The Benefice of Harton The Benefice of Harton Parish Profiles St. Michael’s - Crambe St. Botolph’s - Bossall St. John’s - Buttercrambe St. Lawrence - Flaxton All Saints - Foston St. Mary’s - Gate Helmsley St. Mary’s - Sand Hutton St. John’s - Howsham St. Peter’s - Upper Helmsley St. Mary’s - Sand Hutton St. John’s - Whitwell The Benefice of Harton 2 The Benefice of Harton Contents Page Introduction 4 St Botolph’s – Bossall 10 St Lawrence – Flaxton 12 St John’s – Howsham 14 St John’s – Whitwell 18 Map of Benefice showing individual parishes 20 All Saints – Foston 22 Foston Primary School 24 St Michael’s – Crambe 25 St Peter’s – Upper Helmsley 28 St Mary’s – Sand Hutton 30 Vicarage – Sand Hutton 32 Sand Hutton Primary School 33 St Mary’s – Gate Helmsley 34 St John’s – Buttercrambe 36 Local Authority Data 38 Some Local Data 39 3 The Benefice of Harton Parish Profiles Introduction We are proud to present this document which describes the Benefice of Harton, with its 8 parishes, now structured within a Joint PCC. The setting The Benefice is situated in North Yorkshire, eight to ten miles to the north east of the historic city of York. Its constituent communities are dispersed along the A64 and A166 trunk roads, which lead respectively to Scarborough and Bridlington. The setting is rural and idyllic, attracting many tourists; some of the parishes contain areas of special scientific interest, others areas of outstanding natural beauty. The nearby city of York encompasses history, academe (two Universities, a Law College and a Medical School), culture, the arts, music and theatre. One of the main attractions in the area is Castle Howard; another local landmark, the restored Howsham Mill on the River Derwent, now produces hydroelectricity for the National Grid. There are good transport links to the East coast, North York Moors, Yorkshire Dales and Wolds, as well as to commercial centres, including London, which is only two hours away by train. The area is well served by many local schools, primary and secondary, state and independent. These include two Church of England Primary Schools within the Benefice itself. The main local industries are farming and tourism, and DEFRA’s Central Science Laboratory is situated outside the village of Sand Hutton. Most of those who live in our small villages commute for work to the nearby towns. Local statistics Most of the Benefice lies within the electoral ward of Ryedale South West, in the Ryedale District. We are part of a two-tier system of local authorities, covered by Ryedale District Council and North Yorkshire County Council. In general and in comparison to national data, the residents of Ryedale South West are more affluent, better educated and older. There is no measurable homelessness, and crime rates are less than half the national average. A higher proportion (82% compared with 71.8%) of the population describes themselves as Christian. Some of these data are given later in this document; full details can be found on the Ryedale District Council website at www.ryedale.gov.uk 4 The Benefice of Harton The evolution of the Benefice The Benefice has evolved gradually over the past 25 years, under the leadership of our two most recent incumbents, both now retired. The nucleus for this development was the Benefice of Sand Hutton, comprising the four parishes of Sand Hutton, Gate Helmsley, Upper Helmsley and Bossall (the last with its associated Chapels of Ease at Buttercrambe and Howsham). Over time and in response to the retirement of incumbents and the general reduction in the number of ordained priests, the parish of Flaxton, followed by Foston, Crambe and Whitwell (the last three forming the Benefice of Whitwell) were added to the group. As a result, we are now a Benefice of eight parishes, but ten churches. Over recent years, with the agreement of the Diocesan Office, the Benefices of Sand Hutton and Whitwell have functioned as a pragmatic single entity, with an informal Benefice Council, which oversaw all matters of common interest, such as service planning, Benefice expenses, church magazine, and development of the Benefices. This arrangement has now been legally formalised with the formation of the single Benefice of Harton in September 2012, followed by the establishment of the Joint PCC in March 2013. We look forward to an exciting future under these new arrangements. Church worship A range of services is held regularly across the Benefice, rotating between the constituent churches. These include services of Holy Communion, Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer and more informal gatherings such as a monthly home prayer group. Attendance at church services ranges from around 10 for Morning Prayer , through 20 for routine Communion Services, to 30-40 from Benefice Eucharist services. Many of our services of Holy Communion are held jointly - on the first, third and fifth Sundays in the month