Deanery

A PROFILE OF THE PARISH OF ST. PAUL
WOKINGHAM
WITH ST. NICHOLAS EMMBROOK

THE DEANERY

Sonning Deanery

The deanery is not a unified geographic unit. Its axis is north-south but the main transport links are east-west. Most of the deanery falls within Wokingham Unitary Authority, and the southern end is in Bracknell Forest Unitary Authority. It is made up of villages and towns, the largest of which is Wokingham. All are growing in size, and there are areas designated for significant levels of new housing. The population of the deanery is about 105,000. There are fourteen benefices in the deanery and twenty-five worship centres, including a junior school and a village hall. The deanery is served by 18 stipendiary priests (including 1 in training), 13 NSM/OLMs and 16 Licensed Lay Ministers.

Representation

The deanery is represented on Diocesan Synod by five lay member and four members of the house of clergy. Four lay members represent the parish of St Paul on Deanery Synod. At present there is one lay vacancy following the death of one of the synod members. Traditionally one of the lay members is elected from the St Nicholas' congregation. Clergy representation has been by the two stipendiary priests, the rector of St Paul's and the community priest at St Nicholas', Emmbrook. Both posts are currently vacant.

Sonning Deanery Plan for Mission

The development of the plan is nearing completion. It is the result of a comprehensive review of the deanery and its parishes, the aspirations for mission and the context within which the parishes function. Since the deanery meets in excess of 150% of its diocesan stipendiary ministry costs, it is not under pressure to reduce resources. It regularly meets its commitments to Deanery share and its parishes are clearly focused on mission as their way forward.

The process was initially conceived as a Pastoral Plan, but the deanery saw it as an opportunity to be more radical in its thinking. The deanery drew on the Diocesan Strategy (Sharing Life), Transforming Communities by Stephen Croft and Mission-Shaped Church Report commissioned by the Church of England's Mission and Public Affairs Council (2004), to inform its work.

There is general acceptance that the churches should work together to better meet the needs of the whole community. The deanery will encourage the development of collaborative ministry teams of lay and ordained, male and female, full- and part-time, voluntary and paid, in parishes and, where appropriate, across parish clusters. It will facilitate and support the development of such teams by creating opportunities for training and sharing of good practice. It will encourage and support parishes to work together to grow and equip lay Christians for leadership.

The churches need to shape themselves for mission in the 21st century; moving towards a "go to them" approach, rather than the traditional "come to us" approach they have formerly adopted.

Wokingham

The congregations within the town have varying traditions:

	St Paul's - Anglo-Catholic
	St Nicholas', Emmbrook - informal Catholic
	All Saints' - central/broad
	Rose Street - Methodist
	Wokingham Baptist
	Woosehill - Anglican-Methodist LEP
	Barkham planted congregation - conservative evangelical (see proposed church plant below).
	Kings Church - Evangelical
	Corpus Christi - Roman Catholic
	Norreys Evangelical - Evangelical·
	Religious Society of Friends - Quakers
	Salvation Army

On the edge of the town, Bearwood is a traditional Anglican church; St Sebastian's an evangelical charismatic style.

St Paul's parish is bordered by the Anglican parishes of All Saints, St Sebastians, St Mary & St John California, St Catherine Bearwood, and St James Barkham.

In addition to the incumbents, both All Saints' and St Paul's currently have a senior responsibility curate's post with the title "community priest".

Ecclesiastical boundaries mean little to most residents of Wokingham. More especially, within the context of a town situation there is scope for collaboration, including ecumenical collaboration, in order to develop fresh expressions of church as well as provide for more sharing of the maintenance of inherited church.

The deanery strategy recommends that the various Anglican and Methodist congregations within this area, while retaining their own life and distinctive traditions, develop a collaborative approach to mission and ministry to the town. New clergy should be appointed in expectation of developing this vision and in enjoying the element of partnership with colleagues.

Deanery Church Plant

St James Barkham, a church with a conservative evangelical tradition, has recently begun a church plant at the White House School within the parish of St Paul. This new venture has the blessing of the deanery and was also done with the knowledge and support of the parish priest at St Paul's. It is already attracting a sizeable congregation.

St Paul's and St Nicholas' The strategy recommends that both All Saints and St Paul's should continue to have their own priest, on the understanding that they work to promote this approach.
The strategy also proposes that, rather than there being one "community priest" post licensed to All Saints', and another to St Paul's, there should be two community priests licensed to the whole of Wokingham town i.e. All Saints', St Paul's, St Nicholas', Woosehill. It will be helpful if one has their main worship base at All Saints' and one at St Paul's/St Nicholas'. Because Woosehill is part of Bearwood parish, for the time being the Anglican incumbent of St Catherine's will be part of this collaborating group. However, the deanery strategy recommends that as the collaboration develops successfully Woosehill be eventually formally attached to St Paul's.
	The strategy recognises that there are many issues to explore further with regard to how this whole approach might work e.g. the relationship with Churches Together in Wokingham. Nevertheless it has great potential for making mission and ministry in Wokingham more effective and for the development of fresh expressions of church. A key issue is that both clergy and lay leaders hold open and positive attitudes to congregations of different traditions from their own.

Summary

The Sonning Deanery Plan, as you can see from what is outlined above, is a plan for mission and for collaborative ministry. Increasingly the Oxford Diocese is encouraging the deanery to be the place where strategic thinking and planning goes on, not only for pastoral care, but for all aspects of mission and ministry. The Sonning Deanery is at the forefront of this thinking. Developments at St Paul's and St Nicholas' provide a great opportunity to move forward in our thinking so that planning for mission takes into account the needs of the whole area and the many networks that make up communities such as Wokingham and not just individual parishes. We are hoping to appoint a priest who is excited by these developments and who will want to minister both in the neighbourhoods of our parishes and in the more complex networks of our society.