Profile for:

The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, ,

and

St , , Buckinghamshire

The Schorne Team of

House for Duty Team Minister

The Schorne Team of Parishes is seeking a House for Duty Team Minister based in North Marston to work flexibly with colleagues in the Team. The successful candidate will be a team player who is able to demonstrate a good understanding of the particular needs and nuances of rural communities. It is expected that the new Team Minister will work for the equivalent of two days a week plus Sundays and will have pastoral responsibility for the two parishes of North Marston and Granborough. The new Team Minister will enjoy being a member of a highly supportive lay and clergy team.

PARISH PROFILE FOR North Marston and Granborough

1. Team overview 2. About us 3. Our vision 4. Our needs 5. Our communities in more detail 6. Services 7. The vicarage 8. Schorne team of parishes 9. The Diocese of

1 Parishes Overview

Each Church is seeking to build God’s Kingdom by engaging with and reaching out into the communities in which we live. The two parishes currently have worshipping congregations totalling around 80.

Our two parishes are part of the Schorne Team (http://www.schorneteam.c o.uk), which embraces some 14 villages and hamlets in the beautiful rolling countryside of the Vale of .

Although distinctly rural, the area is centrally placed for access by road to Oxford, Milton Keynes and beyond. There is a good train service to from Aylesbury.

2 Our new Team Minister will reside in a beautiful, modern, 4 bedroomed vicarage in North Marston, which is near to St Mary’s Church (http://www.northmarstonchurch.com ).

Local schools have excellent reputations. There is a CofE Primary School in North Marston, which serves both North Marston and Granborough, and a Combined school in Whitchurch. Buckinghamshire operates a selective secondary system. The Church of Secondary School at (http://www.waddesdonschool.com ) is rated outstanding by Ofsted.

The combined village populations of around 1050 comprise mostly professional people who may be retired, commute to work, work from home or are employed in local farming. Unemployment is not a significant issue but support is offered to those in difficulty by a number of relatively small local trusts. The villages have a greater than average population of young families and have thriving activities, such as Sunday schools, youth clubs and mother and baby clubs, all of which are led or supported by the church. There are activities for older people in the two parishes. There is a strong sense of local community in the two villages, with each having its own character and identity.

2 How We See Our Future

Our two parishes have a commitment to growth and offer huge potential – there is a real excitement about the next steps of our spiritual journey. We welcome constructive change. There is a strong desire to work collaboratively and not to accept the status quo.

The outgoing incumbent was the parishes’ first Methodist minister. The LEP applies at present to the parish of North Marston only and establishing our Anglican/Methodist Ecumenical Partnership has presented legislative challenges, some of which may persist.

In particular:  We enjoy strong lay leadership and need to grow more leaders to help turn our vision into reality.  There is a full youth work programme ministering to over 70 children and young people in the two parishes.  We also offer good pastoral care and look for guidance and leadership to develop this ministry.

In addition we offer:  An excellent quality of life in rural Buckinghamshire.  Two pro-active congregations, both with highly supportive Churchwardens, waiting to welcome, support and work alongside you.  Clergy colleagues who enjoy working together and who are able to offer a variety of expertise.

3 3 Our vision

We recognise that the two parishes are not the same. We have, however, enjoyed talking and praying together about what our shared vision might be.  Both congregations want to be outward looking – constantly seeking ways in which we can serve God by better serving our communities. Please see individual parish profiles on pages 5-8 below.  Of course we would like to grow but not just in numbers. We want to grow also in spiritual maturity, bringing all into a closer relationship with God.  We are looking for more confident lay leadership and recognise that this will require more commitment from the congregations and training and support from the clergy across the Team.  North Marston wants to further develop our Ecumenical Partnership between the Anglican and Methodist Churches.

