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TRANSCRIPT
Sprowston and North Norwich Team Ministry: Our Hopes
The process is underway to create a new Team Ministry in an urban setting covering the New Catton and Sprowston areas of Norwich. Uniting four single-parish benefices, this will ultimately create a team of five stipendiary clergy, two of whom will be Pioneer ministers, in addition to lay ministers and assistant curates. Collaboratively across the team and with the laypeople, it is expected that people will work together on mission initiatives with which they have a particular affinity, without being constrained by parish boundaries.
Background
The area between the inner and outer ring road to the North of Norwich is currently served by four parishes (five churches). These were originally carved out of a relatively small geographical area, with parish boundaries tending to follow the radial roads so that parish shapes were roughly triangular. Towards the end of the 20th Century St Augustine’s was declared redundant and went into the care of CBC, leaving the congregation to worship in the church hall as part of the parish of St Luke’s with St Augustine’s.
There is a high level of deprivation in the area, and limited community facilities. In most of the parishes it is hard to see where ‘the centre’ would be – there are densely packed terraces or maisonette blocks with local shops and pubs dotted around. On the southern boundary of the deanery is Anglia Square, and the controversial redevelopment and regeneration that could potentially bring. There are a number of schools in the area whose catchment areas do not correlate with parish boundaries.
Sprowston (to the north of the ring road) is a much bigger parish, both in terms of population and area. There are two churches and a strong sense of team across the parish. There are some natural links between Sprowston and the Catton area, particularly in the southern part of Sprowston parish, and the incumbent has recently become Priest-in-charge of Christ church in order to give continuity of pastoral oversight during the vacancy (commenced February 2020).
Two of the parishes are currently in vacancy. The parish of St Luke’s and St Augustine’s has until 2020 had a full-time stipendiary vicar, and also has a non-stipendiary lay worker, Carrie Sant. Christ Church from February 2018 to February 2020 paid for a half-time priest and the other half of her time was met from shared diocesan costs as a ‘deanery pioneer missioner’ – to encourage a substantial investment of time amongst the people who never cross the church threshold. This approach was beginning to bear fruit after a year of work, but then sadly she became seriously ill, and after a year’s absence resigned her post. St Mary Magdalene currently has a Vicar, Revd Selwyn Tillett, on an interim half-stipend post until his planned retirement in 2023. Sprowston has two permanent stipendiary clergy, (Revd Canon Simon Stokes and Revd Dean Akrill) two and a half curates (one of whom is about to move on at Easter) and a SSM (Revd Melanie Hider). There are also two Licensed Lay Ministers and an AWA in Sprowston and ten AWAs at St Luke’s and St Augustine’s.
In the new Team Ministry it is expected that Simon will be Team Rector, with the responsibility of leadership and pastoral care for one of the churches in Sprowston parish. Dean will serve as the second team vicar in Sprowston parish, with Andy Bunter as Pioneer curate taking responsibility for church planting and pioneer ministry. When Andy or Dean move on it would be appropriate to look at how pioneer ministry can be present within the new housing areas there. A further curate is due to be ordained to Sprowston parish in 2021.
It is anticipated that Selwyn will continue in his half-time role at St Mary Magdalene, becoming an Associate priest within the new team, and with principal responsibility for the pastoral care of the congregation and parish of St Mary Magdalene. The two remaining stipendiary roles are being developed to be collaborative in nature but with specialisms, so that there will be a Team Vicar (New Catton) whose focus begins with the congregation of St Luke’s but looks outwards, and a Pioneer Minister who is embedded in the local community, growing new forms of church but looking to the congregation particularly of St Augustine’s for support and prayer. A Focal Minister (non-stipendiary) is also sought for the pastoral care and leadership of the congregation of Christ Church. These three would be expected to work together in a collaborative way to integrate the mission and ministry within the New Catton area. It would be expected that team members would join together regularly for prayer.
Although individual parishes have been named as areas for work in the role outlines that follow, this is really a shorthand for the approximate areas, rather than a set of rigid boundaries.
Broad outlines of roles to be recruited
Team Vicar (New Catton)
· Leadership of and pastoral care for the congregation of St Luke’s.
· First resource in meeting the pastoral needs of residents in the parishes of St Luke’s with St Augustine’s and Christ Church New Catton.
