The  Benefice  of WRINGTON  with  REDHILL, BUTCOMBE  &  BURRINGTON Diocese of Bath and Wells Appointment  of  a Minister  at  Christ  Church,  Redhill (House  for  Duty) Closing Date for Applications:  9th April 2010 Interview Date:  13th May 2010   Christ Church, Redhill The Ecclesiastical parish of Wrington includes the Chapel of Ease known as Christ Church, Redhill.  The Church was built by the local people, generously assisted by the then Rector of Wrington, in the mid 19th century to serve the community of Redhill, which lies about two miles north-east of the village of Wrington.   The population of Redhill is currently about 500 people.  The main business is agriculture, but many people commute to Bristol and Weston- super-Mare to work, or by plane to places further afield!  There is a licensed  Village Club next to the Church which includes a skittle alley and a playing field, and a thriving farm shop on the A38 which includes a large organic cheese factory.  Bristol International Airport lies just two miles north of the village, but most homes are well sheltered by the hill itself, and the runway is parallel to the village so no planes fly over, and noise is rarely a problem.  Communications generally are excellent.  Junctions 20 and 21of the M5 are some 7 or 8 miles  away; at Yatton, 4 miles away, there is a mainline station offering a very good service to London, and the historic cities of Bristol, Bath and Wells are a short drive. There are innumerable excellent walks locally, and for those who like to eat locally sourced foods there is Cheddar (for cheese and strawberries),        Yeo Valley (yoghurts, butter, cheese), Butcombe Brewery (Britain's Best Bitter - official !), several cider makers, plus plenty of locally produced organic eggs, beef, chicken, turkeys, etc, all within the immediate area.  For anglers there is excellent fishing on Blagdon and Chew Lakes, a pool and fitness centre and large garden centre at Congresbury, and many golf courses. The Benefice  The Benefice consists of three separate parishes of Wrington with Redhill, Butcombe, and Burrington, spread over an attractive area of  Wrington Vale.  Each parish has its own PCC, with a Lay Chairman.  Redhill has a Chapel Committee, of which a Chapel Warden is the Chairman. The Rector, Nicholas Maddock, lives in Wrington, and there is a      Benefice Administrator, Gill Whiting, who works four mornings a week in the Church Office, which is situated in the Reading Room in the centre of Wrington, close to All Saints’ Church. The Role  The cure of souls within the parishes of Butcombe and Wrington remains that of the Rector of Wrington with Redhill, Butcombe & Burrington and his lawful successors.  But, subject to that, the minister will have pastoral oversight of the Redhill part of the parish of Wrington except for those responsibilities for which the Rector is responsible in law.  Services The frequency and content of services to be carried on at Christ Church, Redhill, will be the responsibility of the minister together with the Rector, but are to include a celebration of the Eucharist every Sunday and seasonal services at Christmas, Easter and Harvest.  The minister will be responsible for any occasional offices which arise from the pastoral oversight of Redhill, and will assist the Rector in such pastoral duties in the parishes of Wrington, Butcombe and Burrington as may be agreed from time to time, including assisting with mid-week celebrations of the Eucharist in the benefice, and such other offices on Sundays or otherwise as may be agreed.  The Minster will be welcome to develop such areas of Christian ministry as he / she feels called by God to exercise, whether that be working with children, house groups, the elderly or the unchurched.  Other Members of Staff  For the past five years the Priest at Redhill has been the Revd Tom Ekin.  He joined us in September 2004 with his wife Liz, who very sadly died, aged just 62, last March.  Tom recently celebrated his 80th birthday and is retiring into the centre of Wrington at the end of May, from where he will continue to take services on an occasional basis.  There are two Licensed Readers, Francis Montagu, a full-time solicitor in Wrington, and Angela Smythe, a retired nurse who is the de facto Parish Minister of St Michael’s, Butcombe.  There are two other retired clergy who assist with services on a very regular basis, the Revd Richard Dent and the Revd Peter Hancock.  This six-fold team enables us to have services in every church every Sunday - a pattern I am very anxious to maintain.  In addition, a full-time stipendiary Youth and Children's Worker has just been appointed by the newly formed Butcombe and Blagdon Youth Work Trust (BBYT).  Blagdon is in fact in the neighbouring Deanery, but Butcombe is much closer to Blagdon physically than it is to Wrington, and this new Charitable Trust has worked very effectively to make their dream of a Youth Worker a reality.  Richard Sanders is 43 years old and has 15 years experience as a professional youth worker in Dorset.  He and his wife Julie are in the process of moving here, and he takes up his appointment on 20th April.  There is much lay involvement across the Benefice, and in particular we have a Pastoral Visiting Team, with eleven trained and commissioned visitors who meet together regularly for support and further training.   The Leader is Jackie Walker, who is also a qualified   Spiritual Director, and the Team is supervised by Dr Ann Dent,  an internationally recognised authority on bereavement.  House Groups are well established in the Benefice.  