ALL SAINTS CHURCH CRANHAM

PARISH PROFILE

SUMMARY OF THE PROFILE

We are a small Parish in rural Essex, yet only 20minutes away from the heart of the city of London. We have excellent transport links and are close to good and outstanding schools.

We have strong Anglo Catholic traditions and are looking for someone who can help us to grow whilst maintaining this ethos.

We have a strong yet small Church community who work very well together and socialize well together. We are in the fortunate position not only to be able to help and support our own needs but also those in the local (and sometimes not so local) area.

THE VICAR WE WANT

The next Incumbent should be willing to maintain the Anglo-Catholic traditions of All Saints’.

They should be willing to involve themselves in the social life of the Parish as this is where they will get to know the parishioners and gain their confidence and support as they themselves become known by them.

We would like someone who can help us to nurture and grow the younger members of our congregation.

We have recently started the process of forming an MMU with three other local Churches and hope to progress this with the help of the new incumbent.

Morale has remained high in the Parish, and the Churchwardens along with the support of the laity have been able to ensure that as far as possible all services have been continued. We all look forward to working with a new incumbent.

ABOUT THE PARISH

The Parish of All Saints:

The Church of All Saints’, Cranham, is situated in Essex, 20 miles to the East of London. It is close to the M25 and ~6 miles from the Dartford Crossing. It is only ~1 mile from Upminster Station which is on the District Line as well as the main C2C line from Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness.

The Parish is situated on the edge of Green Belt land and borders a conservation area and The Thames Chase. The Parish is mainly residential with a few light industrial and commercial premises.

There are 2 schools in the Parish – a mixed primary school and a mixed secondary comprehensive school.

There are 1,164 houses in the Parish of which ~1/3 are owned by people of retirement age. Many people commute to London for work.

The most notable person to reside in our Parish was James Edward Oglethorpe, who was the founder of the Colony (and later State) of Georgia in America. The local primary school is named after him.

ABOUT THE CHURCH

The Church:

There has been a church on this site since the 13th Century. The present stone Church was built in 1873 and is the third Church to occupy this site. It has some very fine Victorian stained glass windows, a stone carved font and a stone reredos.

The bells were cast in Whitechapel Bell Foundry in 1493 and the Choir stalls were a gift from the Colonial Dames of Georgia celebrating the fact that the founder of the State of Georgia in America, General James Oglethorpe, is buried in a vault under the chancel.

There is a viscount Computerized three manual organ, which was installed in Easter 2007 following a fund-raising campaign by members of the congregation.

The Church is surrounded by a graveyard that is full, but existing graves are opened where families have left provision. A faculty was obtained for a churchyard extension restricted to the interment of ashes. This is known as the Garden of Remembrance.

The Congregation:

The congregation is predominantly middle class, a large percentage of which is retired. 65% live outside the Parish.

The Laity:

Lay involvement in worship is witnessed in the fact that some members of the congregation are licensed to assist with the chalice and administer home communion. Members of the congregation read the psalm, lessons and intercessions. The PCC is actively involved with planning and organization within the Church.

The main Sunday service is the 10am Family Mass. This is a Sung Mass with an organist and robed choir, which follows the Common Worship Order. There is a rota to provide four servers at this service – an MC, thurifer and two acolytes. Incense is used at the Introit, Gospel, Offertory and at the Recessional. The hymns are taken from The Complete Anglican Hymns Old and New, with a small supplement. The previous incumbent also held said Mass at 8am on a Sunday.

A Sunday School and crèche take place during Mass. The children leave just prior to the Gloria and return at the administration to receive a blessing or communion as appropriate. (All Saints’ is licensed to allow children to receive communion before confirmation.) During

the notices, the children and their teachers are invited to share what they have learnt with the congregation.

There is a said Mass with hymns held on Thursdays at 10am. There is a Church Parade service generally on the first Sunday of each month during term time at 12:15pm, at which our Junior Choir sing. There is Evening Prayer on the second Sunday of each month at 6pm and Sung Evensong on the fourth Sunday of the month at 6pm. Compline takes place every Wednesday evening at 8pm. Baptisms usually take place at 12:30pm on the second and fourth Sundays in the month.

During Lent, Stations of the Cross are said on every Wednesday evening and every evening during Holy Week, followed by the Holy Saturday Service of Light. The Regina Coeli is sung at the end of Mass on Easter Day and throughout the Easter season.

During Advent we have a Toy service, Christingle, Advent Carol service, Nine Lessons & Carols and a Crib service for children on Christmas Eve.

Mass is held in the evening on major festivals, and under our last incumbent on every Saint’s day.

There are usually ~35 communicants in the congregation on Sunday and ~16 communicants on a Thursday. The number of Children attending Sunday School varies from week to week, but averages 3-6.

There are 8 weddings and 12 baptisms booked for this year. We have held 4 funerals so far this year, and had 5 interment of ashes. The last confirmations took place in 2013.

We do admit children for communion prior to being confirmed.