· Working closely with the Pioneer Minister New Catton to foster new expressions of Christian community and engage with local community groups.
· Developing engagement with the two high schools in the benefice: Sprowston Community Academy and Sewell Park Academy (both overseen by the Boudica Schools Trust)
· Chaplain to the YMCA centre, Aylsham Road.
Pioneer Minister (New Catton)
· To be embedded in the community of New Catton (living in the Aylsham Road Vicarage)
· Rooted in the St Augustine’s worshipping community but open to and active in developing new worshipping communities as appropriate.
· Working closely with the Team Vicar (New Catton) and the Focal Minister to engage the congregations of St Luke’s, St Augustine’s and Christ Church in mission initiatives in their parishes.
· May be a lay or ordained person – paid at the level of a full-time clergy stipend, provided they have the appropriate training and experience in Pioneer Ministry.
Focal Minister (non-stipendiary)
· Leadership and pastoral care for the congregation of Christ Church, including chairing the PCC of Christ Church.
· May be a Licensed Lay Minister or an ordained person.
· To work collaboratively with the Team Vicar (New Catton) in meeting the pastoral needs of residents in the area around Christ Church.
Christ Church
Christ Church is centrally located in the Catton part of the team, a spacious Victorian building with an adjacent Church Hall, which is in need of some refurbishment but well-used by community groups pre-Covid. Many of the current small congregation have worshipped there for decades and can recall when it was a thriving family church in the evangelical tradition. Few of them now live in the parish, but they have a great loyalty to their church and to each other. A local Brownie group which met weekly in the Church centre were in the habit of coming to church for seasonal services such as Mothering Sunday. Apart from that, the congregation are aware that their ability to ‘grow younger’ is limited, and so a part-time pioneer curate, Danny Doran-Smith, is licensed to both Christ Church and Sprowston with the aim of growing a new Missional Community in the parish, linked with his work as Director of ENYP.
Sunday services at 10.30 am alternate between a Service of the Word and a Common Worship Eucharist, with recorded music to accompany hymns from Mission Praise or Sing Glory. If the Focal Minister is a lay minister then it would be expected that they would normally lead the non-eucharistic services, and either be in the congregation or sharing in the leading of the service when a priest is celebrating the eucharist, drawing on clergy from within the wider team. If the Focal Minister is an ordained priest then it would still be expected that there would be some service sharing with other members of the team. It is hoped that a new service will begin at a different time under the leadership of the current curate, Danny Doran-Smith, and the Focal Minister will need to work collaboratively with Danny over use of the buildings, and at times sharing of services.
There is strong support for charitable giving, with 6 charities supported each year, in addition to the local foodbank for which Christ Church is a collection point. A regular Book Swap event had begun pre-lockdown to engage with the local community and it is hoped that this can be re-launched. An annual carol service with the pub opposite has been a tradition which could be built on.
The electoral roll of Christ Church in 2020 was 33 and prior to the pandemic regular Sunday attendance was approximately 25-30.
St Luke’s and St Augustine’s
St Luke’s and St Augustine’s describe themselves as:
· Two branches of the same family who love to worship God- but in quite different ways.
· Exploring the Word of God is an important part of our worship
· Our church family includes those exploring faith as well as those who have been Christians for many years (and people at all stages in-between).
· We see our faith as living, changing and evolving as we seek to connect with God, each other and others outside our immediate community.
· We love to use our gifts and talents for God both in church and in the community - many of us are involved in all aspects of leading worship.
· We don’t wear robes & we don’t have pews!
· We have a lot of questions – we don’t pretend we know all the answers!
St Luke’s Church Centre is a modern, multi-purpose building which includes a worship space, meeting rooms and a parish office. The church community provides ‘a safe space to explore faith and spirituality, holding a diversity of views without judgement’. The worship is open-evangelical in style with a music group and screen. St Augustine’s congregation meets in St Augustine’s Hall, behind the former parish church which is now in the care of the CBC. It is a smaller, committed congregation with a contemplative approach. Both churches encourage considerable lay involvement in leading services and preaching.
