Rhyl Parish Profile v2. 0 13.10.14

The Parish of Rhyl with Rhyl St Ann

Parish Profile

October 2014

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The Parish of Rhyl with Rhyl St. Ann

Parish Profile

Purpose

The appointment of an ordained colleague to assist and partner with the Incumbent in motivating the people of God in Rhyl to mission and personal growth.

Introduction - The Town of Rhyl

Rhyl is a major resort town situated on the North Wales coast between Prestatyn and Colwyn Bay. It lies in the county of Denbighshire, and in the Archdeaconry of St Asaph. We play an active part in the mission of the Deanery of St Asaph.

Much of our town’s life is geared towards providing for the seasonal influx of holidaymakers (day trippers and static caravans), albeit this is somewhat on the decline. Population-wise Rhyl is made up of a mixture of established, secure family groups of all ages, the elderly who come to retire, young families, and many single people who for a range of reasons experience poverty, unemployment, loneliness and insecurity. There are approximately thirty homes for the elderly.

In common with many larger towns across the land, we

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have witnessed many shops becoming vacant in all areas of the town, and the recent loss of significant high street stores, such as the long-established Marks & Spencer and Next, has been a major blow to the town’s economy and sense of well-being. However we are also seeing development and re-generation as well. A recent local newspaper reports that recent and current investment includes £17 million on the Harbour Bridge and harbour re-development, £2.5m on the Apollo Cinema, £2.5m for Clarence House Medical Centre, £3m for Rhyl Sixth Form College, and £1.7m on the town’s bus station. Plans are already being developed for a 60-bed hotel, a £10m replacement for the Sun Centre, a £25m rebuild of Rhyl High School and a £55 million development on the former fun fare site. So whilst there have been negatives in Rhyl’s recent past, there are also tremendous positives on the near horizon.

For more in depth information, Denbighshire County Council’s Profile of Rhyl is included as an appendix to this document.

The Parish of Rhyl Our Parish will be staffed by the Vicar, (who is also legally the Priest-in-Charge of the Consolidated Chapelry of St Ann), and an Associate Priest along with a ‘House for Duty’ colleague who will exercise a bereavement ministry. In addition we are blessed to have two Readers and a Reader Emeritus, together with a number of Worship Leaders, Pastoral Assistants and Eucharistic Ministers.

We have a Mission Committee which throughout the years has raised many thousands of pounds to support various charities, both local, national and international. Indeed, the Parish was instrumental in setting up the Mayor’s relief fund for the flood victims in

2013.

As well as our branch of The Mothers’ Union, we have a Men’s Fellowship, Women’s Fellowship, Bible Study Group, ‘Open Door’ Club, Rambling Club, Thursday Lunch Club, Bell Tower Group, Church Choirs, Parish Players, and children’s uniformed organisations (Scouts, Cubs, Beavers, Guides, Brownies and Rainbows).

An important feature of parish life are the Parish Holidays. These are lay-led five-day coach holidays which have enabled many parishioners (who would otherwise not be able to travel) to get away on holiday.

The Parish meets socially on a number of occasions throughout the year and these are proving immensely popular. These occasions are frequently used to promote charitable giving to outside organisations.

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Close links exist with organisations in the town such as the Town Council (Vicars have frequently been Mayor’s Chaplain), the RNLI, the Night Shelter, The King’s Storehouse, (which is a ‘food bank’),The Royal British Legion, Normandy Veterans Association, Cadet Units representing the Services and so on. (For information concerning Schools and Higher Education in Rhyl please see Appendix A.)

The Parish makes St Thomas’ Church available to the town for Civic Services and for major concerts and events, including the hugely popular “Christmas Pops” and other charity concerts.

Cytûn provides a platform for contact with other churches in the town, and the Incumbent has developed informal contacts with other church leaders.

The Parish has grown a number of fellowship groups over the last year. Those in St Thomas’ & Holy Trinity with St John’s meet monthly, the group in St Ann’s meets weekly, and are following ‘Jesus & Me’ material. About 15/20 people meet in each group and are drawn from all three churches. Currently the St Ann’s group are sharing with the Parish of Towyn considering ‘Being Christ’s Church in Coastal Communities’.