4 The Person We Seek

To achieve our vision our new Team Minister will need to:

 Be a team player.  Have the potential to empower our congregations to implement constructive change to promote spirituality within our churches and villages through discipleship, teaching, prayer and pro-active involvement in the promotion of God’s Mission in our communities.  Have leadership and management skills.  Be able to lead and further develop existing pastoral care patterns to offer support in the community.  Be prepared to work with teaching staff to promote religious education in North Marston’s CofE Primary School.  Understand the nuances of rural life.  Own a car and a current driving licence.

4 5 Our communities in more detail

North Marston:

Church of the Assumption of The Blessed Virgin Mary (St. Mary’s):

St. Mary’s Church is an ancient monument, which is deeply treasured and supported by the village population. The Church Community prides itself on pro-actively developing the Mission of the Church, in order to promote spirituality and Godliness in our village.

The earliest parts of the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary date from around 1150. The Grade 1 listed building owes much of its colourful history to John Schorne who was Rector from 1282–1314. He is alleged to have worked miracles both in the Church and at the Holy Well. This later led to St Mary’s being the third most popular site for pilgrims to visit after Canterbury Cathedral and Walsingham Abbey. John Camden Neild, a local landowner, left his estate to Queen Victoria, with which she purchased Balmoral Castle. In return, the Queen restored the chancel of St Mary’s in 1854 and donated the stained glass window and reredos in his memory.

St Mary’s Church is currently in an excellent state of repair and the requirements of the most recent (2015) Quinquennial Inspection have been completed. In addition, within the last five years, we have installed a working kitchen in the Vestry to facilitate coffee after services, we have completed extensive external masonry repairs, replaced a major oak beam in the nave roof, repaired the lead roof linings above the South Door and reconstructed an internal South Door arch which had begun to subside. This entire recent and ongoing Church husbandry has not gone un-noticed in the village community at large; the Church is now recognized as one of, if not the principle organisation in the village in terms of outreach.

The Ecumenical Church Council (ECC), historically chaired and led by the Team Minister, has recently taken the lead on a major restoration project of the Methodist Church, which had been closed for services since the formation of the LEP, had been neglected and was deteriorating badly. The renovated building, the “Wesley Centre” (http://wesleycentre.org ), is now a

5 combined centre for satellite services from St Mary’s Church, a heritage centre for the very active Village History Club and a prime venue for village activities to extend the mission of the Church, such as Café Church, Bible Study groups, “Wesley Flics”, weekly coffee mornings, monthly lunches and private hire occasions. The cost of this renovation exceeded £200K and, in addition to procuring multiple loans and grants, it was necessary for the ECC to take out a significant loan. At the time of writing, the total owed amounted to approximately £25K. The ECC is confident that this loan will be paid off certainly within the agreed period of 10 years but hopefully much sooner than that. The North Marston congregation is very active with multiple fund-raising activities to service this loan and its associated interest payments. However, the Church is on a stable financial footing, fulfils its Parish Share, Methodist Circuit Assessment and Schorne Team obligations and other running expenses, as well as making regular donations to local and wider charities and to the local Food Bank. There are 57 people on the electoral roll with an average congregation of 40.

Weekly services are routinely conducted flexibly in forms that reflect the Anglican or Methodist traditions and licences have been issued to permit Anglican or Methodist weddings in St Mary’s. Bible Study Groups flourish during Lent and Advent. Highlights of the Church Calendar are a Church Fete, a Harvest Festival Bring & Share Lunch, a Remembrance Day Service at the Village Hall, a ‘Living Nativity’ play conducted around the village and a very well-attended Christmas Eve Carol Service.

The village has a strong sense of community and an active Parish Council. We have a shared North Marston and Granborough Community Sports Field, trim track and wildlife education facility that is well used as the venue for village cricket and football matches, as well as “Forest School” for the local school and an active Scout Group. We have a village shop, a local pub, The Pilgrim, and a village hall, both of which support many activities. See our local village site http://northmarston.org which gives a comprehensive insight into North Marston village life and links to other village sites.

