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Parish Profile 2017 St Bartholomew’s Church, Roby
Christmas outreach
at Roby Station.
A few of the youth from church helping out at
the Operation Christmas Child Warehouse.
Our ‘Women’s Group’ meeting in church for fellowship,
prayer and Bible teaching.
Thank you for taking time to look at our Parish Profile. We at Roby are already praying that God is stirring the heart of the person
that he wants to come and serve the community of Roby. We hope you enjoy looking through our profile and that it gives you a
snapshot of life at St Bartholomew’s. If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us; we would love to share with
you more information about our community.
Clive Betteridge and Heather Fuller (Church Wardens)
Church Road
Roby
L36 9TL
Tel: 0151 480 2319
www.stbartholomewsroby.org.uk
Our Aim as a Church... To create a vibrant, dynamic and welcoming Christian community, where God is found in the range
and joy of our worship, in the breadth of our outreach and in our love for Jesus and one another.
Summary of the Profile St Bartholomew’s is an evangelical church which serves the parish of Roby,
located in the Borough of Knowsley on the outskirts of the iconic City of
Liverpool. Our sister church, Trinity Anglican/Methodist, is situated within
our parish.
We are striving to build a vibrant, dynamic and welcoming Christian
community, where God is found in the range and joy of our worship, in
the breadth of our outreach and in our love for Jesus and one another.
Currently, we hold three Sunday services: Common Worship (9am), all age
worship (11am) and informal (6.30pm), as well as Bible studies, house
groups and prayer meetings. We are open to change and want to enhance
what we are currently doing, as well as developing fresh expressions of
worship.
We are recognised by the local community as their parish church and the
church is well used for baptisms, weddings and funerals. One of our
strengths is the provision of a wide range of groups and activities catering
for all age groups within our community. We aim to spend 10% of our
income on “mission”, which includes practical and financial support for
evangelism and relief work, locally, nationally and internationally.
In accordance with ’The Diocesan Growth Agenda’, we want to build a
bigger church in order to make a bigger difference: more lives transformed,
deeper relationships with Jesus, more justice in the world. So we are looking for an effective, unifying leader with a heart for the
Gospel, and a genuine passion to serve our church and community.
In return we will offer love and every possible support. There is a real sense of excitement for the next phase in the life of
our church.
.
The Vicar We Want At St. Bartholomew’s, we know that the man or woman we need is one
who is called by God to serve our congregation and our community.
Heart for the Gospel We need an evangelical leader who is passionate about sharing the Gospel. We want to advance God’s kingdom in every generation.
Biblical We need someone whose life and service reflect the teachings of the Bible. We would also like a teacher who can open up God’s word to us.
Christ centred We seek someone who is reliant on prayer and who has a deep personal relationship with Jesus.
Leadership We would like someone who is able to communicate vision effectively. Our vicar should be able to recognise, encourage and develop the gifts that individuals within the church possess. We want to be better disciples of Jesus, empowered to reach others with the Gospel through acts of service.
Pastoral heart Our new vicar needs to have compassion and a genuine passion to serve our community.
What We Can Offer
The PCC has taken this opportunity to see how we can welcome our vicar for
St Bartholomew’s to ‘feel at home’ and support them in their ministry.
We can offer the new vicar:
A warm welcome from our church family.
A working partnership with enthusiastic church wardens, PCC members and Readers.
A promise to love and support you in the role through prayer, pastoral and practical
support.
A strong leadership team to share burdens and accomplishments.
An appreciation that ministry belongs to the whole church family and that we do not
expect one person to do everything, but rather to enable and encourage the body of
Christ.
An openness to new opportunities and the willingness to move forward, discovering
together God’s purposes for us as a church family.
A commitment to support you in your own personal relationship with God as you lead,
guide and walk with us on our journeys.
Personal Qualities We would like our new vicar to have good interpersonal skills, being friendly, warm and welcoming with a good sense of humour.
The vicarage is a large, 4 bedroom, detached
house located next door to the church
grounds. The property has a large garden, separate
garage and drive way.
Here is a summary of the consultation with the church family in regards to the
qualities we would like to see in our new vicar. (The size of the word is indicative of how many times it
was mentioned in response to the questionnaire.