Last Autumn we ran a series of discussions on The Shack.  Last December we had a study weekend with the biblical scholar Dr Paula Gooder.  This Lent we have seven groups meeting to discuss her book Lentwise and a Compline series looking at a Psalm each week, and we launched our first Alpha  course in February.  We are organising a benefice Away Weekend at Brunel Manor, Devon, from 1 - 3 October, to be led by Dr Alison Morgan of Re-Source.  The minister will be expected to encourage activities of these kind, and to take whatever active part in them he / she feels able and equipped. The Benefice and its Setting  The Benefice is in Locking Deanery, which stretches from the sea front at Weston-super-Mare to Blagdon Lake between Butcombe and Blagdon.  Within the Deanery there are four Local Ministry Groups.  The Mendip Vale Local Ministry Group comprises the five benefices / parish groups that feed Churchill Community Comprehensive School, which numbers about 1,800 pupils.  The LMG minsters meet together every week for prayer, and there are regular LMG events, both social and religious.  The LMG has also established the Vine Counselling and Pastoral Service, based in our neighbouring village of Congresbury.  This  provides professional counselling support and/or spiritual direction for those in need, at a cost that the client can afford.  Wrington has a population of about 3,000, and includes a C of E Controlled Primary School with about 197 pupils.  It has just had an Ofsted inspection, and preliminary indications are that the report will be very good.  There is a good range of shops and facilities in Wrington, and in addition to All Saints’ Church there is a URC Chapel.  The Rector and the URC Minister, the Revd Mary Burgess, meet regularly, and work together closely in sharing Assemblies and School Services, and in shared ecumenical worship and study Groups throughout the year.  Butcombe parish has been linked with Wrington since the 1950s.  The population is small and fairly scattered but, as the recent appointment of the paid Youth Worker shows, the church members are very committed to St Michael and All Angels’ Church, and to maintaining the life of faith, worship and support for the local community.  There is a Village Hall next to the church (the old school that closed in the 1950s), where there is a programme of regular community events.  Burrington with its neighbouring hamlet of Rickford was added to the Benefice on 1st March 2006.  It has an attractive village centre where, next to Holy Trinity Church, is a C of E Aided School of about 80 pupils, which, though small, is thriving and very well supported by parents and Governors.  It recently received very good Ofsted and SIAS reports. For the current Parish Notices, including details of all Services, click the Church Notices icon on the Wrington Website Homepage. Housing and other Financial Assistance  The minister will be required, for what is known as “the better      performance of his duties”, to reside at Redhill Parsonage free of rent, council tax (or its equivalent), water rates, insurance of the fabric of the Parsonage, cost of repairs, external decorations, or maintenance of the fabric (including any re-decoration of the Parsonage consequent upon repair or maintenance of landlord’s fixtures and fittings).  The minister will be responsible for the cost of any internal decorations carried out for “cosmetic” purposes, and for the maintenance of the garden. The Minister will be entitled to:  Re-imbursement of the rent of the telephone (including VAT). Re-imbursement in full of parochial expenses at such intervals as s/he may elect using the Diocesan or Inland Revenue scales where appropriate and using an agreed expenses claim form. The Easter Offering from Christ Church, Redhill, and other gifts to him / her. The Parsonage House  Until now the priest has lived in the Parsonage given by Wills family who lived in the parish in former years dating from the 1920s.  They established a Trust Fund, the Trustees of which are the Rector of Wrington together with the two Chapel Wardens of Christ Church. This house is typical of Parsonages of the period - large and expensive to run.  It is our intention when Tom moves out to sell this house and buy one in Redhill that is far more easy and economical to run.  The successful applicant will naturally be consulted about this.  CRB Check  The successful applicant will required to undergo an Enhanced CRB check in order to hold the Bishop’s Licence to officiate in the benefice. Holidays  The minster will be entitled to six Sundays off a year, the dates to be agreed with the Rector.  Ideally he / she will not take time off during the school summer holidays, when the Rector has to take his holiday.  The minister will be required to be available for duty at all the major Christian Festivals.  Notice The appointment will be terminable by either party on not less than three months’ notice, whereupon the Entitlement to occupy Redhill Parsonage will also terminate.  The appointment will also terminate if the Bishop withdraws the minister’s Licence or Permission to Officiate within the Diocese of Bath and Wells.  Interviews Interviews will be held on Thursday 13 May. References. Three referees will be required – one from your present incumbent or a work colleague, one from the Rural Dean or Archdeacon covering the area where you are currently ministering, and one from a   parishioner or a lay person who knows your work well. For more on Redhill see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redhill,_Somerset 22nd March 2010