St Mary Magdalene
St Mary Magdalene's church was once described as 'a warm place with open doors'; it is a diverse gathering of people brought together by a desire to worship God; to open their doors to and share the journey to faith with the people of this area, and help them respond to the presence of God in their lives; to grow in prayer and service; to meet the needs of local people in co-operation with other local churches; and to live with inclusivity, joy, energy and creativity. Worship is of a clear modern Liberal Catholic ethos, with Sung Eucharist (CW modern language) every Sunday morning, with vestments and incense, a midweek Eucharist, and Morning Prayer each weekday. The sacrament is reserved. Holy Week is particularly full and well attended, including a complete Paschal Vigil beginning before sunrise on Easter morning.
There is a well-appointed hall adjacent to the church, which in normal times is used by local community groups and becomes a Polling Station at local and national elections. Weekly activities include an ‘Evergreen café’ for those who live with and support people with dementia; and a Euro Café which presents a safe and welcoming environment for people from the EU who feel for any reason uneasy in the present climate. Prior to lockdown an extensive programme of social events (concerts etc) to welcome people into the building had been planned.
Sprowston
The parish has 2 ecclesiastical buildings; St Mary & St Margaret’s dating back to the 14th Century and St Cuthbert’s built in the 1880s, primarily to support those flocking to the area at that time for work in the brickmaking industry. The two churches have their own distinct congregations: St. Mary and St. Margaret’s being traditional with a robed choir and St. Cuthbert’s more contemporary and informal. In the north of the parish there is significant new housing which will eventually comprise 7000 new homes. There are a significant number of occasional offices predominantly taking place at St Mary and St. Margaret’s which is situated alongside the town cemetery. St. Cuthbert’s has been modernised and is used for performing arts with a stage and lighting facilities. In addition, there are two halls which are used significantly by the community, particularly SYEP (Sprowston Youth Engagement Project) and the uniformed organisations. The church office is also located within the St Cuthbert’s building.
The parish has extremely good links with the primary schools in the area and regular services are held in one of the local pubs. Ecumenical relations in Sprowston are very good; the Anglican church works with St Georges Roman Catholic church, Wroxham Road Methodist church and Gage Road Baptist Chapel under the banner of ‘Sprowston Churches’.
Sprowston has daily morning and evening prayer and it is hoped this could be a base for team members to meet together for prayer.
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The process is underway to create a new Team Ministry in an urban setting covering the New Catton and Sprowston areas of Norwich. Uniting four single-parish benefices, this will ultimately create a team of five stipendiary clergy, two of whom will be Pioneer ministers, in addition to lay ministers and assistant curates. Collaboratively across the team and with the laypeople, it is expected that people will work together on mission initiatives with which they have a particular affinity, without being constrained by parish boundaries.
Background
The area between the inner and outer ring road to the North of Norwich is currently served by four parishes (five churches). These were originally carved out of a relatively small geographical area, with parish boundaries tending to follow the radial roads so that parish shapes were roughly triangular. Towards the end of the 20th Century St Augustine’s was declared redundant and went into the care of CBC, leaving the congregation to worship in the church hall as part of the parish of St Luke’s with St Augustine’s.
There is a high level of deprivation in the area, and limited community facilities. In most of the parishes it is hard to see where ‘the centre’ would be – there are densely packed terraces or maisonette blocks with local shops and pubs dotted around. On the southern boundary of the deanery is Anglia Square, and the controversial redevelopment and regeneration that could potentially bring. There are a number of schools in the area whose catchment areas do not correlate with parish boundaries.
Sprowston (to the north of the ring road) is a much bigger parish, both in terms of population and area. There are two churches and a strong sense of team across the parish. There are some natural links between Sprowston and the Catton area, particularly in the southern part of Sprowston parish, and the incumbent has recently become Priest-in-charge of Christ church in order to give continuity of pastoral oversight during the vacancy (commenced February 2020).
Two of the parishes are currently in vacancy. The parish of St Luke’s and St Augustine’s has until 2020 had a full-time stipendiary vicar, and also has a non-stipendiary lay worker, Carrie Sant. Christ Church from February 2018 to February 2020 paid for a half-time priest and the other half of her time was met from shared diocesan costs as a ‘deanery pioneer missioner’ – to encourage a substantial investment of time amongst the people who never cross the church threshold. This approach was beginning to bear fruit after a year of work, but then sadly she became seriously ill, and after a year’s absence resigned her post. St Mary Magdalene currently has a Vicar, Revd Selwyn Tillett, on an interim half-stipend post until his planned retirement in 2023. Sprowston has two permanent stipendiary clergy, (Revd Canon Simon Stokes and Revd Dean Akrill) two and a half curates (one of whom is about to move on at Easter) and a SSM (Revd Melanie Hider). There are also two Licensed Lay Ministers and an AWA in Sprowston and ten AWAs at St Luke’s and St Augustine’s.
