St Lawrence Barnwood

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Welcome to St Lawrence Barnwood To know and share the love of Jesus Church Lane, Barnwood, Gloucester, GL4 3JB Telephone: 01452 372731 Email:[email protected] Website: www.stlawrencebarnwood.uk.eu.org September 2017

Transcript of St Lawrence Barnwood

Page 1: St Lawrence Barnwood

Welcome to

St Lawrence Barnwood

To know and share the love of Jesus

Church Lane, Barnwood, Gloucester, GL4 3JB

Telephone: 01452 372731 Email:[email protected]

Website: www.stlawrencebarnwood.uk.eu.org

September 2017

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St Lawrence Church at a glance

We are a Eucharistic community, rooted in the weekly celebration of Holy Communion

We value our strong ministerial team We hold a variety of services based around a traditional format Averaged across all services, around 70 adults and 8 children worship

on Sundays We are a broad church, allowing expression of a variety of opinions

and ideas We are a welcoming and friendly community We enjoy spending time together and having fun We are well-organised in our every-day activities

Contents of the Parish profile 1. The Parish Page 3 2. The Church Page 3 3. Church Life 3.1 The Ministry Team Page 4 3.2 Sunday Worship at Barnwood Page 4 3.3 Our Other Church Activities Page 6 3.4 Church Organisation Page 6 3.5 Church Administration Page 8 4. The Church in the Community 4.1 Church Events Page 8 4.2 Barnwood Primary School Page 9 5. The Future 5.1 Our Strengths Page 10 5.2 Areas to Consider Page 11 5.3 Aspirations for the Future Page 12 6. Person Profile Page 13

Page 14 Appendix 2: Details of our services Page 15 Appendix 3: Additional information Page 16 Cover photographs Centre: St Lawrence Church, Barnwood Clockwise from top right hand corner:

Walking group on the Parish weekend at Lindors, near Lydney The church bells Monday morning coffee shop

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1. The Parish Barnwood lies two and a half miles south-east of the centre of Gloucester. Now a suburb of the city, it was for hundreds of years a village just south of the Roman Ermin Street. It is a single parish benefice, one of the largest in the Diocese of

Gloucester. There are no churches belonging to other denominations in the parish. There are good bus routes into the city and the M5 is reachable within 10 minutes. The Forest of Dean, Cotswold Hills and Severn Valley are all within easy reach, providing a setting of outstanding beauty for Gloucester and Barnwood. Today around 14,000 people live in Barnwood, in a mixture of accommodation including 19th and 20th

century residential streets and newly-built estates, including the large Abbeymead and Abbeydale estates in the south of the parish. Barnwood retains a substantial amount of green space, with several parks and a small arboretum, and the newer parts of the parish are well supplied with foot and cycle paths. There are two primary schools (one of them a voluntary aided Church of

England school), a secondary school and an independent junior-senior school within the parish. There are several day nurseries in the local area. A community centre, large GP surgery, care and nursing homes, shopping areas, trading estates, hotels, pubs, leisure centre, and some light industry premises make Barnwood a diverse area within a suburban setting. There is a variety of large medium sized employers in the Gloucester area, including EDF Energy, Unilever (Walls) Ice Cream, GCHQ Cheltenham, Ecclesiastical Insurance and Bond Aviation Services, for example. The age profile of the parish mirrors that of the national population, on the whole. There are slightly more children and young people and slightly fewer people aged over 65 than nationally. Deprivation is low: the parish is in the lowest 12% of Church of England parishes for deprivation1.

2. The Church The church in Barnwood, originally dedicated to St Lawrence around 1150, has been the spiritual home of the parish for over 900 years. Added to over the years, it has a variety of architectural styles. The tower houses a ring of eight bells, and an active band of bell-ringers rings at every main service and on special occasions. The interior of the church is set out with wooden pews and choir stalls. While there has been some talk of reordering the church in previous years, this is not currently a matter under active discussion. The church is surrounded by a beautiful churchyard and a green area adjacent, known as Church Field. Kept in order by a paid grounds-man and teams of

