Associate Priest – House for Duty with Army Chaplaincy in The Hermitage Team Ministry serving the Parishes of Cold Ash, Compton, East Ilsley, Hampstead Norreys, Hermitage and Yattendon & Frilsham March 2014 Introduction Applications are invited for the post of Associate Priest, House for Duty, in the Hermitage Team Ministry, the parishes of Cold Ash, Compton, East Ilsley, Hampstead Norreys, Hermitage and Yattendon & Frilsham within the Diocese of Oxford; combined with a role as part-time Chaplain to Denison Barracks, paid on a sessional basis The Hermitage Team is located in West Berkshire, close to Newbury, Reading and Oxford. This Profile describes the Team and each parish in some detail. Applications: Applications should be made on the standard form (www.oxford.anglican.org) and sent to: Venerable Olivia Graham, Archdeacon of Berkshire, Foxglove House, Love Lane, Newbury, RG14 2JG email: [email protected] Applications sent by email should be followed up by a signed paper copy as soon as possible. The closing date for applications is 25th April 2014 and shortlisting will take place on 1st May. Potential applicants are welcome to make contact with the Team Rector, the Reverend Canon Rita Ball, and to visit for further information, and to assist the process of discernment. Email [email protected] or phone 01635 202967 Interviews will be held on 15th May 2014 Applicants are advised to keep this day available until informed of the result of the short listing. The appointment will be made by the Team Ministry Patronage Board for the Benefice which consists of The Bishop of Reading/Archdeacon of Berkshire Oxford Diocesan Board of Patronage The Rector of Thatcham Revd Mark Bennet Four representatives of the Team Council who are also Parish representatives A senior Army Chaplain will act as an advisor to the panel for this appointment The appointment is subject to satisfactory disclosure from the Criminal Records Bureau. Normal travelling expenses will be reimbursed. 2 Setting The Hermitage Team Ministry is within the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It lies on the southern flanks of the Berkshire Downs to the north of Newbury and Thatcham, in beautiful rolling countryside of fields and woods. It is in the Newbury Deanery in the Episcopal Area of Reading, Diocese of Oxford. The area served is in West Berkshire, close to junction 13 of the M4 and mostly to the east of the A34, roads which provide easy access to Oxford, Reading, London and the West country. It stretches from Cold Ash just north east of Newbury to the increasingly rural villages in the Berkshire Downs about ten miles away. Travel to and from the area is convenient either by car, coach or train. Within the area use of a car is really the only option. Commuters use main roads and principal train stations at Didcot, Newbury, Goring, Pangbourne, Theale and Reading. Population Across the Team there is a mixture of housing, varying from housing association stock (mostly ex-council housing) through small modern private estates to isolated farm cottages and listed buildings. The working population mostly travel to larger centres for employment. Vodafone, with its world headquarters in Newbury, is a major employer. Whilst most of the area covered by the Team can be described as rural or semi-rural, it has proved increasingly attractive as a home for those wishing to commute to work. The total population is 10,400. Approximate figures, taken from the 2011 census, are: Cold Ash (and Ashmore Green) 3500 Hermitage (with Curridge) 3300 Compton 1600 East Ilsley 500 Hampstead Norreys 800 Yattendon (with Frilsham) 700 Schools There are Church Primary Schools at Cold Ash (VC), Hampstead Norreys (VC) and Yattendon (VA) and County Primary Schools at Curridge, Hermitage and East Ilsley. Team clergy visit these schools on a regular basis and are members of the governing bodies of church schools. The Downs School in Compton, an 11 to 18 school, is federated with Compton Primary [VC]. Other secondary schools, with sixth form facilities, are located in Newbury and Thatcham and there is a college of further education in Newbury. There are several independent schools in the area and Downe House, an independent boarding school for girls, is situated in Cold Ash. 3 Churches and Church Life The seven churches in the Team have their own individual character with church buildings ranging in age from the 11th to the 19th century. The churches are in good repair and the local communities are highly supportive of fund raising to improve and maintain the church buildings. Church Services The PCCs of the Team churches are currently considering the Sunday service pattern and a revised pattern will be in place from the beginning of May 2014. All churches will continue to offer eucharistic and non-eucharistic worship using Common Worship, BCP and informal liturgies. Team Activities Many church members play a positive role in the numerous