1

UNITED BENEFICE OF

ST JAMES THE GREAT, AUDLEY

ST JOHN’S, ALSAGERS BANK

ST MARTIN’S, TALKE

Benefice Profile 2015

2

CONTENTS

Bishop’s Statement 3

Benefice challenges 4

Role Description 5

Parish Profile: St James the Great, Audley 6-20

Parish Profile: St Johns, Alsagers Bank 21– 29

Parish Profile: St Martin’s, Talke 30 - 40

3

BISHOP’S STATEMENT FOR THE BENEFICE OF ALSAGERS BANK, AUDLEY AND TALKE

The Diocese of Lichfield places mission and bringing the Good News of the love of Jesus

Christ to those who have yet to hear about him, at the heart of all that it does. We have

been engaged in a major review of the resources with which God has blessed us and how

we can use these resources more effectively for growth.

This post emerges from that review and for the past year the Parishes have been

developing in their relationship and moving ever closer together. The new Incumbent will

have the exciting opportunity to build on these foundations in this particularly beautiful part

of North Staffordshire and will be supported by committed and enthusiastic congregations.

Newcastle Deanery is lively with many good colleagues and the support of an experienced

Rural Dean.

The Diocese of Lichfield itself is an exciting place to be as we wait for God to send us a new

Diocesan Bishop.

Thank you for considering this post and please be assured of my prayers for you and for the

Parishes during this process of discernment.

+Geoffrey Stafford

BISHOP’S STATEMENT

4

BENEFICE CHALLENGES

The United Benefice of Alsagers Bank, Audley and Talke was

created in 2015 following the retirement of Revd Peter Davies and the

retirement of Revd Paul Howard in 2012. The United Benefice will maintain

three parishes and three Parochial Church Councils.

The geographical area of the Benefice was achieved through part of

the parish of Talke being absorbed into the parish of St Thomas’ Kidsgrove,

and the remainder joining Audley and Alsagers Bank.

The majority theological outlook among the three parishes is

conservative evangelical.

The new incumbent is invited to join us as the three parishes find ways

of working together.

The incumbent will need to integrate the work already being done in

the individual parishes.

At the meeting of all three parishes to discuss the United Benefice and

a new minister, the common top priority was to further engage with local

communities in care, outreach and mission.

5

ROLE DESCRIPTION

Role Description

There is a lot of agreement between the parishes on the attributes and skills for

which we are looking for. Paramount amongst these is a secure personal faith in

Christ, based on personal Bible study.

The new minister will need to:

be someone whose teachings are Bible based and who brings the Gospel in a

faithful and understanding way

accept that styles of worship differ within and between the three churches in

the services they offer each week, and be able to work with these styles of

worship

communicate and listen effectively across the three congregations

lead, with wisdom and discernment, in conjunction with other leaders in the

churches

recognise and encourage the gifts and talents of the congregations,

continues to develop the church beyond Sundays

has an aptitude for motivation, encouraging and inspiring others to lead

worship

manage change with patience, and an ability to exercise grace

understand the need for pastoral care across the churches

6

ST JAMES THE GREAT CHURCH

AUDLEY

Together

Living for Christ

Becoming like Christ

Making Christ known

Parish profile 2015

St James Church admin@stjamesaudley.co.uk Church Wardens:

Church Street www.stjamesaudley.co.uk Elizabeth Broadhurst

Audley 01782 722146 Brian Dodd

Stoke on Trent

Staffordshire ST7 8DE

7

CONTENTS

ST JAMES THE GREAT CHURCH

AUDLEY

Introduction 8

Vision and Values 9

Future Directions 15

A year in the life of St James 16

Sunday Services 17

Place 18

Finance 19

Our Buildings 20

Together

Living for Christ

Becoming like Christ

Making Christ known

8

INTRODUCTION

We at St. James are a fairly stable

multigenerational church family, made up of

people from all walks of life and different

church backgrounds. We are a church in the

conservative evangelical tradition, with

studying and preaching the Word of God at

the heart of our worship. We aim to bring

glory to God in all that we are and

everything we do, expectant of the Holy

Spirit working in us and through us. Our aim is

to proclaim the Gospel and share the Good

News of Jesus Christ in word and deed. Our

culture is one of generosity, hospitality and

encouragement, giving graciously of our

resources and time in order to complete our

aim. Our prayer is that God would show us

his heart for our church family, our

communities and the world. This leads us to

support Christian charities locally, nationally

and overseas.