1 C of E Research and Statistics 2015

Barnwood Park and Arboretum

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volunteers, the churchyard provides a tranquil and beautiful resting place in the midst of busy suburban life, and as people pass through from various parts of the parish there have been opportunities for moving conversations and making contacts. Just over 15 years ago the church made the decision to build a new parish centre alongside the church.

mission statement for the year 2000 and represented a commitment to outreach within the parish. The faith of those responsible for taking this forward has been well rewarded as the Centre has become a lively hub for various activities within church and parish life. The centre houses modern meeting rooms and a well-equipped kitchen, is provided with wifi and is fully accessible. The Vicarage is close to the church, across the churchyard. A 4-bedroom (one en-suite) bungalow with study and dining room, it was custom-built in the 1970s and extensively refurbished in 2006. Solar panels were added about seven years ago. The Vicar t of the house.It has a large garden where, in recent years, we have enjoyed activities such as the parish barbecue and open-air Songs of Praise.

3. Church Life

3.1 The Ministry Team priest-in-charge together with a

curate. Our curate left in May to become Vicar of a neighbouring benefice, and our priest-in-charge retired in July. The living of the parish is no longer in suspension and we are, therefore, now hoping to appoint a Vicar to lead us. The church is fortunate to have the services of two Honorary Associate Priests, three readers, and a Local Minister. Other members of the congregation also assist in informal and non-Eucharistic services. The Worship Team (see next section) assisted the priest-in-charge with the planning and organisation of worship activities. The diverse gifts of the ministry team are greatly valued by the church and the congregations have come to appreciate the position where no one service is lead by a sole minister, but rather by a team of people working together. The introduction of the role of Deacon to our Eucharistic services has allowed the non-ordained members of the ministry team to play an appropriate and welcome part. The ministry team, senior parish administrator and churchwardens meet together as

for those who need support. In 2014 a review of pastoral care was carried out, leading to actions such as introducing prayer/visit request cards in the pews, making a prayer tree, and setting up an email prayer distribution list. It is possible that the church would still benefit from a more strategic approach to pastoral work, with opportunities for more members of the congregation to be involved in a more structured way.

3.2 Sunday Worship at Barnwood Currently there are 106 members on the church electoral roll, 29 of whom live outside the parish. Averaged across all services, about 70 adults and 8 children attend

St Lawrence Parish Centre

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Sunday services weekly, rising to over 300 over the Christmas period. We are a broad church which allows various ideas and opinions to be expressed. Our main Sunday services are Communion at 8.00 a.m. and Parish Eucharist at 9.45 a.m. Once a month we hold a family-friendly non-Eucharistic service at 11.30 a.m.

and a smaller, more reflective service at 6.00 p.m. (Details of services can be found in Appendix 2 and at http://www.stlawrencebarnwood.uk.eu.org/services).

All Eucharistic services are Common Worship Order One modern language used in booklet form. There is a full choir and servers who also lead the Gospel procession. There are sets of

i.e. Advent, Christmas and Epiphany, Lent, Eastertide, Ordinary Time. There are also sets of booklets for most special occasions to include e.g. Midnight Mass,

Candlemas, Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday Liturgy of the Last Hour, Easter Paschal Candle Ceremony, Ascension, Pentecost and Patronal Festival. Other special services are re-created annually e.g. All Souls service, Advent Service of Light, Christmas Carol service, Crib service, Christingle workshop and Family service, Good Friday workshop and Family Service. The church has vestments. i.e. chasubles with matching burse, veil and altar frontals.

albs and stoles are worn. There are seasonal altar frontal changes and an all season set of frontal panels. Clergy Choir dress is worn as appropriate.

open table. This has been the tradition now for some years. Any adult present who wishes to receive the sacrament is given the bread and wine without question, or if he or she would prefer, to receive a blessing. Children from around seven years of age and upwards have teaching sessions concerning Holy Communion after which they receive Communion in both kind. With the discretion of parents and priests, younger children from an early (toddler) age are given the bread at Communion. The Sacrament is reserved for taking to those who are house-bound.

