Parish Profile 2016 St Barnabas St Barnabas Parish address: Parish Office, Church Road, Hadleigh, SS7 2EJ Phone: 01702 558591 Website: http://www.stbarnabas-hadleigh.org.uk St James the Less St James the Less Parish address: Hadleigh St James the Less, High Street, Hadleigh SS7 2PA Email: [email protected] Website: http://www.hadleighchurch.org.uk 1 CONTENTS Page 3 FOREWORD BY BISHOP STEPHEN COTTRELL, BISHOP OF CHELMSFORD Page 5 VISION STATEMENT FOR OUR TWO CHURCHES Page 6 TWO HADLEIGH PARISHES: COLLABORATION AND COMMUNITY APPENDICES Page 8 APPENDIX 1 - ST BARNABAS Page 13 APPENDIX 2 - ST JAMES THE LESS Page 17 APPENDIX 3 - LOCAL AREA AND AMENITIES Page 19 APPENDIX 4 - JOINT PARISH SERVICES AND ATTENDANCES 2015 Page 21 APPENDIX 5 – JOINT PARISH FINANCE CHARTS 2015 2 FOREWORD The diocese - a message from Bishop Stephen In the Chelmsford diocese we believe that God is calling his church to be a transforming presence. Our vision is that the church - that is, the people of God here in Essex and East London - should be a transforming presence in every one of our parishes. These are our priorities: to inhabit the world distinctively to evangelise effectively to hold ourselves accountable to one another and to God for the stewardship of the gospel to reimagine the way we minister so that each ordained minister and each individual Christian discovers their part in God’s ministry and so that each church flourishes To this end we are looking for priests who are excited by this vision of becoming a church which is itself transformed, and which is becoming a more visible and effective presence in the huge diversity of communities that make up this most exciting and energetic part of England. There are many challenges ahead of us: we are a diocese generously subsidised by the national church. We need to become financially self-sufficient leadership often seems distant. We are creating patterns of leadership that are closer to the parishes, and we are looking to develop missionary leadership at all levels of church life. Nearly half our clergy will retire in the next ten years. We need to find out how to minister with fewer stipendiary clergy and with a reimagining of how stipendiary ministry works. We need to reorganise the way parishes relate to each other in what we are calling Mission and Ministry Units some of our congregations still think ministry is what vicars do. We have a vision of ministry where the whole people of God are involved in the whole of God’s ministry. We are also experimenting with new forms of authorised lay ministry church must be a safe place. All those in ministry will be expected to undergo training that will equip them to respond well in situations associated with safeguarding levels of church-going are below the national average. We need to get evangelism on to the agenda and into the lifeblood of every church. We encourage and train churches to put on weekends of mission and outreach. One of our aspirations is that every benefice should have a trained lay evangelism enabler we are developing missionary discipleship, so that every church in the diocese is a place where Christians are formed in order to be sent out in witness and service Despite planning for a future with fewer stipendiary clergy, we remain as committed as ever to the local church. And what is the local church but that community of men and women gathered around Christ, and living and sharing the gospel in the networks and neighbourhoods of their lives? But we need priests to lead and to serve. We know we need to change. We can only be a transforming presence when we have allowed God to transform us. Therefore at the heart of all we do is a longing for intimacy with God and a renewed life of prayer. First and foremost a priest is a minister of the word and sacrament. All ministry flows from this. But a priest shares the ministry of the bishop, therefore presbyteral ministry will increasingly be a ministry of oversight, guiding, nurturing and directing the mission of God’s church in the communities we serve. 3 It is an exciting time to be part of God’s missionary movement for the world, and the Diocese of Chelmsford is an exciting place to serve. We have a clear vision and we are looking to appoint clergy who will share this with us. In every parish we long to see each person and each community grow in faithfulness and ministry so that together we may serve in the world and Christ may be made known. +Stephen 4 VISION STATEMENT FOR OUR TWO CHURCHES In the light of God’s call and our situation here, it is our vision to see our parishes truly alive, reflecting the whole breadth of family life today and reaching out into the community to offer loving Christian support and befriending care. The two congregations need to continue to grow in worship, prayer and teaching and we hope to be able to use the gifts and skills from among our own church members and others to help us nurture the spiritual needs of young families. We will endeavour to continue to provide generous support and compassion for mission at home and around the world. It is our vision for our churches to be relevant to people and their lives in the 21st century. The new incumbent This parish profile began with our vision statement, where we express our hopes for the future of our two churches. We all want to reach out beyond our church membership into the parish communities; we want to welcome inside youngsters who frequent the churches and church grounds on their way home from school and the youths who ride their bikes in the churchyard and car park. They do not come in because we have little to offer them. The neighbouring parish of Thundersley St Peter's with Daws Heath St Michael's is currently vacant. There are proposals for a team ministry formed of St Barnabas, St James the Less, St Peter's and St Michael's with the team rector being based in Hadleigh and the team vicar based in Thundersley. There is some nervousness in the parishes about this proposal along with a growing recognition of the potential benefits in working together more closely. And so... We need a priest who: will work with our existing pastoral team to develop the leadership of the two communities. Our churches and facilities complement each other and we see this as an exciting opportunity for the incumbent and church members to share interests and skills is dedicated to the growth of the church membership will encourage young families with children into the church and support the development of Christian activities for them so that our congregation reflects the people who live in our parishes will help us to develop for some services a style of worship with music appropriate to families will work with the congregations to develop faith and spiritual growth is able to form and lead a team, encouraging and developing the talents of others will integrate into parish life and get involved in activities in the local area The above requirements were established following extensive consultation with the congregations of both parishes. We hope to be blessed with a leader who has the gift of communication, both individually and collectively – who is able to go out into the parishes and relate to the people; someone who can encourage ‘unchurched’ families to come into our churches and share the fellowship of our warm and caring congregations. 5 THE TWO HADLEIGH PARISHES - AN OPPORTUNITY FOR COLLABORATION The Area Dean of Hadleigh Deanery, Reverend Canon David Tudor writes These parishes are a parable for our times. The one parish nearly 900 years old; the other, a daughter church that grew up away from her mother, not quite 90 years old. These parishes have lived through times of great and subtle upheaval in our national and church life. The communities around the Churches have changed in themselves and in their relation to, and expectations of, the church. The congregations have been faithful to their understanding of a gathered church. Now in these early years of the 21st century a great and robust vision is required. Mother and daughter are resolving to face this challenge together with a common voice and a common prayer. They are also in the process of recognising in the surrounding parishes a family likeness as of cousins who, having grown up in different circumstances, nevertheless share a common heritage. There is real work to be done here. The next few years will be challenging but infinitely rewarding for the successful applicant to the post of Team Rector Designate. St James the Less church, High Street, Hadleigh SS7 2PA St Barnabas church, Church Road, Hadleigh SS7 2EJ Closer co-operation is both desirable and essential. Under 'Reimagining Ministry' the parishes of Hadleigh deanery have begun to explore clustering into Mission and Ministry Units (MMU). St Barnabas and St James have looked to the neighbouring parishes of Thundersley St Peter's with Daws Heath St Michael's as a potential MMU together with, possibly, the parish of Thundersley St George's. St Barnabas has more resources than St James the Less including two church halls, whereas St James has a higher profile being in the town centre. The ministry team The parish currently have an associate priest and assistant curate (due to leave in January 2017), a focal minister, two LLMs (Licensed Lay Minister – licensed by the diocese), a pastoral assistant and a parish nurse.