St. Francis' Church, Valley Park - CHURCH AND PARISH PROFILE 2018
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St. Francis’ Church, Valley Park
CHURCH AND PARISH PROFILE - 2018
A Single Congregation Local Ecumenical Partnership
Church of England, Methodist Church, United Reformed Church
St. Francis’ Church, Pilgrim’s Close, Valley Park,
Chandler’s Ford, EASTLEIGH, Hants. SO53 4HU
Registered as a Charity in England and Wales; Charity Number: 1165677
1 St Francis’ Church, Valley Park: Church and Parish Profile – 2018
Our journey of Mission and Ministry: Could God be calling YOU to lead the next stage? 2 St Francis’ Church, Valley Park: Church and Parish Profile – 2018
Southampton District WESSEX PROVINCE
Welcome to this Church and Parish Profile and Role Description.
St Francis’ Church Valley Park is a Local Ecumenical
Partnership, between the Church of England, the
Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church;
this means that St Francis’ constitutes the missional
and worshipping presence of all three denominations.
St Francis is a Single-Congregation Partnership
which means that there aren’t three lots of everything
to do; three lots of services, three lots of committees
or three lots of paperwork. Where possible we do it
once and we do it as well as we can, and it is seldom
that we have to duplicate anything.
In fact, once you’ve got used to a few distinctive things
about ecumenical life, and realised what wonderful
freedom an LEP can offer, you probably won’t find that VALLEY PARK
leading at St Francis is that different to leading in many
other churches of whichever is your own home
denomination.
Whoever is appointed to the role of Lead Minister in St Francis will be welcomed and celebrated
by all three denominations and will represent all three denominations – a minister of one and
a minister of all. More than that, they will be free to draw upon the strengths of us all,
consciously promoting our shared life and mission, and fostering the breadth of welcome and
partnership that has become such a hallmark of St Francis’ Church.
Rt. Rev’d. Jonathan Frost Rev’d. Dr. Andrew Wood Rev’d. Clare Downing
Bishop of Southampton Chairman, Southampton District Moderator, Wessex Synod
Church of England Methodist Church United Reformed Church
St Francis’ Church, Valley Park: Church and Parish Profile – 2018 3
Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 5
Our Vision .................................................................................................................................. 6
Mission & Ministry: Stepping out in Faith ................................................................................... 7
Our Parish: Life and Mission ....................................................................................................... 9
INTRODUCING VALLEY PARK ............................................................................................................... 9
St. Francis’ Church .................................................................................................................... 11
Face to Face ............................................................................................................................. 19
Living in Valley Park ................................................................................................................. 23
The Vicarage ............................................................................................................................ 24
ANNEXES.................................................................................................................................. 25
4 St Francis’ Church, Valley Park: Church and Parish Profile – 2018
Introduction Welcome to St. Francis’ Church! Thank you for being interested in reading about the position here. Allow us to introduce you to the life and work of our church, and to our neighbourhood, and share something of our vision for ourselves and the local community. We are a dedicated and Christ-centred fellowship, passionate about serving God in this place, and we’re looking for the right person to lead us into the next stage of our journey – we pray that God will speak and guide as you read on… St Francis’ Church is located in Valley Park, a thirty-year-old settlement on the edge of Chandlers Ford, near Southampton. We are a Single-Congregation Local Ecumenical Partnership (SC-LEP) between the Church of England, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church. Our church was formed in the early days of Valley Park to provide a Christ-centred worshipping community within the locality. Many of our congregation have been drawn to and made a home at St Francis because of the distinct nature of our LEP status and the breadth of church experience it engenders. This is facilitated in part by our Minister’s participation with neighbouring local churches of our partner denominations, engaging in reciprocal pulpit exchange, and in part by the breadth of church experiences within our lay leadership. We are seeking a Minister to lead us forward: to provide spiritual direction, guidance and challenge; to empower the lay leadership at the core of our congregation, help the congregation develop and deepen their commitment and build bridges that allow us to engage more fully with the local community. It may appear from some of the content in this document that we have it ‘all sorted’. This is only because in recent years, in response to local and denominational mission initiatives, we have invested a significant amount of time and effort in trying to understand where we are and how we as a Christian family should respond. We need you to challenge our understandings, and gently guide us forward. The local community of Valley Park is often described as an affluent middle-class area. This is true, in part, but within our community we have a wide social demographic, and beneath the veneer of apparent affluence are many hidden and complex needs, to which we as a church are seeking to respond. St Francis’ has a comprehensive website where more details of our Church and Parish History, and our Christian witness, and mission, past, present and planned, can be found, at www.stfrancis-valleypark.org.uk . Valley Park Civil Parish lies within the Borough of Test Valley; it is almost co-terminous with the Ecclesiastical Parish. Information about the civil parish can be found on the Parish1 and Borough Council2 websites. Test Valley Borough Council have published an excellent summary profile of the area and its population3. When preparing this Church and Parish Profile document we have tried to navigate a path of ecumenical neutrality. However, as historically our largest denominational influence has been Anglican, some of the material reflects that. For example, our strategic planning and Parish Mission Action Plan have been particularly guided by the Diocese of Winchester’s Mission Action planning process. Additionally, we have drawn on a wide range of sources within the congregation and community, and where others’ words are quoted they are used verbatim. 1 http://www.valleyparkparish.org/ 2 http://www.testvalley.gov.uk/communityandleisure/workingwithcommunities/mylocalarea/valley-park 3 http://www.testvalley.gov.uk/assets/attach/4191/VP2017.pdf St Francis’ Church, Valley Park: Church and Parish Profile – 2018 5
Our Vision
We pray and believe that the Holy Spirit will lead, empower and guide our mission, evangelism and
community outreach efforts. Our vision is that:
“St Francis’ Church will continue to share God’s light with the world, and by seeking to
place God at the centre of all we do, through His grace, He will enable our church to
remain and grow as a prayerful Spirit-led oasis in a busy and challenging world.”
