Parish Profile The Church of St. John the Evangelist Tipton 2013 - 2014 1 CONTENTS Foreword – The Bishop of Wolverhampton Page 3 The Challenge Page 4 The Person Page 4 Styles and Tradition of Worship Page 4 The Mission Plan Page 5 Church Leadership Page 6 The Parish Page 7 The Deanery – A message from the Rural Dean Page 8 The Fellowship Page 9 The Church Building Page 9 - 10 The Hall & Community Outreach, including Youth and Schools work Page 11 - 14 The Vicarage Page 15 The Churchyard Page 15 Church Finances Page 16 Services Page 17 Music Page 17 Communications and Policies Page 18 - 19 What the area has to offer Page 19 Conclusion Page 20 Appendix: Accounts Page 21 - 25 Going for Growth Page 26 Benefice Buildings Committee Page 27 2 FOREWORD A Priest for St John the Evangelist, Tipton At a time when the Diocese of Lichfield has to look very carefully at where it can most fruitfully deploy its stipendiary clergy, given increasing financial constraints and a national shortage of clergy, the decision to advertise for a full time stipendiary priest for this parish has not been taken lightly. However, after consultation with the leadership of the Deanery and the PCC, the decision has been made to go ahead on this basis because we are persuaded that, with the right appointment, St John’s can be a vibrant centre of spirituality and mission, reaching out to the whole community of the parish. We are therefore looking to appoint someone who will maintain the Catholic tradition of worship but who will be open to exploring fresh approaches to liturgy, to help make worship accessible to the non-Churched. We are looking for a priest who will place a high priority on the mission opportunities presented by the occasional offices and will have a generous, pastoral heart. We are looking for a priest who will be excited about being a priest for the whole community of the parish; who will prioritise work in the local schools and who will be fully supportive of the excellent youth work and care for the elderly that is already carried out by the congregation. We are looking for a priest who, despite the current uncertainties within the Church of England, will see their future within it and will be keen to engage positively with the Deanery and wider Diocese. In return we can assure applicants that they will be supported by a very loyal and faithful Christian community, an equally supportive Deanery, and Diocesan officers and Senior staff who will do all we can to help you be happy and your ministry thrive at St. John’s. An exciting opportunity beckons! We look forward to hearing from you. +Clive Wulfrun 3 THE CHALLENGE Though St. John’s is a church with a long standing Catholic tradition in terms of its forms of worship, those individuals who make up the congregation and wider community are by no means inflexible to innovation and the need to address issues of the day. Consequently, the PCC considers it important that a new incumbent should be willing to take on the challenge of growing the church numerically, so as to encourage a membership that is more representative of the Parish as a whole, as well as spiritually, in order to develop wider worship. THE PERSON The new incumbent will need to welcome this challenge, by showing qualities of enthusiasm, determination and leadership, especially so in these times of fiscal restraint. A readiness to extend the firmly-established pastoral outreach programme, but especially within the local school communities, is highly desirable. STYLES & TRADITION OF WORSHIP St. John’s is a Church that has followed Catholic traditions of worship since at least the second half of the 19th century and traditionally with both Low and Sung Mass on Sundays. Though in the Wolverhampton Episcopal Area, the Archdeaconry of Walsall and the Rural Deanery of Wednesbury in the Diocese of Lichfield, it is also affiliated to the Forward in Faith movement and is also under the Episcopal care of the Bishop of Ebbsfleet. The PCC has passed Resolutions A and B, and from October 1994 Resolution C (Ordination of Women Measure). The Resolutions are voted on annually at the AGM. There is a strong alternative chapter consisting of the clergy of surrounding ‘C’ parishes. An established Sunday School group, our Sunshine Club, meets every Sunday at 9:25 a.m. The children join the main congregation for the Communion when they receive a blessing if not yet confirmed. 