Team Rector for South Gillingham Team

TEAM RECTOR FOR THE SOUTH GILLINGHAM TEAM:  The Team was formed in 1990 and brings together the four churches of Wigmore, Parkwood, Bredhurst and Hempstead.

It is located on the edge of the Medway Towns, mainly suburban but on the edge of the picturesque North Downs.   It is a pleasant living environment, with a diverse community and a mix of modern estates and individually designed houses.
 

Our new Rector:  We are seeking a strong and collaborative leader to work alongside our Ministry Team and volunteers in overseeing the running of our large and varied parish.  We desire to see the benefice grow both spiritually and numerically, and we are looking for a minister who is able to gently lead us forward, deepen our walk with the Lord, and help us to fulfil our aims to ‘build community, nurture faith and grow disciples of Jesus Christ’.

In particular we would hope our new priest will:

• be a prayerful and encouraging Team Leader with a desire to see God’s Kingdom flourish in the parish;
• have a heart for reaching out to the community, helping us engage in a relevant way with all age groups;
• be a people person with good pastoral and communication skills, keen to be involved in people’s lives and be a positive presence in the community;
• be confident and able to build on our work within schools (e.g. taking assemblies and RE lessons);
• be comfortable leading, participating in and encouraging a range of worship styles;
• challenge us as well as nurture and empower us; someone who can lovingly encourage us out of our comfort zone! will help us seek God for a fresh vision for our churches.

About Us:  Our four congregations and buildings each have unique characteristics and strengths, allowing us to cater to the diverse needs of our community.  While we meet separately each week for Sunday morning worship, we come together for parish services, and for special services and events.  Although we are four individual churches, it is our aim to continue to build together to be one church family meeting in four locations across the parish, and to serve God and our community well.

You will be supported by a Team Vicar and an experienced and supportive lay team, including churchwardens, PCC and a Parish Administrator.

Worship:  The parish offers a range of weekly Sunday services in each of the four churches, from formal Eucharist to informal all-age worship, as well a fortnightly BCP.  The four churches work together for twice monthly FAMILY FUN on Sunday afternoons at St Paul's from 3-4.30pm, and at 5pm there is an informal, contemporary ‘cafe style’ service which gathers most Sunday evenings at St. Matthew’s.  On the fifth Sunday we encourage our congregations to come together.

The Vicarage is a well maintained 4-bedroomed property close to St Matthew's Church and within walking distance of local shops, library and parks.

Full details about the parish can be found in the accompanying Profile.

For an informal discussion with the Archdeacon of Rochester about this vacancy, please contact his EA, Fiona Porter, in the first instance by emailing fiona.porter@rochester.anglican.org

Interviews will be held on Friday, 13th September