The Parish has also begun to think creatively about its use of buildings and liturgy for special occasions, using Remembrance Day, commemoration of World War 1, Easter etc to

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try different approaches.

Parish Management

Over the last year, the Parish is beginning to change its style of management from clerical based to a more collegiate approach of collaboration of clergy and lay.

The Churchwardens meet together with the clergy on a quarterly basis to reflect on the whole Parish and discuss shared issues.

Individual church committees have been formed which relieve some of the pressure on the incumbent and churchwardens, also allowing the PCC to have time to take a more strategic approach.

A stewardship task force has been set up to consider the Parish’s stewardship and think of ways the Parish can be responsible in its stewardship.

Pastoral Assistants’ Team meeting – the Pastoral Assistants meet quarterly for review and planning.

Worship Leaders Team Meeting – the Worship Leaders meet quarterly for review and planning.

Children’s work – a group of interested volunteers are meeting to plan a Holiday Club for February Half term and assist the clergy in ‘all-age worship’.

There is a twice weekly Parish ‘drop-in’ surgery for non-urgent pastoral issues, as well as public enquiries. A separate meeting is held monthly to arrange baptisms.

Training

During the course of the last year a number of training event have been held attended by lay people.

So you’re on the PCC – attended by all PCC members

Introduction to Stewardship – attended by all PCC members

‘Encounters’ by Creative Mosaic – attended by ministry team

‘H+’ by the Bible Society – attended by ministry team

‘Sticky Church’ by Scripture Union – attended by volunteers

Parish Statistics 2013 Rhyl has a large number of Occasional Offices, and it will be seen that this work-load greatly adds to the work of running the Parish. Last year there were approximately:

100 Baptisms

20 Weddings

200 Funerals (roughly 100 of which have taken place in church with the remainder at Colwyn Bay Crematorium).

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At the renewal of the Parish Electoral Roll in 2010, approximately 220 people were signed up as Church members. This will be refreshed in 2015.

The Parish Accounts are in good order and there is no Parish Share debt. (In 2013 our Parish Share was £77,000).

Although we have various forms of worship, the majority of our services are based upon the 2004 Church in Wales rite.

There are no longer any Sunday Schools in the Parish. On the second Sunday in the month, services at St Ann’s and St Thomas’ are attended by members of the children’s uniformed groups who are affiliated to the Parish and meet on church premises.

Church Buildings

Holy Trinity with St John Baptist (built 1835) is the Parish Church. An average congregation of thirty people attend Holy Eucharist each Sunday at 9.30am, and a Thursday morning 11.00am Eucharist draws a congregation of some fifteen to twenty persons.

Some 15 years ago the north transept of the church was converted into office space whilst the south transept became a Parish Lounge which forms a useful parish hub. This building is due for its quinquennial inspection in 2015

St. Thomas’ Church (Built 1869) is one of the largest church buildings in the diocese. Designed by George Scott, it occupies a central location in the town and is the Civic Church. Services on a Sunday take place at 8.00am (attended by around fifteen to twenty people) and at 11.00am (attended by approx eighty-five to a hundred people). There is a ring of eight bells in the tower, and the church has a very good pipe organ built in 1907 by William Hill which is presently undergoing a scheme of renovation and modernisation. There is a very good musical tradition.

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A new central heating boiler has just been installed, so we are hopeful that we will be warm this winter!

Following a recent quinquennial inspection, the church committee have recognised the need to review the building’s usage and its place within the community whilst maintaining its position as a Christian focal point in the town. They are working with Diocesan Officers and will be meeting with local agencies to discuss this.

Holy Trinity and St. Thomas’ are located in the same grounds as a church hall which is presently leased to a children’s nursery; the income from such hiring greatly assists with parish finances. Other properties on the site include the former curate’s house, The Close, and the neighbouring Eden Cottage on Paradise Street which is also let to tenants.

St Ann’s (Built 1896) is a smaller and more intimate worship space and was originally known as “The Railwayman’s Church”.

