Vicar of St Mildred’s in Addiscombe, Croydon (Diocese of Southwark)

Overview

St Mildred’s in Addiscombe, Croydon is looking for our new vicar to;

• Lead the parish in mission, sharing ideas to reach our community with the love of God.
• Continue our work in the community as an open and loving church, growing in faith and confidence, and joyfully sharing God’s love with all.
• With a thriving church centre with over 1000 people through its doors each week, we need someone who has the drive and spiritual approach to turn the hirers/centre users into being full participants in the life of the church.
• Guide and lead us into becoming more inclusive as a church to mirror the diverse community we represent. Be supportive and speak out about unjust things in our community, deanery, borough, nation and worldwide.
• Address our carbon footprint.

Introduction

• St Mildred’s is in Addiscombe, near East Croydon
• St Mildred is steeped in the liberal traditions of the church and a member of Inclusive church.
• The population is around 8000 residents and is urban, with an average higher middle income. Over 50% are employed in professional, managerial & technical groups.
• Fairly diverse population, about 1 in 5 retired, many family units with children.
• Although there are no schools in the parish boundaries, we have close links to schools in neighbouring parishes.
• Famous people to have lived within our parish boundaries have been D.H Lawrence, R.F Delderfield novelist and dramatist and Betty Westgate, founder of Breast Cancer Care.

Main Responsibilities

The Vicar’s main responsibilities will include:

• Delivering a range of services for all ages from 0 to 100+ either via people attending in church or online. Looking at fresh expressions of worship.
• Growing the current congregation with the fringe already on our doorstep.
• To keep focus on delivering our mission action plan and to regularly review, update and expand as and when necessary.
• To encourage talent within the congregation to blossom, support those already there and ensure the excellent musical traditions of the church flourish.

The Ideal Candidate

The ideal candidate will be:

• Sincere and prayerful spirituality
• Energetic and strong ability to grow the congregation by taping into the opportunities on our doorstep
• Love of church music both traditional and modern
• Visionary to bring new projects and initiatives, and to also spot and encourage talent within the congregation.

About us

For an informal conversation with the Archdeacon of Croydon, please contact his PA to arrange an appointment by emailing Kathleen.bailey@southwark.anglican.org

Closing Date: Sunday 11 February 2024 (midnight)

Parish Visit & Interview Date: Tuesday 5 March 2024

We have a policy in Southwark Diocese that to be appointed to an incumbent status post, a priest must have served a title post in an Anglican church in the British Isles. We aim to be a diverse and truly representative Diocese, and particularly welcome applications from women and people of UKME heritage.

This post is subject to DBS enhanced disclosure.