HAWKWELL PARISH

CHURCH

Profile

‘ONE church in TWO buildings’

Evangelical

Bible Based

Every member ministry

Welcoming

60% in midweek housegroup

Friendly & Warm

Beautiful sound buildings

Well supported

Community Links

New estate opportunities

Flourishing ‘Parent/Carers and Tots’ group

A praising and praying church

Table of Contents

Church Overview

Page

4

Section

1

Our Perceived Strengths

6

3

What Challenges Us

7

4

8

5

Our Worship 14

8

Our Premises 16

9

Our Parish – Facts & Figures 18

10

A letter from the Bishop of Chelmsford 21

12

Deanery Plan 22

13

About You 5

2

To our candidates 23

14

Our Church – Facts & Figures

20

11

3

Back Cover: Local attractions to visit

What we do 9

6

Listening to God’s People

How it works 13

7

1. Church Overview

Why we exist

We declare our evangelical and strong biblical position. We refer to ourselves as “One Church in Two Buildings” and this is truly how we see it. We consider we are a ‘work in progress’; under God’s grace, and guided by the Holy Spirit. We aspire to be a church who can reach out to show God’s love to Hawkwell and serve the community in which we worship our God. We long for more young families to join us to broaden and deepen the fellowship and see many brought to faith and grow spiritually.

Where we meet

We have two Worship centres in the parish:

St. Mary’s, Rectory Rd., Hawkwell SS5 4LL Emmanuel, Main Rd., Hawkwell SS5 4NR

Age profile

Whilst we have some younger people and families in our church the vast majority are of retirement age or those who have retired early for varying reasons. A lot of the members have seen their children grow up here and move to University or jobs away from this area, some serving God elsewhere. But we have a longing to attract younger families into the worship of the church again and are open to how God wants to do this.

Who we seek

We seek a man or woman that senses God’s calling to lead us in finding out more of what God is doing in Hawkwell and how He wants us to be involved.

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We aim to be a worshipping church which is warm, open and welcoming. We seek to meet people at their point of need, to be friendly to all and to co-operate with God in making a difference in the community and wider afield.

5

2. About You

Are you the kind of person who:

Holds to the traditional teachings of the bible as the inspired Word of God?

Has a deep rooted personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour, Lord and King of their life?

Loves God and reflects this by seeking to be a prayerful disciple of Jesus

Christ?

Seeks daily to live in the fullness of the Holy Spirit, listening to His voice, and encourages others to know His guidance and resources?

Loves people, listens to them and longs to communicate the Good News

personally and within groups? Can you help us reach young families and involve them within the church? Will you provide strategic leadership to understand the way forward? Are you a clear teacher? Are you able to develop the gifts of church members to enable them to grow in the faith and discipleship of our Lord Jesus Christ?

It would also help if you:

Have good time management skills, the ability to organise, manage and encourage team building skills.

Are able to communicate and apply the teachings of God’s Word in a visual

and relevant way to 21st Century people. Are able to relate well to the wider Church (both Ecumenical and within our

local Deanery).

Proverbs 3: 5-6 (MSG)

“Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.”

3. Our Perceived Strengths

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• Good community links • Regular outreach events • in the community • Good publicity of events

A strong

Bible Based

fellowship

Finances solvent - with many

tithing

4. What Challenges Us

Bringing our Parent/Carers & Tots into Church

Keeping Our Young People

Communicating to all residents the

geographical areas of the parish

Developing our Prayer Life

Sowing but not yet seeing Harvest

7

8

Listening to God's family in Hawkwell The fellowships of St. Mary’s and Emmanuel have been asked to prayerfully consider the needs of our church and the way forward. 63 Post-it notes have been received, many expressing multiple valuable points. We have summarised below the 8 most frequently expressed views.

Heart for

Young

People and

Families

Loves PeopleAnd relates well

to All Ages

Communicates Gospel

And Reaches Out

Discerning

LeaderClear

Teacher

Engage

s

with

Commun

ity

5. Listening to God’s family

6. What we do

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Our Sunday activities are documented under the next section entitled ‘Our Worship’ so this section relates to our service to the Community and God’s Family here during the rest of the week. Monday:

Stepping Stones

Meets 1st Monday of the Month 1.30-3.30 at St Mary’s.