We acknowledge that there are challenges

ahead, not least the one of leading a United

Benefice. There are also challenges within

our own parish, which of course lead to

opportunities. For the person of God’s calling

this should lead to an exciting and spiritually

fulfilling time.

As disciples of Jesus we know that everything

we do is founded on His grace and power.

This Parish Profile aims to show some of what

we do as we journey and work out God’s call

on our lives, and we hope that in telling our

story we give a true sense of who we are. We

are looking for a leader who feels a true

sense of calling to our parish. They should

have the wisdom and understanding for

leadership to join our inclusive community of

believers. The role is for a minister gifted in

preaching the Word of God, follows the

leading of the Spirit, and longs for all

believers to grow and develop their faith in

Jesus Christ. They must have a sense of

excitement and expectation about where

the Spirit is leading and be ready to

embrace and enable the change necessary

in an active church and a changing world. If

you desire to serve God through these gifts,

we will ask God together if this is His call for

you

“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on

to completion”

Philippians 1:6

9

VISION AND VALUES

Our values are to be:

God-centred, gospel driven and Spirit led

Generous and hospitable

Encouraging

Accepting and inclusive

Family

Challenging and equipping

Bible Believing

It is vital that as a church we have a

vision to guide our thinking forwards,

but we are conscious that this needs

to be worked out in a real and fallen

world as a far-from-perfect people.

Our vision is how we imagine Christ’s

church here might be.

We continually rely on God’s

guidance and the power of the Holy

Spirit as we travel this journey together.

We delight in what has been achieved

whilst at the same time embracing the

challenges ahead.

“Imagine a local church where children, young people and

adults are helped to come to faith in Jesus Christ; where they

are welcomed and loved, taught and trained; where they

are confident in sharing their faith and clear about God’s

calling on their lives; where they serve one another and their

community, and where gifts are grown and leaders

developed.

Imagine this happening through the ministry of God’s word

and in the power of the Holy Spirit.”

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, according to

his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus through-

out all generations, forever and ever, amen.”

Ephesians 3:20-21

10

VISIONS AND VALUES

… a local church where children, young people and adults

are helped to come to faith in Jesus Christ ...

Children and young people are at the

heart of St James and what we do is

shaped by helping them to come to faith

in Jesus by:

being welcoming, hospitable and

inclusive

creating a space for fellowship and

conversation

telling the story of Jesus

We do this in a variety of ways:

weekly Sunday groups

mid-week youth groups

weekly groups in local schools

school assemblies

“Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was

lost and is found.”

Luke 14:23-24

11

VISION AND VALUES

… where they are welcomed and loved...

Much thought and effort is made to create a

family atmosphere where everyone can feel

a sense of belonging and be welcomed and

accepted by:

holding social events

having bring-and-share meals

weekly coffee morning for the local

community

“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”

John 15:12

12

VISION AND VALUES

… taught and trained

God has called gifted preachers and

teachers to use their gifts at St James and

many are drawn by this aspect of our

ministry.

We often preach sermons on the same topic

across each of our services, and a sermon

series might extend for several weeks. These

will focus on a particular book, or follow a

theme. Age specific Bible teaching is an

important part of our youth and children’s

work from the youngest to the oldest, led by

gifted teachers and communicators from

within our own fellowship.

The preaching and teaching is followed up

with:

home groups

Mothers Union

Marriage and Baptism preparation

Bereavement Counselling

Lent Course

Looking forward, we would like to see

emphasis and encouragement placed on

developing gifts and skills within the wider

church. There is potential to further broaden

and deepen the lay leadership capability.

“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,

rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.”

2 Timothy 3:16

13

VISION AND VALUES

...where they are confident in sharing their faith...

We feel that it is important that we become

authentic disciples who are confident in

sharing our faith, with a desire to follow Jesus

and make Him known.

We believe it is important to look after each

other, those in our parish and beyond

through:

Mothers Union Coffee mornings

Pram Pushers

Pathfinder and Youth Groups

Holiday Club for young people

After-school clubs

Global mission (financially and through

prayer)

Prayer Breakfast

Christian Viewpoint

Building relationships with the local

Methodist Church

Visiting local residential homes for the

elderly

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power

of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.”

Romans 1:16

14

VISION AND VALUES

...through the ministry of God’s word and in the power of the

Holy Spirit...

All we do as a church is underpinned by the

Word of God as revealed in the Scriptures.

God’s word is central in our meetings from

seniors to the youngest person.

We encourage the Holy Spirit’s guidance

through:

Prayer Breakfast

Prayer Chain

Healing prayer times

‘The Mix’ - Sunday School

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and

a light to my path.”

