Vicar (0.5) Christ Church with St Philip, Worcester Park (Methodist LEP) and Associate Priest (0.5) St Oswald in the Cheam Team Ministry

Overview

This post provides an exciting and challenging opportunity to participate in shaping a new approach to mission and ministry as we move towards establishing a Group Ministry across the parishes of Cheam, Worcester Park, and Belmont.  There is a shared vision for all ministers and all churches to work together to deliver pioneering projects across the group, helping to grow God’s Kingdom within the communities we serve.  The role involves being part of the leadership team, focusing on two churches and collaborating on pioneering mission initiatives across the parishes.

Introduction

Pioneering mission will be a key part of the role.  The group’s joint priority will be to develop new, creative, and contextual approaches to mission and ministry.  These will extend the reach of our churches and forge new connections with those who have little contact with and understanding of faith and church.

The post has incumbent status.  The appointment is for a priest to serve as half-time Vicar of Christ Church and St Philip, Worcester Park (an Anglican-Methodist Local Ecumenical Partnership) and half-time Associate Priest in the Cheam Team Ministry with responsibility for the church of St Oswald.  As a member of the Group Ministry Team, they will also join in the wider mission and ministry across Cheam, Worcester Park, and Belmont.

Please note we have a policy in Southwark Diocese that to be appointed to an incumbent status post, a priest must have served a stipendiary title in an Anglican church in the British Isles.

Main Responsibilities

The role of a parish priest is varied and wide-ranging, but we expect the successful candidate to:

• bring a feeling of stability back to worship, mission, and ministry at Christ Church with St Philip, and St Oswald following the upheaval of the pandemic;
• share responsibility for worship, pastoral care, and statutory bodies at Christ Church with St Philip, and St Oswald;
• share funeral and marriage ministry across the parishes;
• work with group ministers to develop an agenda for change through a new group-wide vision and Mission Action Plan (MAP);
• take the lead on at least one pioneering project across the group;
• implement aspects of the MAP relevant to Christ Church with St Philip, and St Oswald;
• help to deepen relationships between the five group churches and work towards greater collaboration.

The Ideal Candidate

We are looking for a Vicar who has an inclusive understanding of church and faith and is comfortable ministering both within a liberal catholic environment and also a local ecumenical partnership with the Methodist Church.  The successful candidate should reflect the qualities we are looking to express across the Group Ministry.  They should be:

• Collaborative: a true team player, they will be prepared to work closely with Church of England and Methodist ministers as well as laity from across the group.  As an equal partner with the Methodist minister within an L.E.P., they will understand the importance of and value an approach to ministry that has mutuality and accountability at its heart;
• Risk-Taking: ready to make courageous decisions, they will be willing to engage in new projects which challenge the status quo;
• Creative: innovative and pioneering, they will bring new ideas to the group which diverge from traditional expectations of church;
• Missional: with a heart for mission, they will bring a pioneering focus to their ministry, seeking ways to connect with those who have had little, if any, contact with church;
• Transformative: with an infectious passion for the Gospel, they will enable new life to flourish within our church communities and without.

About us

Cheam (population 26,000) and Worcester Park (population 16,000) are on the south-western edge of Greater London, adjoining Surrey and part of the London Borough of Sutton.  Both are friendly and bustling suburban communities made up of those who have lived here for most of their lives and those individuals and families who are drawn here due to its location, low crime rates, transport links and schools.  There are plenty of green spaces, with local parks, Nonsuch Park on our doorstep, and Richmond Park, Bushy Park, and Wimbledon Common only a short distance away.

Christ Church with St Philip is a well-established Anglican-Methodist Local Ecumenical Partnership in Worcester Park.  It is well-known as a vibrant, welcoming and inclusive place of worship with deeply rooted links within the community.  Prior to the pandemic, we offered a range of worship styles across three acts of worship per Sunday (8am, 10am and 6.30pm) plus a midweek Eucharist. Eucharistic services tend to alternate between Church of England and Methodist rites.  We have used Mission Action Planning to facilitate wider conversations about our church.  This has led us to improve significantly what we offer to those with young children.  With excellent links in the community, pre-March 2020, our premises were widely and extensively used by local businesses, support groups, and community groups.

The Cheam Team Ministry includes the churches of St Dunstan, St Alban, and St Oswald.  All three churches sit within the liberal-catholic tradition.  St Oswald, for which this role is responsible, is situated in North Cheam, on the popular Park Farm Estate.  Before the pandemic, around thirty people attended the weekly Sunday service.  The church offers several groups and activities including ‘Sing for Joy’ (a singing group run in association with AgeUK), a small Sunday school, the Mothers’ Union, coffee mornings, regular fairs, and fundraising events for charity.

Our group ministry will consist of three full-time and one part-time stipendiary post as well as a Methodist minister at Worcester Park.  There is additional support from self-supporting clergy, clergy with PTO, and lay ministers.  Cheam Parish and Christ Church with St Philip both have parish administrators.

For an informal conversation with the Archdeacon of Reigate, please contact Kathleen.bailey@southwark.anglican.org

Closing Date for Applications:  Monday 30 August 2021 (midnight)

Interviews and Parish Visit: Date to be determined in September 2021