Focus is on Support for the Bereaved –there is a team of 7 and at least 4 attend each session on a rota basis. The attendance is usually between 4 and 7 people, currently the majority are Widowers – we never know who or how many will come. We serve tea and coffee and a few biscuits. Many in the community have been helped by this service.

Tuesday:

Tea & Cakes (Cuppa, Cake & Chat) Meets 1

st Tuesday of the month at Emmanuel 2-3.15 pm and includes a short Christian thought for

the day. Regular attendance is between 16-20 mostly regular church fellowship people but occasional visitors attend having seen the “A” board outside the church. Coffee Morning

Meets the 3

rd Tuesday of the month at St Mary’s 10-12 noon and includes a short Christian thought

for the day. Regular attendance is between 25-35 people usually with up to 6 visitors and invited guests. The above 2 events and Stepping Stones on Monday are advertised in the local monthly Hockley Living magazine as well as church notice boards and “A” boards placed outside on the day of the event. Stepping Stones is also advertised in local GP surgeries and the Hawkwell Parish Council advertises it on their website and in their Parish Council notice boards.

1 Peter 1:8-9 (NIV) ”Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy,

for you are receiving the end

result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”

6. What we do (cont’d)

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Tuesday/Wednesday:

House Groups Currently we have 6 groups that meet weekly on either a Tuesday or Wednesday evening throughout the year. Currently 70 + people from the fellowship attend. A few of the groups have a break during August whereas others continue to meet. The monthly programme, coordinated by the Group ‘nudger’, is called NINO (Week 1: Nurture, Week 2: Intercession, Week 3: Nurture, Week 4/5: Open evening - individual group choice). Mostly the nurture is covering in greater depth the previous Sunday sermon. The preacher will provide questions for discussion. The groups also care pastorally for members.

Wednesday:

Tiddlywinks (based at Emmanuel) Our Parent/Carer and Toddler group, now in its 28th Year, is for the benefit of the local community.

Currently 50 Parent/Carers attend with 66 children. The sessions are on Wednesdays during term time and are AM 10-11.30 and PM 1.15-2.45 allowing Carers to leave in time to collect siblings from local schools. We have a team of 14 volunteers who are all members of our fellowship and believing Christians. This group is a “net” contributor to the church funds with an approx. income of £3000 per annum and a current budget of £1200 per annum.

At Easter and Christmas we have Tiddlywinks Plus sessions covering these Christian events.

Thursdays:

Singing Group

Twice a month we have Singing/Musician Practices where new songs are explored and prepared for worship introduction

6. What we do (cont’d)

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Regular yearly outreach events include the following:-

Light Party: an alternative to Halloween.

Children’s event at Emmanuel on the 31st October usually about 5-6.30 PM – last year 50 children attended within the 4-11 age range.

Carols on the Green: An outside event on Hawkwell Common - opposite Emmanuel Church.

Now in its 4th year, it is attended by about 200 people, of which approximately 150 return to the church afterwards for mulled wine and mince pies. This is preceded by a “craft” event in the church for children. Many present and past Tiddlywink families attend as well as other members of the community.

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6. What we do (cont’d)

Clements Gate Carols: We have a new estate of 180 homes, all of which have been visited in person with our “welcome pack” welcoming families to the parish. For the last 3 years we have held an outdoor event in the “memorial” garden at the estate. We invite each family to attend and 80+ people came in 2016. The latest below was less well attended (50/60 - including our singers) probably due to the heavy snow fall that day! The duration is usually 45 minutes of communal carol singing. We use our own outdoor PA equipment and lights.

Emmanuel Christmas Family Celebration- usually the 3rd Sunday of December at 4pm – includes a theme and drama to encourage visitors/families to attend. This year we were lower on numbers at just 75.

St Mary’s Christmas Eve Carols – a more traditional Lessons and Carols service at 6pm – this will include a short talk and normally fills the church with 150 attending.

Seasonal Walks – we will often hold walks during the year for the more hardy members; but have recently modified these to include more gentle short walks with stop-offs at one of the Churches or local attractions to enable others to be involved. This often attracts the occasional visitor or fringe member.