Psalm 119:105

Prebendary Peter Davies at his installation

15

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

“Let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds’

Hebrews 10:24

We believe God’s calling for St James is to

maintain our emphasis on all our church

members whilst looking for new and

innovative ways for outreach and mission

through:

Encouraging bible reading, study and

prayer

Meeting together to worship God

Being authentic disciples

Broadening the involvement of our

church members

Mentoring and supporting our church

members as they identify their gifts

Enhancing our approach to pastoral care

Encouragement for home and small

groups

Supporting our Youth Worker in liaising

with local schools

Holding various social activities

Continuing to support local, national and

international Christian charities

16

A year in the life

of St James

1 Lord 1 Gospel

1 Church 1 Mission

Electoral Roll 150

90 worshippers each week

20 under 16’s each week

New Kitchen

Friday coffee serving 40 people

Friday pram Pushers

Pathfinder & Pathfinder +

TNT (Twenties & Thirties)

Holiday Club

7 Home Groups Saturday Prayer

Breakfast

After School and lunchtime clubs

Assemblies

Mothering Sunday daf-

fodils and cards

Christingle Service

Candlelight Carol service

Christian Viewpoint events.

Shoebox appeal 600 boxes filled.

Funerals

Weddings

Baptisms

Regular M.U. meetings

Bi-Annual Christmas Tree Festival

Christmas cards for prisoners

2 Bring and Buy/ Coffee

Mornings per year.

Remembrance Service

Easter walk of witness

Church open day

17

Sunday Services

(Average attendance)

8-15am Holy Communion/Morning Prayer (12)

A quiet reflective said service using 1662 Prayer Book

10-45am Worship (78)

Services of Holy Communion, Morning Prayer and All-Age Worship throughout

the month. These run alongside the children’s groups. A fairly lively service

which covers a wide age range. Music is lead by a faithful band of musicians.

Audio-visuals are provided by a rota of volunteers.

Coffee is served after this service.

People

At St James we have two members of staff, both paid for by voluntary giving into the Chris-

tian Workers Trust: a full time Youth Worker and a part time Administrator.

We have two licensed members: one a Lay Reader and the other trained for Mission and

Evangelism. A further one is in his first year of training.

In addition we have several members who regularly lead services and preach at both ser-

vices.

We have a PCC of 18 members, three of whom are on Deanery Synod and one on the Na-

tional Synod.

We have a number of members who regularly attend our services but live outside the par-

ish. In some cases these were drawn originally by the children’s and youth teaching.

18

Place

Parish of St James

Deanery of Newcastle

Diocese of Lichfield

Population 6000

Ethnicity 98% British

Area 1570 hectares

The Parish of Audley is situated in the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, to the northwest

of Stoke-on-Trent in the county of Staffordshire, with the border with Cheshire being about

3 miles away. Being situated as it is the views from local vantage points spread over the

Cheshire Plain into Wales and Shropshire, and towards Manchester and Liverpool.

The parish is made up of the villages of Audley, Bignall End, Miles Green and Wood Lane.

Originally these were mainly mining villages with some agriculture. Due to the proximity of

the M6 and A50 there is now quite a lot of commuting. Stoke –on-Trent itself is now less of a

manufacturing city and more of a retail service centre.

The Parish of Audley has two Primary schools (Ravensmead and Wood Lane) and a

Secondary School (Sir Thomas Boughey).

The villages are well serviced by local transport. Audley being the main village, has several

shops, hairdressers and restaurants.

Audley has many groups which make up an active community. Such groups include a

local theatre, brass band, male voice choir, ladies choir, Audley Parish Bowmen, an

active community centre, pensioners hall and historical society. For sports enthusiasts we

have a Football Club and three Cricket Clubs. This list of groups is by no means exhaustive.

Described by a local historian as “A quiet out of the way place” Audley offers tranquility

but with opportunities to get involved with many facets of village life.

19

Finance

St James’ is largely financed by voluntary donations from our congregation. At present, we

have refurbishment projects ongoing to the church building and to the church hall. These

are largely funded by grants, but additional funds have been raised from the congregation,

particularly for the work on the hall. In addition we expect to need to use money from unre-

stricted funds to complete the work to the hall. Grants from the Listed Places of Worship

Roof Repair Fund and from our local Borough Council are expected to cover the full cost of

the repairs to the church south aisle roof.

Figures for 2014 are typical for the parish.

Income to unrestricted funds totaled a little over £88,000, of which £57,000 came directly

from our congregation, to which we should add £16,750 in tax refunds on Gift-Aided dona-

tions. The second largest income source was PCC fees for weddings and funerals; these

fees have shown a progressive decrease over recent years and totaled a little under £8,400

in 2014.