Click photo to see Street View on Google Maps
About the Parish Roby is a Parish in the borough of Knowsley, on the outskirts of Liverpool. The population of this parish is 14,525. The parish itself is diverse with areas of private and social housing. We love our parish and our city. We hope the next vicar will come to love our parish and this great city as much as we do!
Surrounding the church is a mixture of open green spaces, a golf course and residential properties. Within walking distance, there are a number of schools, nursing homes, shops and parks.
Knowsley Leisure and Culture Park with an outdoor velodrome is only a 5 minute drive. Also, in neighbouring Prescot, a new multimillion pound Shakespearian theatre is in the early stages of development.
Liverpool is a top tourist destination which has undergone great transformation in recent years developing its arts and culture.
Within 20 minutes you can be in Knowsley Safari Park or at a National Trust location such as Speke Hall. Further afield, you can visit North Wales and the Lake District National Park within 60-90 minutes.
Data from Church Urban Fund
Least in
Diocese Most in
Diocese
Huyton-with-Roby C of E Primary School The church maintains close links with the local church primary school
alongside St. Michael’s, Huyton. It is a 2-form entry school and is situated less
than a mile from St Bartholomew’s Church. We are privileged to have two seats
on the school’s governing body with the incumbent having a dedicated seat.
We lead assemblies in the school on a weekly basis.
The school is currently rated ‘Good’ by OFSTED. In January 2016, the school’s outstanding SIAMS report
indicated ‘The school places Christ at the centre of all it does and collective worship enables children of all
ages to understand how the teaching of Jesus guides Christians in their daily lives’.
The school has an extremely strong Christian leadership. The Headteacher and her vision for the
development of the school ensures that the school’s Christian ethos is paramount. Huyton with Roby’s most famous past student visiting to celebrate
winning his 100th England cap
Other Primary Schools
Within the parish of Roby, there are 3 other primary schools that are
attended by children who attend the church, and our sister church Trinity.
Each of the schools has some involvement with the church through
assemblies, and clubs, and they present their own opportunities to make
Jesus known in our parish.
Secondary School
There are currently no secondary schools within our Parish. Our nearest
secondary school is the Lord Derby Academy. Lord Derby Academy is a
coeducational
secondary school with
academy status located in
Huyton.
Church Secondary Schools
Although there are currently no church secondary schools in the borough of Knowsley, many of
the children from the congregation travel to one of the three Liverpool, Church of England,
secondary schools. St Margaret’s and Archbishop Blanch currently are single sex schools while
St Hilda’s converted to be coeducational in 2015. All of these schools are currently rated as
Good by OFSTED.
Local Schools
Click on the pictures to visit the school website.
Tiddlywinks
We have a well-established parent and toddler group called Tiddlywinks, which has seen families over the years become valuable members of the church family. It sets a foundation for people to see the church as their own and it has enabled many families to learn and grow in faith in Christ.
Youth and Children
We host several uniformed and non-uniformed organisations that meet weekly, and encourage young people and parents to attend church. Y-Fri (9-12) and Y-Fri+ (13-18), our Friday youth groups, attract around 40 young people each week. We also run a Youth Bible Study (13-18) that meets weekly.
Holiday Clubs and Youth Camps
St Bartholomew’s has successfully run, over the years, a number of holiday clubs which have been well attended. We also have links to several external youth camps through church members.
9 am Common Worship - Our 9 am service is the most traditional of our services, with robed clergy, readers and choir accompanied by organ music. It has a faithful congregation of between 30 and 50 people.
11 am All Age Worship - This is an all age worship service which focuses on children and families. It is a lively, upbeat service, with a mix of traditional and contemporary worship songs led by our band. It is at this service that the majority of our baptisms take place. As part of the service, children and young people have the opportunity to attend age-related small groups. We have a monthly cycle of church parade, baptisms, worship and holy communion. The congregation varies between 70 and 240 people.
6.30 pm Evening Worship - The evening service has around 12 to 25 people who meet at the back of church. Worship is very informal, with modern songs led by an acoustic guitar and has a time of open prayer.
