PA R ISH PROF ILE 20 19

Ibstock & Heather

CONTEN TS

Bishop’s Letter Who and Where We Are Meet the Team

Our Hopes and Aims

All About You Our Offer

All About IBSTOCK All About HEATHER Our Schools Our Worship A Little More

The Rectory How to Apply

Thank you for your interest in the role of Rector of Ibstock and Heather [Half-Time Stipendiary]. I am delighted that you are exploring the possibility of applying for this role and I want you to know that there are many of us here in the Diocese of Leicester who are praying for you as you seek to discern God’s calling. You can read more about our diocesan vision and strategy and download our Shaped by God ‘three key questions’ leaflet at: www.leicester.anglican.org/about-us, but I want to highlight a couple of areas as you begin this exploration.

Firstly, as a key part of our diocesan strategy for growing the numbers of disciples, the depth of discipleship and growing our capacity to serve our communities, this role will incorporate a local response with a diocesan wide commitment. As part of this strategy we have discerned God’s calling to establish 300 fresh expressions of church by 2030 (this equates to the number of existing ‘inherited’ model churches). This is an ambitious calling, and will only be achieved through prayer, intentional investment of time and resources and a focus on equipping all baptised Christians to be sent out in mission. You will need to show us that you share this vision and commitment, and want to be part of a movement of people in mission.

Secondly, as we move forward in this endeavour, we don’t know how God will raise up the Pioneers and other ministers needed for the fresh expressions of church. We don’t know

how God will grow the culture of generous giving within the diocese to make this work sustainable for the long term. We don’t know exactly how we will train, equip and resource people for this new work. There is much that we don’t know and hence much that we will need to learn. You will need to show us that you are open to learning, committed to working humbly with other colleagues and above all, a person of deep faith and trust in God.

If you find yourself both excited and daunted by the prospect of what we are doing in the diocese, then it could be that God is calling you. Please read on, and talk with Archdeacon Claire Wood.

I hope that I may have the opportunity of meeting you in the near future, but the meantime be assured of my prayers.

Yours in Christ

The Rt Revd Martyn SnowBishop of Leicester

Who we are Ibstock with Heather is a Benefice of two parishes and forms part of the North West Leicestershire Deanery. We are part of the Sence Valley Mission Partnership, which includes the towns and villages of Hugglescote, Ravenstone, Ellistown, Snibston, Coalville, Bardon, Ibstock and Heather and we gather four times a year to look to wider sharing of events, the most recent of which was the deanery ‘Try Praying’ initiative which was well received.

We are part of the Diocese of Leicester and within this the Archdeaconry of Loughborough.

Where we are The villages of Ibstock and Heather are situated close to the M1, M42, M69 motorways. The Benefice is within easy reach of the East Midlands and Birmingham Airports. The villages also benefit from railway services running from stations located nearby at Hinckley, Leicester, Tamworth, Nuneaton and Loughborough. The Sence Valley area is part of the National Forest, which came into being as a regeneration scheme following the closure of mining in the area.

W H O A N D WHERE WE ARECONTEXT

Our villages are thriving and rapidly growing with several new developments and are also blessed by a rich mining and farming inheritance, underpinned by the world renowned Ibstock Brick Company.

We benefit from a number of small shops including the Co-operative, a good farm shop and several pick your own produce farms. There is also a plethora of restaurants and varying takeaway shops. A good GP surgery (Ibstock), library, popular garden centre and the Palace Community Centre all contribute to community life. This is also evidenced by the many local groups and events on offer such as film nights, sports including football, cricket and swimming, uniformed organisations (Scouts and Guides). The hospitals which serve the area are based at Leicester, Derby and Burton with local units at Coalville and Loughborough.

There are four schools and several pre-schools. There are two crematoria at Loughborough and Bretby; and both villages have Parish Council Cemeteries. There is also a Baptist Church, Wesleyan Reform Church and Methodist Church in Ibstock.

MEET THE TEAM

Judith Coleman

PASTORAL ASSISTANT

Carole Oswin

WARDEN – ISBSTOCK

Peter Fell

WARDEN – HEATHER

Angie Farmer

Sheila Groocock

Lynda Hodges

Jenny Minkley

WARDEN – HEATHER

Truda Fry

WARDEN – IBSTOCK

Lee Croshaw

Dave Manton

John Johnson

Jenny Jordan

Jane Manton

Shirley Reid

Sally Grey

Marion Sim

pson

Our shared vision is to bring people to faith in Jesus Christ, through the engagement of our communities and strengthening each other as disciples.

