The Parish of St Mary with St Peter and St Jude London SW10 1 2016 PARISH PROFILE Rooted in faith, Open in thought, Reaching out in service This profile describes the conditions, needs and traditions of the parish in five parts with an appendix: Part 1 Overview Part 2 Person Specification – What we seek in a Vicar Part 3 Sunday and Mid-week Worship and Activities Part 4 Our resources and parish geography Part 5 Where we are now and where we would like to be Appendices A. Mission Statement B. Further sources of information C. Capital Vision 2020 D. Attendance and Financial Statistics E. The Vicarage; Description, photos, and floor plans 2 Part 1: Overview We are a Eucharist based church in the best central Anglican tradition. Our vision is to be rooted in faith, open in thought and reaching out in service. Our mission is to bear witness to the great commandment to love God with all our hearts and minds and strength, and to love our neighbour as ourselves. We consider our strengths to be; that we welcome everyone, that we respect diversity and are non-judgemental about social status, gender, sexual orientation or diversity of belief. Our Parish is in a residential area of inner south west London (SW10), in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. There are good transport links, shopping and services on Fulham Road, Kings Road and Brompton Road are within easy walking distance. Situated in an obviously wealthy area, St Mary’s stands as a symbol of openness and inclusivity with 50% of the congregation travelling in from outside the parish. The wealth of the area is not, however, reflected in our financial statement. Church Attendance: Average Sunday morning attendance, including children, in 2015 was 98, and average number of people taking Communion on Sundays was 76. Electoral Roll: 202 at 2015 AGM. Team: Three paid administrative staff (Administrator, Verger, Cleaner) and a self-employed Director of Music. Finances: We have experienced two lean years, running deficits. This year we budgeted for a reduced deficit this year. We now expect to end the year with a balanced budget. Free reserves are lower than we would like, but restricted funds held in a trust fund provide some support for building maintenance issues. We have an established Planned Giving Programme and an active programme of giving to other charities. Buildings: Victorian church, Grade 2 Listed, well maintained with 20th century church hall and flat attached. The Vicarage is a short ten-minute walk away. This profile provides an insight into the life of our parish. Please explore our website at http://www.stmarytheboltons.org.uk/ where you will find current news, Annual Reports and the Clarion, our parish magazine. 3 Part 2: Person Specification - What we seek in a new Vicar - A priest who will lead us in Christ, be a bridge and a bond between church, parish and the wider community, and develop our worship within the central tradition of the Church of England. - A gifted and confident communicator, who, through teaching and preaching, is able to make us think, rather than teach us what to think. We are seeking a person who can listen and respond to the needs of the congregation. We appreciate both bible-based and thematic teaching, bringing living theology together with real life experience within our rich culture of liturgical music and religious art. - A spiritual leader with ceremonial respect for the Sacraments, who will be visible and present to the congregation and the wider parish, willing to network and build relationships with a great variety of people. We are seeking a person who understands the value of a good media and social media profile for the parish. - A vicar who is confident with the administrative work of parish life and who recognises and values the contributions that all members of the congregation can make. We are seeking a person who prioritises spiritual leadership and pastoral work while managing the day-to-day details and delegating effectively to paid staff and volunteers. - A person of prayer who will thrive as a leader in a host of settings, from silent retreats to children’s worship, from small groups to large occasions. We are looking for a person who will pray with us and for us, whose own life is underpinned by prayer, and whose own discipleship inspires discipleship in others. 4 Part 3: Sunday and mid-week worship Sunday Worship Holy Communion at 8.00 am is a said service with a small but regular attendance using the Book of Common Prayer. A member of the congregation usually serves at the altar. In practice the church starts to come alive soon after 9.00 am with the arrival of the Director of Music, then choir members or professional soloist(s). A team of 3-4 Sidespeople usually arrive 30 minutes before the service to provide a warm welcome to everyone. Sung Parish Eucharist at 10.30am with hymns, a psalm, sermon and often an anthem. A voluntary Parish Choir sings at the popular festivals, and most Sunday’s one member is cantor for a responsorial psalm. Until recently funding was available for a professional soloist for some other Sundays to sing as cantor and also to provide an anthem during Communion. Music plays an important part in our worship and at Christmas and Easter our budget still extends to employing professionals to provide music of a high quality. All Age worship usually happens once a term, when Sunday School stays for the whole service. During the 10.30 service a combined Sunday School and Little Lambs programme is currently run, for all children from birth to confirmation, by parent volunteers. Sunday school begins in the hall after the first reading, returning briefly for a blessing while adults receive Communion, and at the end of the service to share their learning. Refreshments are served in the south transept after the 10.30 am service and many stay for a further half hour of conversation and fellowship. Parish Lunch is served in the church hall on the first Sunday of each month. Mid-week worship and activities Morning Prayer is said on most weekdays at 8.30 am. Holy Communion is celebrated on Wednesdays at 12 noon. This is a said service and takes place in the Lady Chapel. On the first Wednesday of each month it incorporates prayers for healing. Attendance varies from three to twelve and occasionally more. Our Bible Study Group meets on Monday evenings. The group would appreciate additional input. There is an active prayer network that responds to particular and ongoing needs. Another group, which for some years had been meeting for silent prayer at home, has recently started to meet in church. As a result the silent prayer group is growing. 5 The church is open during the day on weekdays from 8.30am to 2.00pm and very often at other times as well, attracting many visitors for prayer and stillness. A number of local community groups and schools make regular use of the church for larger assemblies, recitals and school concerts or study workshops. These include: Bousfield Primary School Falkner House Girls School Help the Aged The Children’s Heart Foundation Alcoholics Anonymous The RNLI London City Singers St Mellitus College During Advent there are usually two or three charity carol concerts in church. 6 PART 4: Our resources The team The Vicar would be the only ordained member of staff. The administrative team consists of: Parish Administrator, part time, 20 hours per week, appointed September 2016 Verger, full time, lives on site, in post for ten years Director of Music, self-employed, appointed in 2012 Cleaner, part time, appointed 2014 Volunteers The PCC has 15 members (including ex officio members) and meets about five times each year and usually spends a Saturday together in January for review and planning. Volunteers also run our Charities Committee, Communications Group, Adult Formation Group, Buildings Group, and Hospitality Team. A Volunteer Booklet was produced as a result of the 2014 Away Day (available on the website). We would like to widen our pool of volunteers. The buildings St Mary’s church is a well-maintained, grade 2 listed Victorian building with fixed pews in the nave. It underwent a thorough restoration programme in 2000 when all the pews in the north and south transepts were removed and some from the west end of the nave. The most recent Quinquennial survey, completed in September 2016, indicates that there is some work to be done defrassing stone work. A notable new feature of the church is the Craigie Aitchison Memorial Window - the Crucifixion - which was installed in 2012. A new sound system was also installed in 2012. An office for the Vicar was created in the south porch when the church was restored, together with a glazed room for children under the gallery (with speakers to allow parents to hear the service). At other times it is used as a small meeting room. A mezzanine office in the Vestry comprises a computer deskspace and meeting area. The Parish Administrator works from an office under the gallery on the opposite side of the nave from the small meeting room. A Faculty has been granted for the installation of radio masts and telecommunications equipment in the tower. In October 2016 construction work commenced for the installation of the masts. This involves significant work to upgrade access to the tower room where the telecommunication equipment will be installed. This project will meet a long term aim to upgrade the access to the tower room (regularly featured in previous Quinquennial Reports and in the church’s Risk Assessment) and will provide additional income for the parish.