St. Bartholomew’s, Westhoughton St. John the Evangelist, Wingates St. Katharine’s, Blackrod St. James the Great, Daisy Hill in the Deanery of Deane, Archdeaconry of Bolton, Diocese of Manchester We are looking for a Team Rector to lead this Team Ministry of six centres of worship across four parishes. ! ! Contents: Page Welcome 3 Where we are 4 Church Background 6 Where you will live 7 St. Bartholomew’s – 8 The Parish Church of Westhoughton St. John the Evangelist, Wingates 12 The other worship centres in Westhoughton parish: 15 - St. George, the Hoskers - St. Thomas, Chequerbent St. James the Great, Daisy Hill 21 St. Katharine’s, Blackrod 25 Work within the wider Team 29 Team ministers - what will you do? 30 Blackrod, Daisy Hill, Westhoughton, Wingates: 31 A Shared Vision Is God calling you to our Team? 32 Further Information 33 Appendix 1: Some Facts and Figures (2017) 34 !2 Welcome: An exciting and creative opportunity awaits the person God is calling to serve as Team Rector leading this Team Ministry. The Blackrod, Daisy Hill, Westhoughton and Wingates Team Ministry was established in 2016 and comprises the four parishes of St. Bartholomew’s Westhoughton, St. John the Evangelist Wingates, St. Katharine’s Blackrod and St. James the Great Daisy Hill. Each has a parish church building and congregation, and additionally, St. Bartholomew's parish has two further congregations which meet in schools at St. Thomas’, Chequerbent and St. George’s, The Hoskers. St. Thomas’ was the first church in school worship centre established in the diocese. Each of the four parishes remains distinct. There is a Team Leaders’ Forum in existence made up of the churchwardens from the four parishes and the licensed ministers. The forum meets three times a year and is a place where thinking and planning can be shared, recognising always that decision making lies with the four Parochial Church Councils. There are no local, Deanery or Diocesan plans for this to change. The new Team Rector will have a parochial base in the parish of St. Bartholomew’s, Westhoughton, (where s/he will live in the rectory) and will have special responsibility equally for St. Bartholomew’s and St. John’s, Wingates in addition to the wider oversight of and responsibility for the Team ministry shared with ordained and lay colleagues. !3 Where we are: The four parishes of the Team are located in the north western corner of the Diocese of Manchester, bordering parishes in Blackburn and Liverpool dioceses. Westhoughton is a small town within the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton. Situated some four miles south west of Bolton, the town and team ministry boundaries are roughly coterminous, the Team having a population of approximately 25,000 people. The town of Westhoughton incorporates several former smaller villages and hamlets (including Wingates and Daisy Hill) and was, historically, a centre for coal mining, cotton spinning and textile manufacture. Westhoughton is now primarily a residential area though local and national businesses are established in the town. There are a host of corner shops and a market as well as Sainsburys, Lidl and B&M Bargains stores. Wingates is a geographically large parish but with a small population which includes both residential housing and the large Middlebrook shopping and leisure centre. Transport links from Westhoughton and Blackrod are very good, with buses and trains (there are railway stations in Westhoughton, Daisy Hill, Blackrod and Horwich). The M61 motorway is easily accessed from within the Team as junctions 5 and 6 are within the Team’s boundaries. This in turn provides easy motorway links across the region and more widely, the country. We are only an hour away from the South Lakes or Peak District and trains from Wigan can be in London in just over two hours. !4 Shopping is also easy as the market towns of Chorley, Wigan, Leigh, Bolton and Bury are a short bus ride away and more locally the large Middlebrook shopping centre lies within Wingates parish. Slightly further afield is the Trafford Centre and Manchester itself. There are good GP and pharmacies locally. Hospitals in Bolton, Chorley, and Wigan are nearest but Salford, Preston and Manchester hospitals also serve the community. There are three cricket clubs within the area, a sporting hub at Bolton Arena (gym, tennis etc.), a Westhoughton sports centre and golf club and newly built sports facilities nearby at Horwich. Bolton Wanderers FC Macron Stadium is also nearby. !5 Church Background: The two churches for which the Team Rector will have special responsibility are very different in terms of buildings, history and church tradition which is reflected in all the churches across the team. Any candidate will need to demonstrate an ability