St Marys Parish Profile

St Mary with St Philip and St James Woodford Parish Church

PARISH PROFILE NOVEMBER 2008 207 High Road South Woodford London E18 2PA

www.stmaryswoodford.org.uk

Parish Office 020 8505 3000

Parish Profile This profile occasionally refers readers to the website www.stmaryswoodford.org.uk supplementary information can be found.

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The Vacancy The vacancy follows the appointment of The Revd. Geoffrey Smith to the position of Rector of Loughton, also in the Diocese of Chelmsford. Geoffrey had been our Rector for 10 years, succeeding Canon Bob Birchnall who served St Mary’s for 33 years.

The Parish Profile The team charged with putting together the profile would like to thank all those who submitted their views. Over 40 did so orally in consultation meetings, and we also received more than 50 written submissions. This process highlighted some perceptions that are disturbing and that will have to be addressed. We hope we have avoided any suggestion of complacency in this document.

Statistics in the profile are Crown Copyright material, reproduced with permission. They apply to Church End Ward, an area that comprises the largest section of the parish. These statistics were compiled as a preliminary step in our engagement with a Growing Healthy Churches programme.

The Mission of St Mary’s We want to place St Mary’s firmly at the centre of the whole community. The parish has made significant and successful efforts in recent years to persuade people living nearby to make the 30 metre walk from the High Road to the door of the Church. Hosting occasions such as The Big Draw and building on other recent initiatives like the Holiday Club for primary school children in the summer have been steps in the right direction. The club runs in the first full week of the schools’ summer holiday and about 60 The Big Draw 2008 children attend each year, Reflecting the Light of whom at least half have no other contact with Church. We want the worshipping community to expand, and also want to minister to those whose faith may be less committed, to those of different denominations and faiths, and to those whose faith is known only to themselves. In the most recent survey Action at the 2008 Holiday Club 61.5% of people described themselves as Christian, 5.5% as Jewish, 3.8% as Muslim, 3.4% as Hindu, and 17.3% as having no religion. These closely reflect the figures in the Deanery profile.

Submissions to the Parish Profile reveal a significant range in the Anglican traditions of those who see St Mary’s as their spiritual home. Sustaining, supporting and challenging this worshipping community is a significant aspect of the ministry team’s responsibilities.

The last Parish Profile stressed the need for a teaching ministry. There has been a significant amount of attention paid to this in the last ten years, and this ministry is not confined to sermons. Nevertheless, it will require energy and commitment to maintain the momentum.

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We were concerned to learn that some parents of young children perceive St Mary’s as reluctant to embrace them and their children and specifically feel that very young children are not welcome at the Parish Eucharist. (There is regular (nearly every week) attendance from about seven families with children under three.) There is a crèche for younger children and their parents.

We hoped to encourage parents of young children to feel completely at home during the consecration and the communion. We have not succeeded. This is a challenge we shall address immediately.

However, the overthrees are well catered for at St Mary’s. Every Sunday children take part in the Seekers and Quest groups. Seekers is for young children aged three to about nine. There are 37 children on the Seekers A stained glass window made l i s t and average by our Seekers group attendance is about 15. and right, Quest at work on Quest is a lively group a Sunday morning of young people aged ten to thirteen-plus. There are 12 children on the Quest list and average attendance is about six .

On Thursday mornings the Mothers and Toddlers Group meet after a brief service in the Chapel.

In common with many parishes we want to keep teenagers in contact with the Church. We acknowledge that retaining the interest and commitment of boys at the Quest age group is particularly challenging, and we need to explore new paths. Perhaps we, in common with many other churches, should be looking more closely at working with other parishes and denominations in the area.

There are many expressions of our commitment to the wider community. Mission and charitable giving play a large part in this commitment. Volunteers from St Mary’s also do their best to make the lives of the house-bound richer and more varied, and to attend to the needs of those who are seriously marginalised by society at charities such as the Manna Centre or Redbridge Night Shelter.

We have decided to embrace the Emmaus courses as a way of reaching those who want to learn more about their faith. Our last incumbent developed the House Groups that grew from the courses, and there is now a tradition of members of St Mary’s exploring their beliefs without embarrassment.

St Mary’s is in an outer London suburb with a highly mobile population. There is a lot of (justified) nostalgia for the days 30 years ago when St Mary’s had a regular worshipping congregation of 400. Now there is typically only between a third and a half of the ‘core’ congregation in Church on a Sunday. This highlights the importance of fostering new members of the congregation. Some new members have suggested that we could have done more to make them feel welcome at St Mary’s.