We are keen to grow as churches, adapting to the challenges and needs of today, building on the Diocesan vision ‘Shaped by God’ through #everyday faith.

Vision ♦ To grow churches of all ages where we help attenders to move to believers; churches that are a sanctuary and a beacon of light to all.

♦ To enable us to be more confident disciples of Jesus so that we grow in the depth of our faith and have confidence to share the good news of Jesus in word and action.

♦ To develop work with all the schools, and for priest and people to work together in that.

♦ To play a full part in the Sence Valley Mission Partnership and Churches Together.

OU R HO PES AND AIMSOUR VISION

OUR HOPES AND A I MSREALISING OUR VISION

We are committed to deepening our own discipleship through our individual and corporate lives of worship, prayer, bible study, fellowship and loving care and service of our communities.

♦ Our Benefice Prayer meeting gathers weekly.

♦ Our Open the Book programme began in October 2018; it is helping us to share and deepen our faith in school through story-telling.

♦ Little Fishes pre-school group meets weekly in term time

♦ As part of Churches Together we participate and host an annual Children’s Holiday Club, Walk of Witness and Lent Lunches

Growing Disciples We are actively engaged with the local Church of England Primary School in Ibstock. This has provided opportunities to meet with the children, teachers and parents, particularly through Messy Church which meets monthly in term time. At Heather, the priest has traditionally taken collective worship and the school come to church at the end of term. There has been increasing engagement through the Heritage Lottery activities to strengthen connections.

We have a number of links with older people with regular visits to care homes in which we share our faith together.

We greatly value the opportunity that baptisms, weddings and funerals offer to strengthen and build the heart o our community.

Loving Service We are committed to looking at ways of serving our local communities through the opportunities we have as individual church members, whether in our workplaces, social lives or through voluntary work.

WHO WE’RE LOOKING FOR

Do you feel called to join us in working together, embracing the challenges and building on the joys of life in our villages?

We need someone whose life and ministry is grounded in prayer, scripture and God’s people.

Person Specification

♦ A leader who can both challenge, inspire and enable us to deepen the depth of our discipleship and to fulfil our vision

♦ An encourager to us and the wider community in our work with villagers

♦ Can work together well in leading teams and being part of teams

♦ Community minded

♦ Will engage well with the support and care of church members and of those in the wider community, and will develop our existing pastoral ministry

♦ Aware of the value of historic buildings in the mission and ministry of the church

♦ Outward facing enabling us to respond to the needs of the wider world

Role Description

♦ Enable us to be full disciples of Jesus, including moving from believers to witnesses

♦ Introduce new patterns of worship and outreach to embrace all ages, and to build on existing patterns where they are bearing fruit

♦ Work with all the schools

♦ Be alongside us in facing buildings and financial issues to guide, encourage and challenge.

♦ Engage with the wider community and enable us to better engage for mission with the communities

We offer you ourselves, as friends, prayer partners and journey companions in faith who are willing to share in working for God’s purposes.

♦ Good supportive fellowship at both churches

♦ Dedicated enthusiastic teams: children’s work and Open the Book; visiting 3 residential homes; planning non-Eucharistic services; baptism visiting and ‘friendly faces’ for wedding couples; funeral follow up.

♦ A willingness to be challenged and to change

♦ Keenness to see God’s kingdom grow

♦ Part of a Mission Partnership

♦ Good doctors

♦ National Forest

♦ Good schools

Challenges

♦ Moving from believers to witnesses to Christ

♦ Large new developments in both villages which are not yet incorporated into village life

♦ Buildings that are a joy as sacred space yet demanding of time

WHAT WE CAN OFFER

ALL ABOUT USIBSTOCK – ST DENYSIbstock Village population – 9000

Electoral Roll 70 PCC – 10 PCC meets 10 times a year including the APCM Church Wardens – Carole Oswin and Truda Fry

Ibstock is a large village with an estimated 9000 inhabitants and a widespread building programme over past 10 years, still ongoing. Leisure facilities include a swimming pool, library, four pubs, a working men’s club, bowling club, junior Sunday football club, cricket club. .The Palace Community Centre is a refurbished Edwardian cinema, very well used venue, for films, stage plays, keeps fit classes, and a regular Saturday market at which St Denys have a stall, for fund raising and to be a presence, once a month. The Palace can be hired for parties, meetings, wedding receptions etc.