and every Wednesday morning. Usually on every second and fourth Sunday, there are services in two churches. These vary between 9.00 am Holy Communion, 10.30 am Morning Prayer and 6.30 pm Evening Prayer. All services are rotated in turn between the churches. This means that every church has one service a month, either on a Sunday or a Wednesday. Many special services are held in the different churches at Christmas, Palm Sunday, Easter, Harvest, Remembrance Sunday and other festivals. The calendar of services is especially full during December. Most regular services include hymns and music, apart from some nine o’clock Sunday Communion services. There is a group of eight organists who accompany regular services and occasional offices. An informal group of singers comes together to support Christmas and Easter services. Schools There are 2 Church of England Primary Schools within the Benefice, at Foston and at Sand Hutton. There is regular worship at both schools, including visits by members of the Benefice Ministry Team. The schools also organise a number of services within our churches, such as Nativity Plays and Harvest Services. 5 The Benefice of Harton How the Benefice is run Each of the eight parishes has a Parochial Church Council (PCC), with its own officers (churchwardens, secretary and treasurer). An overseeing Joint PCC is now in place, replacing the Benefice Council which has existed since 2008. Joint PCC membership consists of one representative of each parish, the Ministry Team (see below), an honorary secretary and special advisers. The Joint PCC meets every 3 months and is chaired by the Vicar. A hard-working and effective Ministry Team has been in place for many years. As well as the Vicar, the team comprises a Parish Sister*, Reader and Lay Pastor. Churchwardens support the Ministry Team in the provision of pastoral care and in running some church services. Previously a non-stipendiary House for Duty Priest was also part of the team; this vacant post is still to be filled. Our communities are very active and look after one another. There is broad support for the work of the Church: the residents of our villages are proud of their local church and work hard to support it, even if they are not regular worshippers. In general, congregations can be small and from the older age group, but more people from the different parishes come together for the Benefice Communion Services. There are also bigger congregations at special services such as Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Christingle, Harvest Festival, Remembrance Sunday and Family Services. For several years we have ensured good communication with all parishioners through a magazine, “The Circular”, published quarterly. This is distributed free of charge to all households and can be seen as a positive means of evangelism. A Benefice printer was purchased two years ago, enabling the Circular to be published in-house by a team of volunteers. Our aspirations for the future • Development of our ministry and worship We are aware that, as is common nationally, our worship is meeting the needs of a relatively narrow range of people, who are decreasing in numbers while they increase in age. We therefore feel strongly that we need to broaden our approach. In particular, we wish to enhance our ministry to children and young people (and their parents) to build up the church for the future. We wish to do this while continuing to provide for those who are already regular churchgoers. As we have a total of ten churches, it is easily possible to vary the type of service available across the Benefice. This is already being developed in, for example, Crambe, with an annual Memorial Lily Service, and Flaxton, where they have experimented with informal and varied Sunday Evening Services. • Development of mission We are conscious of a need to develop our work in mission. As part of this, we would like to take the church and worship into the community rather than necessarily expecting parishioners to come to the church. We would like to explore different and unusual venues for worship. *Parish Sister: a Professional Sister of the Community of St Peter’s, Horbury; seconded to the Benefice of Harton, with the Archbishop’s licence to officiate alongside the incumbent; to be a prayer presence within the Benefice and available to anyone who needs her. 6 The Benefice of Harton • Development of lay ministry Several churchwardens are already able to conduct lay-led services in their own churches. Others will be taking advantage of the training course provided by the Southern Ryedale Deanery later this year. This will serve to enhance the support available to the Ministry Team and our local communities. The co-ordination of pastoral care We should clarify the arrangements for pastoral care, recruit more lay people to undertake this work and make sure that we are meeting the needs of all the community.