This busy church makes active use of various lay-ministries, and it serves the south of the town. St Ann’s has a Family Eucharist each Sunday at 9.30am attended by a congregation of around sixty people. There is also a hall adjoining the Church, which is used for a variety of purposes and is also available for hire for outside bodies. Both church and hall are in a reasonable state of repair.

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The House

A house will be provided at 122 Rhuddlan Road approximately one and a half miles from the town centre. Close by are local schools, a chemist’s shop, doctor’s and other surgeries, day-care nurseries, the swimming pool, theatres, and local parks and gardens. All emergency services are available in the town, with the main hospital for the area being some three miles away in Bodelwyddan.

The Parish pay the water bill and contribute 25% towards heat and light costs. The house is owned by the Parish but maintained to a high standard by the Diocesan Parsonage Board.

The house has been adapted for disability access.

Further details about the house can be found in Appendix C.

Websites Parish website – www.parishofrhyl.co.uk

Diocesan Website – www.stasaph.churchinwales.org.uk

20/20 Vision - http://stasaph.churchinwales.org.uk/2020-vision/

Government Legislation

The various statuary requirements with regard to government legislation to which the parish fully subscribes, can be accessed on the Church in Wales website.

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APPENDIX A

Rhyl – Schools & Further Education

There are two comprehensive schools, six primary schools (including a Welsh-medium school) and a special-needs school. There is also a College of Further Education, and a Welsh-medium secondary school is situated approx five miles away in the City of St Asaph.

With the exception of the Blessed Edward Jones High School and Ysgol Mair Primary Schools (both of which are Roman Catholic), none of the schools are church schools. Nevertheless, close links have been maintained. As expected, the clergy take assemblies at the schools and regular school visits to the churches take place, for example Christmas carol services and other events.

Denbighshire is investing in its schools in order to sustain high standards of educational attainment to meet the needs of pupils, the wider community and the economy.

Modernising Education is a corporate priority and the Denbighshire Modernising Education programme encompasses three streams of work:

modernising schools,

improving standards in schools and promoting inclusion, and

delivering support services to schools.

Within the Parish of Rhyl we have the following schools listed below plus Rhyl College which is a satellite site of Coleg Llandrillo.

Ysgol Bryn Hedydd, Spruce Avenue, Rhyl

Christchurch School, Ernest Street, Rhyl

Emmanuel, Victoria Road, Rhyl

Dewi Sant (Welsh Medium), Rhuddlan Road, Rhyl

Ysgol Mair R.C., St Margarets Drive, Rhyl

Rhyl High School, Grange Road, Rhyl

Blessed Edward Jones R.C. High School, Cefndy Road, Rhyl

Ysgol Llywelyn, Trellewelyn Road, Rhyl

Tir Morfa School, Derwen Road, Rhyl (Special Needs)

To find a school or college’s inspection report, please visit the Estyn website http://www.estyn.gov.uk/english/inspection/inspection-reports/

Rhyl College, a part of the new Grŵp Llandrillo Menai, comprising Coleg Llandrillo, Coleg Menai and Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor. This grouping began its first day of operation on

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Monday 2 April 2012. The merger creates Wales' largest Further Education Institution and one of the largest Further Education colleges in the UK. It employs some 2000 staff and delivers courses to around 34,000 students across four counties in campuses from Denbigh to Dolgellau.

There are developments afoot to establish a joint Anglican/Roman Catholic High School.

A recent newspaper report concerning this may be found at

http://www.rhyljournal.co.uk/news/122334/proposals-will-be-unveiled-for-future-of-blessed-edward-jones-high-school.aspx

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APPENDIX B

Rhyl – Town Profile

Rhyl (population 25,149) has long been a popular tourist destination for people all over Wales and North West England.

Once an elegant Victorian resort, changes to the population, economy and face of the town contributed to a dramatic decline by the 1990s. Major investment of European and Government funding has helped re-develop Rhyl's seafront from Foryd Harbour to Splash Point, which is now the focus for tourist related activity. The main appeal of the area is to the day-tripping family tourism market through the beach and coastal facilities associated with a traditional beach trip – bathing, sandcastles, promenading, amusements, fairground rides, etc.