The voluntary controlled North Marston C of E Primary School has close ties with the Church and holds ad hoc assemblies and festival services in the Church. Further information is available at http://www.northmarstonprimary.co.uk The outgoing incumbent has conducted monthly assemblies and been a governor for the school. The new minister will be ex officio a member of a local trust – Poors Piece and Clocklands – and the present incumbent has acted as its Chair in recent years.

6 Granborough:

St John the Baptist Church:

Our Mission Statement is: 'A worshipping Church, welcoming everyone into the Lord's family; proclaiming the Gospel and serving the community’

Granborough Church is situated in the heart of the village on a hill at the crossroads opposite the Village Hall. The building dates in part from the 14th century and presently we are repairing the masonry on the tower; we have a ringing platform with a kitchen beneath and an external WC and store. We have recently redecorated the inside of the church and have the reputation of being one of the warmest Churches in the team in the winter months with our coke fired stoves! A ramp inside the church enables wheelchair access and the churchyard is still open for burials, with space for the foreseeable future. We would like, in the not too distant future, to replace our portable PA and install a permanent sound system incorporating a loop.

As a Church our passionate wish is to be empowered to see growth and Bishop Steven’s emerging vision for the Church to be more Christ-like by being Contemplative, Compassionate and Courageous fits well. We are seeking ways to engage compassionately with the village and play a more effective and courageous role in our community. We very much want to see the church at the heart of the village spiritually as well as geographically.

We hold 11.00am Services every Sunday, which include refreshments afterwards, and the occasional Cafe Church across the road in the Village Hall.

Our organized youth work (Junior and Senior Crusaders) takes place on a Thursday evening with around 30 children in total. Little Angels meets fortnightly on a Wednesday morning.

In addition we have an adult music group who support our Sunday worship. Junior and adult music groups have joined to become ‘Saintly Fizz’ and have been instrumental in drawing

7 church and wider community together through concerts and musical productions (most recent being this summer’s 'Oliver') and our Christmas Nativity Service.

There is a House Group meeting fortnightly, a weekly Coffee Morning for older members and a range of other inter village activities in which church people take a leading role, including 1st Granborough Brownies, Beavers, Cubs and Scouts.

We have an annual Garden Party held at various venues around the village, a monthly newsletter that is delivered free of charge to every home and the church donates to the local food bank. We actively support various charities throughout the year from our offertory at Harvest Festival and Rogation services, Carol singing around the village and our Village Christmas Card. The PCC has a programme of planned charitable giving and we meet our Parish Share and other Team expenses in full.

Our village has a population of approximately 460 and a very strong sense of local community in which the Church plays an active part.

Granborough is very friendly and there are many clubs and activities held regularly in the Village Hall, including Junior and Senior Crusaders, Coffee Mornings, Art Club, Mother and Toddlers, Ladies’ and Senior Citizens’ Groups.

The village also organises a wide range of activities including the Village Hall Fete, Plant Sale, Annual Produce and Handicraft Show and Christmas Fair along with Quiz nights and themed discos. Villagers hold an Annual Charter Fayre centred around The Crown, our gastro pub which also hosts a monthly lunch club, set up by Voluntary Services, and regular Wine Tastings.

The village enjoys a well-equipped play area for our young people. The present incumbent has chaired the Village Hall Committee, as is written into their constitution, and the expectation therefore is that the new Minister will do the same.

8 6 Services

Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 North Marston 10.00 9.30 9.30 9.30 9.30 Family Family Family Holy Family Service Communion Service Communion Communion (Lay led)

Granborough 11.00 11.00 11.00 11.00 11.00 Family Family Holy Family Family Communion Service Communion Service Service

Recent Attendance numbers (Figures in brackets show the numbers of children attending):

4 June 11 June 18 June 25 June 2 July

North Marston 10.00 09:30 09:30 09:30 10.00 Electoral Roll 57 Family Holy Family Family Family Service Communion Service Communion Service 55 (23) 42 (10) 21 (3) 35 (10) (Lay led) 60 (22)

Granborough 11.00 Family 11.00 Family 11.00 Holy 11.00 Family 11.00 Family Electoral Roll 61 Communion Service Communion Service Service

37 (5) 38(10) 35(5) 31(3) 32(2)

9 7 The Vicarage The vicarage in North Marston is a spacious, detached family home overlooking an area of outstanding natural beauty and situated in a quiet location within this pretty North Buckinghamshire village.