Some new members have suggested that we could have done more to make them feel welcome

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The ministry to the rich – or to the would-be rich – is a major challenge in this parish. The poor we have with us conspicuously. We try to address the needs of those who beg, who squat, or who ‘embarrassingly’ appear in Church. But it is very difficult to reach out to those who live in gated communities where the clergy are denied entrance. Huge developments have gone up in the last 24 months. Queen Mary’s Gate is largest of them all.

The new development at Queen Mary’s Gate

The new incumbent, the ministry team and all who are committed to putting St Mary’s at the heart of the local community will have to be creative in their approach to Queen Mary’s Gate.

Many submissions asked us to use the term ‘inclusive’ when describing St Mary’s. For example, we want to continue to be a Church where lack of parental commitment has never been a barrier when offering Baptism to children.

We have made real progress in re-establishing our links with local schools, and acknowledge that we have to work hard to maintain them. The largest school in the parish is Churchfields, which has both Infant and Junior Schools.

These are heavily over-subscribed and a major rebuilding project has been promised.

Churchfields

The new Incumbent The Parish has rejected Resolutions A and B of the Priests (Ordination of Women) Measure 1993.

In the light of present discussions within the Church of England, we want to state very clearly that the parish has welcomed and benefited from the ordination of women and looks forward to the prospect of women being consecrated as Bishops.

There are many qualities we hope to find in our new incumbent. The Archangel Gabriel being unavailable, we should like to focus on: Experience The last incumbent restored our status as a training parish. It is important that the new incumbent continues to maintain this. We are lucky enough to own a four-bedroom Curate’s house.

Desirable, though not essential, is experience outside the workings of the Anglican Church.

Someone who had worked in a world beyond the immediate structure of the Church of England may have a perspective that could be of enormous benefit to the parish.

Personal qualities The capacity to delegate and prioritise is essential.

Sense of humour was often mentioned as a desirable quality in the new incumbent. This shouldn’t put anybody off applying. It’s difficult to imagine a potential incumbent who’d describe themselves as ‘totally lacking a sense of humour’.

It will have become clear to anyone interested in becoming Rector of Woodford that there is no way that every issue can be immediately addressed. The capacity to delegate and to prioritise is essential.

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We know that finding time for his or her own spiritual development and refreshment is part of the incumbent’s parochial responsibilities. It is important that these responsibilities leave proper time for the incumbent to give to family and friends.

Geography of the Parish The data used in this section was taken from the 2001 census and is based on the Church End Ward which forms about 80% of the parish.

Since the census there have been three major housing developments which have increased the housing stock in the area by about 1000 properties.

Since the census there have been three major housing developments which have increased the housing stock in the area by about 1000 properties.

Since the last profile there are two main business growth areas nurseries and restaurants.

There are at present six private nurseries and five play or toddler groups. There are 20 pubs, restaurants and takeaways in the area.

The parish is an area of about two square miles. There is a link to a local map on the website. www.stmaryswoodford.org.uk/location.htm.

The postcode for web map searches is E18 2PA. In 2001 there were:

⇒ ⇒ ⇒ ⇒ ⇒ ⇒

1562 6139 1370 607 791 262

people under 18; people between 18 and 65; people over 65; single pensioners; single person households; single parent households.

⇒ ⇒

75% of households were owner-occupied; Three quarters of all households owned at least one car.

Employment within the parish is limited to some light industry, small professional practices, shops and restaurants. There are three supermarkets (with the prospect of another one). It is reasonable to assume that the majority travel some distance to their work.

The Christian community in the parish includes a Roman Catholic church, a Methodist church and two evangelical churches, as well as St Mary’s.

There is a synagogue in the parish, and a mosque and another synagogue nearby.

The Worshipping Community St Mary’s believes itself to be truly Anglican in embracing both Catholic and Reformed traditions.

Details of the regular Sunday and week-day services can be found on the home page of the website.

Additions to this pattern include: • If it is a festival Sunday there is a Choral Evensong.

The custom is to sing Compline during Lent.

• On the third Sunday of the month the Parish Eucharist is an all age service. For a long time we have made a presentation by children the central point of the Christingle 2007 4

Sermon, but in addition children are now centrally and responsibly involved in leading the worship.

• Most evensongs are BCP but do involve special seasonal provision. For example, in Advent a series of Services of Light take place. This flexibility allows for other formats to be used.

• A Christingle service is usually incorporated into the Sunday Parish Eucharist, and on Christmas Eve there is a children’s service and a Midnight Mass.