We are used to a varied delivery of worship activities, benefiting from the different styles and backgrounds of members of the ministry team. Music plays an important paactivities. The choir sings at almost every Parish Eucharist, and will prepare for special services such as Christmas and Easter, and occasionally Evensong or a concert. It is led by our Director of Music (who is also organist). In recent years, on average, about 5 children have attended the weekly 9.45 service, and about 18 the

. Until June 2017 we ran a Sunday Club for children during the 9.45 a.m. service. Because of low numbers of older children at this service, young children now stay in

morning to your beautiful church I have enjoyed your

service immensely and most of all your wonderful choir

and music Visitor, August 2017.

The chancel at St Lawrence

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the service and we offer activities for them in the Lady Chapel.

3.3 Our Other Church Activities Teen Talk was set up a few years ago after a number of our young people were confirmed. It meets monthly, with about half a dozen teenagers attending. The Barnwood Family Fellowship (held once a month on Saturday morning) was set up in 2016 and provides a relaxed setting for church families with young children to meet up and have brunch. Numbers fluctuate but up to seven families have attended. A lay-led home study group with about 12 members meets from time to time and a few members of the church meet together for a fortnightly prayer meeting. In the last five years we have held three weekends away, in which about 25 members of the church have participated. At Lee Abbey in 2012 we joined in a programme provided by the community there. In 2014 and 2017 we went to Lindors in the Wye Valley, with no specific programme but to relax and enjoy company. A small group of people organises walks in the Gloucestershire countryside from time to time, at which all members of the church family are welcome.

3.4 Church Organisation -to-day activities are organised by several teams which report to the

PCC. Churchwardens are ex officio members of all teams.

Worship Team: the team consists of the Ministry team plus representatives of the choir. It meets 3 or 4 times a year and has helped the priest-in-charge to plan the

on. Social Team: the Social Team normally plans and organises activities which do not have a fund-raising focus but are designed to provide opportunities for the congregation to spend time together. These are as diverse as skittles evenings and picture, poetry and prose teas. The Social Team also organises refreshments for special events at the church. During early 2017 the team decided that it was time to review its role and has currently taken a sabbatical from organising new initiatives, although it will continue to support regular church activities such as Harvest lunch.

Fund-Raising Team: as the name implies the focus of this team is fund-raising! It usually organises up to two major events a year, such as autumn and spring fayres, as well as several smaller events such as quiz evenings.As well as making income for the church, these events are an opportunity for the church to welcome all members of the parish as part of a community event.

Afternoon Tea event 2017

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Charitable Giving Team: this small team canvasses ideas for and provides suggestions to PCC for charities to which the PCC may donate, if funds permit. The church is involved every year with Christian Aid collecting and also has a weekly food collection for the Gloucester Foodbank. Communications Team: the Communications Team is responsible for overseeing all communications media: weekly news sheet, monthly magazine, website, Facebook page, and so on. services around Easter and Christmas, are delivered to houses in certain parts of the parish.

Finance Team: the Finance Team currently includes the Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer, Gift Aid officer and churchwardens. The priest-in-charge was also a member. The team oversees the churc Over the past few years the

have been reasonably robust. In 2016 income and expenditure were balanced. We have reserves which would enable the church to operate for 3-4 months, including some restricted funds for special purposes. The church pays its parish share in full (£63,089 in 2016) and in 2016 made an extra payment to the Diocese, as well as making charitable giving donations. In 2016 the

registered with the Charities Commissigiving and Gift Aid. The church is part of the diocesan Parish Giving scheme. Parish Centre lettings and parochial fees are the next largest sources. More detail of the budget is available in the Annual Report (A Year in the Life). Buildings Team: this team has oversight of maintenance of the fabric of the church, church centre, and of the graveyard. The church and parish centre are in good order. A quinquennial inspection of the church was held in 2016 and reported that all important works noted in the last inspection had been carried out, and no significant major works were necessary. In 2016 the church lighting was completely overhauled, both improving the lighting and providing a saving on electricity costs. A significant fundraising campaign in 2013 made it possible for the bells to be taken down, retuned and rehung: the first major work to be carried out for over 100 years.