Constructed in 2001, the property has oil-fired central heating, and double-glazing throughout. It enjoys a very good-sized south-facing garden with views over rolling countryside.

The house is well suited to the role of a vicarage. The study is generous, with french doors onto the rear patio and is accessed directly from the entrance hall, as is the cloakroom/WC. Parish visitors can be easily accommodated without this intruding into family life.

On the ground floor, there is an entrance hall, study, cloakroom with accessible WC, sitting room with french doors to rear, dining room, large kitchen breakfast room with range cooker, (bottled gas hob/electric oven) and attached utility room.

The first floor has a landing, four spacious bedrooms (all with built-in wardrobes) a family bathroom and a separate shower room. There are 2 lofts and solar PV panels are fitted to the south-facing roof.

There is a detached double garage with extensive driveway parking, large garden (in excess of 150ft) backing onto open farmland. A “ride-on” lawnmower is provided to manage the extensive lawn areas on a self-help basis. The grounds are well-established incorporating flowerbeds and a kitchen garden and have been well cared for by the outgoing family.

10 8 The Schorne Team of Parishes

The Schorne Team of Parishes consists of eleven churches in nine parishes serving around fourteen villages and hamlets in north Bucks. The Team sits within the deanery – a deanery that is entirely rural in its composition. We also have one redundant church at where a Team Service is held each August followed, when weather allows, by a picnic. The majority of the church buildings are relatively ancient with the oldest, , being built in 1100AD. The most recent is the G E Street designed church at Westcott, which was consecrated on December 23rd 1867. It is considered the best of Street’s work in the county. Services are held with varying frequencies in each of the churches.

Each of the nine PCC/ECCs sends a representative to meet with the clergy four times a year as the Schorne Team Council (STC). The STC seeks to support each parish as the focus of Christian witness, teaching and outreach within its own community while maximising the benefits that can be derived from being part of a wider team. Parishes are encouraged to share their particular gifts, facilities and initiatives, making these available across the Team where relevant and possible. For example, the monthly 'Wesley Flics' film evening, while being organised and hosted by North Marston, is open to all and publicised in all the churches. Since people can only participate in other parishes' initiatives if they know about them, a priority is being given to cross-parish communication, team wide sharing of information. To this end a Communications Co-ordinator has been appointed by the STC, working from an office in Whitchurch. The STC also seeks to bring people with a particular outreach focus (eg. young people, food banks or overseas aid) together to promote Team activities which individual parishes cannot organise on their own or where unnecessary duplication can be avoided.

An annual Team meeting is held to review the growth of Christian witness, teaching and outreach across the Team, and once a year a meeting is organised by the STC to bring members of the nine PCC/ECCs and others together as part of a Church Growth initiative begun in 2015.

Each of the clergy has pastoral responsibility for defined geographical areas though we would hope that each of the clergy might have the opportunity to develop particular areas of expertise or interest. The clergy are actively involved with the C of E primary schools in North Marston, and Westcott as well as the C of E Academy in Waddesdon. Close links have been developed with the Methodist community and there are two Local Ecumenical Partnerships within the Team, one being in North Marston. So far as the Team is concerned we will be happy to welcome a new House for Duty Team Minister from either the Anglican or Methodist traditions.