St Denys Church (LE67 6JP) is situated on the southern edge of the village, an historic building mainly 13th/14th century set in an attractive Churchyard. The church benefits from a disabled WC and servery area. We have 70 on our electoral roll with an average Sunday attendance of 30.

Alongside our traditional services we have striven to make our All Age Worship accessible to all, and this has proved to be very popular. We actively encourage our children to assist with reading, prayers, and the message. Similarly our festival and

themed services have proven to be greatly appreciated with good attendance and participation at the Pet service, Nativity play, Crib service and our Harvest celebrations.

St Denys is an attractive church building and Church weddings, baptisms and funerals are popular. The local community still see the church as the place to come to for these events.

As part of our ministry we hold services at Thornham Grove, The Elms, both retirement homes in the village, and attend Bosworth Hall retirement home to distribute Holy Communion. Concerts are held throughout the year in the church, with several other groups and activities including “Little Fishes” a mothers and toddlers group, Chat and Craft. In addition we enjoy Easter and Christmas fund raising events and regular coffee mornings.

Each month a Parish News magazine is produced and distributed around the village. The website is ibstockstdenys.weebly.com/

Heather population – 1600 Electoral roll – 32 PCC - 9 Meetings 7 including APCM Churchwardens – Jenny Minkley and Peter Fell

A small rural village of 420 homes, but is expected to grow by a third with new developments over the next few years. Farming and coal were the main occupations in the past, but now have an increase in new residents who work away with the M42 and A511 just down the road. The thriving village school uses the Church for their special services. The village hall hosts craft afternoons, fitness classes, art classes; there is also a football club which has senior and junior teams. The small village shop is a great asset as are the two public houses that both serve food and are very supportive of the Church.

ALL ABOUT USHEATHER –ST JOHN THE BAPTIST

The Church (LE67 2QP) was built in the 12th Century on the site of the Hospital of the Knights of Templar, the remains of which are in the manor house. It is a grade II * listed building with 6 bells. Major tower restoration is progressing with monies raised from the Heritage Lottery Fund and Leicestershire Historic Churches Trust, and by the local community following significant fund raising endeavours. The last Quinquennial Inspection work is in hand. The churchyard is full.

We hold a weekly prayer meeting on Wednesdays to pray for the wider community as well as local events and people.

Greatly supported by the local Pub - The Crown, who allow the use of their car park and toilet facilities for Sunday services, weddings and funerals and fund raising events. Close fellowship with the village provides much encouragement and support. There is always great attendance at major festivals and events as evidenced by the Scarecrow festival, with teas and cake and the church open all week.

Our Sunday attendance averages between 25-30 people but with the majority of these being over 60 years of age. We are blessed with both Little Fishes and Messy Church run jointly with Ibstock church. We have a good PCC who work well together, and benefit from working groups who take care of the church yard.

There is also a great community life within the village in which most participate. Volunteers work well together and assist in many places and events e.g. Scarecrow Festival, school, fairs and craft club. As a church family we work well with our sister church in Ibstock and also as part of the Mission Partnership, and Churches Together.

There is a quarterly news letter. Our website is stjohnthebaptistchurchheather.weebly.com/

Our finances are in a good state and our continued fund raising helps to support this and other mission endeavours. We pay our parish contribution in full and the capital funds for the tower restoration are held in readiness for use.

OUR SCHOOLS

IBSTOCK

St Denys Church of England Infant School Ofsted: Good 235 Pupils but due to increase

St Denys provides for Reception to year 2, with children aged 4 to 7 years with a small unit for special needs children; pupils are drawn from Ibstock and nearby villages.

The church connections are well formed with church representation on the Board of Governors, a monthly visit from the church Open the Book team, a monthly after school Messy church and organised visits from the school to the church by pupils throughout the year.

Ibstock Junior School Ofsted: Good 251 Pupils

The school provides for Years 3 to 6 with children aged 7 to 11 years. Pupils are drawn from Ibstock and nearby villages. The school visits the church for Easter and Christmas services.

Ibstock Community College Ofsted: Good 540 Pupils

Ibstock Community College is an Academy which caters for Years 7 to 9 with children aged 11 to 14 years. Students are drawn from Ibstock Junior School, and from a wide area beyond Ibstock which means that many come to school on school transport. Most students are from a White British background and speak English as their first language. There are no current church/college connections.

The college provides before and after school clubs as well as an onsite nursery. In this way they are providing childcare for children from 6 weeks to 12 years; they work closely with the local primary schools.

