Rector of Calehill with Westwell Benefice

Overview

Set between the North Downs and Kentish Weald, our parishes are home to a variety of worshipping communities and styles. We have a supportive and able lay leadership team and we'd like a Rector to work with us as we serve our vibrant and changing villages.

Closing date: 14/01/2021

Interviews: To be advised

Any queries to the Archdeacon of Ashford’s PA, Louise  Mills: louise.mills@archdeacashford.org

Introduction

Seven different villages, all of different sizes with different facilities and characteristics means we have plenty going on. We serve not only our congregations but all who live and work in our villages with connections to schools and local institutions. There are housing developments and other opportunities to grow the church and we hope for a Rector to help us in this work.

Main Responsibilities

• Leading our teams in caring for our communities across the benefice
• Leading worship
• Supporting and developing our lay teams
• Exploring the potential of our buildings to serve our communities better
• Enabling ministry to new housing developments
• Engaging with Changed Lives→Changing Lives strategy

The Ideal Candidate

You will need plenty of energy, with good leadership skills and the ability to delegate. It would be lovely to have an incumbent who would encourage us in our mission activities and help us to arrange our churches to make them more available for additional activities.

For more information about this application process, please use this link

About us

Founded in 597 by St Augustine, Canterbury Diocese is the oldest diocese in England and has a special place in the life of the national and worldwide Church. With its iconic Cathedral it forms a focal point for the life of the whole Anglican Communion, offering a spiritual home and place of pilgrimage for people from every nation and walk of life.

The County of Kent is renowned as the ‘Garden of England’ and this rural heart is core to our identity - yet the communities we serve are very diverse. Situated in East Kent, our Diocese stretches from Maidstone to Thanet, from the Isle of Sheppey to the Romney Marsh. We have 350 miles of coastline with historic ports and seaside resorts, alongside rural communities, market towns and commuter-belt urban developments. Affluent areas often sit alongside pockets of major deprivation, offering an exciting and challenging mission context.

At the heart of all we do is a vision of transformation for ourselves and our communities: no one can encounter God and remain unchanged. In the Diocese of Canterbury, we want to increasingly become a Christian community transformed through encounter with Christ, growing and overflowing to transform and bless the families, homes and communities we serve in East Kent: Changed Lives, Changing Lives.