11 Existing Schorne Team Clergy

The existing clergy team comprises:

David Meakin - Stipendiary Priest and Team Rector based in Whitchurch since September 2004. David looks after Whitchurch with , Hardwick with Weedon and the hamlets of Dunton and . He is the Rural Dean of the Claydon deanery and works with a small number of others on the ‘Enhancing the Life of the Rural Church in the ’ group to implement the 40+ recommendations contained in the report of the Rural Strategy group – a report which David co-authored.

Mary Cruddas - Stipendiary Priest based in Waddesdon since 2011 with care of the parish of Waddesdon, Upper Winchendon and Westcott. Much of Mary’s time is taken up with a major restoration and renewal of the church building in Waddesdon. Plans include a cafe and artisan bakery.

Steve Flashman - arrived in Quainton, with his wife Sarah (also ordained) as a House for Duty Team Vicar in 2016 having previously led a Bishop’s Mission Order Church in the diocese of Chichester. Steve has responsibility for Quainton and Oving and is already well known for his music ministry. Steve has toured as a professional musician and has started a community choir based in Quainton.

Jacqueline Dove - was ordained deacon in June this year. She works alongside David as her training incumbent.

Janet Bayly - is an OLM living in North Marston. After being licensed as an LLM, she trained for ordination and was ordained priest in 2009. Janet has worked alongside Jim Gorringe, the outgoing Team Minister in North Marston but has recently indicated a wish to reduce her commitments while continuing some form of active ministry.

Administration and Finance The churches of the Team pay a total Parish Share of around £115,000 (2018 projected), however, each PCC is autonomous and responsible for paying its own Share to the diocese and meeting its own expenses. Parishes also pay into Team funds in order to meet clergy and other expenses, which are dealt with centrally. Some parishes are better off than others, not necessarily commensurate with electoral roll or attendance numbers. Neither North Marston nor Granborough exhibits a surplus of funding but it is emphasized that both meet their Parish Share and other financial obligations. A nominated member of the clergy sits on each PCC/ECC and all attend the STC Meetings.

There is a wide variety of means whereby funds are raised. A few parishes are struggling but broadly the Team pays its way. Missionary and other Charities are supported. Non-churchgoers frequently contribute formally or informally towards the maintenance of the fabric, bells, churchyard etc. Churchwardens and Treasurers meet periodically to consider matters of mutual interest.

12 Diocese of Oxford The Diocese of Oxford serves the mission of the Church in Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Oxfordshire. The Diocese comprises more than 600 parishes, with over 800 churches, serving a diverse population of more than 2 million people located in all types of settings.

Due to the size and complexity of the Diocese, we have three Area Bishops who exercise considerable strategic & pastoral oversight for their Archdeaconries. The Bishop of is the Rt Revd Alan Wilson who has been the Area Bishop since 2003.

With the appointment of the new Bishop of Oxford, the Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft, a new common vision is emerging for the Diocese of Oxford..…

The vision addresses what kind of church we are called to be - A Christ-like Church. What are the marks of a Christ-like Church? To be the Church of the Beatitudes:

 Contemplative  Compassionate  Courageous

It also asks what we are therefore called to do together. This is currently a work in progress, but is likely to cover some of the following strategic priorities:

 Make a difference in the world  Support and grow the local church  Establish new churches and congregations  Serve our schools  Renew discipleship and ministry

These priorities will be supported centrally by resources, training, conferences, workshops, and much more. The diocese is inviting benefices and their priests to share a vision rather than demanding a response. It wants all its priests to flourish in ministry and to deepen their enjoyment of God.

Alongside the emerging diocesan vision, the priorities and principles for the Buckingham Archdeaconry are set out in our Buckingham Mission Action Plan (see http://www.oxford.anglican.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Bucks- Archdeaconry-Plan-0515.pdf)

It is expected that all clergy appointed into the Archdeaconry of Buckingham will want to commit themselves to the Diocesan vision and Archdeaconry MAP and their strategic directions.

