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The Parish Profile The Parish of Cray Valley

St Andrew’s Orpington and St Mary’s Cray

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Contents Page Welcome 3 Cray Valley Parish Context 3 Organisation and structure 3 How the Parish came to be 3 Parish governance and structure 3 Ministry team 4 Mission Statement and Action 4 Communication 5 Worship 6 St Andrew’s 6 St Andrew’s numbers 6 St Mary’s 6 St Mary’s numbers 6 Parish Services 6 Baptism Weddings and funerals 6 Children and young people 7 Premises 7 St Andrew’s 7 St Marys 7 Vicarage 8 Social and Learning activities 8 Funshine club 8 Mothers’ Union 8 Home groups 8 Bell Ringers 8 Community Engagement 9 Coffee mornings 9 Lunch clubs 9 Annual fetes and bazaars 9 Concerts 9 Air Cadets 9 Allotments 10 Schools 10 Cray valley East Ward 11 Wider church 11 Deanery 12 Churches together 12 Our New Incumbent 13

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Welcome Our Church Wardens are pleased to welcome you with a copy of our parish profile which we are sure you will find both helpful and informative. Our experienced Church Wardens are both active and practical, able to take responsibility and support clergy in numerous ways.

The Cray Valley Parish Context Cray Valley parish is part of the Orpington area in the London Borough of Bromley within the M25. We have a population in excess of 20,000 which is becoming increasingly diverse with a unique mix of ethnicities, cultural identities and social backgrounds. The largest ethnic group is white British. The parish is home to the largest domicile traveller community in Europe, a growing Black and Minority ethnic population, of which people of African origins are a significant number and migrants from the EU. Housing includes owner occupied, housing association properties, traveller sites and new builds. The parish is more or less co-terminate with the local police and council ward. The river Cray runs through the centre of the parish flanked by parkland, allotments, light industry and retail. While a large proportion of the parish is residential, approximately a third is farmland. We have a positive relationship in many areas of community life including business, environment, police, schools and local ward meetings. The curate currently sits on the Cray Valley East Forum and is vice chair of the Cray Valley East Neighbourhood panel. Members of the Parish are involved in local action groups, friends of Cray Valley and a number of interest groups. Community engagement and impact is our prime missional activity. The parish includes five primary schools and clergy have an active relationship with four of these schools. It is within easy access of good local shops and 20 minutes by train into London.

Organisation and structure How the parish came to be The parish of Cray Valley came into being by uniting the parishes of Saint Andrew, Orpington and Saint Mary, Cray (with Saint Paulinus) at a Service of Celebration by the Bishop of Rochester on 17th May 2015. To preserve an equal status for each church they were both designated as Parish Churches. The first vicar licensed to the new Parish was the Rev. Paul Prentice. The Rev. Jane Winter was licensed as Curate to the new Parish and then priested in Rochester Cathedral on 26th September 2015. The existing Licensed and Authorised Lay Ministers were re-licensed and re-authorised to the new Parish and the new PCC held its first Annual Vestry Meeting on 2nd May 2015 at which two churchwardens were elected to the new Parish. Parish governance structure The parish is governed by a PCC with equal representation from both churches. The PCC has responsibility for general administration, finance, communication, mission and worship delegating responsibilities to the following committees: Church Building and Grounds; Youth and Children’s Work; Pastoral Care; Social and Worship. Each committee includes an equal number of people from both churches including one PCC member from each church. Each church organises social events and maintenance programmes. Each church still maintains its own bank accounts and a Treasurer to look after its finances. There is a parish account funded from both churches and funeral fees. This meets the cost of clergy, the vicarage, the administrator and the Diocesan Offer.

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Ministry Team and who we are We have a small ministry team which operates in both churches. This comprises: Curate – who has completed her curacy and from January will have a full time diocesan appointment Reader 2 Pastoral Assistants 2 Church Wardens An administrator working three mornings a week We have a number of people trained to offer prayer for healing Both churches have an organist A number of other people take voluntary roles in leading specific church groups. Mission Statement and Action Called by God We seek to serve the local community and share with them the Good News of Jesus Christ.