• Choral Eucharist is celebrated at 8.00 p.m. on Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Holy Saturday Evening, Ascension Day, Corpus Christi and All Souls’ Day. We invite the friends and families of all for whom we have conducted funerals to All Souls’ Day.

“Following the footsteps of St Paul” The Parish pilgrimage to Greece 2008

Prayers for the sick and contemplative prayer take place monthly, as does an ecumenical service in Churchfields nursing home, which we host in rotation with our immediate ecumenical partners, St Anne Line and Derby Road Methodist Church.

Other Ecumenical services take place during the year, usually on Sunday evenings. We also hold three or four quiet days a year, usually on a Saturday.

Parish retreats to Pleshey have taken place every other year, and the last incumbent established a tradition of parish pilgrimages in the UK and abroad.

These arrangements are not set in stone. It is likely that a new incumbent will suggest and implement changes.

Ministry Team/Organisation The ministry team will comprise the Incumbent, the Curate (in recent years more often than not a priest), and two Readers. We are fortunate to have as a member of our Church family a retired priest whose commitment to St Mary’s predates her ordination.

One member of the congregation has trained as a lay evangelist, and two others have recently completed the Bishop’s Certificate in Children’s Ministry.

The new office in 2006

The PCC currently meets every other month, as does the Standing Committee. There is a salaried Parish Secretary and a newly refurbished office on the ground floor.

The website provides up-to-date details of the work of all the groups run by St Mary’s or affiliated to the Church www.stmaryswoodford.org.uk/activities.htm The parish magazine (quarterly), the monthly diary and the weekly notice sheet are other channels of communication. Copies are on the web site: www.stmaryswoodford.org.uk/ magazines.htm and www.stmaryswoodford.org.uk/diary.htm.

Music at St Mary’s St Mary’s has a long and rich music tradition, and the robed choir has about 20 members of mixed ability.

Samples of performance can be heard on the website: www.stmaryswoodford.org.uk/choirmusic.htm Occasional music groups have performed in services, and this is a potential area of development.

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A junior choir has recently been ‘re-formed’. We have funding to award choral scholarships to talented teenagers, and this has been a successful venture in the last two years.

Occasional concerts are given in Church, and earlier this year the choir sang Choral Evensong in Rochester Cathedral.

Common Praise is the main hymn-book for the Parish Eucharist, and Junior Praise is used for all age worship.

The responsorial psalm is sung along with one of four Junior and adult choirs congregational settings depending on the liturgical season. Two motets are sung during Communion.

The organ is a very fine recital instrument and detailed specifications can be found on the website.www.stmaryswoodford.org.uk/music.htm No potential incumbent should be put off because they are not a musical specialist. This section is an indication of the current tradition, and we should like to stress that music is seen as an aid to worship.

Occasional offices 2005

2006

2007

⇒

Baptisms

12

12

13

⇒

Weddings

8

1

5

⇒

Funerals

31

33

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Electoral Roll The Electoral Roll was completely revised in 2007. At the Annual Meeting in 2007 there were 291 names on the roll. Of these 165 were resident in the parish and 126 outside. In 2008 the numbers were 294, with 166 resident in the parish and 128 outside.

Communicants—The average number of communicants in 2007, at the principal service, was 146.

Links with the wider world and the wider Church The Diocese of Chelmsford has close links with the Anglican Church in Kenya. At St Mary’s we have a specific partnership with the Church of the Good Shepherd, Muchunguri in the Diocese of Mbeere. This is a major focus of our prayers and of our charitable giving. We have been fortunate to have established personal relationships with Christians in Muchunguri through visits to Kenya, and through our offering hospitality and opportunities to talk about our common belief in informal and larger meetings in Woodford.

The Church of the Good Shepherd is a major focus of our prayers and of our charitable giving.

The profits from the annual Charity Bazaar are all given to charities, and the range of them can be seen in the section on page 10. This tradition is a strong one: a few years ago the PCC was unanimous in rejecting a proposal that a proportion of the bazaar takings should be assigned to the parish finances.

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Ecumenical links in an outer London suburb present interesting problems. Ideally The Woodford Fellowship of Churches would provide a forum for discussion and mutual support. But South Woodford is as unique as are other areas of the Deanery, and in recent years the most fruitful ecumenical partnerships have been with the Methodist and Roman Catholic churches that are both within walking distance of St Mary’s.

We hope that the new incumbent will embrace the opportunity to attend the monthly lunches for the clergy of these three churches.

St Mary’s is also actively involved with the lively East London Three Faiths Forum.