In the 30 years since our congregation was formed, we have become a strong and diverse community, with
many opportunities for people to take part in worship, mission and ministry. We have a wide range of
worship styles to meet most needs, and a team of around a dozen taking active roles in leading our worship.
Regular and occasional events reach out to the community, and those on the periphery of the church, and
we have a warm welcoming atmosphere for all who come through our doors.
However, we recognise that there is still much scope to improve our outreach and the impact we make on
our community. Many locals do not even know of our existence. Despite being the only church in our area,
and with our open, multi-denomination and multi-cultural profile, our membership and attendance does
not yet reflect the size of our community. We are looking for a leader who will further raise and sustain
our profile, so that others would find a personal relationship with God through our fellowship.
Our current Aims, Objectives and leadership matrix are set out in this year’s Mission Action Plan (pMAP) 4
which can be found via the home page of our Website. All these form around our Mission Statement, which
we believe both describes us now, and is something we aspire to in greater measure:
Having established this sustainable and effective infrastructure, we seek in our new leader someone willing
and able to set a vision for growth and development of our church and to share God’s message of love and
redemption in our community. Hence, a key aspect of your ministry with us will be the skills to lead and
encourage those progressing these ventures, towards achieving this vision. You will also have the drive to
break new ground and the ability to facilitate this work being followed up by others within the church,
ensuring the sustainability of the developments.
4
https://www.stfrancis-valleypark.org.uk/home/st-francis-valley-park-pmap-2017-2020-v-2-1-july-2017/
6 St Francis’ Church, Valley Park: Church and Parish Profile – 2018
Mission & Ministry:
Stepping out in Faith
Our aims and objectives Driven by the belief that improving our
An outline of some of the areas we are currently working on - effectiveness requires a more
intentional, structured and engaged
or plan to soon. Please see Annexe C for more detail.
approach to leading our church,
Services & Worship we have, over the last 2-3 years, focused
our efforts on improving the lay
Build on our current platform of worship, mission and outreach to leadership of everything that makes up
actively support the nurture of individual growth in faith, and the what we do.
building up of our collective spirituality. This section describes some elements
from areas we believe God has been
Discipleship leading us to focus on for the church’s
development.
Enable members to participate more fully in the life and work of the They come from our latest pMAP,
church, preparing them for mission-focused activities and church a Church Council forward review from
growth. the 2017 away-day,
and from common themes from recent
Involvement engagement on this with the wider
church and community. Details
Retain and integrate new members fully into the life and work of the
underpinning each area with quotes
church, while drawing those on the periphery and outside the church from our community are given in
into a growing involvement, to share in the church community and Annexe C,
discover or re-discover faith.
Pastoral
Support our recently commissioned Pastoral Leader as they establish
a pastoral oversight group and develop pastoral work.
Ensure that needs do not go unnoticed through development of a
defined team of pastoral helpers, with adequate training, resources,
oversight, safeguarding & leadership to be effective, safe and
sustainable.
Community
Have an ever-growing presence in, and service to, our local Sharing our faith …
community of Valley Park, seeking to respond positively to issues of
loneliness and isolation and reaching out to families and individuals
of all generations.
• As part of this, we see that our new leader will be a visible figurehead in the
community, themselves being recognised and valued as “The vicar in Valley
Park”.
Outreach
Continuing to evolve our outreach to ensure it remains relevant and
meets the changing needs of the area, with some specific areas … and fellowship together.
where we will focus this work.
Social Action
Identify and support those with needs in Valley Park, as part of our
pastoral programme, exploring ways to support intergenerational
challenges being faced by many families locally.
7 St Francis’ Church, Valley Park: Church and Parish Profile – 2018
Sustaining our Ministry & Mission
Through a growth in faith and membership, maintain the strategic
infrastructure of our church to enable effective, intentional and
sustainable leadership of all our activities and initiatives with
sustainably growing finances to enable us to be confident we can
fund all our obligations and aspirations:
Profile & Visibility
Increase the visibility of St Francis church in Valley Park, so that those Reaching out into the
who we have not yet reached individually but with needs or seeking neighbourhood:
to be part of a church community are able to find us. Carol singing at the Cleveland Bay,
Christmas 2017.
As these headings (and the detailed objectives in Annexe C) show,
we already do many things as a church, but we see so much more
potential for our life and work. We believe we are ready for growth
in many areas, and you will play a vital role in leading, affirming and
developing those already holding responsibility.
You will continually draw us towards our vision but also guide us in
reshaping that vision as we move forward. You will lead the
breaking of new ground and fresh initiatives, but will also facilitate
others’ contributions, to ensure sustainable and broad-reaching
progress.
Most of all you will share our passion for growth and outreach, and
your leadership will focus us towards our Heavenly Father and
encourage to extend His Kingdom in our community.
Worship – at the heart of all we do:
Candle-lit Service of Light
Advent Sunday 2017.
8 St Francis’ Church, Valley Park: Church and Parish Profile – 2018
Our Parish:
Life and Mission
INTRODUCING VALLEY PARK
Valley Park is a residential area set amongst beautiful woodlands
and open spaces, lying to the west of Chandler’s Ford in southern
central Hampshire. It was developed over 20 years from the early
1980s, with careful and creative planning ensuring that the woods
and green spaces were retained.
Valley Park is a sought-after area to live in, with its semi-rural
ambience, low crime rates, good schools and colleges nearby and
The Village Centre shops
good road, rail and air links close to hand. There are a wide range
of amenities in the vicinity at Southampton, Winchester,
Portsmouth and Romsey, and the New Forest and South Downs
National Parks are within easy travelling.
Valley Park comprises around 3,000 homes together with a small
“village centre” of retail outlets, medical facilities and community
buildings. Dwellings range from high-end five- and six-bedroom
executive properties to small single-storey homes with one
bedroom on a mezzanine floor. Within the locality there are
The Community Centre –
several pockets of social housing, as well as a considerable
run by the volunteer Community
number of other properties – particularly in small terraces of two- Association.
bedroom dwellings – many of which are “buy to let” properties
run by private landlords. These are often let at quite high rents,
an issue which in the national context is now on the wider political
agenda.