Expenditure was a little less than income, at just under £83,800. By far the largest item of ex-

penditure was the Parish Share, at £43,608. We spent £16,000 on church running expenses

and £8,000 on hall running expenses. We donated £5,000 to mission and charity at home

and overseas and paid out over £5,000 out of PCC Fees received. We also subsidized our

outreach and children’s work out of unrestricted funds, transferring over £3,250 to the re-

spective Restricted Funds. We accept and anticipate spending more on outreach and

children’s work than we receive in donations specifically for these purposes, and the PCC

fully supports this expenditure.

Income to restricted funds was unusually high in 2014, totaling £13,800. Again, this was

largely income from our church membership, some £7,500 coming directly from them and a

further £1,500 in tax refunds on Gift-Aided donations. We also received a local authority

grant of £800 towards the work planned for the church hall and a further £4,000 was raised

through fund-raising events.

Donations to the outreach and children’s ministry funds vary, and in 2014 totaled almost

£1,650. The main increase occurred in the funds set up to finance the work on the church

hall, which raised a total of almost £9,500.

20

Our Buildings

Church

The existence of a church dates back to the early 13th

century, although the present church is dated to the

14th century. It was substantially restored in the mid-

19th century in part to the design of Gilbert Scott. The

east window was to a design by Gilbert Scott. The

church has historical connections to the Delves family

and there is a brass depicting Sir Thomas Audley.

The tower had extensive repair around 2008 and a re-

roofing of the south aisle is planned for later this year.

We have long term plans for a re-modelling of the

internals, but only when the finance can be found.

Church Hall

This is a grade 11 listed building, built in the

middle of the 19th Century. Extended in 1978,

it now has two main halls one with a stage,

with three smaller rooms attached. We have a

recently renovated fully fitted kitchen. Plans

are also in progress to build a disabled toilet

and baby changing facilities. It is used for

various church and community activities

throughout the week.

Vicarage

This is a modern four bedroomed detached

house, with two reception rooms a study and

kitchen downstairs. All the rooms are well

proportioned and designed for family living. It

has gardens to the rear, and parking with

detached garage to the front. It is situated on a

quiet road about 100 metres from the church,

and a short walk to the village.

21

ST JOHNS CHURCH

ALSAGERS BANK

Mission Action Plan

To extend God’s kingdom by actively engaging in outreach to people of all

ages.

To continue to grow and nurture the links with our local Methodist Church.

To modify our church building to enable it to be used for a range of outreach

activities.

PARISH PROFILE 2015

St Johns Church PCC Secretary Churchwardens

High Street Margaret Nicol Charles Clowry

Alsagers Bank 01782 722551 Geoff Farrington

Stoke on Trent margaret.briannicol@btinternet.com

Staffordshire

ST7 8BQ

22

LIST OF CONTENTS

Page 21 Cover

Page 22 Contents

Page 23 The Challenge

Page 24 Our Church

Page 25 The Future

Page 26 The Buildings and Surrounds

Page 27 The Area

Page 28 & 29 The Accounts

23

THE CHALLENGE

St Johns, over the recent past, has seen many changes, and now seeks a period of stability

where we long for God’s kingdom to be extended.

Being a small church, it is a desire to encourage our fellowship to be actively involved in

‘Every Member Ministry’. For this to happen we pray for a growing and maturing of our own

faith.

Attendance has seen a small growth over the past few years, but we long to see an

ongoing increase in our numbers. Our challenge is to find ways in which to encourage new

members, particularly young families. The PCC acknowledges that Sunday Worship may no

longer be top in people’s thinking, and therefore wishes to seek new ways in which we can

bring the good news of God’s saving grace to each and every member of our parish.

We want to be a church at the heart of our community, where each parishioner feels

welcomed and cherished within our fellowship.

We have a junior school within our boundary, and we see this as an opportunity. The

challenge is how we interact with these young people and find attractive ways to

encourage them to seek to know more of God’s word.

The PCC acknowledges that change is inevitable. We pray that these changes are

managed in a gentle and positive manner, and that in all we do we seek the will of God.

24

OUR CHURCH

For the past few years St Johns has been included within the ministry of the vicar of St James

Audley. Four years ago St James was chosen as a curacy, and the curate was actually

resident in the St Johns vicarage. We were fortunate that as part of his training he actually

took a very active role in the life and ministry of St Johns. After the retirement of the Priest-in-

Charge in July we have had to become more self reliant, and not having any Licensed

Readers we are relying on visiting priests and the help of the preaching team from St James.

