LEAMINGTON AVENUE ORPINGTON KENT BR6 9QB www.st-nicholaschurch.co.uk 1

CONTENTS Page numbers 1. Parish Details 3 2. Map of the Parish 4 3. Structure and Staffing of the Parish 5 4. A Short History of St Nicholas Church and Hall 6-8 and photographs 5. Church House and photographs 9-10 6. Mission and Vision 11 7. Church Services 12 8. Church Activities at St Nicholas 13-14 9. Finance 15 2

PARISH DETAILS St Nicholas Church is part of the Parish of Farnborough and situated in the town of Orpington and the London Borough of Bromley. The parish has a population of some 19,000 with the majority living in owner occupied housing. The whole area represents a very pleasant suburb located on the edge of green belt and Kent Countryside. The town of Orpington is considerably larger and is seen as a busy commuter area with very good rail links to London. Orpington Station serves several London main line stations and is within walking distance from St Nicholas as well as being accessible by bus. There are a number of other buses running through or alongside the parish to various parts of the town. Junction 4 of the M25 is approximately three miles away providing routes to airports and transport links to continental Europe. Good education is available for families in the parish starting with nursery places that are available at St Giles Centre and St Nicholas where a Montessori preschool is run. Farnborough Village has its own primary school and there are two others in the parish one being the local Catholic school. Orpington has many more of which at least two serve the St Nicholas side of the parish. Although there are no secondary schools in the parish it has access to an excellent range in and around Orpington including the selective girls school and boys school for the Bromley Borough, two mixed secondary schools plus others that are accessible through catchment zones including Bishop Justus, a popular Church of England school. The Princess Royal University Hospital is the main hospital in the area and is situated in the Farnborough Parish. Known locally as the PRUH it provides an extensive range of services including A&E and now operates under the Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Just outside the parish is Orpington Hospital which provides a range of care but has no A&E department. Social activity in the parish is limited to eating and drinking establishments. However you will find Orpington town centre has a new cinema, tenpin bowling, a library and an indoor sports complex in addition to the extensive list of food and drink venues. If shopping can be called a social activity there are lots of opportunity to engage in it. Most homes in the parish have access to local shops a short walk away providing many daily needs while in and around the town centre of Orpington there are many larger stores and a greater range of family requirements. Further afield there are the larger town centres of Bromley and Croydon or for the more sophisticated shopper Bluewater with its 300 shops plus entertainment facilities is less than thirty minutes drive from Orpington. Other than St Giles the only other church in the parish is the Catholic Church. However Orpington town has a number of other churches e.g. Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, URC and other Anglican. St Nicholas has been able to engage with many of these churches under the Churches Together In Orpington banner. 3

MAP OF THE PARISH Orpington Town Centre Orpington Station * St Nicholas Church * St Giles Church 4

STRUCTURE AND STAFFING OF THE PARISH The Parish of Farnborough is a large one of some 19,000 souls which extends on both sides of the A21 Farnborough bypass. The Patron of the parish is Emmanuel College Cambridge and this institution takes an active role in appointing the Rector of Farnborough at the Parish Church of St Giles. The Associate Rector is purely a parish and diocesan appointment and is based at St Nicholas. The parish hall, built in 1958 to serve the newly built housing estates on the Orpington side of the parish, is now St Nicholas and the centre of both a thriving church and also of community activities. The parish structure reflects this dichotomy and works well, catering as it does for two busy autonomous church congregations with mostly separate associated activities. There is one parish PCC which is divided into two separately meeting groups of either St Giles or St Nicholas PCC members. The whole PCC meets up a couple of times a year to discuss joint matters. The parish electoral role has 344 members in total, of which the St Nicholas members number 58, although this last number does not adequately reflect the number of people who take an active part in parish life. Most members of the congregations attend services at one or other church although some attend services at both churches. There are separate church events and joint events and worshippers from both churches do know each other. The Associate Rector is in charge of St Nicholas Church, hall (and associated hiring to outside groups), worship and pastoral care. There are four regular Sunday services at St Giles and two (depending on the monthly timetable) at St Nicholas details of which can be found on page 12. He or she also takes occasional services at St Giles and the Rector and Associate Rector swap pulpits from time to time so that the two congregations get to know both ministers. THE RECTOR - based at St Giles Staffing at Giles Staffing at St Nicholas The Associate Rector - St Nicholas Assistant Priest (non-stipendiary) 3 Readers 1 Reader Churchwarden and 2 Deputy Wardens Churchwarden and Deputy Warden 5 Pastoral Assistants 2 Pastoral Assistants Morning Organist/Choirmaster Pianist (honorary) Evening Organist Choirmaster Family and Children's Worker (honorary) St Giles Parish Office Administrator - part time Church Cleaner and St Giles Centre Cleaner Verger Family and Children's Worker - part time St Nicholas Office Administrator - part time Hall and Leamington Room Cleaner 5