The predominantly “professional” and “executive” character of
the population reflects the presence of considerable numbers of
teachers, medical professionals, public servants, business
managers, and members of “the professions”. The proximity of
major information technology and science-based businesses and
research centres are reflected in the employment mix within the TVBC-run Leisure and Sports centre
parish. Many of these posts are well paid but demand long hours
and often considerable commuting or business travel.
However, beneath the veneer of affluent success there are
significant hidden issues:
• The ‘long hours’ culture means that residents are often
“time poor” for community life, and consequently
community-based initiatives often struggle for support;
• The social cohesion and corporate community identity
often found in more traditional town or village settlements
are not strongly evident in Valley Park: the local
Community Association struggled for some time to find a
viable new committee to replace a small band of tired
volunteers;
• A reliance on a buoyant economy to sustain incomes, and A quiet moment once the exodus to work
high levels of family debt, contributing to financial has ended!
St Francis’ Church, Valley Park: Church and Parish Profile – 2018 9
uncertainty and family tension. This in turn leads to family
break-up. Valley Park has a marked level of divorce and
families with complex internal relationships.
However, the population is gradually changing and becoming
more settled, with a reduction in the turnover which
characterised the first decade and a half of Valley Park’s existence.
This trend has resulted in the average age of residents steadily
increasing. Coupled with sustained high property values in the There are several well-equipped children’s
area, it is increasingly challenging for younger people to leave play areas.
home and find affordable property locally.
Older, often bereaved, family members wishing to move closer to
their adult children in their senior years have also found available
and affordable properties are scarce. As a result, they tend to
move in with their children’s families. At the same time the
breakdown of younger families has often resulted in one partner
and their children returning to live with older parents.
Taken together, these factors mean that Valley Park has an
increasing number of multi-generational households, where self-
generated isolationism leads to a marked thread of loneliness.
This can be particularly evident among older people living with
their adult children, but where both partners of the wage-earning
generation can be away from home for much of the day. Family fun in Valley Park’s extensive
woodland:
St. Francis’ Church has been actively seeking to respond to some The annual Test Valley BC
of these challenges in its community outreach activities and has Community Wood Fair
proposed new initiatives to progress further work in these areas
within our pMAP.
You can read more about what it is like to live in Valley Park at
Annexe E.
Monk’s Brook – a tributary of the River
Itchen, in full winter flow.
It’s river valley gives Valley Park its name
10 St Francis’ Church, Valley Park: Church and Parish Profile – 2018St. Francis’ Church
OUR PEOPLE:
People are at the heart of everything we do at St. Francis’: both “…growing in God’s love and serving
within our church, in our community, and in the wider our community and the wider
neighbourhood and beyond, as we strive to live out our vision. world.”
As with many extended inter-generational families, our church
community is wide-ranging in age, background, experience of faith
and expressions of church. Our worship and pastoring seek to
embrace this diversity.
And like any family, we come together in fellowship to share food
around the table: the spiritual food of the Eucharist, the faith
nurturing food of teaching; and food for our bodies – Brian’s famous
Roast Sunday Lunch or Peter’s ‘full English’ at Men’s Breakfast; a
Barbeque or an informal ‘bring and share’ meal, or perhaps Agape
supper and Eucharist on Maundy Thursday.
While formally we are an SC-LEP, our church family includes a range
of cultural and denominational backgrounds: from Roman Catholic
to Gospel Evangelical and Pentecostal and drawn from most of the
continents of our world. Many simply describe themselves as
‘Christian’ because they have come to faith in Jesus Christ through
coming to St Francis’.
Our status as an LEP is particularly treasured by many in the church
– it is a fundamental part of who we are, and one of the reasons why
many of the congregation are here.
Linda,
Our church membership stands at 110, of whom 29 presently live our Parish
outside Valley Park. Reflecting the diversity within our church family, Administrator.
rather like the layers of an onion, we have several constituent
‘congregations’, defined by a variety of age, frequency & time of
attendance and preferred style of worship. This is both a strength
and a challenging opportunity – as we strive to maintain unity of
purpose and mission across our family.
Hannah,
Paid Staff: We currently employ two part-time staff: our Church Cleaner.
Our Parish Administrator – Linda (3 mornings/week) and
Our Church cleaner – Hannah (approx. 3 hours/week)
You will meet others in our leadership team later in this profile.
Sharing meals – a feature of our
fellowship.
St Francis’ Church, Valley Park: Church and Parish Profile – 2018 11Nurturing faith:
Within our community we seek to nurture the faith of both our
present church members and those who may be seeking God
though Jesus Christ. Much of our teaching within worship links to [We will:]
planned scripturally-based ‘themes’ (‘topics’ or studies of whole or “Deliver a discipleship programme
part books from the Bible) covering typically half a term. aimed at and accessible by all church
members and attenders, of all ages,
St Francis’ has recently run:
and at all stages of Christian faith …
• Alpha: in late spring 2016, (principally led by around 15 lay with an ongoing programme of
members of our church), and discipleship to follow on”.
• “Delta”: a ‘home-grown’ discipleship course for the whole (pMAP 2017-2020).
of our church family, held in winter 2017. Details of
content are available from the “teaching and nurturing”
page of the church website5
The study work for Delta was largely taken forward within our
house groups, which expanded from three to six as a result (one
meeting in the Church on alternate Thursday mornings). These
Home Groups, embracing around 35 - 40 members of our church,
continue as an important component of our faith development and Nurturing faith and discipleship –
Delta Course away-day.
provide shared pastoral support on their members’ individual
Christian journeys.
Pastoral support:
At St Francis’ we often receive compliments from visitors and
newcomers on the warmth of the welcome they have received. We
are keen to build on this reputation for being a welcoming and
family-friendly church.
