Associate Minister

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Planting Associate Vicar - St Mary Magdalene, Ashton upon Mersey

A unique opportunity exists for an individual who is passionate about discipleship, evangelism and church planting in a suburban setting.

This is a collaborative role and involves working alongside the Vicar and wider ministry team to develop and deliver our discipleship vision, oversee training in the parish and develop a team with a view to planting a church by the end of the 5-year term.

This post will also include all of the usual opportunities which come with working in this varied and busy parish, including pastoral work, occasional offices, preaching, teaching and leadership skills. However, there is also room to develop other ministries according to the applicants gifts and experience.

We are looking for someone with a passion for nurturing disciples; with a desire to work in new and creative ways; who enjoys starting new things and seeing them develop; who thrives as part of a team; and who is grounded in prayer.

St Mary Magdalene is a large, open evangelical Anglican church based in Ashton on Mersey, a suburb of Greater Manchester. Across our four congregations we enjoy a mix of worship styles and share a passion for discipleship. Within the parish we have a daughter church, Sale West Community Church, which meets on the Sale West estate.

Ashton upon Mersey is thriving community within easy reach of Manchester. There are excellent communication links close the M60, Manchester Airport, national rail network and the Manchester Tram network. There are excellent schools within the area and a well-equipped semi-detached house within the parish is provided for this role.

This post is open to those ordained within the Church of England who have satisfactorily completed initial ministerial education. It is a full-time, Incumbent-level position requiring a person who is capable of providing collaborative leadership and vision to the whole people of God.

Applications should by preference be made to the USING THE DIOCESAN APPLICATION FORM available on the website.

The Diocese covers an area of 1025 square miles, approximately the old Victorian County of Chester, including parts which subsequently became absorbed into Merseyside and Greater Manchester. The Rivers Mersey and Tame approximately delineate the boundary with Liverpool and Manchester. There are areas of dense urban population, mainly in the north, stretching from Birkenhead to East Manchester. There are prosperous suburban regions of West and South Wirral, Chester and south of Manchester, with a mainly rural heartland, bounded by the Derbyshire Pennines and the Welsh Border. The overall population is around 1.6 million.

The Diocesan Bishop is Mark Tanner, the positions of the Bishop of Birkenhead and the Bishop of Stockport are currently vacant.

The Cathedral for the Diocese is in Chester.

The Diocese is divided into two archdeaconries: Chester covering the western half and Macclesfield the eastern, each with nine deaneries. There are 273 parishes, about 100 of which can be described as rural. Compared with many dioceses, there are few teams, and few multi-parish benefices. There are approximately 231 stipendiary clergy. The ministry of Readers and Pastoral Workers is important, with over 400 licensed. The role of self-supporting ministers is increasing, with over 80 in post at present.

Roughly speaking, the Archdeaconry of Macclesfield covers that part of the diocese to the east of the M6, plus the area around Crewe and Nantwich. The Archdeaconry of Chester covers the rest of the diocese to the west of the M6. Each archdeaconry has a broad mix of urban and rural parishes. The Archdeacon of Chester lives in Chester, and the Archdeacon of Macclesfield lives in Congleton. Both now work from Church House, Daresbury.