A SHORT HISTORY OF ST NICHOLAS CHURCH AND HALL In 1927 the Farnborough bypass (A21) was built considerably easing the traffic en route from Kent to Bromley but cutting the large parish in half. After the Second World War the Davis Estate was built on the Orpington side of the bypass and the Rector and PCC realised that the road with its heavy traffic would now separate the increased numbers of parishioners there from their parish church in Farnborough. It was decided to build a church hall for parish activities and also some church services for local parishioners. With the agreement of the diocese various sites were considered but planning restrictions and ever higher costs resulted in delays and the go-ahead for site and hall did not happen until 1954. The prefabricated Rema building was opened on June 22nd 1958 and later dedicated to St Nicholas because of the large numbers of children who were now enjoying its facilities. It soon became clear that the occasional Sunday services, led by the Reader Gordon Galbraith, attracted many people who were also at the hall in the week for various activities such as badminton, playgroup, Guides and Brownies and so on. After Gordon, the many curates who have been appointed to the parish have always had the main responsibility for St Nicholas and with that a fair amount of independence so that church services and events increased as time went on. In the 1990s the title of the priest in charge of St Nicholas was changed to Assistant Rector to reflect the independence and responsibilities involved. Over the years St Nicholas has benefitted from the energy and enthusiasm that its past (now 15) priests have devoted to the life of the church and to the local community. Since 1958 St Nicholas clergy have lead the St Nicholas PCC in raising money to improve the building itself in various ways. In the 1980s a large and dusty store room was made into a chapel so that the building would now have a peaceful and permanent place of worship. A few years later the entrance lobby was redeveloped involving the replacement of the 1950s hat check area with a meeting room and upgraded ladies toilets. Stairs to the loft were installed to make use of the loft storage area. More recently in 2015 the small back hall - now renamed The Leamington Room - has been enlarged by incorporating an underused area behind the stage and also given more facilities by adding a kitchen section. The building is almost permanently in use by many and varied hirers such as a daily Montessori Nursery in The Leamington Room, Ladies Keep Fit, the Leamington WI, a dance school, Little Kickers and Tumble Tots. This is in addition to church use for services, seasonal prayer trails, Lunch Club, Messy Church and more. The St Nicholas mission statement, A church at the heart of the community with a heart for the community, really does apply in this case and St Nicholas Church and hall have fulfilled the original aim for the building as seen in 1947. 6

ST NICHOLAS CHURCH AND HALL 7

THE LEAMINGTON ROOM ST GILES THE ABBOT PARISH OF FARNBOROUGH KENT 8

CHURCH HOUSE Church House was designed and built in 1981 and replaced the then curate s house, which was a three bedroom semi-detached house on the nearby Davis estate. Church House is situated next door to St Nicholas in Leamington Avenue and is set back on its own plot of land with a self-contained garden. It comprises the following accommodation:- Ground Floor Lounge, dining room, study, kitchen, utility room, cloakroom, understairs cupboard and integral single garage. First Floor Four bedrooms, two with built in wardrobes, bathroom with bath and shower over, wash hand basin and w.c., a separate shower room, and airing cupboard. Church House has gas fired central heating and upvc double glazing. Church House is owned by the Parish and St Nicholas is responsible for repairs and maintenance, insurance, the Council Tax and Water Rates. The Associate Rector would be responsible for the costs of gas and electricity used. The St Nicholas PCC is setting aside a sum of money to be invested in the property and will be happy to discuss how this should be spent once the new Associate Rector has been appointed. 9

REAR OF CHURCH HOUSE AND GARDEN 10

MISSION AND VISION You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.. (Matthew 5 v14) St Nicholas is built on a hill at the top of Ashbourne Rise and surrounded by suburban housing and we take seriously our mission statement A church at the heart of the community with a heart for the community. Our regular church worship week by week strengthens us as a community of faith to reach out to others who do not know of the love of God or who are unwilling or afraid to believe. St Nicholas is a living and active community with our dual-use building both a church and a hall for hiring, so that the relaxed weekly atmosphere is welcoming to all who pause at our threshold and wonder about coming in to join our worship at any time. As a church we seek to witness faithfully to the saving love of Christ and we welcome all to come and celebrate this love as we encourage and support one another to grow in the Christian faith. We try to reflect the love of God to others by what we do as well as by what we say and we hope that whoever is appointed will feel able to continue the good work in their own way. Our mission is: To reach out to our local community and add to the St Nicholas congregation To continue to develop our mission to families and young people To enable our congregation to understand more about the love of God To encourage our fellow church members to consider their stewardship of time, talents and resources To nurture and teach our young people to help them grow in faith To think of and pray about situations in the world which need our prayer To give away yearly 10% of our congregational giving to charitable causes To value our God-given creation in all its fullness 11