We have one service on a Sunday at 9-30am which we prefer to be a Communion Service,

but at present that is not always possible.

We are fortunate in that the Youth and Schools’ Worker from St James visits our local school

and at times has advised and helped in our children’s ministry.

Our music is taken from Mission Praise and includes both new and traditional hymns.

We realise the future will be very different for us as a benefice, sharing the services of one

incumbent. We acknowledge that whilst there may be slight differences in our styles of

worship we all share in one aim, that is to discover the heart of God for our parishes, and to

minister to our existing members whilst growing new disciples.

25

FUTURE

We would still wish to hold a Communion Service as often as possible. However, we do

accept that being in a benefice means that some changes are inevitable.

In the past we have had very good links with the local Methodist Church, and we would like

to see that continue. Presently we share a Remembrance Service, and we have used their

premises for a joint Lent Course. There have been other ‘one off’ joint services when we

have celebrated or commemorated events in village life.

Some years ago we shared a successful “Sign Posts” mission, and other outreach events

could be considered again.

We are a small fellowship of some 20 adults and 4 children. When future planning is

considered we need to recognise the needs of all our fellowship. We have seen some

growth over the past couple of years, and we are aware that ”The Harvest is Plentiful” and

that we are the Reapers.

We are committed to bring God’s word to our community with the help of our new

incumbent, and fervently pray that the Holy Spirit’s work will mean that not only is the

harvest plentiful but that God’s barns are filled.

26

BUILDINGS AND SURROUNDS

The original church was a tin building and was constructed in 1875. This was replaced by

the present building in 1911, and was dedicated on 26th July of that year. The cost of the

new building was £800. Last year saw a new heating system being installed.

The Quinquennial report of 15th April 2015 stated, “The PCC and church have carried out a

significant amount of work since the last inspection and this is commendable. The most

serious issues seem to have been addressed and the building is now in better order than it

has been for many years.”

The churchyard is now closed and is under the authority and maintenance of Newcastle

Borough Council.

The church hall is presently rented on a long term basis by Pinewood Nursery School, and

we have access to toilet facilities, including disabled.

Whilst there is a vicarage within the grounds, this will be used by the diocese to house a

curate from within the deanery, or other clergy as necessary.

27

THE AREA

The village of Alsagers Bank is 750 feet above sea level, and sits close to the Staffordshire/

Cheshire border some 3 miles from Newcastle-under-Lyme and 11 miles from the railway

town of Crewe. Its closeness to the M6 and A50 means that the North West and the

Midlands are easily accessible, as are Derby and Nottingham. North Wales is also within

easy driving distance.

Situated on the southern spur of the Pennine Chain, and its elevated position means that it

has unrivalled views into Shropshire, Cheshire, Wales, Derbyshire and Lancashire.

We cater for both ends of the age spectrum with a junior school and a residential home for

the elderly. In the next village there is an academy secondary school. Audley, being

nearest large village, houses the health centre as well as a good range of shops and

restaurants.

Although a relatively small parish, we have a football team, village pub and many social

events associated with rural village life.

28

Parish of St John the Evan-

gelist No (if any)

CC16a Alsager's N/A

Receipts and payments accounts

For the period

from

Period start date

To Period end date

1st January 2014

31st December

2014

Section A Receipts and payments

Unrestrict-

ed Funds Restricted

Funds

Endow-

ment

Total

Funds Last Year

to the nearest

£

to the nearest

£

to the nearest

£

to the nearest

£

to the nearest

£

A1 Receipts

Voluntary income

Gift-Aided giving 2,095 2,095 2,505

Other planned giving 531 531 507

Collections at services 1,444 1,444 708

Grants and legacies 8,500 8,500 0

Tax recovered under Gift-Aid 0 0 1,641 Income from activities for gen-

erating funds 142 142 0

Investment income 25 25 28

All other incoming resources 5,605 5,605 2,664

0

0

0

0

Sub total (Gross income

for AR) 18,342 0 0 18,342 8,053

A2 Asset and in-

vestment sales

0

0

Sub total 0 0 0 0 0

Total Receipts 18,342 0 0 18,342 8,053

A3 Payments

Costs of generating funds 0 0 0

Governance costs 0 0 0 Donations to charities and mis-

sion 50 50 0

Costs of church activities 20,904 20,904 14,113

0

0

0

0

Sub total 20,954 0 0 20,954 14,113

29

A2 Asset and in-

vestment purchas-

es (see table)