We already have a Welcoming Team at our Sunday services, and
our Prayer Network enables information on prayer needs to be
disseminated to church family members for ‘collective prayer’.
In striving to take our collective pastoring to a new level, our
community needs survey in 2013 identified loneliness and isolation
as major issues. The desire to ‘maintain appearances’ means there
is an unwillingness to admit to problems or needs. Our Rendezvous
Community Information Café has been a good start in opening our
doors to our neighbourhood. Collaboration with Carers Together
(Romsey) removes the element of “Church” for those who find this
off-putting.
Our new Pastoral support team, led by Fiona, our Church Council
Secretary, who was commissioned on completing a Bishop of [We will:]
“Put in place an effective pastoral
Winchester’s Commission for Mission: Pastoring course, in October
system to better support all in the
2017, will seek identify and draw alongside those who need parish.”
pastoral support, over and above our normal welcoming church (pMAP 2017-2020).
fellowship.
5
https://www.stfrancis-valleypark.org.uk/services/teaching-nurturing/.
12 St Francis’ Church, Valley Park: Church and Parish Profile – 2018Children’s and Youth Ministry:
Passing on our faith to the younger generation has been a major
feature of St Francis’ ministry since the church was ‘planted’ in
1987. Many of our young people have grown up with us and have
moved on to make a real difference in other churches, and in
missionary work overseas.
Led by a dedicated group of lay volunteers under the supervision of
Alison, one of our Pro-wardens, St Francis’ offers a Creche (ages 0
– 3), Junior Church (3 -11) and Sunday Club (11 – 15) on 2nd – 5th
Rogerio and his puppet friend Eddie
Sunday mornings. Our younger members join Eucharistic Services
welcome youngsters to church
at the Peace. A “Youth Alpha” / “Sunday@Seven” meeting place
and small discussion group is held for older teenagers (15 – 18+) on
Sunday evenings. A ‘Millennials’ house group for young adults
[We will]
formed late in 2017. Messy Church also has a strong focus towards Actively review the need and opportunity
families with children. for a new Youth Club, report and plan
However, attendance at Junior Church/Sunday Club has slowly actions”.
(pMAP 2017-2020).
declined over the years: partly in response to the counter-
attractions of organised youth sports (cricket, football, rugby etc.
on Sunday mornings), and partly as our own young folk have grown
up and moved away, (to university, work and search of affordable
housing). Consequently, their children are not growing up within
our community. We are keen to re-invigorate the ‘young people’
element of our church family and bring forward new faces who will
organise and mobilise new initiatives to share the Gospel with
young people in our community, moving forward.
Growing congregation / growing involvement:
To stimulate active participation and involvement by the widest
possible breadth of our church family in the life and witness of St.
Francis’ we operate several rotas. These cover the various tasks Messy Church in full swing.
necessary to hold services and provide hospitality etc. Presently
some 60 church members participate in these various activities. [We will]
The rotas are reviewed regularly with an open invitation to “Improve the involvement of newer
newcomers to participate under the guidance of more experienced church members in administrative
members. We are actively seeking to broaden church members’ aspects of church life”.
involvement in more formal roles and the administrative aspects of (pMAP 2017-2020).
organising events, advertising etc.
Mission and Outreach:
To our Community:
Our desire is to share God’s love by our faith and actions serving
the community of Valley Park and the wider world. We already
have several mission and outreach activities, but we wish to do
more, and to develop responses to the needs of the increasingly
inter-generational demographic of our neighbourhood.
We currently host a wide range of Church-led activities to which we
specifically welcome the wider community. St Francis’ church and
garden are the venue for a variety of other community-orientated
events, organised by regular hirers and local groups. Details of the
Planning some interactive worship
St Francis’ Church, Valley Park: Church and Parish Profile – 2018 13range of uses and activities held at St Francis’ may be found at [We will]
Annexe A. Further develop our service to the local
community through the work of the
Many within our Church family have felt a call to show their faith in St Francis’ Rendezvous (Café),
action in the wider world. As a Church we gift 10% of our turnover working with Carers Together Romsey to
to charitable and good causes locally, nationally and in the wider develop it:
world: amounting to around £10,000 annually. Details of the • As a Community Information
Charities we have supported in 2016/17 may be found at: Café … to enhance local access to
https://www.stfrancis-valleypark.org.uk/youth/charities-we-are- Local community and health
supporting/ information and Benefits advice;
• To include periodic drop-in
St Francis Church is a Fair-Trade church, with a regular Traidcraft community awareness “taster”
stall, and is an active supporter of Christian Aid, providing volunteer sessions on e.g.; First Aid, Home
collectors across the neighbourhood for Christian Aid Week. Security, Fire Precautions etc.
Several Church members are actively involved in responding to the (pMAP 2017-2020).
challenges of human trafficking – being members of the
Southampton and Test Valley Group of the Stop the Traffik
campaign which has an enviable reputation for its work on real local
issues of people trafficking.
Church members are also trustees of a local young Christian Charity: “Having recently retired both [my wife] Jill
Fledge Youth Support, which houses homeless and vulnerable and I enjoy ‘giving back’ our time in
young people in the 16 – 35 age range, who would otherwise be support of the Rendezvous Cafe...for the
“sofa-surfing”. [www.fledge.org.uk]. Yet others are Street Pastors, good of the local community”
engaging with young people to defuse drink and drug fuelled (Tony Taylor,
Rendezvous Cafe Coordinator).
‘situations’ on the streets of local towns and communities late into
the evening.
Despite this range of community involvement one of the
longstanding challenges faced by St Francis’ is that the professional,
executive and managerial nature of the work of many in our church
means that while we are relatively affluent, we are also collectively
‘time poor’, adding significant pressure to our core ‘church
leadership group’.
In our desire to expand our engagement with the local community,
we have pondered for some while whether we should explore
funding for paid community, family or youth worker support. The
nature and potential funding of this sort of role is something we
are looking to explore in the coming months, particularly in
respect to our wish to extend our Mission and Outreach.