Trusts The incumbent is ex officio Chair of the trustees of the Woodford Parish Memorial Hall. www.stmaryswoodford.org.uk/halls.htm As the website shows, the building is next door to the Church. The PCC appoints four of the trustees, and the Churchwardens are ex officio trustees. In recent years an ongoing refurbishment programme has brought the halls and the meeting rooms up to a greatly improved standard.

A painting of The restored fleche at the Memorial Hall

The Church While the website indicates the current state of the fabric, it is worth stressing that a great deal of work has been undertaken recently in order to make the Church building as sound and accessible as practicable. In response to the 2002 Quinquennial a major programme of restoration and refurbishment was carried out.

Continuing works followed the 2007 Quinquennial, and a disabled-access lift has recently been installed, making the Gwinnell Room and the new kitchen accessible to all.

St Mary's Church Tower

Week-day services are usually held in the Chapel of St Philip and St James, where the Reserved Sacrament is kept. A folding screen divides the Chapel from the main body of the Church. The chairs in the East-facing Chapel can be turned round to provide more space for a large congregation in the Church.

The Tower is architecturally the most fascinating aspect of the Church (dated early eighteenth century but with a staircase that seems at least hundred years older). We hope that the openplan main body of the Church, rebuilt after the fire in 1972, will become recognised as a reflection of the ways in which the Church of England in Woodford addressed the challenges of the 1970s. The result makes for a contemporary flexible space and a favourite concert venue for many groups, in particular because of the resonant acoustic.

There is no trace above ground of the twelfth century Church on this site. It was founded by monks of Waltham Abbey. William the Conqueror’s first Norman appointment in England was to the position of Abbot of Waltham Abbey (where King Harold’s body was taken after the Battle of Hastings). Churches all over the immediate vicinity were founded by the Abbey.

The Rectory This is a comfortable, detached four bedroom house, less than a minute’s walk from the Church. It is a 1930s building, bought by the Diocese 20 years ago. During the interregnum it has been made more comfortable and economic through the installation of doubleglazing in all the windows. There is a double garage and front and back gardens.

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Church Finances These figures are taken from the Annual Report for 2007 Balance Sheet at 31 December 2007

2007

2006

£

£

179793

179793

3727

1531

260663

242360

7272

7380

271662

251271

3836

2720

NET CURRENT ASSETS

267826

248551

NET ASSETS

447619

428344

371509

371499

64154

44336

435663

415835

11956

12509

447619

428344

FIXED ASSETS Tangible Fixed Assets CURRENT ASSETS Sundry Debtors CBF Deposit Bank Balance

LIABILITIES Amounts falling due within one year

FUNDS Unrestricted: General Purpose Earmarked Total Unrestricted Funds

Restricted Funds TOTAL FUNDS

Analysis of Funds and Net Assets Fixed Assets £

Current Assets £

Liabilities FUND BALANCES £ £

General Purpose Fund Earmarked Funds Fabric Fund Clergy House Fund Lift, Kitchen, Office Special Donations

179,793

194,408

2,692

371,509

-

49,147 4,081 2,225 8,701

-

49,147 4,081 2,225 8,701

TOTAL UNRESTRICTED FUNDS

179,793

258,562

2,692

435,663

-

3,769 3,148 286 201 200 5,496

1144 -

3,769 2,004 286 201 200 5,496

-

13,100

1,144

11,956

271,662

3,836

447,619

RESTRICTED FUNDS Choir Fund Organ Fund Vestments Fund Service, Hymn Fund Pinney Fund Mission Fund TOTAL RESTRICTED FUNDS TOTAL FUNDS

