St Paul’s Church Canford Heath

Parish Profile

2015

7 October 2015 Page | 2

Name of Church: St Paul’s Church

Name of the Parish: Canford Heath

Diocese: Salisbury

Deanery: Poole

Address: Neighbourhood Center, Poole, BH17 9DW

Phone number: 01202 605311

Email address: stpauls.canfordheath@btinternet.com

Church website: www.stpaulscanfordheath.org.uk

Contents

Welcome! page 3

What is the Church Looking for in Their New Vicar page 3

What We Can Offer You page 3

Location page 4

The Community page 4

Canford Heath page 4

Leisure page 5

Schools page 5

The Church page 6

The People page 6

Worship page 7

Communication page 7

The Buildings page 8

Staff page 8

Occasional Offices page 8

Social and Community Life page 9

Finance page 10

Sharing Agreement page 10

Ecumenical Links page 10

Wider Church page 11

The Vicarage page 11

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Welcome!

Welcome to the Parish Profile of St Paul’s Church. We hope you find the information helpful

as you seek the Lord’s guidance on where your next place of ministry is, but please do not

hesitate to contact us if you have any queries.

May you be abundantly blessed in your service to Him and His people.

Yours sincerely St Pauls PCC

What is the church looking for in their new Vicar:

To possess strong leadership qualities and have the ability to give St Paul’s a clear spiritual direction and be able to encourage us on our journey of faith;

To identify potential in those called to ministry (e.g. potential candidates for ordination, LLM’s, home group leaders, prayer ministry members, children & youth group leaders etc.);

To enjoy being with people, building relationships and being pastorally sensitive to the needs of others;

To encourage and strengthen links with the organisations who use our buildings;

To encourage and strengthen links with the schools on Canford Heath;

To work alongside the Canford Heath Baptist Church (CHBC) minister sharing initiatives when appropriate (see Sharing Agreement page 10);

To be able to contribute constructively to the shared vision of the local churches;

To have a clear vision of growth for themselves and to be motivated to fulfil their own personal development.

What we can offer you:

The opportunity to be the first vicar (priest in charge) of Canford Heath;

A welcoming church family with a variety of age groups;

A growing solvent church which is able to pay its full share;

Support from a Licensed Lay Minister;

A part time children’s and youth worker;

Full time assistance from a church worker;

15 hours a week of office support from two experienced administrators;

The help of many enthusiastic and capable volunteers;

Established links with four of the seven schools on Canford Heath;

Availability of multimedia projection systems enabling the use of Easy Worship and the latest office software;

Open flexible buildings right at the heart of the community;

A well utilised church hall, in very good condition, which not only provides income for the church but provides an invaluable space for the local community;

A church that is open to new ideas and initiatives.

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Location

St Paul’s Church is situated in Canford Heath, which is a northern suburb of Poole, an

attractive port and seaside town. It is a wonderful part of the South West of England, which

has great facilities for all ages with lovely award winning beaches. Poole has easy access to

London by road and rail and is only 6 miles from Bournemouth airport. It is also linked by car

ferry to the Channel Islands and Cherbourg.

The Community

Canford Heath

Canford Heath gets its name from a large area of heath land behind the parish, out of which

it was carved starting in the 1980s. It is a self-contained area of mixed housing, with a

population of 14,500. It includes 20% social housing and has a full range of owner-occupied

and rented accommodation. A new estate of 120 homes is currently being added. It has a

preponderance of young families, hence the large number of schools (a total of 7 – see

below).

There are two shopping areas, one (“The Neighbourhood Centre”) beside the church. This

includes an ASDA store, a petrol station, a Post Office, a public house, a dentist, a chemist

and a vet. The doctor’s surgery is sited near the other shopping area at Adastral Square,

along with the library. There is a busy light industrial area in the parish, though separate

from the housing. The area is well-served by bus routes into both Poole town centre and

Bournemouth.

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Leisure

There are three public houses on the estate, a Christian community café, a youth centre,

and a council-run leisure centre (no pool). There are several playgrounds and plenty of

parkland and green areas. The heathland (a nature reserve) provides a wonderful walking

area with amazing views over Poole and beyond. The beach is approximately 5 miles away

(see picture). There is a good network of cycle paths and footpaths criss-crossing the area.

“Tower Park”, a leisure complex, is just outside the parish and provides a cinema, a splash

pool, bowling and numerous eateries.

