The Thurstable and Winstree Team Ministry

Thank you for enquiring about the role of Team Vicar in the Thurstable and Winstree Team Ministry. The Team Vicar is a key part of our Ministry Team which currently includes the Team Rector, Anne- Marie Renshaw, a second-year stipendiary Assistant Curate, Liz Barnes, two Locally Deployed Self- Supporting Assistant Curates, Julia Russell Grant and Peter Streete, two Readers, Harold Toms and Anne Wild and the Youth Worker, Stuart Keiller. We also have the support of four retired clergy living in the benefice. There is a part-time Team Administrator, Christine Hall, in post. The Ministry Team meets monthly to pray together, plan and encourage one another. The Team Ministry was formed in October 2013 by the joining of three neighbouring benefices. There are nine parishes, each with its own parish church. It is in the Colchester Archdeaconry and the Witham Deanery. It is found to the south of the A12 between Witham and Colchester in beautiful North-East Essex countryside. There is easy road and rail access to Colchester, Chelmsford and London and the Essex coast is not far away. That largest parish in the benefice, Tiptree, claims to be the largest village in England with a population of 11,500 and significant new housing development planned within the next ten years. The other eight parishes cover a wide geographical area, most of which is farmland, and are centred on a variety of villages and hamlets. There is a secondary school in Tiptree and there are eight primary schools in the benefice, of which four are Church of England schools. There are also excellent secondary schools in Colchester. The Team Rector lives in Tiptree and the Team Vicar in Layer de la Haye. Ministry is shared across the whole Team, but the Team Vicar has primary pastoral responsibility for the parishes of Layer de la Haye, Layer Marney, Layer Breton with Birch, Copford and Easthorpe, while the Team Rector has pastoral responsibility for Tolleshunt Knights with Tiptree, Great Braxted, Messing and Inworth. It is envisaged that a further two parishes, Kelvedon and Feering, will join the Team Ministry in the future, bringing with them another Team Vicar. The parishes are currently developing a common vision statement and have an agreed set of priorities that we are working towards. There is a strong desire to see our churches grow and to use our buildings more effectively to serve our village communities. Each parish has its own Churchwardens and PCC. There is also a Team Council, with representation from each PCC, that meets three times per year for strategic development. We aim to work closely together while respecting the individual character and tradition of each parish and community. The parishes regularly join together for worship, conferences and quiet mornings. A variety of social events take place throughout the year. We hope you will find this profile informative and will be excited by the opportunity to explore whether you are the person God is calling to be our next Team Vicar. The Revd. Anne-Marie Renshaw

Team Rector

Our Priorities Our Mission We aspire to be a transforming presence in our communities, open and welcoming to all and serving all. Our Vision Our vision is to serve our communities and grow our churches through the following broad aims: 1. Worship

• to develop a range of services across our 9 parish churches to suit a variety of needs and tastes and playing to the strengths of each church

• to establish and develop services that appeal to newcomers and families with children

• to use the skills of our clergy and lay ministers in leading creative worship that is well-prepared and feeds God’s people for the ministry and mission of the whole church

2. Spirituality • to encourage members of our congregations to pray more both together and alone • to enrich the spiritual lives of our congregations by introducing them to different

forms of prayer • to teach the children in our churches and church schools how to pray

3. Nurture

• to give our children a firm foundation from which to grow • to give people opportunities to learn more about the faith and to meet with other

Christians • to encourage every member of our churches to discover and use their gifts

4. Evangelism

• to grow our congregations • to support the distinctive nature of our church schools • to make the most of our contacts through occasional offices

5. Vocation

• to broaden the range of people sharing the load, particularly in the smaller churches • to encourage every member of the congregation to be active in some way • to encourage and support those discerning a vocation

6. Service

• to support the needy and vulnerable in our communities

• to seek to meet the needs of those who come to us for help 7. Hospitality

• to make our churches more accessible and welcoming • to address the lack of facilities in some of our buildings while retaining their

historical character • to encourage more use of our buildings by the wider community

8. Interdependence

• to engage with the wider church on several levels 9. Generosity

• to pay our parish share contributions in full • to raise the funds we need to maintain our buildings and enable their life to flourish