Our worship is best described as catholic (supporting the aims of Affirming Catholicism), dignified but not over-formal, joyful but not over exuberant. We are an open, welcoming Church, which is perhaps confirmed by the number of people who choose our Church to be married in or for the Baptism of their children.

Numbers and Attachments:

Attached is a copy of the annual accounts, a map of the Parish and a Parish Magazine.

The Electoral Roll is 79.

The Buildings:

The Church is due a quinquennial inspection this year, but it is generally in good condition. In the last five years we have fitted heated pew seats, (the first Church in the country to do so), three high output gas heaters, renewed and painted the inner ceiling of the chancel, completely overhauled the roof, cleaned and repaired the gutters and downpipes and put in a new soak away drainage system. We have also purchased ramps to enable wheel chair access.

Boyd Hall was an old church school building some distance from the Church that became redundant in the 1950’s and was given to the Church for their use. An adjacent parcel of land was acquired in 1969 to give a site of about an acre. Unfortunately, Boyd Hall was vandalized and suffered an arson attack. Subsequent to this, a new housing estate has been built on the site, called Boyd Close. This has raised a sum of money for the Church, known as the Boyd Hall Legacy Fund, which has been invested. Charitable donations are made from the interest gained on these funds.

The Vestry Hall is a modern building adjacent to the Church, with seating capacity for about 90 people, and is used for meetings and social functions. It was substantially rebuilt in 2005 following an arson attack and is now fully accessible for the disabled. Both toilets were

updated in 2013 and new sewer pipes fitted. It has parking for about forty cars. It is also available for private hire.

The Priest in Charge’s House:

The clergy house is situated on the newly built Boyd Close Estate. It is a large four bedroomed detached house, which includes a Parish Office with associated cloakroom facilities. These are separate to the rest of the house. It also has its own detached garage and parking space for two cars.

Family Purse & Expenses:

The Family Purse and clergy expenses are met in full. There is a Free Will Offering Scheme, and Gift Aid envelopes are available in the pews. Our income is further supplemented by an annual Parish Fete and social events.

ABOUT THE WIDER CONTEXT

Other Churches:

There are no other Churches in our Parish. We are a member of Churches Together in Upminster, Cranham and North Ockendon, through which we support each other and work on joint services. The highlight of this ecumenicalism is the March of Witness through Cranham and Upminster, which is held on Good Friday. This culminates in a joint open-air service which is well-attended. Together, we also sponsor the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the Women’s World Day of Prayer and events for local schools.

We have a link with The Church of the Ascension in Collier Row through which we attend each other’s Patronal Festivals.

In the past, our choirs have joined with those of St Laurence’s Upminster and St Andrew’s Hornchurch for services.

Charitable Donations:

The PCC through the advice from the Boyd Hall Legacy Fund Committee make various one-off donations to local charities, churches and groups, as well as regular donations. In this year we have made donations to:

Step Up, RAGS, Sheepfold, The Brain Tumour Charity and St Francis Hospice

Pending : donation to Oglethorpe School for a Clock.

In addition, the Children’s Charity Committee chooses a particular local children’s charity to support each year. This committee has been running for over 40 years and many thousands of pounds have been raised in that time. Last year, £2,500 was raised for Riding for the Disabled. It is also able to make smaller donations to other charities, e.g. Brainwave, London Flower Society and others. For the last two years Boyd Hall Legacy Fund has matched the money raised (£3500 per year) which has then been allocated to other local children charities.

We support the Food Bank in Collier Row, and take regular donations of food there. At Harvest Festival, we also take food donations to Age Concern in Hornchurch. Toys collected at the Toy Service during Advent are given to Barnardo’s.

Church Organizations:

SECTION MEMBERSHIP FREQUENCY VENUE COMMENTSScout Group Beavers, Cubs & Scouts

52 Weekly Vestry Hall Attend Church Parade Services

Guide GroupRainbows, Brownies & Guides

62 Weekly Vestry Hall / St Peter’s Mass Centre

Attend Church Parade Services

Holiday Club 20 per session

4 times per year

Vestry Hall See below

Spare Rib Ladies Club

25 Monthly Vestry Hall

Ladies Circle 25 Monthly Vestry HallSocial Committee 8 12 events per

yearVarious

Children’s Charity Committee

9 4 events per year

The Sunday School provides stimulating activities which teach the scripture in ways that the children understand. They are able to share this with the congregation each week as part of the notices given at the end of the service. They also learn how to care for others through charity work, and make regular donations to charities. The annual highlight is the Nativity Play which they put on for the congregation on the Sunday before Christmas.

8 teachers and 5 crèche helpers are rostered so that they can also attend worship when not on duty.

Holiday Club is held four times a year during school holiday time and is open to children aged 4-11 years. It is advertised through the uniformed organizations, the local primary school and the press. It is sponsored by the Church and as such is able to make no charge to the parents’ of the children. They can, however, make a donation if they so wish.

The uniformed organization attend Church Parade generally on the first Sunday of the month during term time. This is held as a separate service following the Family Mass. It is felt that these organizations should be encouraged to form stronger links with the Church in order to encourage young people and their parents to attend services regularly. It may also be possible for them to join in the Family Mass on some occasions.

