Stories from Sponsored Parishes

A report from Rev Andrew Brown as he completes his second year of curacy at St Mary and St Margaret, Castle Bromwich, Birmingham.

You will find some areas shaded – this is because I consider them to be areas of “good practice” which other parishes could copy!!

1. Introduction
   
   
   
   1. The period covered by this report is July 2010 to June 2011.
   2. The move from Deacon to Priest has enabled additional ministries to be  encountered. 
   3. I am again grateful to the Additional Curates Society for providing funding to the parish.
      
      
2. Special Responsibilities
   
   1. There are three areas of special responsibility which I have been assigned by my training incumbent.  These are:
      1. Worship co-ordination for the Church School
      2. Development of liturgies for Seasons and Festivals
      3. Development and implementation of an Audio-Visual installation
         
         
3. Spiritual Refreshment
   
   1. Due to the level of activity being undertaken in the parish at the moment with a major building project,  day to day activities such as the mid-week masses, three services each Sunday, school worship, 40 funerals and 20 weddings per year are shared between the training incumbent and Assistant Curate
      
      
   2. In order to maintain a balanced life and spiritual perspective it is worth mentioning that I hold to a regular pattern of spiritual disciplines which include
      • The Daily Office at Morning and Evening. 
      • A Quiet Day each month.
      • Annual Retreat.
      • Spiritual Direction  every three months.
      • Cell Group meeting every quarter.
      
      
4. Children and Young People
   
   1. Contact with  St Mary and St Margaret’s Church of England Infant and Junior School is a particularly fulfilling area of ministry.  The Head Teacher who has been in post 12 months is a practicing Christian and is keen to develop the existing link with church.  Strong relationships exist with the RE and music co-ordinators
      
      
   2. A pattern of one class of children attending the Wednesday morning mass and a visit by a priest to the school each Friday to lead Collective Worship has been long established
      
      
   3. During the past year it has been possible to expand this mid-week mass, jointly attended by an adult, largely retired, congregation of 30 people to provide an all age liturgy with simplified service booklets.  A lectionary is circulated each term so the visiting class has the opportunity to rehearse readings, write prayers, and participate in the offertory.  A relevant school address is also given by the president.  This has been a huge success with all the adults finding their devotion is enriched by seeing young Christians at worship
      
      
   4. Collective Worship is led alternatively by the Rector and myself with subjects linked to the school curriculum theme for the week.  Innovations include, beginning with a Trinitarian Greeting, a pupil lighting a candle for worship, ending always with the Lord’s Prayer and a blessing.  Discussions and talks are now supported by Powerpoint, with the themes of social responsibility, sacrificial love in the Cross, Seasons and Saints being covered during the last year.  Each term a Eucharist is celebrated in school which now follows the all age liturgy outlined in 4.3
      
      
   5. Ad-hoc school visits have complemented curriculum subjects with notable sessions on pilgrimage and Baptism.  Using video and pictures from Walsingham including Presbyterian demonstrators at the National Festival, the subject of religious intolerance and bigotry was debated with 8 year olds.  Similarly a visit to church to see a baby being baptized provided graphic and lively images for the pupils
      
      
   6. The first Christingle service for around 14 years was arranged in conjunction with the school. .... service in church .....this provided the opportunity to teach about inner city deprivation and children who are harmed and scarred due to their domestic environment
      
      
   7. Similarly, a new initiative took place leading up to Easter with the replacement of a Good Friday Youth play with The Easter Journey.  Based on stations set up around the church, adult and teenage members of the congregation led interactive presentations on fellowship (Passover), service (foot-washing); fear (Peter’s denial), resurrection (tomb).  Each class attended, as did the SIAS Inspector from the Coventry Diocese who was very complementary
      
      
5. Liturgy
   
   
   1. As described above, compilation of special service orders is one of my responsibilities.  Not only is this an area which I enjoy but I believe is an expression of mission and outreach because the way the liturgy is written and expressed allows new insights and understandings of the incarnational presence of Christ to be discovered
       
   2. In putting together various liturgies in my first year as a priest, followed by presiding using the liturgy, has given me a greater understanding of the ontological working of the Eucharist and how it must not been seen as a series of ‘worship encounters’ but a continuum of prayer and thanksgiving
      
      
   3. As the parish has an established practice of using Common Worship, it seemed right to use the wealth of material available in the CW volumes with some adoption of ecumenical sources.  One example is that CW allows the omission of the Collect for Purity with Kyrie confessions immediately after the introductory sentence: this remains valid in the parish context whilst embracing an ecumenical feel
      
      
   4. With the absence of existing orders outside Holy Week and the Triduum, I have been given a broad remit to develop liturgies for any season or festival.  Co-ordination with the Director of Music and the ministries of lay people such as lectors, intercessors and servers has been an important task during this period of making changes to established liturgies
      