In the new Team Ministry it is expected that Simon will be Team Rector, with the responsibility of leadership and pastoral care for one of the churches in Sprowston parish. Dean will serve as the second team vicar in Sprowston parish, with Andy Bunter as Pioneer curate taking responsibility for church planting and pioneer ministry. When Andy or Dean move on it would be appropriate to look at how pioneer ministry can be present within the new housing areas there. A further curate is due to be ordained to Sprowston parish in 2021.
It is anticipated that Selwyn will continue in his half-time role at St Mary Magdalene, becoming an Associate priest within the new team, and with principal responsibility for the pastoral care of the congregation and parish of St Mary Magdalene. The two remaining stipendiary roles are being developed to be collaborative in nature but with specialisms, so that there will be a Team Vicar (New Catton) whose focus begins with the congregation of St Luke’s but looks outwards, and a Pioneer Minister who is embedded in the local community, growing new forms of church but looking to the congregation particularly of St Augustine’s for support and prayer. A Focal Minister (non-stipendiary) is also sought for the pastoral care and leadership of the congregation of Christ Church. These three would be expected to work together in a collaborative way to integrate the mission and ministry within the New Catton area. It would be expected that team members would join together regularly for prayer.
Although individual parishes have been named as areas for work in the role outlines that follow, this is really a shorthand for the approximate areas, rather than a set of rigid boundaries.
Broad outlines of roles to be recruited
Team Vicar (New Catton)
· Leadership of and pastoral care for the congregation of St Luke’s.
· First resource in meeting the pastoral needs of residents in the parishes of St Luke’s with St Augustine’s and Christ Church New Catton.
· Working closely with the Pioneer Minister New Catton to foster new expressions of Christian community and engage with local community groups.
· Developing engagement with the two high schools in the benefice: Sprowston Community Academy and Sewell Park Academy (both overseen by the Boudica Schools Trust)
· Chaplain to the YMCA centre, Aylsham Road.
Pioneer Minister (New Catton)
· To be embedded in the community of New Catton (living in the Aylsham Road Vicarage)
· Rooted in the St Augustine’s worshipping community but open to and active in developing new worshipping communities as appropriate.
· Working closely with the Team Vicar (New Catton) and the Focal Minister to engage the congregations of St Luke’s, St Augustine’s and Christ Church in mission initiatives in their parishes.
· May be a lay or ordained person – paid at the level of a full-time clergy stipend, provided they have the appropriate training and experience in Pioneer Ministry.
Focal Minister (non-stipendiary)
· Leadership and pastoral care for the congregation of Christ Church, including chairing the PCC of Christ Church.
· May be a Licensed Lay Minister or an ordained person.
· To work collaboratively with the Team Vicar (New Catton) in meeting the pastoral needs of residents in the area around Christ Church.
Christ Church
Christ Church is centrally located in the Catton part of the team, a spacious Victorian building with an adjacent Church Hall, which is in need of some refurbishment but well-used by community groups pre-Covid. Many of the current small congregation have worshipped there for decades and can recall when it was a thriving family church in the evangelical tradition. Few of them now live in the parish, but they have a great loyalty to their church and to each other. A local Brownie group which met weekly in the Church centre were in the habit of coming to church for seasonal services such as Mothering Sunday. Apart from that, the congregation are aware that their ability to ‘grow younger’ is limited, and so a part-time pioneer curate, Danny Doran-Smith, is licensed to both Christ Church and Sprowston with the aim of growing a new Missional Community in the parish, linked with his work as Director of ENYP.