TYPICAL MONTHLY SERVICE PATTERN AT ST NICHOLAS First Sunday 9.00 am Prayer Meeting 10.00 am Family Communion (Kids Club come back into church to join their families for communion) Second Sunday 9.00 am Holy Communion in chapel (1662) 10.00 am All Age Worship (Rainbows, Brownies and Guides join us for church parade a few times per year) Third Sunday 10.00 am Holy Communion Fourth Sunday 9.00 am Holy Communion in chapel (1662) 10.00 am Morning Praise When a fifth Sunday occurs it is normally Holy Communion. There are occasional Sunday evening services. The services are a mixture of traditional and modern forms of worship and music. Occasionally we use the format of Taizé or Café style service. Prayer Ministry is available after most 10.00 am services. Kids Club for children aged 3+ takes place each Sunday (except 2nd Sunday) during the 10.00 am Service. All the children start in church and then leave for their own age appropriate activities. Crèche An area is available in church with toys and books for the under 3's. Morning Prayer 9.15 am Weekly on a Friday morning SERVICES AT ST GILES 8.00 am Holy Communion (1662) 10.00 am Family Communion, Morning Praise or All Age Worship 11.15 am Matins (1662) 6.30 pm Evensong (1662) or Holy Communion (order 1) St Giles Sunday School, for children aged 3+ meets in the St Giles Centre on 2nd, 3rd and 4th Sundays. Thursday Communion Service 10.00 am 12

CHURCH ACTIVITIES AT ST NICHOLAS Members of St Nicholas run various groups and activities both for the church and local community that cater for children and adults of all ages. We seek to share the love of Christ with all who come along. Just Babies - this meets weekly on a Tuesday afternoon and is an informal time for mothers with new babies to get together and chat over a cup of tea. Toddler Group - this meets weekly in term time on a Wednesday morning and is for parents/carers with babies and pre-school children. A toddler service takes place once a month with a short Bible story and associated craft. Messy Church - this meets once a month on a Friday after school and is for parents/carers and their children. Refreshments are provided and each month there is a different Bible story and themed craft. Kids Club - this takes place during the morning service on a Sunday. Children get together in different aged groups for singing, craft, Bible teaching and discussion. A crèche corner is available in church for younger children. Kids Club also do a nativity play for the Christingle Service. Lunch Club - this takes place on the 3rd Tuesday of each month, (except August), and is open to all in the community. Other St Nicholas meetings and activities include: Mothers Union - this meets twice monthly. Home Groups - there are various groups that meet during the week. Prayer Visiting - this takes place around the parish in the summer months. Activities that take place on an annual basis include: Easter Activity Morning May Social evening* Summer Holiday Club Jumble Sale* Light and Bright Party in October Autumn Fair* Alpha Course - this is usually run every couple of years. Our dual-use building is also hired by many groups in the community and for children's parties, see next page for a typical week. We seek to develop and build up good relationships with all who use our facilities. * fund raising events 13

TYPICAL WEEKLY HALL USAGE 14

FINANCE On a day to day basis the finances of St Giles and St Nicholas are kept separately, only being brought together for the purposes of the Financial Statements at the year end. The Parish is in a healthy financial position and St Nicholas has made surpluses in the last four years. St Nicholas net current assets at 31 December 2014 totalled some 72,000, which approximates to 70% of annual expenditure. During the summer major works of extension and improvement were carried out to the small hall, now renamed the Leamington Room. Part of the cost has had to be financed from balances so it is likely that there will be a small reduction in the St Nicholas net current assets at 31 December 2015. Financial governance at St Nicholas is strong. In December each year the St Nicholas PCC approves the budget for the following year. In January hall rents are reviewed with changes effective from September. At each meeting the PCC receives a report from the Treasurer with details of income and expenditure to date compared with the budget. There have been stewardship campaigns in 2011 and more recently in March 2015. St Nicholas has a target of giving away to charity 10% of income donated by the congregation. Three charities are supported with annual donations of 1200 each. Release International has ongoing support, the other two are supported for a three year period. In addition St Nicholas makes an annual contribution to Welcare, 650 in 2015. The collection at the Christingle Service is given to the Children s Society, the Independent Examiner requests a donation to Whizz Kidz rather than a fee and 50% of the net profit of the Autumn Fair each year is given away to charity. St Nicholas makes a full contribution to the costs of the Diocese and the 2015 pledged offer of 47,040 covered the Associate Rector s stipend and related employment costs and a contribution to central Diocesan costs based on the Electoral Roll numbers. As Church House is owned and maintained by the PCC and is not owned by the Diocese no contribution to clergy housing costs is made within the pledged offer. Annual income and expenditure is approximately 100,000. The largest items of income are giving and hall rents, the largest items of expenditure are the pledged offer to the Diocese and the costs of maintaining and running the church building. 15