We have identified a number of specific priorities in each area that our churches are working on in 2015-2016. These are reviewed annually and new priorities are established. Personal Profile of the Team Vicar To help us to work towards our strategic priorities we are looking for a priest who • is prayerful, loves God and people, and will help to provide excellent pastoral care

across our parishes • enjoys being part of a team and the sharing, collaboration and adaptability this

requires, but is also happy to take a strong lead • is called to rural ministry and can be visionary and creative in helping us to better

serve our village communities and the diverse people who live in them • is able to identify and nurture vocations in others and will grow lay ministry and

welcome the involvement of our congregations • is committed to attracting more children and families to our churches and will work

with our enthusiastic head teachers to strengthen the links between church and school

• will be at ease taking a variety of services from Common Worship, the Book of Common Prayer and more informal liturgies and will feed and nurture us through sacrament and preaching

• has a good sense of humour, but is also thoughtful and reflective • is willing to take risks, try things out and learn from mistakes We don’t expect you to be perfect at everything, but we would welcome someone who genuinely wants to be part of a growing, developing and forward-looking rural ministry team.

The Team Vicar will be expected to: • work collaboratively with colleagues and attend the monthly Ministry Team meeting • meet fortnightly with the Team Rector • engage with diocesan training and mentoring programmes • be involved in the life of the deanery, through Synod and Chapter meetings • work with the Team Rector in setting the strategic direction of the Team • have pastoral oversight of five of the parishes in the benefice, while sharing this

ministry with other members of the Team In return we hope to offer you: • a supportive and friendly team of colleagues • a willingness among our congregations to work together with you • openness to your ideas and things we haven’t tried before • full support for taking your day off, an annual retreat and your full holiday

entitlement (in fact, we will insist on it) • full expenses and a modern Vicarage in Layer de la Haye The vicarage is situated centrally in the village and has four bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs with dining room, sitting room, study, cloakroom, well-fitted kitchen and small utility room downstairs. It has gas-fired central heating and has recently been refurbished. There is a double garage and a good sized garden with lawns to the front and rear of the property.

St John the Baptist, Layer de la Haye

Approximately two thousand people live in Layer de la Haye, many commuting to Colchester, Chelmsford and London each day. There are four farms, two pubs, two village halls (one being rebuilt in 2015) and one school, a doctor’s surgery and a recently reopened village shop, together with a reservoir and wildlife centre. St John the Baptist is half a mile south of The Cross, which is in the centre of the village. The earliest record of the Church is in 1128, but the chancel and nave date from the

14th century, and a south aisle was added in the 19th

century. As a millennium project, the five bells were re-hung, retuned and a sixth bell added. Church and Tower give magnificent views of the recently enlarged Abberton Reservoir. Two or three services are held in the church each Sunday, and during each month, three are services of Holy Communion and one is an All- Age service, deliberately aimed towards families. The non-sacramental services are usually led by members of the laity, and lay members are involved in all services. In Lent and Holy Week, at Rogation and on ‘fifth’ Sundays, we join with other churches in the team for worship.

The electoral roll is currently 92, comprising mainly people who live in the village. The average congregation at the main Sunday morning service is 30, and we have smaller but loyal congregations at our monthly 8am communion service and our weekly evensong. All our services are from Common Worship. The church has a Bevington two-manual organ, and we have a small but enthusiastic adult choir who sing once a month and on special occasions.

We have good links with our village primary school and active support from the Head Teacher. The school is Church of England (VC), and two members of the church are governors, one being the Local Authority nominated Chairman. We hold services at Christmas, Easter and Harvest and for School Leavers each year, and, since the footpath was built, regular class visits as part of their religious education curriculum. Twice a term we hold Messy Church in the school.

