St. John's Church, LeptonOpen to God, open to people

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Help us turn our spark into aflame; a flame that engulfs us

with the all-encompassing loveof Jesus Christ.

Us as individualsWe want to follow the guidance of God, throughliving in relationship with Jesus. We also wantthe Spirit to move amongst us more. We needsomeone to nurture what we already have andhelp the church family on its journey ofdiscipleship.

Us as a congregationWe want to develop the worship into somethingeven more meaningful; being creative, inspiring,imaginative, not being afraid to try new things,and not being afraid to fail.

Us as outreachWe need a leader who, with wisdom andkindness, can guide people and enthuse us withideas; someone who can collaborate andencourage our already active lay people.

Us as evangelistsNeeding encouragement to be brave and takethe gospel out into our village, we’d lovesomeone to help us build on the existing (andimproving) community links.

What weare lookingfor in aPriest

What wehave tooffer to you

We can offer you support, prayer, practical help,talents and tea. Or curry and a beer, whateverfloats your boat!

We will give you a platform to develop yourministry and we’ll be guinea pigs for you to tryout your ideas.

The people at St. John’s are hard-working andkeen to support you. We have a strong belief inlay involvement – members offer time andtalents in many key areas including leadingworship, reading and praying in church.

Demonstrating our mission statement, “Open toGod, open to people” we offer pastoral care,children’s work, music, upkeep of the building,flower arranging & visual decorations, charitiesgroup, house groups and prayer group, Mothers’Union, producing the parish magazine, arrangingand promoting social events and much more.

Population of around 5000.Two primary schools.A variety of secondary schools justoutside the parish.Village facilities include doctors, dentist,Methodist Church, Scout Hall, a fewshops, takeaways, village pub containing avolunteer library hub, Working Men'sClub, children's nursery and other smallbusinesses.More house building planned (possibly asmany as 1500).Still has a village "feel" and identity.A major supermarket within a mile.

Lepton is a large village, situated four miles from theUniversity town of Huddersfield, and nine miles fromWakefield. It has excellent commuting links with both theM1 and M62 nearby.

The surrounding area includes beautiful countryside, andthere are some stunning views from the village.

Housing is mixed; a small amount of social housing, a lotof family semi-detached and detached houses, charactercottages and farms, through to large luxury properties.Some are rented, the majority are owned/mortgaged.

The population is predominantly white British familiesand retired people.

The Statistics

Lepton village

The Village

CommunityLepton has two primary schools, one of which isa church school, and both have an excellentrelationship with St. John's. Congregationmembers are on the board of governors at theChurch school. Both schools are visited on aregular basis, and we welcome them intochurch for end of term services several times ayear.

St. John's also has continuing good links withthe Methodist church (the churches worktogether in one school, and joint services areheld occasionally), the Lepton Link communityorganisation, The Sun village pub, the localScout group, health walk group and more.

The vicarage is situated five minutes walk fromthe church, on the main road from Huddersfieldto Wakefield. It has a large kitchen, tworeception rooms, study, downstairs WC, fourdouble bedrooms, bathroom and WC. There is apleasant and private back garden, a garage, andample parking to the front. (More photos areavailable on the website).

St. John's ChurchSt. John's Church was consecrated in 1868 and is now situated in theAlmondbury Deanery. The adjoining hall (including kitchen, vestry, kitchen andtoilets) was added in 1992. It is situated at the top of the village, and is used byvillage and church organisations during the week.

The building is in excellent condition, and well maintained with thequinquennial report recommendations being met. New boilers were recentlyfitted to both church and hall. A "Working Party" meets weekly to carry outinterior and exterior maintenance, and our cleaners keep us spick and span!

The style of worship, if we had to give it a label, is middle-of-the-road andevangelical in tradition. Services use contemporary liturgy, and the musicranges from traditional hymns to modern worship songs. Services are held at10am (average attendance 72) and 6pm (average attendance 35). The firstSunday in the month is All Age Worship, and Communion services alternatefrom morning to evening weekly. In addition to Common Worship, other stylesare embraced, including meditations, Taize, Celtic, and musical worship. AWednesday morning Holy Communion service is attended by a small numberof regular worshippers. Special services such as the Christingle Service, CarolServices and Remembrance Services often have attendances of up to 150.

In the past year there have been 4 weddings, 19 funerals (Church andcrematorium), 9 burials of ashes, and 11 baptisms.

There are 113 people currently on the Electoral Roll (26 non-resident).

We have two hands-on Churchwardens.Three very committed readers take onregular duties leading and preaching. Oneof the readers presides at funeralsregularly and also takes communion toelderly and ill people out in the parish. Ourverger is on hand at services includingweddings and funerals (and is a talentedflorist too!) Several other members alsolead services (under the guidance andsupervision of previous incumbent) andworship leaders meet regularly as a group.