During this year we have contributed to the diocesan strategy consultation ‘Our Conversation Our Future’. As a result we have identified seven missional areas. We are looking for an incumbent to work with us to achieve these priorities over time:

1. Prayer We will beat our bounds in 2018 praying for the Parish as we walk. We will organise another prayer walk between Ascension and Pentecost. We would like to set up a list to pray for each road in our weekly intercessions We will pray for local places of work and for the places where our congregation work or volunteer.

2. Learning Groups We want to learn more about our faith through study groups We need to advertise our current groups clearly: bible study, prayer, discussion. We want to grow our lay ministry capacity.

3. Communication: We need to listen well to each other and our community. We need to be able to give good comments about our communication and not be defensive if it isn’t perfect We should not rely just on electronic communication, not everyone has it, but we should use it well. We need to keep our websites and Facebook pages up to date and set up a Facebook page for St Mary’s. We need to encourage people to look at websites and noticeboards.

4. Buildings We will continue to explore accessible access for St Andrew’s, including grants, bequests and local pro bono offering. A group is in place to do this. We will explore improving the heating at St Mary’s Centre.

5. Environment We will invite those involved with the new river walk project to give a presentation so we can share in the project We will continue to build good relations with the allotment society Most people only see church from the outside so we will make sure our grounds look clean, tidy and welcoming.

6. Foodbank We will have a presentation about foodbank to re-awaken its importance in the benefice. We could consider contributing a donation towards running costs.

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7. Pastoral Care We need to have a good way to pass information about those who require pastoral support. We could set up a visiting model of pastoral pairs so people don’t have to visit alone. We need to recruit people to pastoral care and provide good support for them.

Communication Magazine The Crayfisher magazine was started when new parish was established, prior to that both parishes had their own magazines. The magazine is full of interesting and varied articles written by members of the congregation and community, and a parish letter written by the incumbent or the curate. We have some advertising space which helps with the cost of printing. The magazine is available through the church websites. It is hoped that we can now gradually rebuild the circulation so that more people will receive on line. Websites Both churches have new websites designed by church edit. Our next project is to get a Parish home page with a link to both sites. The sites are kept up to date by the administrator and volunteers. www.standrewsatcray.org.uk www.stmaryatcray.org.uk Social media We have a social media presence through face book and twitter accounts. We recognise the recent trend reported by the Church of England Communications staff of the missional reach of social media. We see the effect in both the mediums we use. Twitter: @craybenefice St Andrew's Facebook: @StAndrewsatCray Messy Church Facebook: @CrayValleyMessyChurch Funshine Facebook: @funshinetoddlergroup

Worship St Andrew’s

As a liberal, catholic church our worship is centred around the Eucharist. Our Sunday morning Eucharist is sung and includes incense. Once a month we have a family Eucharist. Due to recent changes in service times, our teams of servers, choir & healers have depleted and we are recruiting new people to these ministries. We have 3 weekday Eucharists and a monthly Requiem. Healing plays an important part in our worship. On Sundays prayer is available in the

chapel after receiving Communion. On Fridays anointing and the laying on of hands takes place. There is an opportunity to light a candle at all services.

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St Andrew’s Numbers The regular Sunday congregation at St Andrew’s averages around thirty. Our Friday service averages 10, for some this is the only service they attend. The Messy Church congregation is about 15 children with accompanying adults. St Mary’s

We are a Eucharistic people. Our Sunday service is at 11am. We have a formal service on the first, second and fourth and a less formal Family Eucharist on the third and fifth Sundays. We have our own service booklets following the liturgical seasons. The Family Eucharist is the same service for all the seasons. Our hymn book is the latest edition of Mission Praise. We have an organist and small but enthusiastic choir always willing to learn new hymns. Lay participation is important to us. Our Reader assists in leading the services

and we have teams of readers, intercessors, chalice assistants and those laying on hands for healing. During the week, we say Morning Prayer on Mondays and Wednesdays and Evening Prayer on Monday's. We also have a said mid-week Eucharist with homily on Wednesday's. St Mary’s Numbers Since changing the service time to 11.00am the number of adults attending on a Sunday morning has increased from an average figure of 35 to around 45 adults. The number of children attending varies quite a lot from week to week but can be as high as 12 or more ageing from pre-school to VI form. Parish services In light of bringing the parish together an idea was put forward to have a joint service of praise and thanksgiving to grow together in faith, and as such, Benefice Praise was created. It involves four members of the congregation from each church requesting, or being requested, to choose a favourite hymn and giving a short explanation as to why they have chosen that hymn. The hymns range from the very old to the very new, the well-known to the unknown, but are all sung with enthusiasm and joy. These services have been very popular. They bring a diverse, refreshing way of thanksgiving and praise and help us to develop an understanding of all those who share in the celebration of faith in our parish. The services have a community outreach drive and as such are missional. Baptisms Weddings and Funerals Baptisms It is the practice of both St Andrew’s and St Mary’s to offer a separate afternoon service just for the Baptism candidate(s) and their family. If the candidates are members of the congregation the Baptism is incorporated into the morning Eucharist. We have on average at least 2 Baptisms a month. Many families choose to hire the hall at St Andrews for their reception afterwards.