Plans to develop a major new aquatic centre and new use for the Sky Tower, demolition of the Sun Centre and improvements to the Pavilion Theatre are aimed at boosting Rhyl’s existing offer. At the western end of the Coastal Strip, the planned developments at Foryd Harbour – the new bridge, improvements to harbour facilities and new public spaces – offer the opportunity to widen Rhyl’s appeal and attract new types of visitors to the area.

Rhyl retains its Victorian architecture and urban fabric, and currently supports a value retail offer and related town centre services. It is increasingly challenged by better served, more accessible, retail centres in the region. In 2012, 382 units were surveyed, with 15.2% of these units recorded as vacant. This represents 58 premises, 39 of which have been vacant for more than a year. The number of vacant premises has been slowly increasing since 2007 and the vacancy rate has been at 15% for the last two years. There are 7,800 jobs in Rhyl with 40% being in public administration and health and 28% in distribution, retail, hotels and catering.

Rhyl is well connected to public transport through Holyhead to Chester rail line and bus services along the coast and south into the Vale of Clwyd.

TOURISM, CULTURE AND LEISURE

Rhyl has a range of attractions including the Apollo Cinema, Sea Zoo, Sun Centre and Pavilion Theatre. The sea font work stream of the Rhyl Going Forward Strategy involves plans to replace the Sun Centre and update other features. More detail can be found in appendix I of this report.

ACCESS AND CONNECTIVITY

As part of our workshop and background paper on Infrastructure for Growth we have considered some of the main themes relating to broadband coverage, commuting and out of county connections etc.

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From Rhyl there are possible commutes (of an hour or less by car) along the coast to Prestatyn, east to Deeside, Wrexham and Chester, West to Llandudno and Colwyn Bay and south to Denbigh and Ruthin.

Rhyl is well connected to public transport through Holyhead to Chester rail line and bus services along the coast and south into the Vale of Clwyd.

EMPLOYMENT

Five of the 16 lower level super output areas (LSOAs) within Rhyl fall within the 10% most deprived in the employment domain of the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD). This reflects high levels of claimants of out of work benefits

These confirm very high levels of unemployment in West and South West Rhyl but also at South East Rhyl 4. High levels of economic inactivity can be seen throughout Rhyl including in areas not recognised as deprived. These are likely to be explained (at least in part) by relatively high numbers of people of retirement age. More than 40% aged 60-74.

Rhyl West and Rhyl South West have the highest percentages of households that have no availability to cars or vans. Rhyl West 2 Lower Super Output Area being the highest with 69%.

INCOME

The range of household incomes within Rhyl is quite broad with the majority of neighbourhoods having low or mid-range household incomes. Six of the 16 lower level super output areas (LSOAs) within Rhyl fall within the 10% most deprived in the income domain of the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD). This reflects the high levels of claimants of income related benefits.

BUSINESS

There are 7,800 jobs in Rhyl with 40% being in public administration and health and 28% in distribution, retail, hotels and catering.

Rhyl is the largest shopping centre in the County. In 2012, 382 units were surveyed and 15.2% of these units were recorded as vacant. This represents 58 premises, 39 of which have been vacant for more than a year. The number of vacant premises has been slowly increasing since 2007 and the vacancy rate has been at 15% for the last two years. Since 2007 the number of comparison outlets has fallen while the other uses have remained fairly stable.

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APPENDIX C – 122 Rhuddlan Road

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APPENDIX D – What the Parish are looking for – ‘Partnership in the Gospel’.

This role is primarily to work alongside other clergy, lay readers and lay leaders in the Parish of Rhyl, to help create a mission focussed outward looking people of God. The role provides tremendous opportunity to experience the ‘full-range’ of parish ministry whilst also allowing opportunities to develop existing strengths and interests as well as challenging oneself to step outside one’s comfort zone and experience.