0

0

Sub total 0 0 0 0 0

Total payments 20,954 0 0 20,954 14,113

Net or receipts/

(payments) (2,612) 0 0 (2,612) (6,060)

A5 transfers between

funds 0

A6 Cash funds last

year end 20,313 20,313 26,373

Cash funds this year

end 17,701 0 0 17,701 20,313

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the peri-

od

Categories Details

Unre-

stricted

Funds

Restricted

Funds

Endow-

ment

Funds

to the nearest

£

to the near-

est £

to the nearest

£

B1 Cash Funds Current Account 12,729

CBF Church of England Deposit

Fund 4,972

Total cash funds 17,701 0 0

(agree balances with receipts and pay-

ments account(s)) OK OK OK

30

Welcome

to St. Martin’s Church in the Parish of Talke

Par ish of S t . Mart in , Talke

Deanery of Newcastle - Diocese of Lichfield

31

Contents

The challenge

The church leadership and context

The music

The fellowship

The church building

The churchyard

The church hall

The Vicarage

Church finance

32

The Challenge

The parish of Talke is to the North West of Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire close to the border of Chesh-

ire. It is currently in an interregnum, after an incumbent lasting for nine years, and a more recent in-

cumbent (shared with two other churches) for 18 months retired.

The PCC welcomes the opportunities for review, reassessment and re-focussing which the interregnum

presents, and readily acknowledges that working together under God in response to these has

already heightened the extent of openness, strength of fellowship and sense of purpose among its

members.

The PCC recognises the many circumstances - both internal and external - which change over time.

It faces the future with confidence, however, because it puts its trust in the unchanging Jesus Christ –

“the same yesterday, today and forever” - accepts the challenge of his great commission to

“make disciples” and believes in the effectiveness of his promise, “I will be with you always".

Statement of Purpose

The conditions, needs and traditions described below have been drawn up in the light of

our agreed statement of purpose –

To develop conditions favourable for spiritual and numerical growth by consciously turning to

face outwards while basing the life of the church firmly on prayer and nurture.

Needs and challenges - The Future

The PCC believes that the church should:

Remain true to its conservative evangelical beliefs

Recognise and encourage the diversity of approach to be found among its individual members

while taking steps to avoid the risk of conflict

Seek to support mission further afield, while seeing the main thrust of its mission as being within the

parish

To build bridges to the local community by identifying opportunities to serve it and by initiating

opportunities for individuals to make contact without feeling under pressure

The PCC acknowledges that further work will be necessary to turn this vision into constructive action and

plans to start it immediately. Preliminary discussions have identified among others the following areas

for mention:

Worship - maintenance of high standards accessibility for newcomers

Prayer - encouragement, organisation and support

Care - for members

Fostering a caring environment

Involvement as a means of development

33

Identification and development of gifts

Opportunities for fellowship - midweek meetings and/or house groups

Provision of tailored education training

Care for the wider community

Continuing involvement with and support for local, national and international organisations

Creation of opportunities for contact - use of hall for non-church centred events and work

Seek to offer the use of the main church building for community based opportunities

Encouraging courses for enquirers with subsequent follow up, support and nurture

Establishing trained contact teams to help with baptism and with bereavement

Communication - reviewing and improving both internally and externally

Finance - adoption of a more planned and coordinated approach

The PCC believes that it has identified many of the problems encountered in the past and is well-

equipped to avoid them in future. It accepts its responsibilities for the life and health of the church

in Talke and, at the end if the interregnum, will wish to share them with a new incumbent, but not

to surrender them.

The church leadership and context

We are a team ministry with a leadership and worship groups overseeing the life of the church.

These groups are separate to, but remain under the leadership of the PCC.

Styles and traditions of worship and services

We are one church although have links to two other local churches, which make up the United Ben-

efice. St. Martins is an evangelical and charismatic church with some conservative traditions remain-

ing.

We have two main services which are as follows:

10:30am Informal Service

This is an informal service with a band leading songs, with Communion once a month.

Coffee and refreshments are served after in the hall.

The service lasts for approximately 1 hour 15 minutes.

6:00pm Traditional Service

This is a more formal service with hymns and the organ, but relaxed in style. This is Common Worship

with Communion on the last Sunday of every month, and Evening Prayer on the 1st and 3rd weeks.

The service lasts for approximately 1 hour 15 minutes.

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From time to time the regular evening services are replaced by special ones such as Celtic Worship,

Songs of Praise, Harvest Celebration and an annual Memorial Service.

Both the morning and evening services join together 4 times a year for a Sunday afternoon (2 p.m.)

joint service. This normally encompasses the 4 main Christian festivals.