JB Tots (a mother and toddler group) meet each week during term time. The Friends of John the Baptist help to fund improvements to the Church, and our active social committee arranges functions during the year, including Quiz Nights and a Safari Supper. We have a 100 Club. The Parish Gazette, published monthly, reaches over 40% of the households in the parish. The church and churchyard are maintained by a loyal band of helpers, many of whom are not currently members of the Church, but value its place in the village. There is a band of bell ringers who ring for the main Sunday service, and keep the tower in good order The enlargement of Abberton Reservoir, which forms the southern boundary of the parish, has allowed a number of developments of benefit to our Church through its community fund. An all-weather car park and a safe pedestrian link between the village and Church have been provided, and a grant has covered half of the anticipated cost of adding an accessible entrance and toilet and a servery to the South Aisle of the Church, for which a faculty application has been lodged. The PCC is committed to exploring ways of increasing membership of our church. The Council expects that the completion of all these recent developments will allow us to use the Church for more and varied events, such as school visits and concerts, and open it to those who would not normally enter. Through improving familiarity with our beautiful building, we anticipate that more people will be attracted to join us for worship.

The Parish of St Mary the Virgin, Layer Marney.

Layer Marney is a small rural parish with a farming tradition. With a population of 250 and an electoral roll of 38, our congregation is drawn from a wider area than the geographical parish boundary, and includes several couples preparing for marriage.

By a combination of common sense and prayerful listening, we have been working towards the new team structures for some time. Working in a larger group of parishes offers us a wider range of resources and opportunities. We have supported our Reader Julia through her faith journey to her ordination and priesting. We have a small but tuneful and enthusiastic choir. Several of us are trained to assist in services, with serving, reading, intercessions and verging at weddings. Our members are actively involved in outreach, including Messy Church, School Governance, Parish Magazine (free to every home), NHS Patient Group, the Three Villages Community Association (covering Birch, Layer Breton & Layer Marney), Parish Meetings and Local Clubs.

We have rotas for many church tasks, in running services and for the usual maintenance, and we work as a team, in co-operative style. We share an annual fete with the village. There is a service every Sunday, and we have a wide range of ‘special’ seasonal and country services and events, including Plough Sunday & lunch, Candlemas, Mothering Sunday, Easter Light with a lamb supper, Rogation including breakfast, a walk across three parishes and lunch, Harvest Thanksgiving and parish supper, Nativity with the school choir, followed by mulled wine and mince pies. The Ministry team runs Lent Lunch courses across the three Layer parishes.

St Mary the Virgin Layer Marney

Weddings

Rogatio

As the team ministry develops, we look forward to greater exchange and sharing of these occasions with neighbouring parishes. Whilst the services and events, and the building, are to some extent based on tradition, the content and range of our activities is constantly being reworked in order to maintain and extend our mission.

The Church building itself is largely contemporary with Layer Marney Tower. in ‘England’s Thousand Best Houses’ Simon Jenkins says of the latter “Its turrets rise seven stories, and only cathedrals equal that.” And of the Church he says “A Church worthy of the setting was built to the rear of the house.” Largely through the historical attractions, some 5,000 visitors come to the Church each year; it is kept open every day. It is the only public building in the parish, and the effective central heating system enhances early morning winter services. We have plans in progress to create a meeting room, kitchen and disabled toilet, and to improve disabled access. We believe that this will encourage people to use the church for more than Sunday services and weddings.

Messy Church

Nativity

Plough Sunday

Mothering Sunday Village Fete

St Mary the Virgin Church, Layer Breton with Birch

The parish of Layer Breton with Birch comprises two villages, Birch with a population of around 850 and Layer Breton with around 250. St Mary’s was built in 1923 and replaced a previous church which was damaged beyond repair in an earthquake.

It was used as a Chapel of Ease until the closure of St Peter’s in Birch in 1989 when it became the parish church. Seating around 60 people we currently hold a Eucharist service on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month at 9.00am. During Holy Week we host services of Morning Prayer and evening Compline and a Good Friday Devotional Hour which are attended by people from our neighbouring team churches.

We currently have 11 people on our Electoral Roll and although our average weekly attendance is small we do have a full church for our carol service on Christmas Eve and generally have a higher attendance on special days like Easter and Mothering Sunday, however there is a lot of goodwill towards the church in the villages, demonstrated by our 100 club, the success of which has so far enabled us to pay our parish share in full. The parish newsletter, which is delivered free to every household in Birch, Layer Breton & Layer Marney, and which we publish with help from Layer Marney, helps to maintain goodwill.