4 THE MISSION PLAN Members of St. John’s congregation have always made every effort to support Mission Plans initiated by our vicars. The last whole-church initiative in 2009 in order to re-invigorate our Mission Plan, called ‘Building the Vision’, was readily supported throughout the period of Lent with full attendance at weekly meetings. An exciting action plan was prepared. Sadly, this was eclipsed during 2010 by a course offered in preparation for membership of the Ordinariate, thereby relegating the proposed schemes. Nevertheless, there remains a willingness to retrieve and consolidate the following objectives: BUILDING THE VISION – Ten Points for Action: WORSHIP 1. Monthly Family Mass with Sunshine Club taking part on the second Sunday of each month. + 2. Monthly Prayer Group – to pray together informally and to grow in prayer. 3. More stillness in church to be encouraged before Mass. EVANGELISM and WITNESS 4. PCC to discuss a possible Alpha Course. NURTURE and TEACHING 5. Discuss our Christian giving commitment. + 6. Young people from Sunshine Club to assist in serving at Family Mass. PASTORAL and COMMUNITY CARE 7. Explore the gathering and training of a Bereavement / Counselling Teams. 8. Investigate possible training courses for members of said teams. SOCIAL and FELLOWSHIP 9. Social Committee to be re-formed so as to organize more frequent social events. + 10. Review our ‘Welcome Ministry’ at Baptisms, Weddings, Funerals, Mass and at coffee in the Hall after Mass. N.B. Some of these proposals have been put in place (+), but there is a pressing need to re-visit this Plan. 5 CHURCH LEADERSHIP In addition to two hard-working Wardens and a committed PCC, the church is represented in the following fora: The Deanery Synod Forward in Faith The Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham The Shrine of Our Lady of Egmanton, Nottinghamshire Sandwell Churches The Altar team is strong with a dedicated team of Servers. There is also a hardworking Verger who offers support at Baptisms, Weddings and Funerals. Currently, we have no Licensed ministers nor do we have a Curate, though there have been Curates in the past. As a church, we are always willing to consider any beneficial changes of this kind in the future. Additionally, St. John’s is proud of its team of dedicated helpers: These are just a few of them! 6 THE PARISH TODAY The Parish of Saint John the Evangelist is the original parish of the settlement which the Domesday Book refers to as Tibintone. It is one of four Anglican parishes in Tipton* and has a population of around 10,000. The parish is classed as 'inner city' and has a slightly higher unemployment level than the national average. Tipton was once dominated by Black Country heavy industry and mining, which has nearly all disappeared. Some of the extensive canal network upon which it relied remains. The area has a predominantly white population and much of the traditional working class social housing is being taken into ownership by former tenants. These changes along with a number of ‘brown belt’ housing developments are leading to an increasing level of affluence, but like many other parts of the country today, there are pockets of social deprivation. There are two other places of worship within the parish: a black-led Pentecostal chapel and a Baptist chapel. As well as two Care & Nursing Homes, two Medical Centres – one of which has been replaced with a state-of-the art hospital-type facility – there is a showcase Primary school and a Secondary school, which is under re-construction, with a Sixth Form College. There are also two public houses and a number of social clubs in the parish. *Tipton is one of six towns that were amalgamated in the 1970s to form the Borough of Sandwell. The church is supported very well by the Diocese and its members, as evidenced by the following statement by the Rural Dean. 7 Diocese of Lichfield DEANERY OF WEDNESBURY Wednesbury deanery consists of eleven parishes in the urban heartland of the Black Country. Wednesbury, Darlaston and Tipton are the three main centres, overshadowed by the larger towns or cities close by. We don’t have a distinctive geographical identity as a deanery, yet function well in a mutually supportive manner. Over recent years we have developed four parish clusters. One of these comprises our Anglo-Catholic “Ebbsfleet” parishes: St James, Wednesbury; St John Tipton, and St Michael & Holy Cross, Tividale. Clusters can give a focus for shared activities between parishes, and for informal contacts between clergy which many find beneficial. Laity in adjacent parishes have often grown up together, or may be colleagues at work, and value the friendships which clusters encourage. Deanery activity naturally centres around lunchtime Chapter meetings, about five per year, and the Synod. This is well supported. As well as airing more formal issues, meetings provide a chance for parishes to relate what they’re doing, share ideas and news. Among our laity and clergy there’s considerable breadth of wisdom and experience. The Inter-Faith Officer for the Wolverhampton Area is one of our clergy team.