Schools

2 Infants

2 Juniors

1 Senior

1 Special School

1 Grammar School (Boys)

Plus

1 Grammar School, just outside the parish (Parkstone Grammar School for Girls)

1 Christian School, outside the parish (St Edward’s Senior School – Catholic and

Church of England

Our previous minister has been governor of one school and a member of the congregation is

governor of another. St Paul’s currently provides occasional assemblies at 2 of them, and

another 2 schools visit the church during the year.

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The Church

The people

St Paul’s congregation is now mainly drawn from within the Parish of Canford Heath, having

been established 34 years ago as a plant from St George’s, Oakdale. In the past seven years

it has grown significantly and now has an electoral roll of just over 150. The main service

attracts approximately 80 adults and 8-15 children, though there is always a drop in

attendance during the summer months.

Though there are families, many of the congregation are aged 40+. Much of the growth has

been through seven home groups and the Alpha Course, which has been run annually. In

recent years the church has had an annual weekend away, usually in the autumn, at

Sidholme in Sidmouth, Devon (see pictures).

The church is fortunate to have a very dedicated and active LLM, who also works full-time in a local school. We also have a retired priest who is willing to be involved depending on his availability.

The PCC, consisting of 15 members, includes a lay

chairman, 2 church wardens, 2 deputy church

wardens, a secretary, the church treasurer, and several diocesan representatives. The PCC

holds an annual PCC away day, where it focuses in detail on a specific aspect relating to the

life of the church.

Up until July 2015 St Paul’s was part of a three-church team ministry (a benefice). The other

two churches were St George’s Oakdale and Christ Church Creekmoor. As of the 26th August

2015, the formal process has started to dissolve the benefice and create three independent

parishes, each with its own priest-in-charge. The intention is for the three churches to form

a ‘group’ for mutual support.

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Worship

When St Paul’s Church started, it copied the prevailing churchmanship of its mother-church,

namely liberal catholic. However, during the tenure of the last incumbent the style changed

to become more evangelical, with a hint of charismatic theology.

The style of worship at St Paul’s Church encourages participation and all the words are

projected onto a screen. Most of the services are based on the Book of Common Worship.

At times testimonies are encouraged within that framework. Prayer ministry is offered after

all 9.30 am services.

Music is drawn mostly from Mission Praise, Worship Today, and Song Select selection. We

are blessed with three organists/pianists and a small singing group.

The pattern of services is as follows:

1st Sunday 8:00am Holy Communion 9.30am Service of the Word 2nd Sunday 9.30am Holy Communion 3rd Sunday 9.30am All Age (with Baptisms) 4th Sunday 9.30am Holy Communion 5th Sunday 9.30am Healing Service --------------------------------- Thursdays 10:00am Holy Communion

There is also a short monthly outreach service targeted at younger families, entitled “Fresh”.

This takes place at 4.00pm on the second Sunday of the month, followed by a snack tea.

This is being headed by the children & youth worker.

Prayer meetings are held on Mondays at 7.30am and Saturdays at 9.30am, both lasting

approximately half an hour.

Communication

To keep in touch with our church family and the wider community, St Paul’s Church

produces a weekly notice sheet and a monthly magazine called ‘In Touch’. In addition, an

article is written in the local ‘Link Magazine’ (a free monthly publication distributed to all

homes on Canford Heath) by one of the ministers from the churches on the Heath. The

magazine also includes the details of the pattern of services.

The St Paul’s Church website, which depicts the life of the church and is kept up to date by a

small team of volunteers, can be found at www.stpaulscanfordheath.org.uk.

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The buildings

St Paul’s Church consists of a main church building with a separate hall. Both have a high

profile in the community and are strategically located at the entrance to the shopping

centre car park. The main church building is 26 years old with a fan-shaped design, while the

useful church hall is 34 years old. The hall was refurbished 6 years ago and is in constant

demand from community and church groups.

The church office, located in the vestry, is open Mon-Fri for 3 hours each morning.

Staff

Currently, St Paul’s Church employs the following people:

Two administrators, of whom one works four mornings and the other one morning, each week.

A church worker who is paid a small volunteer allowance and works full time (30-35 hours).

A part time children & youth worker (18 hours).

Two Cleaners: one for the church and one for the church hall (supervised by the churchwardens) Occasional Offices (numbers are for 2014)

In 2014 there were 18 baptisms at St Paul’s Church. Baptisms are usually held during the third Sunday service in the month. Occasionally we borrow the baptistery at Christ Church, Creekmoor, for an adult baptism.