The village of Birch is home to Birch C of E Voluntary Aided Primary School, a National Support School, which has been deemed ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted and whose Head teacher has recently been appointed as a National Leader of Education. We are welcomed into the school, where we hold our Messy Church Services twice a term, currently having around 15 children and 10 -12 adults attending . We hold a Messy Harvest at St. Mary’s in September and are planning to hold school services in the church in the future.

The churchyard in Birch is our responsibility and we are helped with this by the Parish Council, Essex Wildlife Trust and the schoolchildren who helped plant new hedgerows. Socially we have an annual Christmas Supper and a Harvest meal and hold a Gift Day at St Mary’s where we sell cakes and plants. We take part in the Friends of Essex Churches bicycle ride and regularly join with the other team churches in their activities and services.

St Michael & All Angels Church, Copford Copford has approximately 610 houses the majority of which are privately owned. The Alma Public House is situated by Copford Green where there is always a warm welcome & good food. Derek is always happy to host our annual Carol Service. A quarter of a mile away from The Green is the Church, next to the old Copford Hall and Copford Cricket Club. Copford Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School is a popular oversubscribed school and has around 210 pupils. There is a regularly used Village Hall, rebuilt in the early 1990’s, a play area and Pitts Wood, looked after by local volunteers to give access to all. There are two residential homes for the elderly, one of which is a nursing home as well as sheltered housing. Some small businesses and two farms complete the picture.

Nestling beside the village cricket pitch, the Norman Church is a Grade 1*listed building. Described by Pevsner as “the most remarkable Norman parish church in the county” and Simon Jenkins said “Copford’s Norman wall paintings are among the best in England”. They include the earliest untouched painting in the country, the Raising of Jairus’ daughter, the only complete Zodiac, together with the magnificent Christ in Majesty. Victorian enthusiasts uncovered and ’restored’ them but with the wrong type of plaster. Finally in 1992 with financial help from many sources and the tireless work of parishioners, the paintings were made safe and secure.

Major fundraising also resulted in the building of the “facility” in the Churchyard, providing a much needed accessible toilet, storage and kitchen area. With bequests, The Friends of Copford Church (FOCC) was established as a charitable trust and supports Copford Church in the care and repair of its fabric and Churchyard. Without their support it would be impossible to maintain the Church as a functioning building. The Church seats 130 with excellent acoustics and has a grand piano, a good organ and three bells. Copford Church Today Volunteers keep the Church open daily for all to enjoy its spiritual calm and historical interest. Regular services are held at 10.15am each Sunday. They alternate between All Age with activities for the children and music provided by members of the congregation and Holy/Family Communion Services. Attendances at the All Age services are at present around 15-20, with Communion Services at times just 7 or 8. Refreshments served after services are a popular feature. An organist plays for one Communion Service a month.

Regular features have included Pets service, Remembrance service, Brownie parade, summer BBQ, breakfasts in Church, Easter egg hunts, services by candlelight, school carol services and renewal of marriage vows. The church is also used for concerts and gives guided historical tours. Termly Sunday services are held in Copford C of E Primary School and fundraising events have been held at the school including scarecrow, wine tasting and strawberry tea festivals. Copford Church has

an affiliated Mothers Union and also has close links with the Copford Women’s Institute. Communion is taken to the Residential Homes and housebound. Weddings and baptisms together with burials and interments of ashes in the newly renovated memorial garden and extended Churchyard are welcomed. Enhancing these areas was a major project completed last year to increase usage. The Churchyard is a community asset in its own right, attracting people who do not necessarily come into the Church. Award winning children’s author Kes Gray found much inspiration there. He wrote a story set in the churchyard involving local residents through their cats in a “twist in the tale” story about their relationship with the Church mice. He has very generously directed any royalties to the Churchyard. Copford has many strengths and looks forward to working with the new Team Vicar to grow and flourish. We know from the packed Christmas Crib Services and special services like the Pets Service that the local Community still feels a connection with the Church. We have a flourishing active school on our doorstop where our Church Warden is a Governor and rekindling a positive vibrant relationship with them is a must. We are already joining with the School and the local Pitts Wood Trust on a fund raising Easter Egg Hunt with the Village Scarecrow competition making a welcome return. We are lucky enough to have a member who has completed her Christian Studies Course. In 2013 the Church organised fundraising totalled over £6000 and with more people to share the load, these talents can be re-energised. Copford Church has a dedicated Church Warden and competent