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Weddings Weddings in the churches are rare and joyous occasions, on average 1-2 a year. Funerals St Mary’s often holds Funeral Services with a following burial service at Star Lane Cemetery. This is usually for the Traveller community. St Andrew’s Funeral Services tend to be for families connected to the Church. We have links with many funeral directors in the local area and are asked to take Crematorium Services on average 3 times a month. There are four local crematoria.

Children and Young people Both churches actively encourage children to make their first communion from age 8 and to be confirmed from age 12. Preparation courses for both are led by the priest. JaM St Mary’s Sunday school is called JaM and JaM + (Jesus and Me). The children’s ages range from 4 – 17. The JaM group is divided into 2 age groups 4-6 years and 6-11 years. Jam + children are in secondary school. Jam and JaM+ take place during the morning service in the church centre. On the 3rd Sunday of the month the children remain in church for the Praise and Worship service and are encouraged to learn more about the service working closely with the priest. Messy Church Messy church has run at St Andrew’s for a number of years. From November 2017 both churches are working together on Messy church alternating venues between churches. This is a new initiative. There is a parish Messy Church Facebook page: @CrayValleyMessyChurch

Premises St Andrew’s Church and hall The church and hall are adjacent on the same site. There is a reasonably sized car park. The open area to the north of the church is owned and maintained by Bromley Council. The report of the quinquennial inspection which took place early in 2014 showed that on the whole the building is sound. The hall is situated at the rear of the church and has recently been upgraded with improved heating and lighting. The hall is used daily in term-time by a preschool. Evening use includes karate and martial arts groups. It is also used by Rainbow and Brownie groups with whom we are developing a relationship and hope that they might one day parade at St Andrew’s. St Mary’s church building, graveyard and internments St Marys is a Grade ll* listed church dating back to the 13th century The church has been a place of Christian worship in the Crays for over 750 years It has retained a considerable amount of the early fabric, It still has the beautiful flint facing that was applied during the 19th century. The church sits in a closed graveyard. There is a small memorial garden where ashes can be interred.

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St Mary's is open to casual visitors every Wednesday between April and September as part of the requirement of our Heritage Lottery Grant which enabled the restoration of the Spire in 2016. St Mary’s Church Centre is opposite the church. It is used for JaM, and for community meetings. It can be used for parties. It has a small kitchen. Church toilets are situated in the centre. Vicarage 71 Angelsea Road, Orpington, Kent, BR5 4AN The Vicarage is a few minutes’ walk from St Andrew’s Church and about 1 mile from St Mary’s. It is warm, homely and in good condition, with a kitchen, a dining room, sitting room and a large study. On the first floor, there are four bedrooms and a bathroom with a separate toilet. Gas fired central heating and double glazing have been installed. The building also has an alarm system. There is a significant garden area and a free standing garage. The Parish Administrator works from the Vicarage, currently 3 mornings per week.

Social and Learning Activities Both churches had a thriving social life before the parish came to be. We have kept this dimension of our life together. Our social activities all have a missional intention. We have seen people join the church through participation in social events. We also participate in community events as the church – for example the Big O Orpington festival and the allotment annual open day. Funshine Our Toddler Group has been running at St Andrew’s Church for over 18 years. We are a small group for babies to pre-school children with Mum’s, Dad’s, Grandparent’s and Carers.It is run with helpers from both Churches and parents both current and past. We meet on Wednesday mornings during term time and run events during school holidays for our older children to join us again. Mother’s union (St Mary’s) Our branch consists of twenty members, nine admitted in August this year (2017) Many of us take part in St Mary’s Church services: reading, chalice, choir and laying on of hands. As a branch we meet on a monthly basis usually in a member’s home. Our branch supports wherever possible Deanery and Diocesan events. We are fully committed to the Mother’s Union motto ‘Christian Care for Families’ here and overseas. Home groups We have three monthly/quarterly home groups. One is a day time bible study group. One evening group focuses on prayer and the other on topical discussion with a theological debate. All the groups are lay led. St Mary’s bell ringers St Mary’s is fortunate to have a fine ring of six bells installed in 1913, though there have been bells here since 1583. We have an active band of around twelve bell ringers. Practice is on Thursday evenings. Sunday ringing takes place for half an hour before the 11am service. Additional ringing is