to be comfortable with and value the different church traditions. St. Bartholomew’s church is a light, modern building opened in 1995 on the site of the previous Victorian building which was destroyed by fire, and is in very good condition. Worship is in the liberal, central tradition with a weekly Eucharist service following Common Worship; vestments are worn. St. John’s church is a Victorian building but the inside has been thoughtfully and harmoniously modernised to blend the old and new. The church is carpeted and pews have been replaced by very comfortable chairs. A rear partition has been installed creating a kitchen, toilets and social space by the main entrance. The building is well maintained and decorated. Worship is broadly in the open evangelical tradition and we believe strongly in creating new leaders and encouraging talents from within the church family. !6 Where you will live: The rectory in Westhoughton is a modern, well-appointed two-storey house situated by the side of Barclays Bank and has its own road accessed from Market Street, a couple of minutes walk from St. Bartholomew’s church. We own but share access to the land on which the road sits with Barclays Bank who are allowed to use it under access laws. Built of modern brick, it was opened in 2005 and has its own grounds front and rear. It has a single garage with a driveway that can accommodate three cars. On entering through the porch, there are two vestibules and a study and cloakroom by the front door. The study and downstairs cloakroom are close to the front door and a further door separates this “work area” from the main “living area” of the house. There is a modern fitted kitchen with utility room and space for dining as well as an additional dining room. The spacious lounge has double doors leading out to the rear of the property. Upstairs there are three double bedrooms, a single bedroom and two bathrooms. A loft ladder has been fitted to access the large boarded loft. The rectory has gas central heating, water meter and double glazing throughout. Well attended gardens surround the rectory, with good fencing and lockable gates at the front and rear. !7 St. Bartholomew’s – The Parish Church of Westhoughton: St. Bartholomew’s is the parish church of Westhoughton and occupies a central and prominent place in the town. Rebuilt in 1995 following a fire in 1990 that destroyed the whole building except for the tower, the church building is well used not only for worship but for concerts, civic events and as a venue for training. St. Bartholomew’s Church of England primary school is adjacent to the church building. The design of the church is described as a “square on a square” resulting in a star shaped worship area with excellent sight lines. The inclusion of some stained glass and stonework from the old church provides a link between the old tower and the modern building designed to serve the people of Westhoughton into the 21st century. The main sung Parish Eucharist service is held each week at 11:00am. We offer the ministry of healing at our services in the first week of the month. Second Sunday is typically All Age / Parade service with our Sunday school and Uniformed Organisations attending; this is flexible to allow us to mark special occasions. We have a quieter said service at 8:00am on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month, which is held at St. Thomas’ church on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Sundays. We hold a midweek communion service every Wednesday at 10:00am to which we welcome children from our church schools. Worship is in the liberal central tradition. Vestments are worn and there is an organist and small choir to lead the music. Services follow Common Worship and there are a range of service books produced over the last three years to cover each season. The hymn book used is the recently published “Ancient and Modern – Hymns and Songs for Refreshing Worship” which was introduced in November 2016. Occasional offices The church has a valuable part to play in the wider community, not least through the large number of baptism, wedding and funeral services we conduct each year. Regular Outreach Events In January, we work with our Methodist colleagues to mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. !8 In Lent each year we host the Easter Experience for a week in which pupils from all our local schools can attend and learn about the events of Holy Week and Easter. We hold a full programme of services across the team to mark Holy Week and Easter. St. Bartholomew’s school attends and leads part of our Mothering Sunday worship. We hold a Bible study group which has met fortnightly for the past year. We host the annual confirmation service, usually on a Sunday afternoon in May.