Further details of team activities can be found i A year in the life of St. Lawrence Church 2016-17 . The current structure was set up some years ago and we are currently thinking about

In particular, we have decided that charitable giving can now be dealt with effectively at the PCC, and we are reassessing the roles of the Fund-Raising and Social Teams. We are keen to have a structure that is fit for church life now, but we are also mindful that it is the same set of people who carry out many of the day-to-day activities. We are faced with the challenge of how we encourage a wider and more diverse set of members to take part in the activities which are necessary to ensure the smooth running of church life. Safeguarding activities in the church are managed by the Safeguarding Officer. The church has the requisite policies in place and DBS checks for all necessary staff are up-to-date.

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3.5 Church Administration The Parish Office is housed in the Parish Centre and the administration of the parish, as well as of the parish centre, is carried out by the Senior Parish Administrator and the Parish Administrator, both part-time paid posts. The administrators worked closely with the previous priest-in-charge on all matters of church and parish administration, including diocesan business and Centre lettings. The administrators

are also often the first people whom those outside the church have contact with, and they provide a caring and compassionate welcome to parishioners and visitors alike. The Parish Centre is cared for by a part-time paid Care-taker who is responsible for cleaning and general upkeep and making sure that the needs of those who hire the Centre are catered for.

4. The Church in the Community

4.1 Church Events The church building itself is a visible presence in the wider parish. It is open for visitors most weekday mornings and the church yard is a quiet space for those tending graves or just passing from one part of the parish to another. The church is popular for weddings and has its share of baptisms and funerals. In 2016, 44 baptisms, 4 weddings and 27 funerals were conducted. Services attract large attendances at Easter and Christmas. The Crib Service held on Christmas Eve is probably our biggest service of the year, with over 200 attending in 2016.

The Parish Centre hosts a variety of events, both connected with church and the wider community, and is in use most of the time. Its regular hirers include Barnwood Model Railway Club, sewing groups, Baby Massage, an AA Group, Young GODS2, and menand ladies Probus Clubs. It is also a popular venue for parties and celebrations. Due to its successful operation hundreds of people a month visit church

premises and are exposed to our ethics and beliefs. In a similar way many of the activities held at the church attract people to events which, while not overtly Christian, exemplify Christian values in the way visitors are treated with kindliness and hospitality. In the past few years we have held a very successful Flower Festival (with Gloucester Flower Arrangement Society), autumn and spring fayres, talks on local history, and fund-raising concerts both by the church choir and by other

2 Gloucester Operatic and Dramatic Society

The Parish Office

St Lawrence Coffee Shop

consistently been very kind to us, and we

wonderful Long-term user of church

centre

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local musicians. The church is well regarded by those who come through its doors on these occasions indeed some stall holders at the fayres return time after time even though their sales are low, because the occasions are friendly and welcoming! The weekly Monday morning coffee shop is another venue where a regular clientele enjoy meeting together and catching up. Most attenders also come to a church service, but the coffee shop has in the past been a venue where local councillors meet and community police officers have held drop-ins. It has a regular attendance of about 30, is staffed by volunteers and serves fair trade coffee and home made cakes.An idea that arose from a previous Vision Day, it is generally regarded as a valuable

room where we hold it, and by ensuring that we have a large enough rota of volunteers. In 2016 the church carried out Posada for the first time during advent figures of Mary and Joseph spent each night at a different house in the Parish, and visited

school, supermarkets, a garden centre, cinema and many more. We had a lot of fun with the activity and also helped to communicate the meaning of Advent throughout the Parish. The perception of the church in the wider Barnwood community is a very positive one. The church is generally highly thought of and the way church members get involved in the community is valued. There are, of course, those who have no involvement with the church and know nothing of its activities. The church is part of a local cluster which also includes the churches of Christ Church Abbeydale (itself part of a Local Ecumenical Partnership)

and St. Philip and St. James Hucclecote. We normally meet together with the other churches in the cluster for Sunday evening worship during Lent and in August. In the last year three of the four churches in the cluster have appointed new incumbents, and the LEP will undergo its quinquennial review this year, so this is obviously a time of change in the cluster. From a cluster perspexpression of Anglican worship and, while clergy have participated regularly in meetings with the other incumbents, attendance at cluster services by members of St

atively small.