Fabric Officer and Treasurer together with musicians in the congregation who play at services, the support of the Friends of Copford Church and much valued hardworking volunteers. We have a church and churchyard that lends itself to weddings, baptisms, events and guided tours which are on the increase. Service styles and timings are ripe for review as well as re-invigorating teaching and mission in new ways. We need to visibly show the Church’s relevance to its local community in a way that is relevant to them, engaging on the ground, day by day.

Parish of St Mary the Virgin, Easthorpe

Easthorpe has approximately 70 houses, the majority of which are privately owned, giving a mixed social structure, with commuters, working families and retired. The population is approximately 170. Children are educated at Copford Primary School, and from there go to Honywood School, in Coggeshall, or Stanway School. Sixth form colleges for the area are in Colchester. Some children from the village attend the youth group in the neighbouring village of Messing, run by the Youth Worker. The Parish Council is supportive of the Church, in that it pays for cutting a proportion of the grass in the Churchyard. Other work in the Churchyard is carried out by volunteers from the community. There is a rota for Church cleaning and flower arranging. The Church is the only place of worship in the village and, as there is no shop or public house, the only meeting place.

The Church of St Mary the Virgin is a small Norman building with later modifications. It was totally refurbished in 1910. It is light and airy, having only one small stained glass window. The building is in good repair. The Church has chairs rather than pews, which means we are able to use it for Harvest Suppers and quizzes etc. There is a small Church Hall adjacent to the Church, used for meetings, coffee mornings and small gatherings. We try to hold a fundraising event every month; we see this not only as a

way to raise money for our Church, but also as a way of outreach to non-Churchgoers. Fundraising events are well supported by the community. We have a Building Trust Committee, separate from the PCC, set up for the purpose of fundraising for the fabric of the Church. Our services are traditional, on the first and third Sundays of the month we have BCP Evensong at 6pm and on the second Sunday BCP Holy Communion at 9.00am and on the fourth Sunday we have Family Communion. When there is a fifth Sunday, a Holy Communion Service is held in one of the Churches in the Team and a Joint Team Evensong is held in one of the Team Churches. Lay people are involved with the readings at all services.

Most people involved in Church life are 60 plus. Although our congregation is small, (average 6 for Holy Communion and 8 for Evensong) for normal Sunday services, festivals are always well attended. We have a Mothers’ Union Group, joint with the parish of Copford. Our Electoral Roll is at present 14. As we are such a small community, pastoral care by the laity is carried out as part of everyday life. We have a small but loyal congregation, which is well, supported by the community at all our lively and imaginative fundraising events. All though small our church is beautiful in its simplicity and is well maintained. We would love to grow and develop our Church, and find ways to reach out to the community especially the younger generation, who will be our future Church. As a Church, we endeavour to grow and work together to encourage others, and to set an example in our way of life, by caring for others and being available to listen to people’s needs.

