BARNES TEAM MINISTRY

THE PARISH CHURCH OF SAINT MARY

KEY LAY POSITION OF

CHILDREN’S PASTOR (half-time)

 

A vacancy has arisen for the half-time role of Children’s Pastor at St. Mary’s Church, Barnes. 

 

We would like the successful candidate to take up the post from May 2008, allowing a handover period with the current post holder.

 

Background

 

The position was created 6 years ago shortly after the arrival of the present Rector, the Reverend Ross Collins, at the same time as the establishment of the weekly 11.30 family service. It reflected a new intention to put children’s ministry at the centre of St Mary’s life, an intention which has been increasingly realised over the succeeding years. On a normal Sunday, there will be something like 50-70 children in the church, in the groups for 3-6 and 7-10 year olds at the parish communion, in the burgeoning junior choir, as one of the myriad army of acolytes and crucifers or simply through being at the family service. This number has grown from a small base 6 years ago and we are expecting the growth to continue. It is worth noting that there is no Church of England school in Barnes and recent efforts to have one built have been fruitless.

 

St Mary’s work with children has a strong focus on developing their spirituality, understanding their relationship with God, what Jesus means to them and more of their place in the world. We see it less as a process of inculcation and more as an engagement with the natural awareness of God that children have. A session during the parish communion might contain a bible passage together with a drama activity to help bring it to life, the use of what we call a Rhythm for Life, a spiritual exercise focussing on thanks, sorrow and hope, a discussion and concluding with a time of prayer. The establishment of an annual programme of admitting children to Holy Communion is perhaps the centrepiece of our work, consisting of a 12 week course that concludes with one of the great services of the church’s year. Through this, children find a greater sense of belonging to the church and feel St Mary’s to be very much their church.

 

The Children’s Pastor has a key role in leading this work and its progress to the next stage. He/she will work closely with the Rector and with the Family Service Assistant Pastor, Emma Powell (a newly-established 0.2 position). Alongside this group is the Children’s Strategy Group, chaired by Anne Sullivan, which gives strong support and encouragement to the Children’s Pastor (and, as such, going beyond its initial remit of creating vision for St Mary’s children’s work). This meets five or six times a year. The Children’s Pastor is also part of the Barnes Team Children’s and Youthworkers’ Group, led by the Reverend Jean Boulton-Reynolds, Team Vicar at Holy Trinity Church. This contains those who run the separate children’s groups at the three churches of the Team, plus the two paid Youthworkers who run team-wide groups for 11-13 and 14-18 year olds. This group ensures continuity across the team and across age groups, planning joint events (such as the Team Children’s Festival) and co-ordinating others.

 

Key aims of the role:

 

  1. To take a lead in the spiritual nurturing and development of children (age 0 -11years) in St. Mary’s
  2. To recruit, motivate and provide resources for a range of volunteers to assist in the children’s work
  3. To help children understand and develop their place and role in the wider community and the world
  4. To build the integration of the work with children with the broader community of St. Mary’s

 

 Principal tasks:

 

  1. Organise and lead the Sunday children’s groups, supported by a team of volunteers. Two children’s groups (Sparklers and Junior Church) run during the Sunday 10am service.
  2. Produce resources, session plans and training materials for volunteer helpers for the Sunday Groups (adaptable templates available).
  3. Organise and contribute to the teaching of the annual children’s course for First Communion.
  4. Organise and oversee the production of the annual Nativity play to be performed at 2 services on Christmas Eve, supporting a volunteer author/director.
  5. Give annual reports on children’s work to the PCC of St. Mary’s , and other ad hoc reports as required.
  6. Ensure that the children’s work is appropriately communicated and publicised.
  7. Participate as an active member of the Children’s Strategy Group of St. Mary’s.
  8. Actively liaise with other children’s workers in the church, in the Barnes Team Ministry and elsewhere.
  9. Organise and/or contribute to special children’s events in the Church calendar, eg  the Barnes Team annual Children’s Festival;  Remembrance Sunday,  Harvest, Maundy Thursday, Mothering Sunday, Easter (pew activities and egg hunt), Christingle.
  10. Prepare the children to transfer to Pathfinders at age 11 and liaise with the Pathfinder’s Organiser.
  11. Have an annual meeting with St Mary’s Child Protection Officer (currently Christine Chittick).
  12. Encourage and support new initiatives from the congregation, eg, the very recently-established Mini-Mary’s (mums and toddlers’ group).
  13. Investigate the possibility of creating midweek sessions.

 

Experience, skills and attributes:

 

  1. A practising Christian in sympathy with the ethos of St Mary’s, possibly with formal theological training (at ‘A’ or degree level).
  2. Experience of working with children, possibly with qualifications such as a PGCE.
  3. Self motivated, able to motivate others and to take the initiative.
  4. Able to work well in a team, with volunteers and with professionals.
  5. Capable of generating vision and ideas.
  6. Able to prioritise and to delegate.
  7. Flexible, with a sense of humour and a willingness to have a go at most things.
  8. Strong organisation and communication skills.
  9. The position is subject to enhanced CRB disclosure.

 

Conditions of Employment

 

  1. This is a part time role, equivalent to an average of [two and a half] days per week but with some parts of the year requiring more work than others. 
  2. The post comes with 6 weeks annual holiday normally to be taken in school holidays and not in Holy Week or the week before Christmas.
  3. Much of the role is home-based, but you will need to have easy access to St Mary’s Church, and Barnes, including for some evenings (eg for the Children’s Strategy Group meetings). Office space can be provided in the church.
  4. The pay is between [£11,000 and £13,000 per annum] (depending on qualifications and experience) payable in 12 instalments at the end of each month.
  5. The Children’s Pastor will be employed by St Mary’s Parochial Church Council and enrolled in St Mary’s pay roll scheme.
  6. Grievance procedures, etc, can be found in the St Mary’s employment manual which is available on request.

 

If you are interested please contact the Reverend Ross Collins for further details (rosscollins@blueyonder.co.uk 020 8404 3177 25, Glebe Road, Barnes, SW13 0DZ).

 

Further details on St Mary’s work with children can be found on the church web-site – www.stmarybarnes.org.

 

Applications are invited in the form of a CV accompanied by a letter explaining reasons for interest in and suitability for the position and should be submitted to the Team Rector.