There was only 1 wedding during the year. The total number of funerals was 13, of which 3 were held at the church and 10 at the crematorium. (The crematorium is less than two miles away from the church).

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Social and Community Life

St Paul’s Church has a wonderful tradition of running community events, outreach projects,

and social activities.

Weekly Church Run Activities

Toddlers’ Group

Heath Community Club

Coffee mornings

Heath & Youth Cafés

Art Club

SPLAT+ after school club (fortnightly)

Tea Dance

Tuesday Morning Group

Occasional Church Run Activities

Alpha (see picture)

Concerts

Pantomime

Men’s group

Beetle Drives

Family Quizzes

Art & Craft Exhibition

Christmas Market

Harvest Supper

Easter holiday club

Kids Art Week

Other (Non Church) Activities

Rainbows (x2), Brownies, Girl Guides

King’s Cru

Slimming World

Lunch Club

U3A Choirs (x2)

K & C Dance

Jumping Jelly Beans pre-school

Footloose (Dance)

Bournemouth Rehearsal Orchestra

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Finance

St Paul’s Church pays its full share of £45k and retains a small surplus each year. There is a

small reserve account to cover the cost of essential repairs/maintenance. There is another

reserve account to fund the Children and Youth worker.

The vast majority of donations are made by regular standing orders. The PCC aims to donate

10% of its unearned income to charity, supporting charities at an international, national, and

local level. Two local charities are Routes to Roots and Poole Food Bank.

Sharing Agreement

There is a sharing agreement with CHBC. This allows them to have full use of the main

church building, e.g. they conduct a service at 11.15am on a Sunday, they run a monthly

‘Pop In’ session for the community, and they hold other regular meetings in the church. As

part of the sharing agreement access, running and maintenance costs are equally divided.

The church hall is not included as part of the agreement.

A joint council meets once per term to discuss both items pertaining to the sharing

agreement, and also any ecumenical initiatives.

CHBC and St Paul’s Church share in joint services during festive periods like Easter and

Christmas. In addition, the two churches run joint initiatives, which include a parents and

toddler group, a children’s Easter holiday club, and a Tuesday morning post Alpha group.

At some stage in the future it might be appropriate to review the sharing agreement as its

now been running for over 10 years.

Ecumenical Links

The relatively large area of Canford Heath is served by a total of four churches. Besides St

Paul’s Church and CHBC they are:

The Beacon Church, a United Reformed Church (URC) who have their own building.

Sunnyhill Community Church, a free church who rent space in one of the schools for

their Sunday services.

There is a joint ministers group for Canford Heath which includes representatives from all

four churches. They currently meet approximately every 6 weeks.

In August 2015 the four churches shared in a very successful joint service followed by a

family BBQ. The next opportunity to all meet together has been planned for January 2016,

with the vision to continue sharing in joint services a few times each year.

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Wider Church

Canford Heath Parish is located in Poole Deanery, the largest deanery in Salisbury diocese.

The current Rural Dean is Revd Jean De Garis. The deanery in turn is part of the Dorset

Archdeaconry whose archdeacon is Ven. Anthony MacRow-Wood (the previous Team

Rector for Oakdale, Canford Heath and Creekmoor).

We have links with several missionary/welfare

organisations such as Christian Aid, Christians Against

Poverty, CMS (missionaries Adrian & Ruth Whitehall, in

Tanzania - pictured), and the Church in South Sudan.

As a church we also support Robert Kidega by paying for his tuition

fees while he studies to become a doctor (surgeon) in Uganda.

Robert served at St Paul’s Church for a year as a volunteer youth

worker during 2010/2011. He has completed 3 years and has a

further 2½ years left to go.

More locally, our previous vicar also served as chaplain for ASDA

supermarket. The wife of the minister at CHBC (a Baptist Minister

herself) has recently become involved in this ministry, with the

possibility for the new St Paul’s vicar to join her.

The Vicarage

The basic estate house which has been used as a vicarage for the whole of the church’s

history has recently been declared not completely suitable by the Diocese. At the time of

writing, a replacement home for the vicarage household is being sought, which it is hoped

will more accurately reflect the minimum requirements for a parsonage house.

For the latest information on the procurement of a new vicarage please contact:

Simon Ferris - Property Manager Salisbury Diocese

Estate management, clergy housing, glebe and property administration

Tel No. 01722 411933, simon.ferris@salisbury.anglican.org, Fax: 01722 329833

Church House, Crane Street, Salisbury SP1 2QB