179,793

8

9

9421

Investment Income

376836

371499

BALANCES CARRIED FORWARD

-5337

371509

371499

10

-11756

11766

9663

-15000

128173

8877

108

119188

139939

10728

0

1926

8721

118564

119807

8660

90

111057

BALANCES BROUGHT FORWARD AT 1 JANUARY

NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS

Gain on Investment Revaluation

Interfund Transfers

NET INCOMING/OUTGOING RESOURCES

TOTAL RESOURCES USED

Church Management and Administration

Fundraising and publicity

Activities Directly related to the Work of the Church

Grants

RESOURCES USED

129470

4100

Other Ordinary Income

TOTAL INCOMING RESOURCES

936

12183

Other Voluntary Income

Income From Charitable Actviities

102830

£

64154

44336

19818

435663

415835

19828

11956

12509

-553

0

0

0

-553

6783

0

345

1388

5050

6230

502

0

0

5678

50

0

19828

133348

8877

108

124363

0

153176

13081

0

1926

12660

125509

£

Restricted

11756

8062

5175

0

0

5175

0

13237

2353

0

0

3939

6945

£

£

Unrestricted

£

Earmarked TOTAL

2007

GP Fund

2006

From Donors

INCOMING RESOURCES

For the year ended 31 December 2007

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

447619

428344

19275

0

19275

140131

8877

453

125751

5050

159406

13583

0

1926

18338

125559

£

2007

428344

448528

-20184

0

-20184

195291

8660

416

180915

5300

175107

12214

4100

936

54477

103380

£

TOTAL

2006

St Mary’s Mission and Charity Giving 2007 Mission Societies

£

CMS

1000

£ Marie Curie Cancer Care

150

Leprosy Mission

500

Royal Association for the aid of Deaf People

100

USPG

500

Samaritans

100

200

ELHAP

100

300

Total Charities

300

TOTAL

Church of the Good Shepherd

Mathieson Music Trust

Medicines for Muheza Total Mission Societies

1050

5050

2800

Church Societies

Special Collections

Bible Society

350

Send a Cow

754

Children’s Society

200

Bishop’s Lent Appeal

802

Church Army

250

Church of Good Shepherd

608

Manna Society

200

Makutano Orphanage

283

Essex Clergy Charity

100

CMS

217

Christian Aid

100

ELHAP

805

Manna Centre

257

Redbridge Night Shelter

741 330

Total Church Societies

1200

Charities Redbridge Night Shelter

300

Church Army

Macmillan Cancer Support

200

TOTAL SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

Royal Commonwealth Society For the Blind

100

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4797

REDBRIDGE DEANERY PROFILE – PREPARED FOR ST MARY’S WOODFORD The Deanery of Redbridge is almost co-terminus with the London Borough of Redbridge. It has a population of 250,000 of whom at the last census about half identified themselves as Christian, about 12% are Muslim, 8% Hindu, 6% Sikh. 10% declared themselves of no religion and a further 8% declined to answer. About 64% of the population is White (mainly White British), 25% Asian and 8% Black. 46% of the working population is in professional employment, 37% in secretarial or customer service occupations and 17% in unskilled work.

There is however considerable variation within the borough with some areas of significant affluence (especially in the Woodford and Wanstead areas) and other areas of significant deprivation (notably in South Ilford and to the east of the borough). The parish of St Mary Woodford has a higher than average white population at around 80%. About 60% of people identify themselves as Christian while 16% state that they have no religion, 7% are Jewish. Of those working the majority are in professional and higher skilled occupations (41%), with fewer (13 %) in manual or semi-skilled work. Unemployment is below the average for the Borough at 2.5%.The area is one of relative affluence in the borough.

There are 21 parishes in the deanery, served by 23.5 stipendiary clergy and 6 Self Supporting Ministers. There are 6 curates in training (2 stipendiary and 4 SSM). These represent the broad range of traditions within the church. The majority of churches in the deanery are fully accepting of women’s ministry (three are under alternative Episcopal oversight) and as priests we seek as a deanery to work collaboratively across our tradition offering mutual respect.

There is a three faith forum in the deanery seeking to understand more of the Abrahamic faiths and the Redbridge faith forum (for all the faiths) arranges regular conferences on issues concerning all religions and from this there are some growing opportunities for engagement with the Borough and other civic institutions.

The Deanery is currently engaged, with the support and encouragement of our Bishop, in developing a Deanery Vision. While this is a work in progress it is clear that with changing social and demographic patterns we will need to move to much more collaborative working within the deanery. The Chapter has spent some time over the last 18 months listening to each others stories to build trust and we are now asking each parish to take one practical step to collaborative ministry with a neighbour, either another Anglican parish, or an ecumenical partner.

The parish share assessment (£81,000 in 2008) is significantly above average (it is the 3rd highest) reflecting the size of congregation and relative affluence of the area. We are greatly appreciative of the hard work of the parish in meeting this in full. In our deanery plan we are looking at ways of offering mutual support in this task.

As a deanery we look forward to working with a new colleague in this parish, which is one of great significance in the deanery. We would hope that the new incumbent would play a full part in the life of the deanery sharing skills and insights and helping us to fashion our life more effectively for ministry and mission. In return in chapter and synod we commit ourselves to offer a warm welcome, fellowship and support to the person appointed.

Revd Robert Springett Area Dean rector@parishofwanstead.org (020) 8989 9101

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