The leisure complex is a joint venture between school and the District Council. It offers a comprehensive programme of swimming and fitness classes

HEATHER

Heather Primary School Ofsted: Good 104 Pupils (Oversubscribed)

The school provides for Years 1 to 6 with children aged 4 to 11 years.

There is also a Pre School department for children between 2 to 4 years also with an Ofsted grading of good. The priest has traditionally taken collective worship and the school comes to church for end of term services .

OUR WORSHIPAND SERVICES

Sundays and midweek Ibstock Heather

Music provision Organ or piano Music is CDs with the organ played occasionally

1st Sunday 9.00am – Holy Communion – CW Order 2 10.30am - All Age Worship 10.30am AAW

2nd Sunday 11.00am Holy Communion 9.45am Morning Praise 3rd Sunday 11.00am Morning Prayer 9.45 Holy Communion4th Sunday 11.00am Holy Communion 9.45 Holy Communion

5th Sunday (alternate) 10.30am – Benefice Service 10.30am Benefice Service

Occasional Offices Ibstock HeatherBaptisms 20 3

Weddings/Blessings 11 2Funerals 12 4

Interments of Ashes 4 6

Our worship follows a central Anglican tradition, with openness to other forms of worship, and our services are led by our clergy and strong lay team.

We are committed to the involvement of lay people in our regular worship and to making our worship as accessible as possible to everyone.

We are continually reviewing the pattern of worship and prayer in line with our shared vision. Our current offering is:

A LITTLE MOREABOUT US

CPAS Patronage

Church Pastoral Aid Society are involved in the patronage of nearly 700 parishes across the Church of England. We are an Anglican Evangelical mission agency which is deeply committed to the local church being an agent of God’s mission in their local community. We aim to appoint ministers who will teach their congregations from scripture to enable them to grow as followers of Christ and support the Incumbent and others with training as they seek to develop local leaders who are committed to growing the Church. In addition we run a variety of holidays which combine activities and imaginative Bible teaching each year for around 3000 youngsters aged between 8-18.  CPAS counts it a privilege to be serving you at this time of vacancy and beyond.

North West Leicester Deanery

The Benefice falls within the deanery of North-West Leicestershire. The deanery combines both urban and rural areas, stretching from Breedon in the north to Norton juxta Twycross in the south, and from eastern Coalville to Woodville just over the Derby county border.

The deanery has been focusing on the outworking of the Church of England headline “A Christian Presence in every community” as well as ‘Everyday Faith’. Deanery synod is well attended as topics on the agenda are seen as interesting; it functions well.

There is a friendly, happy and supportive chapter with a good regular committed attendance at both chapter meetings and socials. It functions well and the clergy of the deanery see North West Leicestershire as a “rewarding place to work.” The whole deanery recently worked at Try Praying with all churches having banners outside and distributing the Try Praying books. Both Heather and Ibstock churches took part.

The Rectory occupies a medium-sized plot at the end of the village. The house was built in 1997 and purchased by the diocese a few years later. The parish church is a short distance away on the opposite side of Hinckley Road.

To the ground floor accommodation comprises open porch, hall, study, cloakroom, kitchen / breakfast room, living room, dining room & utility. Bedrooms are arranged on the upper two floors; the first floor includes 3 bedrooms, a family bathroom and en-suite. The second floor comprises two further bedrooms and bathroom. A gas-fire boiler heats radiators to all principal rooms and is supplemented by an immersion heater. All windows are uPVC double glazed.

There is a large double garage and hard standing drive for several cars.

Quinquennial works were carried out in 2015 and are due again in 2020.

WHERE YOU WIL L L IVEThe Rectory, No.1 Hinckley Road, Ibstock LE67 6PB

HO W TO APPLY

For an informal conversation about the post, please contact the Archdeacon of Loughborough: Ven. Claire Wood 0116 261 5321 or claire.wood@leccofe.org

Application forms and parish profile are available from: Mrs. Wendy Dunnington, St. Martins House, 7 Peacock Lane, Leicester LE1 5PZ 0116 261 5309 or wendy.dunnington@leccofe.org

Or view the details on the web leicester.anglican.org

Closing date for applications: 10th October 2019 Interviews: 21st November 2019

This post is subject to DBS enhanced disclosure

There is An Occupational Requirement for the appointed person to be an ordained member of the Church of England under the 2010 Equality Act. Part 1. Schedule 9