PARISH PROFILE 2017 - Diocese Of Liverpool · 2020. 1. 9. · Psalmody is mostly responsorial. Two...
Transcript of PARISH PROFILE 2017 - Diocese Of Liverpool · 2020. 1. 9. · Psalmody is mostly responsorial. Two...
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THE PARISH OF ST AGNES & ST PANCRAS
TOXTETH PARK
LIVERPOOL
PARISH PROFILE
2017
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CONTENTS
Introduction
1. Spiritual Life
1.1 Weekday services
1.2 Sunday services
Parish Mass
Evensong and Benediction
1.3 Seasonal services
1.4 Women’s ministry
2. Environment
2.1 Geography
2.2 Congregation
2.3 External relations
3. Church Activities and Organizations
3.1 Governance
3.2 Finance
3.3 Social Activities
3.4 Music and Choir
3.5 Servers
3.6 Sunday School
3.7 Friends of St Agnes
3.8 Catholic Societies
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3.9 Ministry to Asylum Seekers, and Foodbank
3.10 Walsingham
4. Buildings
4.1 Church
4.2 Church restoration project
4.3 Church hall
4.4 Vicarage
5. Other Christian communities sharing the church
5.1 Ethiopian Orthodox Parish of St Tekklehaymanot
5.2 Coptic Orthodox Church
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Introduction
St Agnes’s is an Anglo-Catholic parish, which passed the resolution seeking
alternative episcopal sacramental and pastoral ministry in October 2015. This
ministry is provided by the Right Reverend Glyn Webster, the Bishop of
Beverley, who is an Assistant Bishop in the diocese of Liverpool. It is a Society
parish.
The parish is situated in the southern suburbs of Liverpool, about a mile and a
half from the city centre. The parish has a broad social and ethnic mix, which is
reflected in the make up of the congregation.
The church building is Grade 1 listed, and is part way through a major
programme of renovation, funded largely with a grant from the Heritage Lottery
Fund. It is expected that actual work on site will commence in January or
February 2017. There is a project manager.
The hall and the vicarage are on the same site. The former is Grade 2 listed, and
the vicarage Grade 2*.
Following the retirement of Canon Cook the Parish of St Agnes and St Pancras
seeks a priest who will be:
A pastor of the traditionalist integrity, committed to teaching the
orthodox catholic faith
Rooted in prayer and the sacraments, and maintain the daily Mass
Able to communicate with a wide variety of ages, ethnicities and social
background
Supportive of the church’s musical tradition. Ideally he should be able to
sing the liturgy, but this is not absolutely necessary.
Tenacious enough to carry through the restoration of the church building
to completion.
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1. Spiritual Life Throughout its 131 year history the parish has been firmly within the Anglo-
Catholic tradition.
Mass (or a Eucharistic Service in the absence of a priest) is celebrated
regularly during the week, normally on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays
and Saturdays.
There is one Sunday celebration, the 10am Solemn Mass, and in the
evening at 6-30pm there is Evensong and Benediction. A Sunday School
meets during the Parish Mass.
There are solemn celebrations on Holy Days of Obligation and major
Solemnities, and each day of Holy Week. There is also Stations of the
Cross weekly during Lent, and daily in Holy Week.
Confessions are by appointment, except on Ash Wednesday and during
Holy Week, when definite times are advertised.
There is an annual pilgrimage to Walsingham each year in June.
Normally about a dozen people go on this.
The parish regularly hosts local and regional events of the various
Catholic societies, such as the Society of Mary, Confraternity of the
Blessed Sacrament and the Society of the Holy Cross.
The PCC passed the Resolution seeking alternative episcopal pastoral and
sacramental ministry in October 2015.
1.1 Weekday Services
Missa Normativa (revised, corrected version) is used.
Mass is celebrated in the Lady Chapel, at 10am on Tuesday and Saturday,
and at 12 noon on Wednesday and Friday.
Attendance is not good, but there are invariably four or five people
present at the Friday Mass. The custom has been that when the Parish
Priest is away the only weekday Mass will be the Friday one.
Confessions are by appointment.
1.2 Sunday Services
1.2.1 The Parish Mass
The Parish Mass at 10am is a solemn celebration of the Missa Normativa,
following the latest corrected version. It is a westward facing celebration,
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using the nave altar, though there a four occasions during the year when
the High Altar is used, Epiphany Sunday, the Assumption (nearest
Sunday), Christ the King and the Patronal Feast of St Pancras (nearest
Sunday). Whenever possible the Masses at the High Altar are High
Masses with three sacred ministers.
Two hymnals are used: the New English Hymnal and the Celebration
Hymn for Everyone.
Musically we alternate between congregational and choral settings of the
Mass.