During Lent we hold coffee mornings on each Saturday. These are run by different organizations each week and offer a mix of items for sale and things to eat, the most popular of which is the full English breakfast.

Non-Church Organizations:

The Church also lets out the Vestry Hall for other groups to use on a regular basis, which are not associated with the Church itself. These include:

Tai Chi Zumba Sing & Sign Oglethorpe Players Lodge meetings.

Schools & Local Links:

There are two schools in the Parish, and previous incumbents have at various times been governors in both schools. They are The James Oglethorpe Primary School, which includes The Oglethorpe Pupil Referral Unit, and The Coopers’ Company and Coborn Secondary School.

There is also a private nursing home, Cranham Court, in the Parish. Home communion is taken there on a regular basis.

General James Oglethorpe, the founder of the State of Georgia in America, and his wife are buried under the Chancel of our Church. He was born in Godalming, was MP for Haslemere, and lived in Cranham Hall next to the Church after his marriage. Links have been forged with Godalming, Haslemere and Georgia.

Strengths and Weaknesses:

We have a strong community both within the Church and as part of Churches Together. When people move away from our Parish, they often retain their attendance at mass each Sunday, or as often as they can. We are very welcoming, and the prime responsibility of the sidesmen, to both new and regular worshippers, is to smile and say hello, with the emphasis on smiling. Our open door policy regarding weddings and baptisms add to our congregation with many couples bringing their children back to All Saints’ for baptism.

We are able to work well together, especially when it comes to arranging events such as our annual fete or coffee mornings when we all pull together.

We have a very active Social Committee with a broad range of activities that provide the cement to hold the congregation together.

The Children’s Charity Committee host an annual Parish Lunch which is very popular, as well as other well attended functions such as Afternoon Tea, Burns Night and Sing-a-longs.

There is a need to deepen the spiritual life within the Parish. We have a regular Quiet Day, which last year was held at St Mary Magdalene Church, Theydon Bois. In the past we have also hosted the Emmaus course and had a prayer group which met at member’s houses.

We have most recently started to form a Modern Missionary Unit (MMU) with St Luke’s, Cranham, St Laurence’s, Upminster and St Mary Magdalene in North Ockendon. It is still in the early stages but it looks to be an exciting area through which to open our Church to others.

Our predominant weakness, however, is that we do have an aging congregation, with some moving away to care for grandchildren, and more recently several members of our congregation have passed away. This has had a detrimental effect on the number of worshippers each week. We are aware that we do need to encourage younger members of the local community to join our congregation.

All Saints Church Financial summary and Balance sheet for 2014 is shown in attachment APCM and a copy of our magazine for July is also attached. This financial summary includes The Boyd Hall Legacy fund which is invested and interest used for good causes.

HAVERING DEANERY INPUT TO PARISH PROFILE ALL SAINTS’ CRANHAM

Havering Deanery is amongst the largest in the Chelmsford Diocese taking into account the population of this East London Borough, the number of clergy and the combined Church Electoral Roll of over 3,500. Havering comprises a number of former Essex towns and villages, which over the years have grown and in some cases merged, particularly during the housing expansion of the 1930s. Of the East London Boroughs Havering is the most white British demographically, but this is changing rapidly with the migration, in particular, of African, Eastern European and Asian nationalities.

As congregations we embrace the full spectrum of church tradition, which we see as an opportunity to engage more holistically in God’s mission to Havering. Over recent years fellowship and friendship have developed well in the Clergy Chapter; we are open about our differences in perspective and aim to work together as far as possible in mission for the sake of the Gospel. Lay involvement in the leadership of the Deanery is being actively encouraged and developed and good communication systems designed to improve cohesion.

The Havering Deanery Vision and Mission Action Plan embraces the ‘5 Marks of Mission’. Our vision is to join in the mission of God, in order that lives will be transformed and thereby the communities of Havering will be transformed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are identifying specific aspects of Havering life, where working together with the the Holy Spirit would bring hope and transformation. Examples of co-operation in mission include ministry with the homeless (‘Hope4Havering’) and Food-banks. All Saints’ have been especially generous in supporting the Collier Row/Romford Food-bank in a less affluent part of the Deanery.

One of the four priorities of the Bishop of Chelmsford’s ‘Transforming Presence’ vision is ‘reimagining ministry’. This includes a structural reordering to cluster parishes in ‘Mission and Ministry’ Units. Each church will be able to retain its tradition and identity, whilst working together in closer cooperation in mission and ministry. This process is gathering apace in Havering Deanery with mission as the central organising principle. It is proposed that All Saints’ Cranham will form an MMU along with St Luke’s Cranham, St Laurence’s Upminster and St Mary Magdelene North Ockendon. Initial conversations to build ‘good soil’ for relationship are underway.

As a deanery we look forward co-working with the new parish priest and people of All Saints’ as we all engage further in the partnership of the Gospel through word and deed for God’s coming Kingdom in Havering.