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provided for weddings, funerals and special services on request. We welcome visiting bands.

Community Engagement Coffee mornings On the last Saturday morning each month St. Andrew’s holds a Coffee Morning which is usually well attended and much cake enjoyed. Similarly St Mary’s coffee morning meets on the second Saturday of each month. Lunch Clubs

St Mary’s Church lunch club ‘Open Door’ meets on the second Tuesday of each month except August and December in the church centre. The meals are booked and paid for in advance. The deserts are always homemade. We cater for ten to twenty diners many of whom are single. It is open to anyone. St Andrew’s church lunch club is held on the second Saturday every month and provides companionship and food. The Lower Road Allotment Society provide produce for soup served with bread and a pudding.

Annual fetes and bazaars Both churches run Christmas Bazaars. St Mary’s hosts a summer fete and regular flower festivals. St Mary’s has a jumble sale usually once a year St Andrew’s hosts a summer afternoon tea and community barbeque. Concerts

Following the restoration of St Mary's spire, we introduced concerts to spread the news of our heritage. The concerts have been very popular under our chosen banner of "Music for a Lazy Sunday Afternoon". We have enjoyed a string quartet, violin and Celtic harp duo, a joint violin and poetry session and a concert by Temple 7 Brass from the Bromley Salvation Army.

Air Cadets The curate is chaplain to the local Air Cadets, visiting on a monthly basis to provide Padre’s hour. We hope this will lead to a greater engagement with the church and with special remembrance occasions such as Armistice day and Battle of Britain Sunday. Charities As a parish we regularly support the following charities: Bromley Welcare Christian Aid The Children’s Society. MacMillan Cancer We also have a Christmas Charity and will support a charity with one off collections.

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What the community think… The following paragraphs have been written by local groups and people. Allotments

“Lower Road Allotments Association would be honoured to keep up our commitment to St Andrew’s. It has become a fundamental part of our thinking.”

LRA member Bishop James discusses gardening with members of the Allotment Society

Schools Happy School pre-school “Happy Preschool has been a tenant of St Andrews for over 22 years. We are an independent Preschool rated by Ofsted as outstanding twice consecutively, in 2008 and 2015. Through a Pre-School grant, we were able to secure a gated area outside the hall, with a tarmac surface and a large awning over the door that other hall users can benefit from. We work closely in the local community to promote social harmony and look forward to working with the new vicar.”

Preschool principal St Paul’s Church of England School

“At St Paul’s Cray Church of England Primary School we work extremely closely with our local Church of St Mary’s. We visit the church for whole school worship on a number of occasions throughout the academic year. The Incumbent and Head Teacher work closely together including planning Collective Worship, completing SIAMS (Statutory Inspection of Anglican Mainstream Schools)

documentation and Governing Body policies and procedures. The incumbent visits the school for a weekly assembly and sits on the governing body.”

Head Teacher St Mary Cray Primary Academy

“St Mary Cray Primary Academy and St Andrew’s church enjoy a very close relationship which grows the spiritual offer to our children. Rev Jane comes to the school to lead assemblies such as Harvest and Remembrance and has run culture club at lunchtimes as well. At Christmas and Easter whole key stages go to the church to take part in special services which

leads to parents filling the church and standing room only. There is also shared links through the Cray Forum in which both the school and church seek to work in partnership with other community leaders to benefit St Mary Cray.”

Head Teacher Cray Valley East Ward “The church and Cray Valley East local policing team are in regular contact, and we are invited to join in with local church events as often as we can. Everyone at the church is lovely and a delight to talk to. Local police also assist when we can with traffic

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control during large funeral services. We hold regular "Community Impact Days". The clergy have kindly helped us by letting us use the church halls as a base, and also arrange help with teas and coffees.”