Shwapping Event – we have tried, fairly successfully, to include an occasional ‘Shwapping’ day at Emmanuel Church and this has been appreciated by many.

Traidcraft Coffee Mornings – a yearly event held during Fairtrade Fortnight.

In the St. Mary’s grounds – we have held Strawberry Teas / Art and other Creative Displays / and a now bi-annual Classic Car Display on the drive opposite to good effect.

Quiz Evenings – held usually once a year and advertised in the local village magazine. We get a good attendance of about 90 people.

Schools contact - We have 2 primary schools within our parish, one of which the Minister regularly visits to lead assemblies.

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7. How it works

Our Current Structure:

Historically we have followed the pattern below but are open for this to change under the new incumbent:

Pastoral Team

Currently we have a team of people who assist the Minister in covering the pastoral needs of the fellowship including those people not in groups. These duties are many and varied. The group meets quarterly to discuss and encourage each other. These meetings as well as prayer will include a teaching element. The group has a co-ordinator overseeing pastoral needs and delegating.

Outreach Team

We have a group of 8 people who meet regularly to discuss outreach events and then make recommendations to the Leadership and PCC. Should the suggestion be approved, the group with the help of others within the fellowship will plan and execute the event. If someone from the fellowship brings an idea and it is progressed, it is expected that they will join the team and be part of the planning and doing of the event.

Link Missions

We have 4 link missions we support prayerfully and financially. The missions are Care for the Family, Transform Europe Now (TEN), Tearfund and Scripture Union. We donate a tithe of our income towards these missions. The tithe is divided 5 ways as we keep a fund for local pastoral needs that are brought to the attention of the PCC.

A member of our congregation is a TEN ambassador, country champion for Croatia, and has visited Albania and Bulgaria with them. Our Tiddlywinks group utilise Care for the Family material (we have a church family link with some leaders in this organisation). Through Tearfund we are a “connected church” and involved with the Kigezi Water and Sanitation Project in Uganda as well as having a Tearfund “Friends” group that meets regularly to pray and support their work. During the year we allocate some Sundays to focus on our link missions.

We also support Operation Christmas Child with our annual shoebox service. This year we sent 110 boxes. We are officially registered as a Fairtrade Church utilising Fairtrade products in our times together supplied by Traidcraft.

Rector & Wardens

Worship Leaders & Preachers (ALPs)

Leadership(seconded by Rector)

PCC

Pastoral Care

OutreachHouse GroupNudgers

8. Our Worship

Our usual pattern of morning services (St. Mary’s: 9:15am; Emmanuel: 11am) is:

• First Sunday; Morning Celebration (includes an extra time of open worship usually led by our Worship Leader).

• Second Sunday: Holy Communion. • Third Sunday: Morning Worship. • Fourth Sunday: Holy Communion. • Fifth Sunday: Morning Worship. • Bi-monthly there is an All Age Service, which is mainly led by one of our

House Groups. In each church the same morning service is delivered, thus underlining our ethos of one church in two buildings. There is a blend of informality, use of the liturgy, extemporary prayer, and a variety of projected material. We sing more worship songs than hymns.

For many decades this Fellowship has worshipped in a way which expresses, its Evangelical & bible-based traditions – being open to the Holy Spirit’s leading. We seek to creatively respond to the liturgy.

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John 8:31a-32 (NIV) “…Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”

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Evening Services: • Once a month, held at Emmanuel, we have a more informal, Celebration

Service, with a greater degree of free worship and congregational participation.

• A bi-monthly, Cafe Worship, with a meal served at tables, followed by an informal and interactive time of worship and discussion.

• The Lectionary provides the main source for our Scripture reading. • The teaching, focus and programme are determined well in advance. • Sometimes we have mini-series, the theme and readings for these also are

chosen by the Incumbent. • We celebrate the major festivals, and observe the Church year.

We are privileged to have an experienced team of eight Authorised Local Preachers, and greatly appreciate the variety of worship styles & the spiritual insight they bring to the fellowship.