4.2 Barnwood Primary School The most formal arrangement that the church has with the community is through Barnwood Church of England Primary School: a relationship that is highly valued by both sides. The church supports the school financially with an annual donation. As a voluntary-aided school a majority of the members of the

governing body must be appointed by the diocese and currently seven such foundation governors are from St Lawrence. A member of the church is currently chair of governors. During 2017 membership of several foundation governors hascome to an end, and it has not proved easy to replace them. The incumbent of St Lawrence is an ex officio member of the governing body ex officio, and our last curate also served as a governor. They played an active part in the life of the school, visited regularly, led worship every fortnight, and were

part of our school so I know it is important to school. So it

means a lot to me. Pupil, Barnwood C of E, Age 9.

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instrumental in the organisation of events such as the school prayer day. A group of

Tuesday morning: a significant commitment, where again it has proved quite difficult to recruit members, although the presentations are greatly enjoyed by the children. The school comes to church to hold its own services during the year: harvest, Christmas, M , and it has become tradition that the church presents every Year 6 leaver with a New Testament. The church also organises a team of volunteers to put on the Experience journeys (Experience Easter, Christmas, and so on), where every class of the school comes into church for small group sessions on the relevant Christian festival. This takes up a good part of a week, and again, in recent years, it has proved difficult to encourage members of the congregation to take part, although we have not yet had to cancel it. In 2017 we held church in school: a family friendly service was held in the school hall and attracted members of school families, staff and church members. This was the first time for several years that such a service was held; it was greatly enjoyed by all and provided a good opportunity for school and church to meet. In July 2017 we asked school pupils from Reception to Year 6 what St Lawrence means to them, and what they would like the new vicar to be like. Their responses were typically straightforward, imaginative and perceptive. Some of them are given in Appendix 1.

5. The future

5.1 Our Strengths Our patron saint, Lawrence, is famously said to have presented the

authorities when they demanded that the treasure of the church was handed over. We recently asked our congregations what they would identify as the churc Many lovely and touching features were put forward: the welcoming people, the choir, bells and music, the contribution of the clergy and readers, the

spiritual refuge which the church offers, friendships, and a sense of belonging. We have much to be thankful for at St Lawrence. Our finances and buildings are in good order

smoothly. The number of adults attending weekly Sunday services and the number on the electoral roll have been more or less stable over the last five years. The number of children attending the

having increased slightly in the last year. Under the leadership of our last priest-in-charge, over the last few years we have made efforts to ensure that the church is friendly and welcoming,

wonderful place where we go to have

Experience Easter and Christmas Pupil,

Barnwood C of E, Age 10.

Summary of our strengths:

Strong ministry team Robust finances Well-kept buildings Effective administration Numbers of adult

worshippers stable Friendly and welcoming Community spirit Part of the wider

community: school, coffee shop

Sense of fun A broad church Variety of services

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especially to newcomers and those who visit events held at the church, and we feel that this has borne fruit and that the church is known as a friendly and hospitable place. As a church we feel like a community, and have a place in the larger community. Our firm links with our church school are one indication of this, but so are our other connections. When we asked people outside the main church congregation what St Lawrence meant to them they often mentioned community, friendship and welcome as key characteristics. In addition, events organised by the Social and Fund-Raising Teams indicate that members of the church enjoy spending time together and are largely comfortable in

The three church weekends-away that we have held in the last five years have been very enjoyable times together. There is a sense of fun in what we do. While we see ourselves as a Eucharistic community, rooted in the celebration of Holy Communion every week, we are a broad church. The services which we hold provide some scope for different styles and content of worship. For example, the 8.00 a.m. said Holy Communion Service is quieter and more reflective than the 9.45 service where there is a greater emphasis on s rather than hymns and a more flexible liturgical format. While we hope that this provides opportunities for enhancing the worship of all members of the church, there is also a risk that the choices offered lead to distinct congregations emerging which have little to do with each other. We consider that the weekly coffee shop has been a success in attracting some people outside the congregation. Numbers attending are stable at around 30, but so far this has not translated into people wanting to know more about other activities of the church, or of our Christian faith.