Our Sunday Services
Our Church Family Local people recognise St Bartholomew’s as their parish church and we
welcome many families for baptism each month. We provide a broad range of activities that are enjoyed by people of all ages.
Star and Lunch Club
Our ‘Star’ fellowship, for adults, meets fortnightly and allows time for social conversation, enjoying fun activities and hearing about interests and hobbies. This starts with a time for worship and invites visiting speakers on a range of topics. As well as Star, Lunch Club meets bi-monthly, offering an affordable light lunch and time with friends.
Families
Living
Abroad
Group
Youth Bible Study
Areas For Improvement
Although there are many great things happening at St. Bartholomew’s, we know that we can do better. These are the key areas which the PCC feel need most attention.
The vision and direction need to unify the church;
The house/Bible study groups, which in isolation work well, lack overall structure and organisation;
Whilst it has improved, the attendance at our regular prayer meetings is low for the size of the congregation;
We lack fellowship between the congregations of each of our services;
We have a loyal pastoral team, but there is a need for effective pastoral leadership;
Links with our sister church Trinity Anglican/Methodist have weakened in recent years;
The numbers of weekly worshippers has declined in recent years;
We need to explore fresh expressions of church and do more to reach out to the needs of our community.
Our hope
We have been and are a greatly blessed church, but have not been without challenges. Although we have seen declining church membership, which has brought some anxious times and financial challenge, we know that God has not left us. We trust that by God’s grace, there will be an overwhelming sense of God’s love, healing and rebuilding.
There is a real sense of excitement for the next chapter of Roby church, a passion to grow and a desire to serve God and serve our community with hearts filled with the Holy Spirit and on fire for Christ.
Our Church Family
‘Selfies’ sent
in to our
page during
our Christmas
celebrations.
Centre: Our
11am All Age
Worship
service.
Pentecost Prayer and Praise event in church.
The Church and its Building St. Bartholomew's has undergone many changes over the years since the church was first built in 1850. The present structure was competed in the late 1870s, except for the choir
vestry which was added in 1950. The church was re-ordered internally in 1988. The re-ordering changed the back of the nave to add toilets, a meeting room, office and kitchen and
a multipurpose area that can be used as an overflow for additional seating for large services. It also incorporated a new first floor hall and storage rooms. The re-ordering retained
the stained glass windows, many from the end of the 19th century, the carved choir stalls, oak panelling in the chancel and oak pulpit and lectern.
The church has largely remained the same since the reordering with the exception of the
ladies toilet which was remodelled in 2014 following a wet and dry rot problem. The
building is now in need of redecoration but otherwise is in a generally good condition. The
lighting in the main church was not changed in the re-ordering and was highlighted as an
area to be considered for upgrading in the 2011 Quinquennial Inspection. A start has
recently been made on a rolling programme of replacing lighting with LEDs in the same
fittings.
We have a large team of volunteers who clean and maintain the church building and its
grounds. They are overseen by the standing committee of the PCC.
The various parts of the building enable it to be used for many varied activities besides Sunday worship, and also allow two or three parallel activities if required. The building is used by regular groups each weekday and for three services on a Sunday. It is also used monthly on Saturdays. In addition to these regular commitments it is often used for one-off activities.
At St Bartholomew’s, we have around 10
weddings each year and offer marriage
preparation classes to the couples.
We have around 50 funerals per year and this
forms a key part of our ministry, with a
remembrance service held each year to which the
families are invited.
We have around 40-50 baptisms at church each
year. They normally take place in the 11 o’clock
family service. Some of our Grounds Team taking a
well earned break from their work.
Click on the picture for an ‘aerial tour’ of the church building
Our sister church, Trinity , is situated in Page Moss, part of the parish with a high level of social deprivation. Symptomatic of the area’s problems at the time, the
church was vandalised all too frequently in the 1990s.
Trinity is now a Local (Anglican/Methodist) Ecumenical venture, with a jointly funded Lay Pastor post (to which St Bartholomew’s contributes). The current lay pastor is under contract in this role until January 2018. The church also has a Children and Youth worker whose post is funded by Kidz Klub.