We also have other types of services which can be seen below:

Mid Week Worship - 9:30am Wednesday

We enjoy running a midweek worship, which is a short service followed by companionship and re-

freshments.

Messy Church

It’s a relaxed, informal way of community worship for children and their carers. It’s also an opportuni-

ty for adults and children to share positive time together.

What’s involved?

The session is based on a bible story. A short story is told and then the group gets messy and does a

craft based on that story. Then we share a snack. Before we end there’s a song and a prayer.

There’s plenty of chat and tea or coffee for the carers and plenty of mess and fun for the children.

The music

The morning services are led by a live band consisting of vocalists, keyboard player, guitarists, drum-

mer and flautist. Most services can be covered by this group of musicians. However, if needed we

also have an organist who can lead the worship. The style of music is varied but mainly contempo-

rary choruses with some more traditional songs and hymns intertwined.

The music for the evening services takes on a more traditional feel with organ accompaniment for

each song.

The fellowship

The Electoral Roll currently stands at 62.

The congregation consists of people from various Christian traditions including, but not exclusive to:

Church of England, Baptist and Methodist.

The mission action plan

This exists but is due for an update, due to time and energy being channelled into the building works

of the main church. The latest document that exists dates back to 2011 and will be addressed by

the PCC/Leadership Team over the coming year.

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Our Vision Statement

At St Martin’s our vision is to be a loving and caring family that crosses several generations, reaching

out to all and transforming our parish and surrounding communities by sharing the love of Jesus, see-

ing his power change hearts and lives and offering all who wish to join us a place to belong within

God’s family.

Our Mission Statement

Our Mission is to see our vision fulfilled through:

Our Worship

Ensuring that the good News of Jesus and the word of God are taught in our Services and meet-

ings and to practise meaningful worship

To provide a suitable, warm and comfortable place to gather in for meetings and worship

Developing Leaders

By providing effective support and training for the leaders of small groups and ministries, they

grow in vision, character and develop their skills through a discipleship track

Discovering how to apply the Bible to daily living to discover our place in ministry

Empowering all members of our church to be able to play an active part in achieving our mis-

sion by being involved with an aspect of the church's work, through one of our teams

Being a Light in our Community

Serving our community by offering courses and meetings that will support and enable a strong

family life to be built. We aim to do this by offering Bereavement support, Money Management

Made Simple (CAP), Marriage courses, Celebrate Recovery, Alpha Courses, Messy Church,

Movers & Shakers and Luncheon Club

To build a strong and powerful youth and children’s ministry within our community (Children and

Young People through the parish primary school and Adventurer’s Club)

The church building

The church in its present form dates back to around 1833 AD but a church/chapel building on the

site can be traced back as far as 1552 with a worshipping community on this site traceable as far

back as the twelfth century. It is a grade two listed building and has recently undergone extensive

interior refurbishment and renovation. The renovation costs exceeded £40,000 the majority of which

came from monies raised by the congregation.

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Future works include work on the bell tower (approximate costs around £5,000), disabled access

and disabled toilets.

The churchyard

The churchyard remains open for cremations only and has no room for new burials. However burials

can be accepted in existing graves. The churchyard is maintained by the local council.

The church hall

The church has an adjoining church hall which is both spacious and warm. It also has a fully func-

tional kitchen, several meeting rooms, and toilet facilities.

The Vicarage

The church no longer has a dedicated rectory.

Church finances

General

Most recently church finances have been dominated by the need to replace the heating system

and - as it turned out - to rebuild the floor from bare earth upwards so that the church building

could be brought back into use. This project cost some £40,000 of which over £25,000 was raised by

church members through their gifts and fundraising. This effort was typical of what the church has

done for other projects - members have normally given generously to fund major work.

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However, the other side of the coin is that over the last twenty years the church has found it difficult

to meet routine commitments. The diocese has twice written off substantial arrears of Parish Share

while giving to missions has been almost non-existent. A major contributory factor to this has been a

decline in attendance over an extended period coupled with a method of share calculation which

introduced a delay of several years before a fall in attendance worked through to give a lower

share value.

Under the heading "Reserves", the Trustees Annual Report for 2014 said this:

"The 2012 report identified £12,000 as being a prudent level for such reserves. With the ongoing

heating project to pay for, outstanding work on the Bell Cote and a quinquennial inspection

that will take place once the church is reopened it seems unlikely that this figure will be

achieved quickly. Careful planning will continue to be necessary."

This continues to be true.