activities centred on the individual parishes and those arranged for the whole Team. Currently a Meditation Group, a Prayer Group and a House Group meet weekly and members of all Team churches are welcome to attend; in Lent there are Team-wide study groups and other groups come together for study on an occasional basis. Occasional Offices In 2013 there were 43 baptisms, 9 weddings and 24 funerals. Electoral Roll The 2013 Electoral Roll for the Team is 289. Individual church Electoral Roll numbers are: Cold Ash 59 Hermitage 71 Compton 44 East Ilsley 20 Hampstead Norreys 51 Yattendon & Frilsham 44 Organisation Team Council/PCCs The Council meets three times a year. Each parish sends a churchwarden and one other elected representative to the Council. There are six PCCs, each with an elected Lay Chair. Team clergy attend PCC meetings whenever possible and have the opportunity of chairmanship by agreement. Finance Each parish produces separate financial accounts; the Team Treasurer maintains the accounts of the Team’s working expenses and the Team Parish Share, which are apportioned to each parish on an agreed formula. Each parish supports a variety of local and overseas charities and together the Team usually holds a special collection for a chosen charity during Advent. The Parish Share has been paid in full in recent years. Communication There is a ‘Team Messenger’ published each week for distribution in each church. It deals with church affairs, such as services and reminders of group meetings and suggestions for prayer. There are also monthly or bi- monthly Parish Magazines of a more general nature, with church sections. Web communication is increasingly important and some churches have pages on their local village website, others have individual websites. The Deanery The Hermitage Team is part of Newbury Deanery; each parish elects Deanery Synod representatives. The Deanery has recently formulated a Mission Action Plan which is available on request. It is hoped that all clergy will be actively involved in the on-going mission of the Deanery and there are many opportunities to pursue areas of special interest and to develop expertise in areas of church life. 4 Team Colleagues All clergy and Licensed Lay Ministers (Readers) are licensed to the Team and work in all the parishes. The staff team is made up of the Team Rector, Revd Canon Rita Ball living in Hermitage, who is currently also Area Dean of Newbury, and the Team Vicar, Revd Luci Heyn who lives in Compton; the person appointed to the House for Duty post will live in Yattendon. There are three Licensed Lay Ministers, Wendy Willoughby-Paul, Cathy Hawkins and Margaret Fisher, an active retired priest Revd Clive Jones, and the Chaplain to Downe House School, the Revd. Dr. Simon Thorn. Mrs Liz Crew provides part-time administrative assistance, having responsibility for the weekly Team Messenger, cards for team wide distribution at Easter and Christmas and requested photocopying. This group of ministers exercise a shared and collaborative leadership for the Team and are ably supported by churchwardens and dedicated laity in every church. Full working and travelling expenses are payable to all Team ministers. As a team of churches we work well together, although serving very individual communities which have strong loyalties to each local parish church, reflected in good attendance at major festivals and special events and sustained support for fundraising. The many and varied community events, social, fundraising or interest-based, provide important points of contact between churches and local residents; these strengthen relationships and support our practice of being open and welcoming churches. Although there is a broad spread of inherited churchmanship, neither the Team nor individual churches are split on theological issues. There are some new initiatives to attract young families and there is a close working relationship with the VC and VA primary schools and a desire to spread that good practice into all schools in the Team area. The village communities provide a high level of pastoral care, and there is positive feedback from non-church goers about the care they experience from the clergy and church members, especially in times of need. Church members are well represented in voluntary groups and activities in their local communities. 5 Job description This is an unusual post which combines being a house for duty priest in the parishes of the Hermitage Team with the role of part-time Chaplain to Denison Barracks in Hermitage. Within the Team you will be working across a range of seven lovely rural churches for Sunday worship and occasional offices, and have a particular pastoral attachment to the communities of Yattendon and Frilsham; the housing is a substantial rectory in Yattendon. At Denison Barracks there will be one session per week of approximately 4 hours which is paid by the Army at an agreed session rate.