Sunday services at 10.30 am alternate between a Service of the Word and a Common Worship Eucharist, with recorded music to accompany hymns from Mission Praise or Sing Glory. If the Focal Minister is a lay minister then it would be expected that they would normally lead the non-eucharistic services, and either be in the congregation or sharing in the leading of the service when a priest is celebrating the eucharist, drawing on clergy from within the wider team. If the Focal Minister is an ordained priest then it would still be expected that there would be some service sharing with other members of the team. It is hoped that a new service will begin at a different time under the leadership of the current curate, Danny Doran-Smith, and the Focal Minister will need to work collaboratively with Danny over use of the buildings, and at times sharing of services.
There is strong support for charitable giving, with 6 charities supported each year, in addition to the local foodbank for which Christ Church is a collection point. A regular Book Swap event had begun pre-lockdown to engage with the local community and it is hoped that this can be re-launched. An annual carol service with the pub opposite has been a tradition which could be built on.
The electoral roll of Christ Church in 2020 was 33 and prior to the pandemic regular Sunday attendance was approximately 25-30.
St Luke’s and St Augustine’s
St Luke’s and St Augustine’s describe themselves as:
· Two branches of the same family who love to worship God- but in quite different ways.
· Exploring the Word of God is an important part of our worship
· Our church family includes those exploring faith as well as those who have been Christians for many years (and people at all stages in-between).
· We see our faith as living, changing and evolving as we seek to connect with God, each other and others outside our immediate community.
· We love to use our gifts and talents for God both in church and in the community - many of us are involved in all aspects of leading worship.
· We don’t wear robes & we don’t have pews!
· We have a lot of questions – we don’t pretend we know all the answers!
St Luke’s Church Centre is a modern, multi-purpose building which includes a worship space, meeting rooms and a parish office. The church community provides ‘a safe space to explore faith and spirituality, holding a diversity of views without judgement’. The worship is open-evangelical in style with a music group and screen. St Augustine’s congregation meets in St Augustine’s Hall, behind the former parish church which is now in the care of the CBC. It is a smaller, committed congregation with a contemplative approach. Both churches encourage considerable lay involvement in leading services and preaching.
St Mary Magdalene
St Mary Magdalene's church was once described as 'a warm place with open doors'; it is a diverse gathering of people brought together by a desire to worship God; to open their doors to and share the journey to faith with the people of this area, and help them respond to the presence of God in their lives; to grow in prayer and service; to meet the needs of local people in co-operation with other local churches; and to live with inclusivity, joy, energy and creativity. Worship is of a clear modern Liberal Catholic ethos, with Sung Eucharist (CW modern language) every Sunday morning, with vestments and incense, a midweek Eucharist, and Morning Prayer each weekday. The sacrament is reserved. Holy Week is particularly full and well attended, including a complete Paschal Vigil beginning before sunrise on Easter morning.
There is a well-appointed hall adjacent to the church, which in normal times is used by local community groups and becomes a Polling Station at local and national elections. Weekly activities include an ‘Evergreen café’ for those who live with and support people with dementia; and a Euro Café which presents a safe and welcoming environment for people from the EU who feel for any reason uneasy in the present climate. Prior to lockdown an extensive programme of social events (concerts etc) to welcome people into the building had been planned.
Sprowston
The parish has 2 ecclesiastical buildings; St Mary & St Margaret’s dating back to the 14th Century and St Cuthbert’s built in the 1880s, primarily to support those flocking to the area at that time for work in the brickmaking industry. The two churches have their own distinct congregations: St. Mary and St. Margaret’s being traditional with a robed choir and St. Cuthbert’s more contemporary and informal. In the north of the parish there is significant new housing which will eventually comprise 7000 new homes. There are a significant number of occasional offices predominantly taking place at St Mary and St. Margaret’s which is situated alongside the town cemetery. St. Cuthbert’s has been modernised and is used for performing arts with a stage and lighting facilities. In addition, there are two halls which are used significantly by the community, particularly SYEP (Sprowston Youth Engagement Project) and the uniformed organisations. The church office is also located within the St Cuthbert’s building.
The parish has extremely good links with the primary schools in the area and regular services are held in one of the local pubs. Ecumenical relations in Sprowston are very good; the Anglican church works with St Georges Roman Catholic church, Wroxham Road Methodist church and Gage Road Baptist Chapel under the banner of ‘Sprowston Churches’.
Sprowston has daily morning and evening prayer and it is hoped this could be a base for team members to meet together for prayer.
2