To our schools:
We are very proud of our association with our local St Francis
Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, with whom we
share a campus site. Our Anglican PCC is the designated authority
under the 1944 Education Act and appoints seven foundation
Governors to the School’s Governing Body, including, historically,
our Anglican minister.
We are delighted that following a 2017 ‘SIAMS’ Inspection, St
Francis’ School was rated “Outstanding”.
Less formally, we work closely with St Francis School in many areas:
members of our congregation lead assemblies and special services
from time to time, while others help by listening as children St Francis C of E Aided Primary School.
14 St Francis’ Church, Valley Park: Church and Parish Profile – 2018develop their reading skills. Our annual Community Fun Day is a “The distinctiveness and effectiveness of
St Francis as a Church of England school
joint venture with the School, and we are delighted to be able to
are outstanding:
host school art exhibitions, the PTA Christmas Fayre, and special • The strong Christian vision and
School Services, in addition to the daily Breakfast and After School leadership of the headteacher and
clubs, which are much valued by working parents. senior team inspire the whole
school community to continually
Looking forward, we have identified a continued aspiration to build
strive for excellence and help
a relationship with the other primary school in Valley Park: children to thrive.
Knightwood Primary School. Despite strenuous efforts on the part • The exemplary behaviour and
of our previous Vicar and various members of our congregation, attitude of pupils, based on a
engagement of any kind with Knightwood School has proved secure understanding of the
elusive. We would welcome the fresh insights you would bring. school’s Christian values, is seen in
the way they approach learning
St Francis’ enjoys cordial relations with the three Pre-schools and lessons.
operating in Valley Park: some of our members work for the • There are exceptionally strong and
community-managed Mulberry Pre-school, and we have hosted mutually supportive links with the
Christmas nativity plays and summer events organised by all these local church and wider community
organisations. Children from the neighbouring Busy Bees Nursery which impact very positively on
the children and their families.
have also attended ‘Glitter and Glue’ in the past.
• The explicitly expressed Christian
Communication and awareness: character of the school hits you as
Our local community reflects the wider societal reality that you walk through the door and is in
all parts of the school.”
involvement with “church and religion” does not feature large in
(St Francis’ School SIAMS Report, 2017).
the day to day lives of many people. One aspect where St Francis’
struggles is awareness of the physical presence of the church
building – a visible sign of the church active within the community.
The seclusion of our “quietly situated” building poses a challenge.
Originally built with a frontage onto the main spine road through
the neighbourhood, road re-alignment and the growth of
We would like our new [Vicar] to:
“approved planting”, mean that it is now quite hidden from general
• “Visit the school;
view. Despite signage, and even though it shares a campus site
• Listen;
with St Francis School, the long low design, and its lack of “church-
• Take on pupil ideas & develop them;
like” features means its presence is often not recognised by relative • Speak clearly & from the heart”.
newcomers to the area. Even long-standing parents of St Francis’ (St Francis’ School Christian Voice).
School, including some with children attending the Breakfast or
After School Clubs, believe that the building is part of the school
complex – despite signs to the contrary!
Our response to increase our “public visibility” has been further
signage to complement colourful notices about church events and
expansion of our social media presence. Your appointment as new
incumbent minister will be an important opportunity to grow
awareness of our physical presence in our neighbourhood.
Bouncy castle, Sumo Suits, Gladiator
Jousting, and much more:
The Church and garden become a
community fete and fun-fair for the
afternoon.
St Francis’ Church, Valley Park: Church and Parish Profile – 2018 15Our Worship:
Worship styles:
Presently our service patterns and styles reflect the diversity of our
[We will]
church family, and we offer wide range of broadly “low Church”
“Sustain and develop a mix of more
services. These are set around a core of Anglican Common Worship traditional and fresh expressions of
and recognised Methodist and URC liturgies. The 10.00 a.m. church, accessible to the widest
Sunday Service is our main weekly Act of Worship. We wish to breadth of our community, and focused
sustain the breadth of our present worship, while seeking to ensure on worship, life-centred teaching and
that services are accessible to all and exploring new or varied encouragement.”
worship styles which enhance our praise and experience. (pMAP 2017-2020).
Seeking the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, our worship emphasises
Bible-based teaching. We have an “open table” at Eucharistic
Services, but respect those who prefer that Confirmation or Adult
Baptism come first. Eucharist is also celebrated monthly at our
local residential Care Home, when around ten elderly residents
gather on a third Thursday afternoon in the local BrendonCare
library, as members of our extended Church family.
Lay leadership in worship has been growing over the past five years.
Typically, each month, two principal morning and one evening
service are now lay-led or have significant lay input. Steve, one of
our Churchwardens completed the Bishop of Winchester’s
Commission for Mission – Worship course and was commissioned
in October 2017.
Christmas Eve traditionally sees our Church filled with neighbours
we may not see at other times of the year: our morning “Messy
Christmas”, Afternoon Crib Service/Nativity and Midnight Eucharist
mark the start of the Christmas break for many local families.
Ian gives us food for thought …
‘Occasional Offices’ such as Marriages and Funerals are held as
required. Baptisms are occasionally held during our 10.00 a.m. All-
age Services – on a first Sunday – according to the family’s wishes,
but otherwise normally at 3.00 p.m. on Sunday afternoons. All
Baptism families receive two pre-Baptism visits, and if the Baptism
takes place outside of main worship, they are encouraged to attend
the next all-age service for a baptismal welcome.
In the past, multi-denominational Confirmation Services were held
at St Francis’, though in recent years, limited Episcopal availability
has meant that our candidates have generally attended Anglican
Deanery-based Confirmations elsewhere.
Further details of our patterns and frequency of worship,
attendances, etc. may be found at Annexe B.
Music: “Music has always been a huge part of
St Francis’ has a two manual Electronic Organ and a Grand Piano. my life both in and out of church.