(Photo from Emmanuel 50th Anniversary Celebration Service)

In both churches the worship material is projected so that a wide range of resources can be employed.

We enjoy a good repertoire of songs & hymns, which deeply enrich our worship, utilising a small, well led team of, keyboard players, musicians & singers. New songs are explored and introduced via this group.

Extemporary prayer and congregational participation are a normal part of Hawkwell’s worship.

8. Our Worship (cont’d)

1 Corinthians 1:18 (NIV)

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

9. Our Premises

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The Church Buildings

St. Mary’s Church, Rectory Road

There are three Church Buildings in the Hawkwell Parish:-

St Mary’s Church, Rectory Road.

Emmanuel Church, Main Road.

Emmanuel “Les Chapman” Hall, Main Road (adjoining Emmanuel Church).

The buildings are all generally in good order. All are carpeted, have gas fired central heating and security systems, and both churches and the hall have good facilities for the disabled. All the internal areas are easily adapted for a variety of uses.

The Church of St. Mary the Virgin, situated centrally in the Parish but surrounded by farmland, is a beautiful, relatively small, mediaeval building which has been altered and extended at various times through its approximately 700 years of history and is typical of Essex. It has walls of flint rubble with stone buttresses under a clay tile roof with a timber steeple accommodating one bell. During 1995, an exceptionally sympathetic two storey extension was constructed on the north side to provide a new aisle off the Nave, thereby increasing the maximum seating to around 100. A kitchen, toilet and vestry facilities were constructed at ground level, together with new administrative and meeting rooms above, which include a crèche room and facilities for children’s work. The Church is surrounded by an extensive churchyard which has room for 50 to 60 more burial plots; there are about 8 new burials a year. An area for the burial of ashes was designated in 2002. The building is floodlit at night. The last Quinquennial was in 2015, a few items were noted which have been attended to.

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9. Our Premises (cont’d)

Emmanuel Church, Main Road Emmanuel Church is situated towards the western boundary of the Parish on a prominent corner site fronting the B1013, Southend - Rayleigh road. The Church was constructed and dedicated in the mid-1960’s, to serve the expanding population at the western end of the Parish. Externally, the architecture is typical of the 1960’s, the construction being facing brickwork under a clay tiled roof with large steel framed windows. There is a copper clad spire surmounted by a Cross. Internally, the design is plain and simple, but the space is large, light and airy, and vertical arching laminated timber beams give a good sense of loftiness to the space. The walls are plastered, painted in shades of cream and otherwise unadorned. During 2001, the Church was re-ordered internally, with new kitchen and storage facilities, improved access and toilet arrangements, extensive new lighting, audio and video equipment and flexible seating to accommodate up to 250 people. A beautiful textile cross dominates the Chancel area which, due to the layout of the church, is now at the West end of the building. The last Quinquennial was in 2017; there were a few minor items which will be attended to by church members.

The Emmanuel Church site also accommodates a church hall which was probably built originally as a non-conformist chapel in the 1920’s. By the late 1990’s, its condition had deteriorated to a point where it was thought to be unusable, but in 2001, following extension, refurbishment and refitting works to standards similar to those adopted for the Church, it was re-opened as the “Les Chapman” Hall, in memory of a much loved member of the Church. The Hall has toilets, and a seating capacity for 50 with a small grassed area behind. The hall is used mainly for church events and our young church.

10. Our Parish – Facts and Figures

Within the Parish there is a Baptist church, two small shopping parades, two primary schools, several doctor’s and dentist’s surgeries/centres, small trading estates, extensive areas of public open space including recreation grounds, children’s play grounds and woodland walks, and there is a thriving leisure/fitness centre. There are two large secondary and a further three primary schools just outside the Parish.

The Parish of St. Mary the Virgin, Hawkwell, is mentioned in the Doomsday Book of 1085/6 as Hacuuella, but early records are scarce. It seems likely that the original village would have developed at the geographical centre of the Parish in the vicinity of St. Mary’s Church, but the ravages of war and disease in the Middle Ages probably led to a wider local dispersal of the population, leaving the Church much as it is today, surrounded mainly by open farmland between the two main centres of population to the east and west.

