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Serving God in the heart of our community since 1881 St Andrew's Church, Taunton |
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Taunton St Andrew: Parish Profile 25 February 2007
Read the profile below or download it as a .pdf file (350kb)
Parish Profile 2007
(A) General Description of Parish
The Parish of Taunton St Andrew lies in the Taunton Deanery and Archdeaconry in the Diocese of Bath and Wells. The patron is the Bishop.
Population c. 13,000. It is a largely residential parish, situated less than a mile from the town centre.
There are a few local shops and some light industry, but no heavy industry, major business or commerce.
There is no doctor's surgery in the parish, but there is an NHS mental-health site. Musgrove Park Hospital is about a mile away.
There are sheltered accommodation, residential and nursing homes in the parish.
The southern boundary is the railway line and the church was originally built to minister to Railway workers.
(B) Church Buildings
The church, built with nave and narrow side aisles and south-east tower, was dedicated in 1881. A new wider south aisle, separated from the nave by what is now the narrow font aisle, was added in the 1890s, as were an extension to the chancel and the Narthex. The south aisle continues eastward into a Lady Chapel, with the same eastern boundary wall as the chancel, leaving the tower enclosed by the chancel, Lady Chapel and their separating lobby. There is no churchyard. However, the curtilage of the church contains a Garden of Remembrance. A light ring of six bells was installed in 1997.
The church hall is separated from the church by a main road. The site belongs to the church. It contains the hall and also, as tenants, St Andrew’s Men’s Club and, in huts, Scouts and Brownies. An experimental arrangement under which the administration of lettings is handled by the Men's Club has led to an increase in bookings. The hall site is also the site of Rock on the Green (www.rockonthegreen.org) each July.
(C) Services
08:00 Sunday Eucharist (CW)
10:00 Sunday 1st and 3rd: Parish Eucharist 2nd: Service for all ages (non-eucharistic) 4th: Family Eucharist 5th: the churches of the Local Ministry Group (see H below) in turn welcome the congregations of the other constituent churches
18:00 Sunday 2nd: Eucharist at Kilkenny Court
10:00 Wednesday Eucharist
09:00 weekday (Monday - Friday) morning prayer
There are also monthly Eucharists at local care and residential homes and at the Day Centre held in the Church Hall.
The parish delights in a variety of forms of worship (the last incumbent had been chairman of the Bishop's liturgy committee).
(D) Congregation
The weekly congregation numbers 20 at 08:00 and 85 at 10:00.
The regular Sunday congregation contains few children.
The congregation includes several people receiving "care in the community", who feel safe and accepted.
(E) Other Churches
Rowbarton Methodist Church is in the same block. Although relations are cordial and have been closer in the past, they are not close at present, seldom extending beyond dividing the streets for Christian Aid Week (the Methodists take the lion’s share) and alternating hosting annual Christian Aid hunger lunches.
Wellsprings Chapel, an independent evangelical church, is also situated within the parish.
(F) Electoral Roll
162 on latest roll
(G) Finance
The parish has met its parish share to the diocesan Common Fund every year.
The 2005 Quinquennial repeated the
previous report’s recommendation for work on the Font Aisle roof, minor
works on the chancel/Lady Chapel roof and work on the Narthex roof. The
Font Aisle and lobby work was completed and paid for in 2006. The
Narthex work was authorised during preparation of this document, and the
PCC expects to be able to pay for it. No other major work was
recommended by the Quinquennial. Reserves were run down in the 1990s and the PCC has been unable to replenish them. The Narthex repairs will exhaust them and the PCC will need to build them up.
It is the PCC's practice to make three donations of £500 each to charities each year. The charities are chosen annually and the normal pattern is to have one local, one national and one international.
(H) Ministry team
Past incumbents have been training vicars. The last curate moved on in 2006.
There are three licensed readers.
All parishes in Bath and Wells are in Local Ministry Groups (LMGs). St Andrews is in one of the four groups in Taunton deanery. The other members are St Peter's Lyngford (a former daughter church which celebrated its golden anniversary as a parish in 2006), Holy Trinity and All Saints.
There is a parish office in the church building (separate entrance). A parish administrator works four mornings each week.
There is a group of chalice assistants who also administer home communions.
The congregation contains one retired married couple, both priests, who took some services before the vacancy and are proving a great help during it.
A Bereavement Support Group has been established within the last year.
(I) Church Organisations
Choir - 20 singers, including a small number of children. The Director of Music is Diocesan Musical Advisor.
Junior choir - "Voices Raised" was formed within the last year and takes part in the 2nd Sunday worship.
