st.mary2024

St Mary’s Parish Church, Watford

2024

PARISH

PROFILE PART 1

December 2024

Showing the heart of God to the heart of Watford

St Mary’s Parish Church, Watford

2024

With God’s help, could you be our Parish Priest Plus?

Naturally, we want our next Vicar to be someone who walks closely with God, is excited by the message of the Gospel, loves and cares for each member of their flock, and nurtures everyone’s faith.

But could you also: •

Set out and take forward a vision that will enthuse each member of our very diverse congregation

•

Reinvigorate our work with children, youth and younger adults, so that the witness of St Mary’s may continue into future generations

•

Inspire and lead our mission to the town and particularly to the many who pass our doors each day

•

As ‘Vicar of Watford’, take the Gospel into the civic institutions of the town and be respected for your contribution to the Watford community.

If God is telling you that you could, read on...

“St Mary’s has a superb track record in supporting the least, the last and the lost” 2

St Mary’s Parish Church, Watford

2024

Who are we?

We are an inclusive evangelical church, committed to Bible-based worship and mission, situated on the High Street in the heart of Watford and wanting to share our love for Jesus with our town. Our values, inspired by Micah 6:81, are: i.

Bible based worship and teaching which acknowledges the greatness and grace of God in Christ

ii.

Diversity in social status, ethnicity etc

iii. Equality of gender, sexuality, race, culture etc iv.

Forgiveness and reconciliation

v.

Equality of opportunity/social justice

vi. The protection of God’s creation vii. The heritage of our ancient building as a tangible symbol of God’s presence in Watford now and over the generations

“St Marys also does a great work supporting Farsi speaking Christians and refugees”

These values are reflected in this Profile, which has been informed by the responses to a questionnaire completed by some 60 members of the congregation and by group discussions at a specially arranged congregational lunch after one morning service. Through the questionnaire also, we established that the great majority of respondents, including those who identified as of ‘Asian’ ethnicity, supported the use of the Prayers of Love and Faith.

Although we have experienced a decline in attendance since the Covid pandemic, our numbers have now stabilised with our Sunday morning service having a regular attendance of 70-80 with significantly more at Easter and other festivals when the church is filled with music and praise.

Over the last decade, our congregation has increasingly reflected the diversity that is to be found in Watford; Each Sunday, we welcome worshippers from up to 20 different countries through our doors. We believe God is taking St Mary’s on a journey to become a truly inclusive church and we are excited to be on the start of that journey. We are seeking to understand and put into practice what true inclusivity means for the life of the church and its worship. We seek to be a church that 3 1 ‘And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to have mercy and to walk humbly with your God.’(NIV)

St Mary’s Parish Church, Watford

2024

is known as a safe place, where all who come through our doors irrespective of age, race, disability, gender or sexual orientation, will feel accepted and welcomed and will encounter, through that welcome and through our worship, the presence and love of Jesus Christ.

Increasingly, we invite members from different ethnic communities to contribute distinctively to our services, for example by saying the Collect in their first language as well as English. At the same time, we recognise that traditional Anglican forms of worship may not be accessible to everyone, and our efforts to reflect our diversity in the leadership of the church and to engage everyone in its activities have had mixed success. As a consequence of both the ageing of longer-standing members and the changes in the congregation, we have not yet found a way to take forward some of the activities and initiatives that we would wish to introduce.

“I would like everyone who attends to feel they are part of God’s family at St Mary’s with Welcome for All being a key part of how we move forward” 4

St Mary’s Parish Church, Watford

2024

Location and parish Our location gives us unique opportunities for promoting the Gospel. We are the only church in the retail centre of Watford; literally thousands of shoppers and workers walk past the church each day while other residents of the town, on the margins of society, congregate in our churchyard.

Some seek rest and a time of quiet within our ancient walls. In past years, we have held evangelistic activities in the open space beside the church, facing the High St, but have not had the resource for these recently.

At the same time, that location means that we are separated by the Watford ring road and by an open space from the Victorian housing of the main residential areas of the parish. Consequently, St Mary’s is not widely recognised by those living there as ‘their’ church. With the changing nature of retail, though, we are seeing a growth in residential developments in other areas of the parish.

These typically have younger residents from different backgrounds than in the older areas and offer distinctive mission opportunities.