Tolleshunt Knights with Tiptree St Luke’s Church

St Luke’s is set in the centre of the village of Tiptree, proud to be one of the largest villages in England and home of the best jam! Tiptree is the only parish in the benefice where there are churches of other denominations. St Luke’s works closely with the United Reformed Church, the Roman Catholic Church, Kingsland Church (a charismatic church meeting in the Community Centre) and the Orthodox Monastery at Tolleshunt Knights. Together the churches run a Christian bookshop and café, staffed by volunteers, employ our Youth Worker and visit homes in the parish to offer prayer support. Joint services are held on Good Friday, Remembrance Sunday, the Women’s World Day of Prayer, at Christmas and on other civic occasions. There is also collaboration in Messy Church which is run by both St Luke’s and the URC. The main Sunday services are Parish Communion held at 9.30am weekly and a twice-monthly 11am family Morning Worship. Around 80-90 people attend on a typical Sunday. A small Sunday Club meets each week and children are admitted to Holy Communion at the age of 7. On Thursday mornings there is a 10.00 am Holy Communion service. Morning and Evening Prayer are said in church on weekdays. The church is open every day for private prayer and is also well used by the four primary schools, one of which is a church school. It is also the village’s principal concert venue and has recently been re-ordered to create greater flexibility in the chancel. The church has a strong musical tradition with a robed mixed choir. The Church Extension is used by community groups as well as by the church. There is a thriving church Parent and Toddler Group, a Ladies Group, an Edward Bear service for pre-school children, a Chime Ringing group and several house groups. The PCC meets monthly and has a number of teams taking responsibility for different areas of church life. There are around 6 weddings, 25 baptisms and 60 funerals each year. The Parish Office and the Team Administrator are based in the Church Extension.

Web site: www.tk-tiptree-braxted-benefice.org.uk

The Parish of Great Braxted, The Church of All Saints

All Saints Church is about a mile from Great Braxted, a small village with a population of about 275, and is set within the grounds of Braxted Park, a privately owned estate which functions as a wedding venue. The church is used for a number of weddings throughout the year, mostly by couples who live across Essex and East London and have established a qualifying connection through worshipping with us. There is a service every Sunday, where villagers sit alongside young couples planning to marry and where friendships are built. Usual Sunday attendance is around 25 and services include Parish Communion, BCP Matins and the Family Service. This year All Saints is celebrating its 900th anniversary with a series of concerts and a special service in October. Bishop Stephen joins members of the congregation as part of his pilgrimage around the diocese.

Inworth All Saints Church

Inworth is a small village with around 60 inhabitants and no real village centre. A feature of the village is Perrywood Garden Centre which is well known in this part of Essex not only for everything and anything to do with the garden but also for its daytime restaurant. There is also a small farm shop specialising in fruit and vegetables. The church is a very small Norman building largely constructed in the 1170s There are a peal of 6 bells which are rung not only before the service of Matins but lessons are given once a fortnight. Bands of ringers come from all over East Anglia to attempt full peals. Our Captain of the Tower is chairman of the Essex Bellringers.

Services are held on 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month, one being Matins and the other Communion using Common Worship. Inside the church there are early wall paintings, slip tiles and a stained glass window which are of special interest. Throughout the years members of the congregation arrange social events to encourage villagers, many of whom are commuters with no children, to meet each other and help with raising funds. There is a biennial Flower Festival – which has acquired quite a reputation. Sadly the village has lost its pub with a barn for holding events.

Messing All Saints’ Church

Messing is in a conservation area and has a population of 250. The 11th century church is situated in the centre of the village, opposite the recently refurbished Village Hall and not too far from the pub. The church is of some historical interest and also has connections with the family of George Bush, so is often sought out by American visitors to the area. The village has good community spirit and a number of events are held in the Village Hall, including the fortnightly youth group run by our Youth Worker. The church has strong links with Messing Primary School, a small school now run as an academy under the leadership of an independent school in Chelmsford. There are services every Sunday, including Parish Communion, both BCP and Common Worship, and more informal services. There is an active Friends of Messing Church and a branch of the Mothers’ Union. There are two burial grounds serving the church. It is not always snowing in Messing but thermals are advisable when it is!

The Thurstable and Winstree Team Ministry

Thank you for taking the time to read our profile. We hope you have enjoyed taking a virtual tour around our nine parishes and that you will be interested in applying for this post. We would love to have the opportunity to meet you so that we can explore together whether you are the person God has chosen to be our new Team Vicar.

If it would help you to decide whether to apply for this post, you are invited to contact our Team Rector, the Revd Anne-Marie Renshaw, on 01621 815260 for an informal conversation.

Please also take a look at our new website www.thurstableandwinstreechurches.org . Please be assured that we will be praying for you. We look forward to welcoming you to our churches.