Local Police

"The Cray Valley Parish and Local Authority Ward Councillors work closely together on a number of issues relating to, and for the benefit of, the community; helping groups, individuals and parishioners. We support each other by attending Church, school and community events, residents' meetings and panels and other

forums; sitting on boards and committees as appropriate. As joint and positive advocates for the area, we promote these events, and the local community, by posting and sharing information on social media and by circulating information within the parish and ward."

Local Councillor

“As a funeral director Doves tries to do as much as we can for the community and I have had the support of St Andrew’s and St Mary’s. We have done a balloon release together for mother’s day we also had breakfast for Christian aid week and we were invited to take part in the flower show and hope to do more together as the year is coming to an end and Christmas is fast approaching. We look forward to welcoming a new vicar.”

Doves Funeral Director We are developing a proactive relationship with the Nugent Shopping Centre. Last year we ‘angel showered’ the car park just before Christmas. This year we led an act of Remembrance on 11th November and will be singing carols around the Christmas tree on two occasions in the week before Christmas. We are exploring the potential to develop a dementia cafe based at St Mary’s Church Centre as a partnership project. This is all new missional work which is exciting to see develop especially as the requests have come from the shopping centre manager.

The Wider Church Message from the Area Dean Orpington Deanery is situated in the London Borough of Bromley, and within the Archdeaconry of Bromley and Bexley. The Deanery stretches from St Paul’s Cray in the North to the villages of Cudham and Downe, and Biggin Hill in the South and includes Chelsfield, Farnborough, Crofton, Petts Wood and St Mary Cray as well as the town of Orpington itself. A diverse area in terms of urban, suburban and rural communities. The churches too offer a wide range of worship and spirituality, from the traditional to the contemporary, across a broad range of churchmanship.

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The Deanery synod meets three times a year to discuss issues relating to the church and the wider community. Deanery Chapter meets monthly, usually over a working breakfast or lunch where we share news, discuss Deanery matters and pray together. Chapter are a friendly bunch, share good relationships and are supportive of each other and the Deanery. If you take up a post in the Deanery you will find a warm welcome at all the churches that make up our Deanery family, and the Area Dean is available to help and support you wherever he can.

Revd John Tranter Area Dean of Orpington Deanery Synod Cray Valley parish is part of the Orpington Deanery which comprises 15 congregations. As a result, there is a good variety of different styles of worship within the deanery. We have a representative from both churches. Discussions and presentations at meetings cover a range of topics including worship, local community and small business development, national church and diocesan decision making as well as international issues such as people trafficking and the persecution of Christians. Meetings also provide an opportunity to share news and update each other on developments in our churches. We also have an annual quiet day. We have been involved in the deanery’s efforts to contribute to consultations to shape a Diocesan strategic framework aimed at responding, with evangelism and social action, to the rapid cultural, political, social, technological and economic changes that our parishes and the world at large are facing. http://www.orpingtondeanery.org.uk/ Deanery Chapter The local clergy chapter is a mix of people from a wide spectrum of church traditions. The chapter is currently in transition as four local churches are in interregnum. Chapter meets monthly to deal with business and to provide an opportunity for clergy to pray together. Churches together in the Crays This body predominately comprises independent churches. Membership also includes an United Reformed church and Salvation Army. There is a large local Catholic church but the staff rarely attend meetings. The church leaders meet on a monthly basis. They arrange annual acts of worship at Advent, at their AGM and on Good Friday. As a group of churches we support the local food bank Churches together in Orpington This group comprises all the mainstream churches. The focus tends to be on Orpington town centre. The activity has in recent years been connected to town centre events like the switching on of Christmas light. There is an annual walk of witness and open air service in the town centre on Good Friday morning.

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Our new incumbent will be: � a people person, approachable and friendly � a good listener and not stuck in their ways � able to work across generations. � resourceful and flexible in their ideas including developing

worship Our new incumbent will

� embrace both styles of worship � understand, and engage with, the diversity of people who live

and work in the parish � build on the community and business links we already have

and forge new ones � work with us in delivering our mission action plan emerging

from the work we did on the diocesan strategy. Our new incumbent will be excited by the opportunities the profile offers for mission in The Parish of Cray Valley.