Most of our congregation live outside the parish – we are a ‘gathered’ church. But our central location means that we attract many new arrivals to the town who typically live in the central area of Watford. Some stay but many are transient, moving on after a time.

Further, because we are not a ‘local’ church, we are not a favoured venue for weekday activities for children and young people, such as the uniformed organisations, and despite having a Children and Families Worker for some years, running our own toddler group and Pre-School and there being two infant/ primary schools in the parish, the participation of these agegroups has declined, with only some eight children regularly attending our Sunday School and no provision for young people. This is clearly a matter of concern.

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St Mary’s Parish Church, Watford

2024

Community engagement Our church building was beautifully reordered in 2018/9.and now offers a distinctive, flexible venue for community events, thus drawing into the church people who would not otherwise think of entering. Partly because of the disruption imposed by Covid-19, however, we have yet to articulate a cohesive vision for its use within our overall mission. But as we have partnered with local organisations to put on events, we have seen God at work. We have welcomed Watford residents who have never before been into our church, many of whom have commented how valued and affirmed they have felt and how they have been accepted without judgement. Those of little faith have said their faith had increased and those with no faith found us a ‘revelation’. This has been a joy to us.

We have also run our own events, most recently a day conference on how individuals can respond to climate change which involved 14 local environmental groups and was attended by some 90 participants. Our links with community bodies are strengthening through such activities. We look to expand these in future, showing to more people how our faith is reflected in our concern for our neighbours and for creation.

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St Mary’s Parish Church, Watford

2024

How we see our next Vicar We are seeking someone who: •

Walks closely with God, with a life founded on personal prayer and study of the Scriptures

•

Has a passion and enthusiasm for the Gospel and how its truths provide the foundation for our lives

•

Loves and cares for each member of our community, able to communicate and empathise with all, whatever their age, background or opinions

•

Recognises what each individual can bring to the ministry and leadership of the church and seeks to develop their contribution to it

•

Inspires our praise and worship of God through their leadership of our services

•

Nurtures and strengthens our faith through structured preaching, teaching and prayer

•

Sets an example of the Christian life through the way that they respond to people and the issues that arise in the church.

But we are also seeking someone who, under God’s guidance, will lead us into the future, who: •

Can discern the opportunities and challenges that are distinctive to St Mary’s through its diversity, the demographics of its congregation and the parish, and its location

•

Has the experience and insight to identify priorities amongst these so that we can be most effective in our mission

•

Can develop and communicate a vision for the church and a strategy for achieving it that makes full use of the abilities of our congregation and the opportunities open to us in the parish and town

•

Through that vision, secures the participation and contribution of the whole congregation in the mission and ministry of the church.

•

And in this, gives particular attention to attracting and engaging younger age groups so that St Mary’s may be properly representative of its wider community and more able to interact with it, and develops its future leadership.

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St Mary’s Parish Church, Watford

2024

We are in the heart of Watford, uniquely able through our location and our history to take the Good News to the town. So we seek a Vicar who in addition: •

Has a passion for presenting the Gospel to those who have not heard of the saving love of Jesus

•

Is missional in taking the Gospel into the wider Watford community and working with other Christian bodies in witness to the town

•

Interacts effectively with the leaders of other faiths and supports the strong inter-faith relationships that exist in Watford

•

Will be a Christian influence on the life of the town, notably by participating in community and civic bodies, and will be respected for their contribution to these.

•

Has the wisdom to find an appropriate balance between the demands of these external activities with those of the church community.

In conclusion - our promise to you Thank you for reading this Profile. We hope that you have been stimulated and excited by it and we pray that you will know God’s guidance as you consider whether you can rise to the challenges of being Vicar of St Mary’s, Watford. We recognise that this is not easy; it is far from a conventional parish ministry. We recognise also that its challenges can only be successfully addressed through a partnership between Vicar and congregation, together seeking and taking forward God’s intentions for the church and its role in the wider community of Watford.

So, as the people of St Mary’s, we pledge that we will give you love, prayer and support in order that, under your leadership, we will all grow in Christ and, together, may serve our church community, the parish and town.

“...to help St Mary’s become an effective community where all will feel welcomed, valued, then nurtured and inspired to use their gifts” 8