Members of the congregation read the first two readings and prepare and
lead the Intercessions.
Psalmody is mostly responsorial.
Two of the Eucharistic Ministers normally administer the chalice.
Communicant numbers average 45-50.
A Sunday School meets in parallel in the Church Hall. It joins the adult
congregation at the beginning of Mass and for the Liturgy of the
Eucharist.
Baptisms can take place, as and when requested, at the Parish Mass, but
sometimes it is more appropriate to held the baptism separately,
immediately after Mass, at noon, or later in the afternoon.
About three times a year the Parish Mass includes the Ministry of
Healing, with Laying on of Hands and Anointing. Lay members of the
congregation normally perform the former.
Refreshments are served in the Church Hall after the Sunday Mass.
1.2.2 Evensong and Benediction
Evensong and Benediction take place every Sunday evening at 6-30pm,
except when there is no priest. The service is entirely sung, with
plainsong used for the canticles and psalms. There is no musical
accompaniment. Numbers attending are very small.
Three or four times a year there is fully Choral Evensong and
Benediction, with settings of the responses, psalms and canticles and an
anthem. Attendances average 22, including choir and servers. On these
occasions the custom has in the past been for the parish priest to host a
reception in the vicarage after the service.
The Book of Common Prayer Order for Evening Prayer is used, and the
Common Lectionary.
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1.3 Seasonal Services
There is a Solemn Sung celebration of Mass on St Agnes’s Day (21st
January), Ash Wednesday, each day of Holy Week and All Soul. In
recent years Epiphany, Candlemas, St George, the Ascension, Corpus
Christi, St Pancras, the Assumption have all been transferred to the
nearest Sunday.
A Carol Service is held at 6-30pm on Advent IV. At the Parish Mass on
Advent IV the crib is built.
1.4 Women’s Ministry
The Parish is supportive of women’s ministry in the Church. Women
serve as servers, as Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist, and in the
choir.
The Parish had previously passed Resolutions A, B and C. In October
2015 the PCC passed a Resolution unanimously (except for one
abstention) asking the Diocesan Bishop for alternative episcopal
sacramental and pastoral ministry.
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2 Environment
2.1 Geography
The parish is situated in the south of Liverpool, about one and a half
miles from the City Centre. It is a designated UPA.
It has a population of 5,500, comprising a wide variety of social and
ethnic backgrounds.
The housing stock is mostly privately owned. To the south of the parish,
close to the church and on the edge of Sefton Park, is a number of high
rise tower blocks.
The parish is bisected by the A562, Smithdown Road, one of the major
arterial routes into the city.
o The southern part, around the church, consists mostly of late
Victorian/Edwardian villas, whose value has increased as a result
of the city’s increased prosperity over the last fifteen years. There
is one Care Home, on Ullet Road.
o The northern part consists of smaller terraced houses of the same
period, where there is a high concentration of students and
members of the various ethnic communities. Until 1937 this area
was served by a daughter church dedicated to St Pancras.
2.2 Congregation
St Agnes’s is an inclusive church and the make up of the congregation reflects
the diversity of the community it serves. It contains:
A wide variety of social backgrounds and occupations
A good spread of age ranges, with none being predominant
A sizeable membership of Afro-Caribbean origin
A mixture of church backgrounds. Some former Roman Catholics have
made it their home.
A large eclectic element; because of the smallness of the parish, only
about 20% of the Electoral Roll membership of 68 reside within its
boundaries. The eclectic members include both Anglo-Catholics from
parishes whose catholic tradition has been lost, and people from middle
of the road backgrounds who are attracted by the church’s lively but
dignified worship and spirituality.
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2.3 External Relations
St Agnes’s is part of the Toxteth and Wavertree Deanery. Pastoral
reorganisation within the Deanery resulted in the suspension of the living
in 1998, but this was restored in 2007 . The diocesan strategy had been to
merge the living with that of St Margaret of Antioch, Toxteth, a non-
contiguous parish with a distinguished catholic past up until the late
1990s. That plan has been abandoned, and the church provides now a
base for university chaplaincy.
The living is under the patronage of St Chad’s College, Durham.
St Agnes’s enjoys a strong relationship with the other traditionalist
Catholic parishes in the city and in the wider diocese, through support of
one another’s patronal festivals and collaboration in events promoted by
the Catholic societies. The clergy from these Resolution parishes meet
together regularly and have been helpful in providing cover during the
current interregnum.
There is one other church in the parish, the RC Church of St Clare, with
whom the parish has cordial relations. We each send the other parish
flowers on our respective patronal feasts. The parish priest is Fr Aidan
Prescott. There is a Unitarian chapel further along Ullet Road.