For me sung worship is the easiest place
At St Francis, we are blessed to have a Music Group of several
for me to feel God's presence and for
talented musicians and singers to lead us as we praise God in song. many years my desire has been to draw
We have four resident pianists, who are often joined by at least one others into that place.”
other instrumentalist or singer for communion services, while all- (Stephanie, Music Group Leader).
16 St Francis’ Church, Valley Park: Church and Parish Profile – 2018age services and informal worship feature a full band who can
contribute variously Bassoon, Clarinet, Drums, Flute, Guitar,
Trombone and Viola, as well as vocals. Our musicians enjoy
introducing us to new songs, as well as playing old favourites. The
variety of songs on offer, whether traditional hymns, modern
worship songs or child-friendly action songs, means that most
musical tastes are catered for. Music for weddings and funerals is
usually provided by visiting organists.
A small informal choir gathers from our congregation each year to
contribute two items to our Christmas Service of Lessons and Carols. The Music group in action:
on this occasion at a wedding,
Music offers opportunities for involvement by the wider
hence the suits and ‘posh frocks’!
congregation, and the Music Group are excited about the new
opportunities working with a new minister may bring.
Prayer:
Prayer takes a central role in the life of St. Francis’ Church: in our
collective worship, including frequently, lay-led intercessions; and [We will]
in other areas of our collective and individual lives. In addition to Develop opportunities for prayer for
individuals after each service, and
several “prayer couplets” and “triplets”, a regular monthly prayer
overall wider involvement in prayer by:
meeting is held on the fourth Monday evening in the church, • Commissioning prayer partners;
centred on the members of the two House-groups who meet that • Promoting the availability of
day, but open to all church members. All our House Groups include prayer;
opportunities for collective prayer at their meetings, and our e- • Contributing to service
mail-based Prayer Network enables church members to remember intercessions.
local needs and hold individuals who are troubled in some way, in (pMAP 2017-2020).
private prayer. One-to-one prayer may also be requested after any
of our Acts of Worship.
Our Personal Commitment:
People:
In addition to our two part-time paid staff, we rely on members
of our congregation for most other aspects of the management,
maintenance and functioning of our church. We are fortunate to
have church members with, collectively, a wide variety of skills
and expertise, from administration and finance, to IT and publicity;
and from teaching and nurturing to carpentry, decorating and
gardening. In all that we do, we seek to do it well, to the Glory of
God, and respecting that we hold our Church in trust for our
neighbours and our community.
Finance:
St Francis’ has no historical reserves, trusts or other major
benefactions to draw on. Our current annual turnover of around
£100,000 relies heavily on the generosity of our church members,
with a high proportion of gift-aided donations. “In order to sustain a viable infrastructure
for the delivery of our Plan and
These, together with income from building hire, statutory fees objectives, we will examine further the
and the occasional small ad hoc grant or legacy, have enabled us need to commission & resource specific
to consistently meet our Parish Share to the Diocesan Common leadership to focus on inter-generational
ministry.”
Mission Fund, and make equivalent pro-rata contributions to
(pMAP 2017-2020).
regional Methodist and URC finances.
St Francis’ Church, Valley Park: Church and Parish Profile – 2018 17In addition, careful management has enabled the build-up of
modest designated reserves to cover more substantial building
maintenance and repairs, and towards a long term “Roof Repair
Fund”.
As a matter of policy, 10% of our turnover is tithed annually to local,
national and international charities and good causes.
Our challenge and opportunity here is to address the 80:20 rule in
terms of our congregational giving and grow the overall “financial
maturity” of our congregation in terms of their individual responses
to God’s boundless grace and goodness.
Premises:
St Francis’ Church has no special significance from a ‘heritage’
perspective. It was designed as a both a Parish Church/Parish
centre of Worship, and as a flexible, functional and forgiving ‘multi-
use’ building. Nevertheless, it is both a blessing and a resource, and “We are seeking to build a place of God
has a quiet and special atmosphere in a busy neighbourhood. in a busy world.”
More details of its construction and features may be found at (Original Church appeal leaflet – 1990).
Annexe C.
“… a quiet, special atmosphere” –
especially in the snow early on a
Sunday morning.
18 St Francis’ Church, Valley Park: Church and Parish Profile – 2018Face to Face
MEET OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM: Historically a regular church-goer,
Jim recently started to worship with us,
Steve Williams (Churchwarden) following an invitation to attend the
Before moving to Chandlers Ford from Hertfordshire 12 Rendezvous Cafe. Dexter saw his former
years ago, I spent 14 years at a small Baptist Church, where neighbour from his car, whilst Jim was taking
I served on the diaconate for several years and as Church his regular morning walk, and decided to stop
Secretary, as well as teaching in the Sunday School. Prior and offer an invitation.
to that, I was a member of a large Anglican church in
“I now attend Church every Sunday. This
Watford for 13 years where I served on the PCC, and also
came about on my morning walk when a
led the 8 – 11 yr old children’s work. At St Francis’ Church
motorist stopped me and invited me to a
I have been a Churchwarden since 2011. I also lead the
morning coffee ….”
service planning group within the Church as well as co-
leading the Messy Church activities. Having been a regular Hilary and her husband John have been
attendee at Spring Harvest for many years, I have enjoyed members of the church family for many years.
volunteering at Spring Harvest with the 8-11s childrens team for the past 5 years. Over this time their family has grown up and
Recently I have been commissioned for Worship as part of the Bishop’s they have seen the balance of the church
Commission for Mission. family mature too. More recently they have
taken an active role in the running of the
Liz Watts (Churchwarden) Rendezvous Community Information Cafe.