Music Group - add instrumental accompaniment to occasional services.
Banner Group - banners are suspended above the nave altar, and there are others along the nave.
Ladies' Social Group - meets in the Hall and has strong links with the church.
Home /Bible study groups - home groups and one Bible Study group.
Lent Groups - for 2007 are for a weekly service + discussion to be held both at St Andrew's and at Holy Trinity (LMG partner).
Bellringers - are regular members of the congregation.
We also have rotas for sidesmen, servers, sacristans and flower arrangers, and for reading, intercessions, counting cash, making coffee and manning the library after the main Sunday worship. The library contains books for borrowing and has an acquisitions allowance in the PCC budget.
There is a monthly
Traidcraft stall. (J) Schools
The incumbent is an ex officio governor of St Andrew’s VC school. The head of the school recently moved to head the school of another parish in the LMG, and a successor took up post in January 2007. The parish also contains two state primary schools, a nursery and four playgroups.
The following text was provided by the St Andrew's School RE/Worship Co-ordinator
A member of the clergy visits the school each Friday to lead the daily Act of Worship. This is done in liaison with the Head teacher and me.
Regular visits are made by the school to the church, sometimes to spend time with clergy and at other times to spend time with school staff. These visits help to support various aspects of the curriculum.
St Andrew's school has successfully run a Christian after school club for 4 years. It maintains a regular attendance of between 25 and 30 children aged between 5 and 11 years each week. This is run by staff members of the school and was also supported by the curate before his departure. We would appreciate the opportunity to develop our work together to build links across the school, church and the local community to support and encourage Christian development in young people. We see this as an opportunity for practical, financial and prayer support.
(K) Other Responsibilities
The incumbent has no specific responsibilities outside the parish.
St Andrew’s Men’s Club was founded by the first incumbent. The incumbent is its ex officio president.
(L) Missionary Support
The Parish has no specific link other than the diocese’s link with Zambia. The PCC has considered a more specific link and expects to take one forward, but particular circumstances have delayed that move.
(M) Parsonage House
The original vicarage opposite the church was sold many years ago. The current vicarage is 118 Kingston Road, 400 metres away from the church. It is a modern four bedroom detached house with a reasonably sized garden and ample parking. Work on the front of the house to extend the office was completed in 2004.
(N) Opportunity for Development
In the past various initiatives, most recently the addition of a food run for Taunton Open Door, have begun in the parish and taken on their own existence. The PCC is conscious that at present its focus is mainly on its weekly worship and not on specific problems in the community. It would welcome a lead in identifying problems it could address, probably in partnership with the LMG and/or other denominations. It is conscious that the church building is underused.
The PCC is also conscious that contacts with families, children and young people generally have diminished over recent years, and would like to see them re-established.
The PCC would like to see Emmaus or other introductory groups resume.
(O) Deanery Pastoral Committee
The Pastoral Plan envisages the parish (like the other members of its Local Ministry Group) retaining a full-time incumbent.
(P) The New Incumbent
The parish is looking for a priest who will: (i) share in the development of its open, modern, broad catholic tradition; (ii) take the lead in developing a vision for bringing the church to the community as part of Changing Lives (www.bathandwells.org.uk/changing_lives ); (iii) encourage and support the development of lay people; (iv) teach, enthuse and motivate; (v) work to establish and actively encourage links with young people, especially with schools in the parish; and (vi) explore closer links with churches of other denominations in the parish. (Q) Miscellaneous
(i)The PCC makes no assumption about the sex, race or sexuality of the next incumbent.
(ii)Bath and Wells is engaged in an experimental regime covering the authorisation of works to buildings. In turn, within the diocese, Taunton Deanery has been nominated to take part. Although the experiment is driven by a government aim to reduce the bureaucracy for Listed Building consent, it is likely to simplify the process for repairs recommended in the Quinquennial for any church. At the time of publication of this profile this church is NOT listed, but there are suggestions that during the experiment it may be drawn into the Listing system. It is not clear at the time of publication what the impact will be on the incumbent or PCC.
(iii)Policy
The PCC has determined policy in a number of areas:
(a) the PCC has approved the Inclusive Church resolution; (b) the PCC has endorsed the Diocesan policy on the remarriage of divorcees in church, and such marriages have taken place on the recommendation of the incumbent with the approval of the churchwardens; (c) the PCC has approved in principle preparing and admitting to communion, before confirmation, baptized young people who are members of the church.
(iv) The following is an extract from the forward-looking part of the first version of a profile of the LMG arising from discussions, among clergy only, in which the previous incumbent took part.
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Page updated 29/09/2007