13 Appendix 1 – Key Responsibilities of the Role General: The new Team Minister for Granborough and North Marston will be expected to operate in accordance with the calling and responsibilities of the clergy (as described in the Canons, the Ordinal, the Code of Professional Conduct for the Clergy) and other relevant legislation. Mission and Outreach: The churches in North Marston and Granborough are central and key to rural life in their respective villages. The new Team Minister will be expected to support and promote activities within the villages, which serve to raise the profile of spirituality and God’s word in the communities. Leadership and Working Collaboratively: The new Team Minister will have the potential to empower our congregations to implement constructive change to promote spirituality within our Churches and Villages through discipleship, teaching, prayer and pro-active involvement in the promotion of God’s Mission in our communities. Additionally, he or she will be asked to chair and lead the Church Councils of both North Marston and Granborough. He or she will also oversee fund-raising committees and activities that support the mission of the Church. In so doing, he or she will be supported by experienced churchwardens, committee executives and members, as well as a highly supportive Schorne Team of Ministers. Worship and Preaching: The general routine of Sunday services at both Churches is listed at Page 9 of the main document. Services at Granborough are conducted in the Anglican tradition, while North Marston’s Ecumenical philosophy enables that Church to enjoy the variety of Anglican or Methodist approaches. The new Team Minister may be Anglican or Methodist and will be asked to embrace an ecumenical approach to worship. Pastoral Care:

The ups and downs of village life undoubtedly have their challenges. The new Team Minister will be thoroughly integrated in the daily life of both villages; he or she will be expected to know his or her parishioners well and to identify with them as individuals and offer support in times of need.

14 Appendix 2 - Person Specification

Essential Qualification: . Ordained priest either within either the or Presbyter in the Methodist Church, or a Church in communion with them. Essential Experience: . The provision of pastoral support to people of all ages. Knowledge, Skills and Competencies: Essential: . The ability and desire to work as part of a team. . Leadership skills including the ability to inspire and motivate volunteers. . Skills in chairing committee meetings. . The ability to work in sympathy with the Ecumenical traditions of North Marston and the Eucharistic tradition of the Benefice.  The ability to adapt and respond to the nuances of rural life.

Desirable: . The imagination and ability to create and present forms of worship in creative, engaging ways. . The ability to work with North Marston School’s teaching staff to promote religious education in the school. . An ability to make and build on links with individuals and community organisations whose involvement with the Church is limited. General Attributes: Essential:  The ability to work to a Safeguarding Policy.  To own a car and a current driving licence. Desirable:  An appreciation and enjoyment of music in Church and an understanding of how it can draw people to God.

15 Appendix 3 – Job Description We understand that there needs to be realism about the expectations that are placed on a House for Duty Team Minister. Sundays can be a little hectic and there is always enough work to fill how ever much time each member of the ministry team is able to give. The Team is currently in a time of transition looking to react to a fall in the number of clergy available to us. It is possible that we may move towards there being two informal groupings within the Team, each served by a stipendiary priest and a house for duty priest working in collaboration while all of the clergy retain a ’team-wide’ perspective. We are aware of the need to re-examine our service patterns in order to ensure that they are viable and that they allow for each member of the group to be able to take their full holiday provision. In that way, we have the flexibility to allow each member of the clergy to bring their own talents and to develop a pattern of working, which ensures that necessary tasks are carried out but also allows for each member of the Team to work in areas which bring them the greatest fulfilment.

For that reason we have consciously refrained from drawing up a detailed job description, preferring to wait to see what the particular talents and interests of the successful candidate are and how they might best fit into the Team as a whole.

For conversation about the post please feel free to contact the Team Rector: The Revd David Meakin Tel: 01296 641606 1 Green Acres Close Email: [email protected] Whitchurch Aylesbury Buckinghamshire HP22 4JP

An application pack is available from The Bishop of Buckingham’s office: Sheridan, Tel: 01494 862173 Grimms Hill Email: [email protected] Great Missenden Buckinghamshire HP16 9BG

End of document.

16