There is one school within the parish, St Hilda’s Church of England High
School. Traditionally it was a girls’ school, but they have recently started
admitting boys. There is a female chaplain, but every year the head of
Religious Studies arranges for all the forms in a particular year to visit the
church. St Agnes’s also maintains a presence in the wider community
through its Facebook page and its website at www.stagnes.org.uk.
We plan to enable the development of new congregations, especially
supporting the proposal for a new evening congregation led by Fr Richard
Peers.
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3 Church Activities and Organizations
3.1 Governance
St Agnes’s enjoys the services of two experienced Churchwardens, both
of whom are committed to the maintenance of the Catholic tradition of
the parish.
They are supported in this by a PCC of similar mind-set. There are about
a dozen members, and they meet normally four times a year.
Additionally a Standing Committee, consisting of the Wardens, Parish
Secretary and Treasurer, meets in advance of each PCC meeting to assist
the Parish Priest in setting the agenda for the meeting. There meetings are
usually preceded by Mass in the Lady Chapel.
3.2 Finance
* The church has an annual unrestricted income of around £40,000, of
which £35,000 comes from regular giving by parishioners, including
income tax recoveries. Social events bring in a further £1,000, and the
remainder of the income is from donations, sale of votive candles,
donations for the use of the hall, and similar.
* The expenses have exceeded that income over the past year by around
£1,000. The Diocesan Share accounts for over a third of the total
expenses. Insurance of church and hall costs around £8,000, and the
organ, choir and music cost around £4,500. About £2,000 is spent on altar
supplies, and the balance on general running costs, including clergy
expenses.
* The church has two endowed funds, one for the upkeep of the garden,
and one for support of the clergy, with less than £5,000 capital between
them, and producing less than £150 of income.
* Clergy travelling expenses are paid at the standard rate (currently 45p
per mile), and other expenses are paid in full in accordance with normal
practice.
* The diocesan quota of around £18,000 has been met in full.
* A copy of the 2015 Accounts is attached at Appendix A.
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3.3 Social Activities
The Social Committee was originally established to provide catering for
St Agnes’s Day and other major church events. It also organises Parish
excursions and raffles.
Each year a Cheese Tasting evening is held, which draws people in from
the surrounding area and generates income. This was initiated and has
been organised and run by two parishioners who run the Liverpool
Cheese Company
Each October or November an Autumn Fayre is held.
In the past the Social Committee has also organised themed parties in the
church hall (eg: Dickensian Christmas). These generated substantial
income and were also effective in building links to the wider community.
3.4 Music and Choir
St Agnes’s has throughout its history enjoyed a strong musical tradition:
There is a mixed voice adult choir, currently of ten singers. The choir is
rehearsed and conducted by a stipendiary Director of Music, who plans
and administers all music for the liturgy
There are various relief organists, who are rostered by the director of
Music and paid on a per service basis.
The repertoire includes
o Appropriate anthems, motets and occasional items for all seasons
and feasts of the Church’s year
o Ten mass settings, a mix of congregational and choral, including
plainsong
o Ten settings of the Evensong canticles.
3.5 Servers
There is an MC who supervises the team of five servers. In his absence a former
churchwarden and MC, who has moved away from Liverpool, returns and
assists.
3.6 Sunday School
A Sunday School meets in the church hall during the Parish Mass on
Sunday
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It is staffed by several adult members of the church, mostly parents of the
children, who meet together regularly to plan activities. CRB clearance is
held.
The children are present at the start of Mass and for the Liturgy of the
Eucharist.
Each session consists of opening prayers, a bible story, an activity and
finally closing prayers, after which the children re-join the congregation
in church. The programme is largely based on Forward Teaching.
3.7 Friends of St Agnes
The Friends of St Agnes is an independent charity which exists to fund
purchases for the church which are outside the scope of routine
expenditure.
Its principal source of income is a monthly draw, the 100 Club.
3.8 Catholic Societies
The parish has a branch of the Guild of St Raphael, actively supports the work
of ACS and is closely involved with the Society of Mary and the Confraternity
of the Blessed Sacrament, on occasions hosting meetings.
3.9 Ministry to Asylum Seekers & Foodbank
Over the last few years there has been an active ministry to asylum
seekers, especially those from Iran who have converted or wish to convert
to Christianity. Though some have since moved to London there is still a
good number who continue worshipping at St Agnes’s.
The parish collects produce for the local Foodbank.
3.10 Walsingham
A candle for the parish burns at the Holy House, Walsingham. Every year in
June there is a parish pilgrimage to Walsingham, normally from Monday to
Friday. There are usually about a dozen people who go on this.
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4 Buildings
The Church, church hall and vicarage are all located on the same site.