Since pioneering Kidz Klub in the 1990s, Trinity has maintained a special focus on work with children and young people. Building bridges with the community has been another mission priority, and considerable progress has been made.
The church now has good connections with the community - in contrast to previous vandalism - and, although not so many come to worship, local families are exposed to church through the various children’s activities and ‘Drop In’ facility. The congregation ranges in age from 3 years to 90 years , but is still small in numbers.
Trinity appreciates the support it has received from St Bartholomew’s in terms of ministry, mission and mentoring , and would wish this to continue. In particular, they are hoping that the new incumbent will have a heart for children’s work and support its development at Trinity. They are also hoping that assistance will be available to them in their quest for continuation funding for the Lay Pastor post.
For our part, we at St Bartholomew’s would like to foster a closer relationship with our sister church, building on the good work already being done.
Trinity Church Support for Mission The church has a tradition of sending people to work in other places, be that in ministry overseas or ordination training in this country. In particular we have long standing links with Scripture Union New Zealand, through Andy and Carol Banks,
Thomas and Matthew (Andy works as a Youth Consultant & YOUTHSERVE Ministry Leader); YWAM through Andrew and Leah Daly (with their children, Nathanial and Alyssa) in Romania and an independent project in Eldoret, Kenya called Testimony Faith Homes.
We have an aim to donate 10% of our income to mission and although this has not been achieved for the last few years we are now on track to return to achieving this again. We try to arrange this giving to be spread locally, nationally and internationally and to cover both evangelistic and relief type activities. Last year, for example, we financially supported Liverpool Youth for Christ, (because of its ministry in secondary
schools); Together for the Harvest (ecumenical events in and around Merseyside); CPAS (because of links with Pathfinder Ventures and Falcon Camp) among others.
We have also been involved in collecting for Christian Aid week and in filling hundreds of Shoe Boxes for Operation Christmas Child. The Fair Trade group also
brings issues to our attention, and through monthly Fairtrade breakfasts and events raises further funds that support overseas mission and relief. We are major contributor to the local food banks. We have a growing link with SHARe (Support in Huyton for Asylum Seekers and Refugees).
Andrew and Leah Daly working
with YWAM in Romania
The Banks Family, working with
Scripture Union, New Zealand
Testimony Faith Homes,
Kenya
The Shoe Box Appeal at
Roby, 2015, having filled
over 300 boxes.
The Team at St Bartholomew’s We are blessed by support from our four Readers and one Reader Emeritus who work on a rota across the three main Sunday services. We
also have the support of a retired clergyman and a minister currently in service in a secular post, both of whom are members of our
congregation.
We have a host of volunteers who enthusiastically support the ministry of the church. We have a passion to release people into the
ministries for which they have been called, both lay ministry and ordained. We have welcomed and benefitted from curates in the past,
and this would be an aspiration for the future. We have a modern curate’s house which is currently rented out.
We have in place two new and enthusiastic Church Wardens, Heather and Clive, who bring their experience, wisdom and people skills to
ensure that St Bartholomew’s runs as smoothly as possible. They have the full support of a well motivated PCC.
St Bartholomew’s is a part of the Huyton Deanery which is made up of ten parishes and fifteen places of worship. This includes two teams.
The deanery is in the newly formed Archdeaconry of Knowsley and Sefton.
Finances Despite having a falling ‘giving congregation’ over the last few years, we have been able to address our financial difficulties and put ourselves in a far more secure financial position.
In 2013 we instigated a plan to clear our parish share debt of £30,000 and by end of 2015, this was cleared. We have examined our finances carefully and made use of the Parish Buying Scheme to supply our utilities, as well as starting to rebuild our cash reserves. As a church, we encourage giving by using the Parish Giving Scheme.
Our parish share is currently £84,655 and our annual income is around £140,000. Our expenditure for the previous financial year was £138,868.
A full set of accounts is available on request.
St Bartholomew’s Church, Church Road, Roby, L36 9TL
Tel: 0151 480 2319
www.stbartholomewsroby.org.uk
Our Motto Text 2017
Haggai 2 v 4, 9
“… Be strong, all you people of the land,” declares the Lord, “and work. For I am with you.”
...“And in this place I will grant peace,”