      
   5. The Advent order introduced the theme of Maranatha throughout the liturgy such as at introductory sentence and the peace.  The Director of Music composed a mass setting for the parish and this was launched in Advent 2010.  The congregational feedback to this structured approach with music was very positive
      
      
   6. In passing, it was a great privilege and honour to preside at Midnight Mass during my first year as a priest
      
      
   7. No new orders were produced for the Epiphany season, although The Feast of the Epiphany and Candlemas provided the opportunity for Solemn Masses which were attended by around 45 people, which was very encouraging for a mid-week celebration which had been discontinued for the previous 5 years
      
      
   8. The Lent liturgy was rewritten with an extended penitential rite and reflective settings for the Sanctus and Agnus Dei.  Again, through the structured approach which was maintained for the whole season, the congregation noticeably engaged with the liturgy in increasingly deeper degrees as the weeks progressed.  This was supported by themed preaching focusing on pilgrimage and discovering God during a very tough period which saw personal tragedies in the community and the Japanese Earthquake causing people to articulate the question ‘where is God in all this?’
      
      
   9. Holy Week and Easter service orders existed in the parish.  However, the Liturgy of Holy Saturday has been discontinued a few years ago.  The reintroduction in 2011 enabled a new liturgy to be written which because of its variety and opportunity for visual impact raised many questions from people who had not encountered Holy Saturday before.  All Eucharists were divided between myself and training incumbent in terms of presiding and preaching.  I am particularly grateful to him for allowing me to gain a wide experience in leading and supporting across the full range of services during this season
      
      
   10. Just before Lent, the approach to Baptisms was relaunched as a result of having more requests for baptism than could be accommodated during one Eucharist per month.  As a result, a Baptism-only service was introduced for some families during the afternoon whilst the Eucharist with Baptism order was reordered and simplified
       
       
   11. In order to support the variety of liturgy now offered in a very restricted Georgian building with its architectural focus on non Eucharistic worship, I have been working on a project to introduce audio visual technology to the church.  This has involved running a project to identify need and potential location of equipment, working with suppliers and stakeholders to secure funding and DAC approval.  Whilst the project is currently being progressed, it is not yet implemented and it is hoped that a fuller report will be made next year
       
       
   12. During the year the Canon Liturgist at Birmingham Cathedral invited me to occasionally lead Morning Prayer and preside at the Eucharist.  This has given me an opportunity to broaden my experience and context.  I am on the cathedral rota around once each month
       
       
6. Community
   
   
   1. There has been two major services which I have been involved with which have centred on the wider community.  The first was the annual Civic Service for Remembrance Day at the town war memorial.  As a Requiem Mass was taking place in church at the same time, I attended planning meetings with the local council and led the Civic Service
      
      
   2. During the same period, the close working relationship with the Midlands Co-operative Funeral Service resulted in a request to use our church for their annual remembrance service.  This was arranged over two days and included putting together words and music along with the roll of honour on a 9m projection screen during which the choir sang Taizé chants.  The service was followed by a drinks reception where lay pastoral support teams were available along with a number of priests who were on hand to talk to the bereaved as required
      
      
7. Teaching
   
   1. Being a joint leader of the Diocesan course for disciples which the parish hosted allowed me the opportunity to come into closer contact with a number of parishioners who had not met me in a more informal context before.  Whilst I have co-led the ‘3D’ course on two previous occasions, this was the first time since ordination
      
      
   2. At the end of the ‘3D’ course I devised an evening reflection based on a quiet day; the themes were Growing and Serving.  This was held at a local church and made full use of the grounds and interior of the church.  From the feedback received, I believe the reflections were personally helpful to the participants
      
      
8. Pastoral
   
   1. During the current year the move to stipendiary ministry along with priesting has opened up a significant number of mission and pastoral encounters
      
      
   2. Funeral ministry has become very important with the total number for the parish divided between my training incumbent and myself.  The various possibilities from Requiem Mass to simple cremation have been witnessed with attendance from very large (200+) to just two people.
      
      
   3. Weddings have similarly played a significant part of planning and outreach during the summer months.  Wedding preparation sessions have been undertaken with couples three months before their wedding with the result a general understanding of the sacraments, in particular marriage, has been explained.  This has made the actual wedding day more intimate and meaningful for the couples
      
      
   4. During this period regular visits to sick and needy parishioners has been maintained.  Whilst the weekly schedule of visits is always flexible in order to accommodate emergencies, a planned programme of nursing home and home communion is maintained
      
      
9. Conclusion
   
   
   1. The past year has provided me with yet more new encounters and experiences to build on the experience of my first year
   2. I  continue to be indebted to those priests who have nurtured and guided me to retain catholic spirituality and integrity
   3. I look forward to reinforcing all these encounters during the coming year of consolidation

( I have retained most of this report rather than reduce it down as it contains a wealth of “good practice” – some of which I have highlighted) and which other churches may wish to introduce.  It is a very challenging and exciting round of responsibility requiring faithfulness and perseverance.  Ed.)