Parish profile: St. Philip with St. Stephen

Romsey, Cambridge

Mission statement: “We the people of St. Philip with St. Stephen gather together as the local parish church in Romsey Town. Our Purpose as a church is to
Worship God in all we do
Grow together as disciples of Christ
Serve the local community
Enable others to encounter Jesus.

These are the values we think important
Being .....
Biblical, Prayerful and Open to the Spirit
Inclusive and Welcoming
Child-friendly
Participative and Informal
Innovative and Relevant
Serving and Faithful
Caring for Others and Enjoying Ourselves.

Our Vision for 2012
Church at the Centre of the Community
Heart for God. A people of God growing in faith and numbers.
Hub of Life. A resource for living life to the full
Hive of Activity. A building buzzing with activity

Parish Life & Associations

Potted Church History: St. Philip’s was founded over 100 years ago, celebrating this in 2002. St. Stephen’s was founded in 1936 as a mission church, united to St. Philip’s Parish in 1982. St. Stephen’s became minister-less in 1986. Since 1994 we have worshipped as one, so called St Philip with St Stephen. We use both church sites at various times through out the week and look to develop these. Evangelical, Open to the Spirit. A relaxed approach with serious intent.

Parish Area: Urban. Population grown by a thousand in last ten years, now 8,000. Homes: 3,500. Romsey Town is a cohesive area with its own distinctive sense of community, yet a changing area. Good links with other local Anglican & Baptist churches as well as other regular inter city church leadership links. According to the 2001 Census just over half the population of the area indicated they were Christian, 20 % less than national average!

Worship is All Age, participatory, mainly Communion based, Music is modern - band. Various other options for prayer, meditation, training, fellowship in the week.

Leadership: The PCC meet third Monday of the month, the Executive meets monthly in between Task groups: Finance, Fabric, Worship, Continuous Mission, Missionary, Small Groups, Youth & Children, Pastoral support, Development project. There is good participation by many of the church members and relies on the oversight, encouragement, leadership and enabling of a full time ordained person.

We are support a part time Children’s worker.

Office: We employ a secretary 2 mornings a week to take some of the administrative burden.

Members: 90 adults, 30 children, links with many more.

Mission into the Community:

Mission Projects run by the church:

• Parents & toddler group
• Luncheon Club for elderly
• Coffee morning for shoppers
• Alpha Courses
• Regular Services in Sheltered Accommodation
• Children & Youth work: Groups / Summer J Team / Special events / Uniformed groups
• Midweek groups: Mothers Union, Wednesday Fellowship, Home Groups, Time to Share etc
• Looking ahead we have been looking at a massive development project!

Mission through Local Organisations [hefty input]:

• St. Philip’s Church Primary School: Strong links! Governors, parents & children links, staff, assemblies, clubs
• Romsey Mill A local Christian Youth & Community Centre: - we provide trustees / volunteers / finance
• Charity Shop. Aid of Romsey Mill & Tear Fund: Running / volunteers

Mission Serving the Wider Church:

• 25% of our income is given away to support outreach into the local, national and international communities.
• We have strong links with 3 families who have been part of our church and serve abroad with Wycliffe Bible Translators, SAMS, Latin Link as well as supporting TEAR Fund, Emmanuel International & others
• We support 2 single young men as they pursue Christian youth training.
• We have a number of ordinands in training linked to us for supervision.
• We have sent 5 church members in the last 10 years for ordination training to serve the wider church.
• This parish offers a unique, wide and varying mission potential, training experience and a joy to belong