Parish Share

In 1996 the diocese agreed to write off accumulated share arrears of £21,000 if special reduced

shares were paid in full for 1997 and 1998 - as they were. However, by 2004 arrears had again built

up and stood at £17,900. Again special assessments were put in place for the following two years

with 50% of the arrears to be written off if each of these were met in full - which they both were.

Since then our share has been paid in full each year - although it must be said that this has been

helped by a substantial reduction in share as we went from having a full time minister to having a

third of a shared one. In 2012 we paid £27,719, in 2013 £22,000 and in 2014 £17,734. The share for

2105 is £18,163 and we anticipate paying this in full.

Giving Policy

For a number of years the policy of the PCC was that each year we would give 10% of our income

to missionary societies, relief agencies and other causes. Initially payments were made in the year

the income was received, but when this became unsustainable payments were made the following

year. In the late 1990s, as it became clear that we could not reasonably achieve our charitable

aims at the cost of falling even further behind with share payments and the policy became a wish

rather than a statement of intent.

The only actual commitment we have is of £4 per month to be paid to the Bible-a-Month Club - orig-

inally undertaken by the youth groups in the late 1970s. In total, Missionary Giving over recent years

has been - 2008 - £1010; 2009 - £278; 2010 - £263; 2011 - £1178; 2012 - £291; 2013 - £48; 2014 - £48.

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Missions, Charities

Although not a formal part of church finances, some individual members contribute to organisations

such as the Children’s' Society and CMS through the medium of home boxes. More recently several

have started to knit warm clothing for the Mission to Seafarers. Gifts of food and other items are reg-

ularly taken to a local women’s shelter. The church has encouraged contributions to Christian Aid

during CA week and to Children’s Society through Christingle Services.

Lottery Funding

The PCC recently reversed its policy on this and now is prepared to accept lottery funding.

Parish Trusts

We have no significant parish trusts.

Trustees Annual Report and Accounts for the Year to 31/12/14

Copy attached.

VG 10/8/15

Parish activities and programmes

We have a very active luncheon club which attracts approximately 40 members. Events over the

past couple of years have included: an Easter celebration, various days out, a WW1 Commemora-

tion service and a Harvest Charity Event –donation of food items to the Elizabeth Trust.

The church has run quiz nights and the small groups also have socials.

Children and youth work

Sadly, our children's work is limited. There are still only very few children who come to our Sunday

morning services. Currently there are not enough regular attendees to warrant regular specific Sun-

day children's ministry. Adventurers still offer a fun and safe environment of Friday evenings from

6.00 pm to 7.30 pm for Primary School children during school term times.

Schools work

We formed a healthy and positive relationship with St Saviours Primary School for a number of years.

However the school no longer sits within our parish. In the future we intend developing our relation-

ship with Springhead Primary School.

Communication

We have three notice boards, two internal and one external.

We have weekly announcements during all services.

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Our website is used for regular communication and can be found at

www.st-martinschurch.co.uk.

We are easy to find on Facebook with a search for ‘St. Martins, Talke’ and can be contacted via

Email on: info@st-martinschurch.co.uk.

Our Churchwarden can be contacted on 01782 786592.

Pastoral offices

The Church conducts Baptisms, Marriages and Funerals on a regular basis. The Church has relevant

courses to support these events.

The Parish and area

The Parish is on the North Staffs/ South Cheshire border to the North West of Stoke-on-Trent.

The Parish falls into two parts, Talke and Talke Pits. It serves a population of approximately 6000,

which from the 2011 census, is split 50 / 50 male and female with an average age slightly

above the national average. The population is predominately white.

The population is served by a range of shopping facilities, single “corner shops” around the

parish, the main shops and convenience stores (one of which include Post Office facilities)

located on the high street of Talke Pits and the nationally recognised Freeport shopping Mall

which houses a range of designer outlets. This is on an industrial estate which also has a B & Q

outlet, builders merchant, a national haulier, two different distribution centres, warehouses

and several manufacturing factories.

Many working people are employed by the local industries, while others commute to employ-

ment within the larger industrial areas of Stoke-on-Trent and Newcastle-under-Lyme, both of

which are situated within an eight mile distance. The close proximity to the M6 and other

major trunk roads allow easy access to the major conurbations of Manchester, Birmingham

and Derby, all of which are within 1 hr travelling distance. Public transport is also readily availa-

ble throughout the area with First Direct operating regular bus services to the Potteries and

South Cheshire, and access to the rail network is available from Kidsgrove Station via the new-

ly refurbished West Coast Line.

St Martin’s Church is the only C of E church within the parish .

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