4.1 Church
The church is a Grade 1 listed building designed by JL Pearson and
consecrated in 1885.
During the previous incumbency one major project was completed, the
complete reroofing of the north nave and transepts. In the last but one
incumbency the east end and apse were reroofed and the church electrics
and lighting were renewed.
The remaining problems, including the reroofing of the south nave and
transepts, are now being addressed. See para 4.2 below.
4.2 Church Restoration Project
We have known since the October 2013 Quinquennnial Inspection that our
church building has some serious structural faults which, if left unremedied,
could cause catastrophic damage and enormous expense. This was
acknowledged officially in 2015 when Historic England added St. Agnes’ to the
Heritage At Risk Register.
We were awarded a “First Round Pass” by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) in
September 2015 for £197,800 towards the estimated £303,000 cost of carrying
out the necessary repairs. We are now nine months into a year-long
Development Phase in which we are required to find the remaining funding (at
the time of writing we need about another £6,000), produce full specifications
for the work to be done, secure the necessary permission to carry out the work
and design a programme of “heritage engagement” activities in order to
showcase the HLF’s investment.
The Delivery Phase of the Restoration Project will include the complete re-
roofing of the SW Porch, SW and SE Transepts, the S slope of the Nave and the
S Aisle, the replacement of the life-expired rainwater goods to these sections of
roof, some repairs to high level external masonry including the apex cross and
two buttress tops, repairs to some of the most badly-corroded internal stonework
and repairs to the uneven sections of flooring in the S aisle.
A system will be installed to monitor the structural cracking which is evident
throughout the interior of the church. This is now thought to be caused by the
Caen stone of the interior expanding and contracting at a different rate to the
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brickwork of the exterior, rather than by subsidence as had been previously
thought. Investigations are ongoing, and we now have experienced Structural
Engineer Fred Tandy on board to lead these.
It is likely that the work will start early in 2017 and take six to eight months to
complete. We anticipate that the church will remain open and available for
worship throughout this period but there will be some areas which require
cordoning-off from public use whilst stonework and flooring repairs take place.
The Restoration Project is led and managed by a member of the Parish who has
considerable experience in the care and repair of historic church buildings,
supported by a first-rate team of professionals and volunteers.
4.3 Church Hall
We are extremely fortunate to have a generously-sized Church Hall on the same
site as the Church (and Vicarage). The Hall, a Listed building in its own right,
was added by our Founder Douglas Horsfall in 1887 to the design of the
eminent Architect Norman Shaw and was originally used as a Gymnasium for
the boys of the Parish. It is of brick with a red tiled roof and has a large expanse
of wood-block flooring. It has a kitchen and servery and some storage space;
updated toilet facilities were introduced during the 1990s.
The Hall is well used for both Church activities and community groups, the
latter including such diverse activities as puppy training, Russian dance classes
and yoga. It is also used twice monthly as a place of worship by Liverpool’s
Coptic Christians.
The Hall is in need of repair due to water ingress damage. It is estimated that
some £11,000 is needed for urgent repairs and a further £70,000 for a full
refurbishment and we will be turning our attention towards raising this money
once the repair works to the Church are completed.
4.4 Vicarage
The vicarage is a Grade 2 listed building contemporary with the church
and hall.
It is accessed from a drive which runs past the church garden to the hall
and sacristy/song school entrance to the church.
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The accommodation was built for occupation by a vicar and his curates,
and comprises four substantial ground floor rooms (drawing room, dining
room, study and kitchen), with a number of bedrooms upstairs.
5 Other Christian Communities Sharing the Church
Two other Christian communities use the church, Ethiopian and Egyptian. This
is valued very highly as it brings an elements of richness, diversity and
oecumenism to our church life.
5.1 Ethiopian Orthodox Parish of St Tekklehaymanot
A canonically constituted parish of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, with
its own parish priest and parochial structure, uses St Agnes’s, both the
church and the hall.
The north chamber of the western gallery houses the Holy Tabot, the
consecrated replica of the Ark of the Covenant, which every Ethiopian
Orthodox church has to have. The chamber is kept locked.
The parish holds one Mass a month, on a Saturday morning, and on all
the other weekends they have a non-eucharistic service from ca 12-30pm
on the Sunday.
After all their services they meet socially in the hall, and on Thursday
evenings they use the hall for a choir practice.
5.2 Coptic Orthodox Church
For eight years, right up until Autumn 2016, the Coptic Orthodox Church
in Liverpool met at St Agnes’s for a Mass twice a month. For logistical
reasons they now worship at St Columba’s, Anfield, but this parish
continues to have close and friendly relations with the Copts.
At the moment the Copts are negotiating with the Diocese of Liverpool in
order to obtain a lease on St Paul’s, Stoneycroft.