Elected Warden in 2015, I have also served as Church Hilary enjoys the varied pattern of worship at
Treasurer. A Server in my youth, and a lapsed Bell Ringer, St Francis. A few years ago, they both suffered
my husband and I are founder-members of St Francis’ major health issues and are grateful for the
Church. I am a former governor of St Francis School and church family coming together with prayer
served on a local Parish council. Living out my Christian support, as well as other more practical
faith in caring environments, I have 30 years’ experience support.
in the charity sector, having worked in pre-school
“The Community Information Cafe is a great
education, and later as Deputy Chief Officer of Winchester
opportunity for outreach, and also support to
Area Community Action. I am currently Finance Manager
the local community. It's important that as a
of Blue Apple Theatre, Winchester, which provides
church we are more visible in the community,
performance opportunities for people with learning difficulties. I am also a
helping address such issues as loneliness.”
Trustee and Treasurer of Fledge Youth Support. I am married to Phil and we have
two adult sons, one married. In my spare time I enjoy reading fiction. Gordon is one of the band of regular attenders
at the 08.45 a.m. Sunday morning Said Holy
Andrew Grove (Pro-Warden) Communion Service. He values the quiet time
I first joined St Francis’ in 1991 just before the church of reflection on the week just passed, and
family moved into its current building. After a slow start I preparation for the journey of the week ahead.
gradually became more involved, and ended up as first, a
pro Warden, and then as Warden for 6 years, and I am now “The said service, without music or hymns
on my second stint as a pro Warden. I am married to Fiona brings quietness and reverence, this style of
and have two grown up boys. Having recently retired from worship is greatly appreciated, it would be a
38 years in banking I am now the site manager at St Francis significant loss if it did not continue alongside
church school. other expressions of worship.”
Ken and May have worshipped with us for two
years but were familiar with St Francis’ much
Alison Rhodes (Pro Warden) earlier thanks to LEP links with their previous
Moving to Valley Park nearly 20 years ago, I joined St church. They joined us through a church-
Francis’ as it was my most local church. I have been swapping initiative, where members of local
actively involved in a wide range of church activities, churches were asked to look beyond their own
including the music group and many of the youth activities fellowship. They enjoy our social events,
in the church – I helped to run the youth group for 14 regularly attending the Rendezvous Cafe as
years – and currently I oversee the work of the Sunday well as church meals (Harvest Supper and
School. I enjoy taking part in many aspects of church life, Waffles & Cream Tea being particular
from house groups to helping with many of the social favourites).
events, and I also lead family services on occasions
throughout the year. Recently, I have also joined the “We have made many new friends and have
church council as pro-Warden. I am married to Peter and have two daughters who been made to feel at home and part of the
have both grown up at St Francis’. As a family, we have spent many summers church family. In 2017 our son became
involved in Christian youth camps, which is a lovely break from my day job as critically ill and we really appreciated the
Headteacher of a local primary school! prayers and support we received from the
members.”
St Francis’ Church, Valley Park: Church and Parish Profile – 2018 19Debbie’s first contact with St Francis
Church Council Members Church was in 2011 when she and her
Fiona Grove (Church Council Secretary and Pastoral Leader) husband decided to have their daughter,
I have been worshipping at St Francis Church since 1991. I am Isobel, baptised. During the preparation
involved in youth work, Rendezvous Cafe, leading services and she learned that baptism was just the
hold a Bishop's Commission for Pastoral work. For the last 18 beginning of a journey of faith: and not
years I have had the privilege of being Chair of Governors at St just for Isobel but also for Debbie. They
Francis C of E School. I work part-time as an administrator at a both came regularly to all-age services
local GP practice, am married to Andrew and we have two sons, and made many friends. In 2016 Isobel
one daughter in law and three chickens! started attending junior church and
inspired by “Delta” Debbie was confirmed
in May 2017, subsequently joining a house
Phil Watts (Church Treasurer) group, which plays a huge pastoral role in
I am a retired Civil Servant, having worked for Ordnance Survey
her life and provides an opportunity for
for almost 48 years. I am married to Liz and we have two adult
further discussion and learning. Debbie
sons. A chartered Land Surveyor by training, in a long, diverse
has also joined our junior church team.
career, I worked in a wide range of senior business, commercial
and corporate roles. An Anglican ‘from birth’, I am a past Church- “Junior Church is a wonderful setting for
warden and am currently Treasurer at St Francis’. An active Bell young people to explore their faith and
Ringer, I serve on Winchester DAC as Bells Advisor and am meet other individuals away from school.
studying for the Bishop’s Commission for Mission (Worship). I am Yet the success of Junior Church is highly
Chair of Trustees of Fledge Youth Support and a season ticket holder at Swindon dependent on people volunteering their
Town FC, my home-town club. time to lead the sessions. The more of us
who get involved the easier the
David Gurr (Deanery Synod Representative) responsibility becomes. For me, I love the
A Mancunian by birth (the “blue” side) I am married with two challenge of coming up with interesting
adult children and four grandchildren and moved south to activities to engage the youngsters and
Valley Park in 2006. I grew up in a Christian family actively still carry the strong Christian message.
involved in the local C of E Church and community. My faith has I am really pleased to have joined St
been an important part of my life, through churches and Francis and have felt so welcomed. The
worship and as a base for life values. I have served on Church different worship styles mean there is
Councils, in four different parishes since the 1970s with something for everyone. I love the
different styles of worship and in various roles. At present I am different formats as it means I can flex
a Deanery Synod Rep. An Anglican, I have past experience of ecumenical and multi- my style of worship to suit my busy life,
faith engagement, and I value the “Christian” focus at St Francis. I retired in 2009 without missing out on my faith: e.g.
after 40 years’ practitioner and management roles within Social Services, which I sometimes the 0845 Sunday service suits
saw as part of serving God’s community. me better to the 10.00 a.m. service,
whilst Messy Church might fit better
John Course during half-term weeks.
