CUMNOR PARISH 2016 Parish Profile CONTENTS FOREWORD BY THE BISHOP OF DORCHESTER I have known the Parish of Cumnor Introduction 3 for many years and it has always struck me as being one which is full Our vision and our new vicar 4 of life and energy. The parish itself is of a broadly evangelical tradition, putting a high value on Who we are 5 preaching and intelligent dialogue with the Scriptures, but, as you will Church ministry 9 see from the profile, the three churches it includes are very much local churches catering for and Finance and giving 12 welcoming people from different traditions and spiritualities. Inevitably a number of the About our parish 13 parishioners choose to worship in one of the central Oxford churches Conclusion 17 but there is a strong commitment by the Cumnor congregations to supporting and building up their Appendices mission and outreach locally. The churches, and the 1 Financial activities 18 communities to which they belong, relate to each other in a very 2 Budget for 2016 19 vibrant way and I think that the new incumbent will be arriving at 3 Giving to charities 20 an exciting time in their lives. Part of the challenge within this will be 4 More about our parish 21 to continue to develop the Ministry Team, building on some very 5 Diocese, deanery, parish 23 strong foundations, and to find 6 On the web 23 ways to reach out in new ways. Alongside personnel lies the development of church buildings both at St Michael’s and at St Andrew’s to serve still better both church and community. It is an exciting job to come to and I warmly commend it. 2 INTRODUCTION Less than five miles from the centre of Oxford, the parish of Cumnor combines rural life with an expanding urban population. The parish is home to three Anglican churches, each with its own diversity of services and styles of worship. We are conscious that new areas of housing development bring new challenges, and to meet these we are embarking on a renewal of our commitment to mission in the community. We already have flourishing ministries to older people. At a recent meeting the PCC agreed that the top three priorities for the next five years would be to communicate the relevance of the good news of Jesus Christ to our growing community, to encourage greater participation by young people, and to engage with the under-forties to transition the church into the next generation. We are grateful for many years of dedicated service from previous incumbents who have led us to this point. We are now looking for someone who will build on the ministries that have been established, but who will also innovate and lead us forward by God’s Holy Spirit to achieve his purposes in our community. 3 OUR VISION AND OUR NEW VICAR We aim to be We are thankful for the main current aspects of our church life, including active participation by lay people in church services A growing and other forms of ministry and community outreach church that diversity of worship services across the three churches demonstrates opportunity for further fellowship and study through thriving home groups and proclaims employment of a part-time Parish Administrator commitment to established church groups, activities and sports facilities Jesus Christ for young people close links with Cumnor C of E Primary School a range of events and groups attended by the wider A dynamic and community. transforming We would value a new vicar who loving presence in our local models a living relationship with Christ underpinned by personal Bible study and prayer community is ready to inspire and deepen our spiritual lives through the guidance of the Holy Spirit is a good communicator, committed to Bible-based A church preaching and teaching committed to is committed to sensitive evangelism and is keen to reach out to the wider community encouraging has good interpersonal skills and sensitivity to the personal pastoral needs of the parish spiritual growth will be comfortable with different forms of churchmanship is a team builder, able to unite and strengthen the links between us in our ministry and worship will encourage and motivate us in the exploration of vocation, ministry and gifts can help us think and act strategically, leading us forward into mission and God’s exciting new plans for us. 4 WHO WE ARE Each of the three churches in the parish is set within, and much involved with, its own distinct community. The congregations mostly live within the parish and include people from various Christian traditions. There are 154 on the electoral roll. In 2015 there were eighteen baptisms, ten marriages, and twenty funeral services of which eight were followed by a burial in St Michael’s churchyard. Confirmations are usu- ally held annually; in April 2015 the parish hosted a service in which Bishop Colin confirmed fourteen young people, including ten from our parish who had received instruction from our Youth Worker. The churches have their own websites and Facebook pages (see Appendix 5) which complement the Information given in this profile; together we hope they will give the flavour of our friendly churches and communities. St Andrew’s, Dean Court St Michael’s, Cumnor St Mary’s, Farmoor The church started meeting in the The parish church is a Grade I The church began with outdoor community centre as outreach to listed building dating from the services in July 1935. The simple the 1950s council estate; the eleventh century. Across the wooden building that served as a present wooden building was put road from the church, part of the church for over 60 years was up by local people in 1961. Next to old vicarage and old vicarage replaced by a permanent the church is a smaller brick stables have been converted into structure in 1997 which was building known as the St Andrew’s a parish centre, with parish rededicated in 1998. Centre (STAC), used for children’s offices, meeting rooms, toilets and youth work, as well as for and a small kitchen, near the smaller meetings and events. present vicarage. 5 Looking to the future: planned development St Michael’s and St Andrew’s are planning to improve the church facilities to make them more suitable for the needs of the twenty-first century St Michael's: Initial exploratory Open door of opportunity: St Michael's work identified key opportunities at St Michael’s for enhancing the welcome offered to everyone in the parish. This included improving access to the church, providing a toilet and facilities for simple refreshments, and ‘de-cluttering’ the church through better storage. A small working group was established to take this forward. After consultation with the parish, architects’ plans were drawn up ambitious re-ordering of the canvassed opinions from church and a faculty received in 2016. A church. This second phase would users, congregation and fund-raising group is working with have great benefits not only for immediate neighbours, and have the advice of a professional fund church services but also for the engaged an architect who is raiser; we are confident that funds wider use of the church by the working with them on ideas for a will be forthcoming. Our aim is community. building designed to enable more that the building should be debt effective mission in the free by the completion of the St Andrew’s: A structural community. It is not possible to project. The cost is likely to be in engineer’s report on in 2014 estimate the cost at this early the region of £300,000, of which confirmed a series of serious stage. £40,000 has already been failures in the wooden church received. building. A small working party is It is thought that some of the considering the options for funding for St Andrew’s is likely The current project is envisaged as rebuilding it. They have to come from community the first phase of a more sources, as the building is widely used by the local community during the week. We would value having a new vicar who is champion of these projects, but we do not expect him/her to be a project manager or a fund-raiser. There will be scope for more involvement in the second phase of the St Michael's project. 6 Our services Morning services are held at all three churches every Sunday. These range from Holy Communion to less formal Family Services. A typical 11.00 am service at St Michael’s, followed by coffee in church, attracts about 80 people. Services vary between Family Christingle, St Michael's Services, Morning Worship and Holy Communion (CW). There are songs are usually taken from St Mary’s services are also at 9.30 children’s groups and a crèche in Songs of Fellowship and am, varying between Morning term-time. Hymns are generally PowerPoint is used. The service is Worship, Holy Communion (CW) selected from Hymns Old & New. amplified and there is a loop and a monthly discussion service, Most services have a robed choir, system for the hearing impaired. with an occasional Family Service. affiliated to the Royal School of In term-time there is a children’s This small but very committed Church Music. Sung liturgy is used group. Most people stay on for church community numbers only occasionally. coffee after the service; once a around eight to ten adults on a There is an 8.00 am service of Holy month there is ‘Sunday Special’, typical Sunday.