5.2 Areas to Consider On the other hand, we obviously have issues to consider: the number of children attending the 9.45 Sunday service has been low for several years and Sunday Clubhas recently been replaced, we hope temporarily, by activities for younger children in the church. The main regular service and, while there are possibly some encouraging signs of growth here, there is little overlap of attenders with those of the other Sunday services and so no obvious

opportunity to celebrate the presence of children and young people in the wider life of the church. The Toddlers and Tinies group which ran at the church, with some church oversight, has recently closed because no one could carry on the leadership. One of our challenges is to seek a clearer

in the parish. We need to discover how we can best plan our activities to ensure that we provide opportunities for children and young people to encounter and grow in the love of Christ. While the stability of attendance numbers could be seen as a positive, the numbers worshipping with us are still a tiny fraction of the number of people living in the parish.

Summary of areas to consider:

Children and Youth work Limited reach into the parish No clearly articulated vision

for mission Encouraging all to use their

gifts and talents Structured approach to visiting

and befriending Keeping the three main

congregations together Exploring change in the way

we do things Broadening spiritual

engagement

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Even taking into account the numbers of people who come to the church or centre for fund-raising events, or as hirers, or for weddings, baptisms and funerals, our overall reach into the parish is relatively small. Our contacts with the parish depend currently on attracting people to the church, rather than events where we take our witness out into the community. At the moment we have no clearly articulated or agreed vision for mission in the parish, and no clear strategy on how to capitalise on our strengths to extend our witness to the parish. While the day-to-day activities of the church currently run smoothly, the majority of the effort is carried out by a small proportion of the congregation. If such activities are to continue we need to think of new ways to encourage and enable more members to take part in activities as diverse as school governorship, providing music for services, supporting fundraising and social activities, joining coffee shop rota, taking part in evening services, and so on. Although levels of deprivation within the parish generally are low, this does not meanthat there is no need for pastoral care: our regular pastoral team meetings give evidence of need for support both within the congregation and further afield. With ageing congregations come increased risks of ill-health, isolation and loneliness. At the moment anyone who needs pastoral support is referred to a member of the ministry team through the Parish Office. We would like to increase the team of people who can provide pastoral support and are thinking about organising an in-house Visiting and Befriending workshop. However, we are wondering whether a more structured approach to visiting and befriending within the parish would enable us to more effectively support those around us, especially those who may feel lonely or isolated. As we noted above, currently the congregations of the three main Sunday services

We may meet together at certain social events, such as the parish barbecue, but there are few structured opportunities to meet and get to know each other as a worshipping community, or to ensure that the gifts of all three congregations are harnessed to make our witness in the parish more powerful. We need to ensure that the

constituencies. The format of the three services has changed little over the past ten years and for many members of the congregations this has provided a valued stability and consistency of experience. It is true to say that some members are wary of change, while others value the traditions that we have and at the same time are keen not to close the door on change. This may be a good time to consider whether the way we do things is still as effective as it might be, and whether changes should be sensitively explored. While in the past we have organised Alpha and Christianity Explored courses, and we normally run a series of Lent house groups, currently our corporate spiritual engagement is largely confined to what we do together on Sundays. It may be time to consider whether a greater emphasis on prayer, study and discipleship is needed.

5.3 Aspirations for the Future We know that there are many opportunities for us in the parish and we have been

h here over the last few years. We have held two members of the congregation opportunities to talk about

their understanding of where we should be going.

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for us will continue, nevertheless we have identified some priorities that we thinkshould be kept in sight. Our aims are to

ensure that all members of the congregations feel valued and welcomed, whatever age, background or maturity of their faith

remain a church that welcomes all, and is appreciated for its hospitality ensure that the gifts of members of the congregations are identified and

harnessed so that the work of being witnesses in Barnwood is spread as evenly as possible and members pull together using their different strengths and abilities

maintain our identity as a church community, ensuring that the congregations do not diverge, that we continue to enjoy being with one another and having fun

engage with the whole parish in a way that is outward-facing, identifying new partnerships and networks, and enhancing the ones we have, to allow us

love and also respond to need by loving service explore change sensitively to find new and imaginative ways of helping

people to worship, to deepen their spirituality and to grow in their faith.