Background

The Parish of Rhyl appointed a new incumbent in September 2013, following two long periods of incumbency. After a period of reflection, the Parish (working with the Diocese) is beginning to develop a vision for the future. As part of that vision, it would like to appoint a new full-time cleric to work with the incumbent to help develop the vision and implement it.

Likewise, the Parish is hoping to appoint a ‘house for duty’ minister to develop a bereavement ministry. This ministry will take a large proportion of the funerals freeing up the two stipendiary clergy to pursue other areas of mission.

Broad responsibilities -

Serve alongside the Incumbent and other clergy, lay readers and lay leaders in the Parish of Rhyl so working as part of a team:-

To fulfil pastoral responsibilities – visit in individual homes, nursing homes, comfort the bereaved

To fulfil liturgical responsibilities – to take part in, and lead, liturgical worship and administer the sacraments

To fulfil discipling responsibilities – to preach faithfully according to the Bible, and to nurture God’s people in their personal relationship with the Lord Jesus through teaching, small groups, magazine articles.

To fulfil evangelism responsibilities – to proclaim the good news of Jesus to those who haven’t responded and encourage others to do likewise, providing a positive witness to the community.

Specific areas of ministry – working alongside other clergy, readers and lay members

The Parish has 7 primary schools and 2 High Schools. Developing relationships between church and these schools will form part of this role, including assemblies and governship. Developing a children’s and young people’s ministry is an urgent need, whilst this has started, the post holder will be expected (alongside laity) to play a key part in this.

The Parish has at least 13 Residential and Nursing homes. Developing closer links will form part of this ministry as well as building up and developing the team of Pastoral Assistants.

Rhyl has certain levels of social deprivation. At present the Parish of Rhyl has little engagement with those parts of the town that are most deprived. An urgent need is to discern how the Parish can engage and start that process, building lay teams to continue that work, whilst co-operating with other agencies.

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Occasional Offices – the parish of Rhyl has tremendous opportunities through the occasional offices. The Parish undertakes a large number of funerals (approximately 250). It is envisaged that a third cleric will take responsibility for ‘straight to crem’ funerals (about 50%), however this still leaves about 2/week. Likewise there are over 100 infant baptisms/year. Baptism preparation has been introduced, as has follow-up, although these need building up. Wedding preparation has recently been introduced, but again needs developing.

Civic/Chaplaincy – The clergy in the Parish are highly regarded and still have a strong civic role. There will be plenty of opportunities to take part in civic life and to develop chaplaincy ministries relevant to the postholder’s interests.

20/20 Vision/Mission Area – There is debate about where the Parish of Rhyl lies with a number of options as to its future positions in Mission Areas, and a process of discernment is under way. The postholder will be expected to contribute to that discernment, and assist in the implementation of future vision.

Envigorate Worship – there are three churches in The Parish – each church is Eucharistic (2004). Along with the ministry team, to sensitively review and revive our worship.

Prayer- The staff team meet every Monday for prayer, bible study and reflection. The person appointed will be expected to play a full part.

Nurture & Development - They will also be expected to nurture their own spiritual life through personal prayer and study, periods of rest and retreat. The Incumbent is keen to develop a mutual, respectful partnership that enables both to grow. The post holder will be encouraged to engage with this.

The post holder will also be expected to participate in Diocesan clergy development and, with the Incumbent and Bishop’s permission, attend other vocational courses/conferences. They will also be expected to attend Deanery Chapter and Conference.

To use own particular talents and strengths in the service of God’s kingdom and test new ones, working alongside the incumbent to maximse each other’s attributes and strengths.

Responsible to : - The Incumbent of the Parish of Rhyl

Key Working Relationships – Bishop, Archdeacon, Incumbent, Other clergy in the Parish, Lay readers, Church Wardens, Worship Leaders and Pastoral Assistants, Diocesan Officers, Bishop’s Staff.

Addendum:-

The PCC recently reviewed ‘where it is at’ using a grid analysis. It identified the future needs of the Parish as being:-

Children & young people

Growth of future lay leaders

Engagement with local community

Finance/Stewardship

So to work with the PCC to help it meet future needs.