferndown Dorset UK (compared to 76.3% in Dorset). (%) (%) (%) According to the 2011 Census 0 -14 12.4 15 24.1 statistics, over 66.9% of Ferndown residents consider themselves to be 15-19 4.8 5.8 6.2 Christian. (Dorset average is 20 -29 7.6 8.8 13.6 66.8%; national average is 59.4%). 30-39 7.6 9.3 13.1 23.2% stated ‘no religion’. 40-49 12.1 13.8 14.5 Unemployment is 1.5% in Ferndown (above the county average of 1%). 50-59 12.8 13.7 12.3 The 4 largest areas of employment 60 - 69 16.3 15.2 11.0 in Ferndown are distribution, 70 - 84 19.8 14.5 9.5 accommodation & food (31%), production (23%), public admin, 85+ 6.5 4.0 2.3 education & health (18%) and Ferndown has a larger proportion of finance, ICT & professional services retired people than the Dorset average (12%).

Schools: There are 5 schools in the Benefice: Ferndown First, Ferndown Middle, Ferndown Upper and Parley First, the first 3 being located on the same road as St Mary’s. Hampreston Church of England First School is located in Hampreston Village and there are strong links between the church and school with many church members being parents of the children and/or serving as school governors.

Parley First School Ferndown First School Hampreston CofE School

Ferndown Middle School Ferndown Upper School

- 17 - Links with Local Churches

We enjoy very positive links with all of our fellow churches in and around Ferndown. St Mary’s has particularly strong links with Ferndown United Church, joining together for outreach events in the summer for Ferndown Fete on the Fields and at Christmas for the Ferndown Christmas Lights Switch On event.

United Church, Ferndown (United Reformed/Baptist) All Saints & St Mark’s West Parley (CofE)

Hope Church Ferndown, (Moordown Baptist Church Plant) Meets at The Heatherlands Centre and at Turbary Church. Volunteers from St Mary’s and United Church Ferndown taking part in “Love Ferndown”

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YOUR CALL?

Thank you for reading this profile. We are praying that God will lead you as you seek his will for your future ministry.

If you would like any further information please contact:

Rev. Sarah Pix (Rector) 01202 890798 Email: [email protected]

St Mary’s Church Office Tel. 01202 897087 email: [email protected]

or see our website for more information stmarys-ferndown.uk

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