Lay involvement

People and talents

Members offer time and talents in manykey areas for worship including reading andpraying in church, administering thechalice, creating PowerPoint presentations,operating the sound desk, providing livemusic, artistically decorating the church,welcoming people, providing refreshmentsafter morning services and more. Thecongregation ranges in age, with somechildren and families, to the majority whoare aged 40+ (but many of whom are veryyoung at heart!)

An active congregation

A small Sunday School meetsmonthly for ages 3 yr upwards. Atthe moment there's one group forall ages. A creche runs monthly. ThePCC have considered Communionbefore Confirmation and would bereceptive to discussing further.

What goes on at

St. John's?

Children in Church

Our music and movement class(originating from the SalvationArmy) welcomes mums,dads, grandparents and theirchildren for a nominal fee.Homemade cake and a warmwelcome are always guaranteed.

Baby / Toddler Song

Messy Church brings a regulargroup of families to St. John's whowe don't necessarily see at otherSunday services. Held every twomonths, the sessions includecrafts, games, worship and a partytea for all ages.

Messy Church

We have a small dedicated groupthat meets with parents andbaptism candidates to nurture,support and extend a hand offriendship as well as outlining theimportance of understanding whychildren are brought for baptism.

Baptism Preparation

Charities Group & CAP

Thanks to a recent legacy we havetwo large screens and projectors(plus optional TV and a tablet)showing all liturgy and song lyricsduring services via Powerpoint. Afull sound desk operates withradio mics, static mics, CD etc.

The Charities Group meetsmonthly. Supported charitiesinclude CMS, Church Army andCART, plus other charities for Lentand Harvest appeals. St. John'shas trained CAP coaches andoffers CAP Money courses.

Audio Visual

There are several house groups(on different days and times ofday) that meet regularly and use avariety of materials. A fledglingbut keen prayer group meets oncea month using a variety ofapproaches to prayer.

Prayer & House Groups

There are three pianists, a coupleof instrumentalists and a small,enthusiastic group of singers.Mission Praise is used, plus newmusic from many sources. Musicranges from traditional hymnsto contemporary worship songs.

Music Group

A caring, compassionate anddiscreet Pastoral Care team worksvery hard praying for and visitingpeople out in the community,members of the congregation andparish residents. There is also anemergency prayer chain.

Pastoral Care

A full colour magazine "Lepton &Life" goes out free of charge toevery house in the parish threetimes a year, funded byadvertisers. St. John's has a newwebsite and an active Facebookpage that's updated regularly.

Magazine & Social Media

Coffee, Craft and Cake meetsweekly in the hall to chat, comparecrafts and swap ideas. Knit andNatter meets monthly at amembers' home and they knitbaby clothes and blankets for theSalvation Army in Barnsley.

Craft Groups

The Working Party meets weeklyto maintain the interior & exteriorand keep it in excellent condition.The church has a regular cleaner.Several creative people arrangeflowers weekly plus amazingdisplays for special occasions.

Maintenance

Reopened in 2011, the Mothers'Union branch is a small, friendlygroup that has a varied monthlymeetings; walks, talks, days ofprayer, meals out and more.Members often carry outvolunteer and charity work.

Mothers' Union

Social events throughout the yearwelcome hundreds of peoplethrough the church doors. Theannual Christmas Craft Fair is ahuge success. Events includeconcerts, carol singing at the pub,quizzes, meals out and more.

Social Events

A successful stewardship campaign in 2015increased the number in the congregation donatingthrough planned giving, and increased significantlythe amount of overall giving, and the Gift Aid to bereclaimed.

The values of Reserves at end of 2015 were £20,245and are forecast to be £30,000 at the end of 2016.The Parish Share has been paid in full each yearsince 2012, currently £44,880 pa.

We currently give 10% of our Voluntary Income toCharities Support, split equally to 3 charities - CMS,Church Army and CART. This amounted to £5,900 in2016.

Our finances are well managed with a budget setfor each year, and the accounts reviewed at everyPCC meeting.

The PCC meets monthly during the vacancy period,and we encourage our congregation to pray for thismeeting. The meetings start with 30 minutes ofprayer. There is also a smaller standing committeeto deal with delegated issues. Health and Safetyissues are taken care of by the Churchwardens (wealso have a non-PCC member who is ourSafeguarding Officer). The PCC have been workingthrough Leading Your Church into Growth after theprevious Priest in Charge and a member of thecongregation attended the conference in 2015.

PCC

Finance

Thanksfor taking the time to read about St. John's

Don't forget to visitwww.stjohnslepton.org/weneedapriest