The Civil Parish of Hawkwell substantially coincides with the Parochial Parish (Map on next page) and had a resident population of 10,600, according to the 2011 census, which is estimated to have risen now to approximately 12,500 residents, with a wide socio-economic mix. The Parish is situated in the District of Rochford, (population approx. 85,000) on the South Essex peninsula and includes mainly 20th and 21st century suburban, privately owned residential development, ancient woodland and agricultural land, together occupying an area of approximately 2.5 square miles. The small towns of Hockley and Rochford adjoin the Parish to the west and east respectively and south of Rochford lies the major urban centre and seaside resort of Southend-on-Sea. Similarly, to the west lies the town of Rayleigh. The Parish is bisected by the Southend – London (Liverpool Street) railway line, with nearby stations at Hockley, Rochford and Rayleigh, and many residents use its services to commute for work and leisure purposes in London, Southend and other urbanised areas of South Essex. The B1013 road runs through the Parish and is an important local distributor with connections to the national road network and also Southend Airport, which offers scheduled business and leisure flights to over 20 European destinations.

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The Parish of Hawkwell

10. Our Parish – Facts and Figures (cont’d)

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The District of Rochford including Hawkwell, is something of a green oasis adjoining the Thames Gateway South Essex sub region, the latter being the largest urban area in the East of England and scheduled for major regeneration and growth over the next 15 years. Southend-on-Sea has been identified as the cultural and intellectual hub of the area and is the major centre for commerce, tourism, sport and leisure, higher education and healthcare. The large towns of Southend (6 miles) and Basildon (12miles) and the City of Chelmsford (16 miles) are all quickly accessible via good main roads, as is the regional shopping centre at Lakeside (22 miles) and the Thames-side port of Tilbury. Central London (42 miles) can be reached in approximately one hour via the frequent railway services via Rochford and Hockley stations.

OS Licence No. WL8597

To

Southend

(6 miles)

To

Chelmsford

(16 miles)

To

Southend

(6 miles)

To

London

(42 miles)

The Wider Community

11. Our Church – Facts & Figures

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The Rectory: Under the guidance of the previous incumbent, particularly in relation to the large amount of time needed to be devoted to the extensive gardens and other issues with the house, the Diocesan Development and Property Department has confirmed that a change of Rectory is required and declared the current one unfit for purpose. They are looking at options at present to build a new Rectory or purchase a property suitable for conversion; consequently the ‘living’ is currently suspended. The building would be in line with current Church of England specifications for a Rectory. If the building is not in place by the time of Licensing we understand a suitable temporary rented accommodation would be obtained.

Gift-Aided Giving -£66,905

Non-Gift-Aided Giving -£14,991

Other Income ## -£12,742

Growth on legacyinvestment - £15,920

Our Income breakdown

Our finances currently show a surplus, but over the last few years our Income from church members has been less than our expenses so we have relied on income from our investments to cover our expenses. Our income for the 11 months to November 2017 was £110,558 and our expenses for the same period £105,420. The breakdowns of how monies were received and spent in the first 11 months are in the Pie Charts above. We do pay our full Parish Share. In 2014 we received a legacy amounting to £131,146 that is currently not being utilised, awaiting God¹s direction. The legacy, together with surplus funds from an earlier legacy, is invested in unit trusts with CCLA. These funds were valued at £190,298 as at 30th November 2017. There are no restrictions on how these monies are eventually spent.

A copy of our full accounts for 2016 is available on the Charity Commission website under our reference number 1128453.

Funerals/Burials:

St. Mary’s 8

Emmanuel 4

Service at Crematorium Only 4

Marriages:

St. Mary’s 1

Baptisms: 0

Age Profile Average Attendance Nov. 17 Life Events 2017

Our Expense breakdown

## - made up of Funeral and other fees + Parent/Carers & Tots fees + Donations

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12. A Letter from the Bishop of Chelmsford

13. Deanery Plan

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14. To our Candidates

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Southend Pier

& Adventure Island Gusted Hall Woods

Hadleigh Castle

RHS Garden Hyde Hall

Hullbridge

Waterside

North Fambridge

Local attractions to visit

Hockley Woods