My wife Hilary and I moved to Chandlers Ford in 1998 and Thanks to everyone at St Francis, and the
quickly settled at St Francis’. I served as a Junior Church leader various groups I have got involved in,
for 7 years when our two sons were young, and as a pro-Warden faith has become a core part of my life
for 5 years. More recently I have been involved in the and enriched it in an extremely special
establishment and running of the Rendezvous Café. I co -lead way.
the Thursday morning House-group which succeeded the day-
time Delta group. Before taking early retirement in 2011, I was
a senior manager with the Construction Industry Training Board, “I think that we have benefited from the
and I use this experience in my role as a Governor at Eastleigh College. I am a keen three traditions combining to form a
season ticket holder at Southampton Football Club. strong foundation for St Francis, which
has led to a congregation open to a wide
Colin Dorman range of different Christian
I’m originally from the Guildford area, followed by ten years backgrounds. …, I feel that there are very
living in Kent before settling in Chandlers Ford Hampshire. I’m few denominational barriers for anyone
married to Hazel who comes from Edinburgh; we celebrate our coming along for the first time. We have
thirty-year wedding anniversary later this year. We have two a wide variety of worship styles, from
grown up children, Caroline who works as a nursing Sister in said communion through communion to
London and Hannah who works as a Physiotherapist in praise style worship, and messy church,
Winchester. I have been in banking all my life and have worked we have something for everyone. The
for various banks and building societies in different roles since LEP is important as it keeps us connected
leaving college. My career focus is relationship management and leading high to those traditions yet provides a variety
performing teams. I became a Christian in my teenage years and started my journey of resources including differing styles of
in my walk with God. My interests include family activities, cycling and classic cars. preaching.”
(Geoff).
20 St Francis’ Church, Valley Park: Church and Parish Profile – 2018Michael Flack Dunni and her family decided to come
I was born in 1967 in Southsea, but moved to Billericay in Essex along and worship at St Francis in 2014,
where I grew up. I was brought up in a Christian family, my after stumbling upon it by accident
mother being a Sunday School Teacher, and I was confirmed in whilst out for a family walk. They came
due course, but as I grew older I stopped attending church, along once, and then twice, and before
except at major festivals. Having started a banking career in they knew it were habitual attendees.
London, I met my future wife, Alison, a maths teacher, through Dunni thinks that the variety of worship
mutual friends, and through her was reintroduced to church: styles provide something for every
the URC in Billericay. Alison and I have four children: Stephanie member of the family over the month;
and Simon are at University, Samantha is in the first year at although she may not be excited,
college and Daniel is in year 9. We moved to Chandlers Ford with my work in 2003 herself, about the family service, she
and started attending St Francis later that year. knows that her children are, and they
get a lot from it!
Chris Hill (URC Synod Representative) “The truth is that God has used St.
An IT professional, I have an eclectic past church life, growing up Francis Church to teach me about a side
attending a high Anglican church in London. I passed through of Him that I knew existed but had been
the ranks of Server; while my father was, for a long time, silenced far into my sub-conscious.
Sacristan. I then attended various Baptist Churches. I have I have become more aware of the
previously served a term as one of the St Francis' lay loving nature of God and how He wants
representatives to the Deanery Synod and spent time as a us to serve Him without fear. I have
Foundation Governor at St Francis School. Both Gill and I were seen and now know beyond any
deeply involved with the church youth group when it was reasonable doubt that God is interested
running, and more recently I have led all-age worship and informal Sunday evening in me as an individual and that involves
services. I share Gill’s desire to ensure that St Francis’ participates with our LEP EVERYTHING that even remotely
partner foundations, hence our denominational representation roles. concerns me. These things are
Gill Hill (Methodist Circuit Representative) demonstrated in the seemingly little
things that appear insignificant, the
I have served for many years in the NHS. I have deep Baptist
interactions with church members,
roots, having grown up in Southampton and attended Swaything
communal efforts to keep the church
Baptist Church, where I met my husband Chris. My brother was,
clean, the church seasonal lunches and
until recent retirement, Minister of North Baddesley Baptist
outreach…my children thoroughly enjoy
Church. Chris and I started worshipping at St Francis' shortly
Messy Church and I am truly happy that
after moving into Valley Park at the end of 1998, with our then
they can freely express themselves in
toddler son. We soon volunteered to host a house group, which
such a loving environment.
still meets and has been a great blessing to us: we have praised,
prayed, worshipped, laughed and cried together as members of our group have
found their way through many significant life events. I also volunteer at the Oxfam Sam and George both grew up in the
Bookshop in Romsey. I am a regular leader in junior church. church family. As they grew older they
left St Francis as young adults, as often
Mike Hook (Electoral Roll Officer) happens. Off to study and live an
I have lived in Valley Park since 1987 and joined St Francis Church independent life. They have recently
in 1989. I am married to Julie and we have three grown up both come back to worshiping at St.
daughters. I am a research software engineer working long hours Francis and have stepped up to take on
locally. Julie and I have had various roles within the church the role of Sides-men.
community: I have served on the church council on and off for George says: I have tried different
many years and have managed the electoral roll from the outset. churches with friends in my teens and
20s, and value the experiences, but I
just feel at home in St Francis church's
family. And know it's where God wants
Dr Helen Kelso (Safeguarding Officer) me to serve him and others.
Having been brought up in a Baptist church, and then attending
a variety of churches, I became actively involved in St Francis’ Sam writes: I especially enjoy the
Church after I married Ian in 2006 and we moved to Ampfield. I monthly evening services, when I can
usually attend the early morning Sunday service. Now semi- make them. I feel it makes going to
retired and working in a voluntary capacity doing research into church simple; worship, teaching,
Alzheimer’s Disease, most of my working life has been as a worship. Being a sides-man has been
Consultant Old Age Psychiatrist and Medical Director in the NHS. daunting, but the pros definitely
I took over the Safeguarding Officer role 2 years ago. All my life outweigh the cons. At the very least, it
I have been interested in older people, who I see as often undervalued by society, makes me plan my Sunday around
and sometimes also by the church. I have three children, one of whom is a doctor church rather than the other way
working in a mission hospital in Zambia at present. round. I'm starting the feel a lot more
comfortable in the role (thanks to
support that I have received.
St Francis’ Church, Valley Park: Church and Parish Profile – 2018 21You can also read
