St John the Evangelist Church, Fareham Parish Profile St John the Evangelist Church, Fareham Pictures Figure 1 Church nave....................................................................................6 Parish Profile, April , 2014 Figure 2 Fareham Creek ...............................................................................7 Contents Figure 3 Parish boundary map .....................................................................8 1. About us ....................................................................................... 3 Figure 4 Great Giveaway in hall ................................................................ 12 Figure 5 Church prayer area and entrance hall......................................... 15 2. Church life .................................................................................... 4 Figure 6 Vicarage....................................................................................... 16 3. Where are we going? ................................................................... 5 Figure 7 Church hall................................................................................... 16 4. The person we would like to lead us: .......................................... 6 Figure 8 South window.............................................................................. 16 Figure 9 Site layout.................................................................................... 17 5. Local amenities............................................................................. 7 6. The parish..................................................................................... 8 7. Prayer and worship ...................................................................... 9 8. Numbers..................................................................................... 10 For current information on what is happening at St John’s, please visit: http://www.stjohnsfareham.org.uk/ 9. Ministry to children and families ............................................... 11 10. Community outreach ................................................................. 12 11. Mission and social justice........................................................... 13 12. Leadership.................................................................................. 14 13. Finances ..................................................................................... 15 14. History........................................................................................ 16 15. Church buildings......................................................................... 17 2 1. About us We are a lively friendly community at St John’s, with an evangelical churchmanship and open to change and growth. We are a welcoming and caring church which embraces everyone and encourages people to grow in faith. There is a strong fellowship within the church supported by the ten housegroups that meet weekly or bi- weekly for prayer, Bible Study and discussion. We consider ourselves to be ‘evangelical lite’ – very serious about the Bible with a focus on what it means to us, but light on formality. We have an informal style of worship and don’t feel bound by tradition. There is a generous spirit within the church and a ‘can do’ attitude. We are prepared to try new things but happy to change them if they don’t work! We are active in the community and welcome people from different backgrounds and traditions. We offer loving acceptance to everyone, whatever their history, and recognise and appreciate different points of view. We believe God is at work through history and the Holy Spirit is active in every aspect of our life. As a member of the church said recently – “Coming here makes me feel better. If I don’t come, I don’t feel complete.” We play a full part in the life of the Fareham Deanery and the Diocese of Portsmouth. We work with the other Anglican and non-Anglican churches in the area sharing ministry and activities. The church is under the patronage of CPAS and a member of the Evangelical Alliance. 3 2. Church life groups in the church including music appreciation, painting, crafts and slimming. St John’s is a very active church family who have fellowship together and support each other. We arrange many social activities during the year. Recently they have included shared lunches, barbeques, Harvest supper and barn dance, bowls evening, curry and quiz night and a dinner at a nearby hotel. Food plays an important role in our life together! An important part of our outreach to young adults and families is a thriving network for people in their 20’s and 30’s, focussed on building relationships in a non-churchy setting. We have a pastoral care team that coordinates home communions, home visiting, bereavement visiting and the provision of meals for church members in need. Three members of the church are volunteer members of the chaplaincy team at Queen Alexandra hospital in Portsmouth, and in addition a number of other people make hospital visits. We have a pastoral care network, based around the housegroups, which covers all the members of the church. We care about the wellbeing of our clergy and the pressures that they are under. We would want them to ensure that they take their day off, full allocation of holiday and annual retreat(s). About every eighteen months, we have a weekend away in a hotel in Bournemouth with other churches in Fareham. We have people who go to Spring Harvest, Greenbelt, Spiritual Health Weekends and Pilgrimages. We have a cricket team which plays against local Christian teams with mixed results but great enjoyment! There are also a number of active 4 3. Where are we going? We believe that our church has been richly blessed over the years with faithful worshippers who respond to God’s call for action. With the inclusion of Messy Church, our congregation has doubled in size over the last twelve years and we are looking forward to further growth. As a church we are keen to expand, develop existing initiatives and explore new opportunities to bring God’s Word to the wider community. We look to an inspiring leader to encourage, equip and guide us as we continue on the path that the Lord has marked out for us. The key areas for development that we see ahead of us now are: To expand and develop our current outreach work to young families living in and around the parish, and to promote new opportunities for outreach in the parish. Chaplaincy Ministry To further grow our ministry to the significant number of young Our minister will have a new role to lead and develop a chaplaincy families that have recently joined the church. ministry to secondary and tertiary establishments in the Deanery. This is To inspire and enable members of the congregation to develop expected to take about one-third of their time. This is seen as having their leadership potential in all aspects of church life and to three stages:- nurture discipleship. To deepen the spiritual life of the church, exploring new and 1. To work with Fareham College, which is in the parish, to establish innovative styles of worship (including the use of new a chaplaincy and create a good relationship with the young adults. technologies), and developing worship patterns that will appeal to 2. To explore the possibility of a chaplaincy at Fareham Academy, the congregation and wider community. where we already have strong links and which is also in our parish. 3. To build on these models and experience to assist other parishes with secondary schools in their area in setting up their own chaplaincy teams. 5 4. The person we would like to lead us: Here is what church members said about the person we need to lead us: We believe that our next vicar needs to be: Ecumenically Have real Prayerful and Evangelical. minded world An energetic and visionary leader. experience On a journey Welcoming and outward looking, taking every opportunity to with us reach the local community. Should seek An effective communicator to people of all ages especially with spiritual children and young adults for the new chaplaincy role. refreshment An experienced leader of formal and informal worship with A mover and a traditional and contemporary songs and comfortable with the use shaker! of technology. A generator An imaginative preacher and teacher of the Bible. Young people of ideas Someone who encourages the development of a leadership team and family through collaborative working and who is well organised. orientated Mission Committed to growing men’s and women’s ministry in leadership minded roles. Someone who encourages the development of people’s gifts and A people Empowerer talents enabling the church to grow spiritually and numerically. person not controller Warm, compassionate and approachable with good pastoral skills. A team A person blessed with a sense of humour, who has the ability to player relax and understands the necessity of taking time off for sufficient recreation. A leader with Has time to confidence listen Good teacher Creative Figure 1 Church nave and challenger 6 5. Local amenities St John’s is on the west side of Fareham, a historic market town situated Fareham Health Centre is in the centre of Fareham. The nearest major hospital is a 20-minute drive away. The local crematorium is at on the coast between Southampton and Portsmouth. Portchester which is 3 miles away. There is a convenience store and take-away a 5-minute walk away from the church and vicarage. The parish includes three small shopping areas Buses to Fareham centre and Gosport stop outside