6. Person Profile We are looking for a person who will encourage us cheerfully, joyfully and enthusiastically to reach our aims; a person who will lead us prayerfully into greater spiritual growth We expect that person to have respect for the place of scripture, tradition and reason in our understanding of faith. The profile of skills and attributes that we are looking for in our Vicar which would allow her or him to help us pursue our aims include:

the ability to lead us in discerning God our church the skills to develop and communicate a shared sense of where the church is

going, especially with respect to mission and outreach the commitment to encourage us into a deeper experience of faith and

spirituality the skills to manage change in a way that is sensitive to the needs of the

various congregations the skills to help us discern and encourage the gifts of every member of the

church, and the ability to foster an attitude of self-giving within the congregation which ensures that all contribute according to their talents

the skills to help us explore the needs of children and young people and the part the Christian faith has in meeting these

a desire to engage with the activities of Barnwood Primary School and enhance the relationship between church and school

s continues to enhance our worship.

I would like our new vicar to be someone who makes the

church the church. Pupil, Barnwood C of E, Age 7.

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Appendix 1: In We asked children from Reception to Year 6 at Barnwood C of E Primary School What St Lawrence church means to me Our new Vicar how I would like

. Here are some of their responses.

the bells

God and Jesus

inds me of my great grandma

How I would like our new vicar to be

frightening

the church

responsible

teaches us about values

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Appendix 2: Details of our services Sundays: Each Sunday 8.00 a.m. Said Holy Communion 1st 2nd 3rd Sundays 9.45 a.m. Sung Parish Eucharist with choir 2nd Sunday 11.30 reative Family service using power point 4th Sunday 9.45 a.m a shorter sung Eucharistic service with choir 6.00 p.m. Evening service: innovative free worship - often lay led. Occasional sung evensong (BCP) with choir. 5th Sunday 9.45 a.m. Sung non-Eucharistic Service: e.g. Morning Prayer 1st and 3rd Sundays 11.30 a.m. Baptisms with hymns and address Sunday evenings in Lent and during August: 6. 00 pm. Evening serv es. 3rd Mondays 3.00 p.m. Holy Communion with hymns followed by afternoon tea (A service principally to enable individuals to meet together

who are able to be transported, who would otherwise need to receive home communion; volunteers provide lifts and organise tea)

Special weekday services:- e.g. Ash Wednesday: Eucharist with imposition of Ashes Holy Week: Daily evening service Maundy Thursday: Eucharist with hand or foot washing and altar stripping Good Friday: Morning Prayer, All-age worship, Liturgy of the Last Hour Other services i) A monthly Holy Communion service from the reserved sacrament in Woodstock Nursing Home ii) A full service of Holy Communion with hymns at Manor Gardens sheltered housing development. Average weekly attendance at main services, September 2015 September 2017

8.00 a.m 9.45 a.m. Monday 3.00 p.m. u16 o16 u16 o16 u16 o16 u16 o16 2015-16 0 12 5 54 13 15 0 15 2016-17 0 11 4 54 18 19 0 14

u16 = under 16 o16 = 16 and over

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Appendix 3 Additional information

A. St Lawrence Barnwood Website http://www.stlawrencebarnwood.uk.eu.org/Welcome Facebook https://www.facebook.com/stlawrencechurchbarnwood/?ref=page_internal Statistics http://www.gloucester.anglican.org/parish-resources/church-buildings-and-churchyards/parish-data/ Map of the Parish https://www.achurchnearyou.com/parishfinder.php?GL4+3JB A year in the life of St. Lawrence Church Barnwood 2016- . PCC Annual Report including Financial Statements and Review. http://www.stlawrencebarnwood.uk.eu.org/information/the-parochial-church-council St Lawrence Church Bells http://www.v-cyclesolutions.co.uk/Barnwood_Ringers/Barnwood_bells.htm

B. Barnwood Church of England Primary School Website http://www.barnwood.gloucs.sch.uk/ Ofsted and SIAMS reports http://www.barnwood.gloucs.sch.uk/our_school/ofsted_diocesan_report/ofsted_diocesan_report.html

C. Gloucester and Gloucestershire The city http://www.thecityofgloucester.co.uk/ News http://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/ The Cathedral http://www.gloucestercathedral.org.uk/ City Council http://www.gloucester.gov.uk/ Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds http://www.cotswolds.info/gloucestershire/