Copthorne Parish Profile

The Parish

The parish of Copthorne, West Sussex, is the most northerly ecclesiastical parish in the Diocese of Chichester, and together with Crawley Down makes up the civil parish of Worth. Copthorne is a village of around 6,000 people. It is part of the local Deanery of East Grinstead, being between the towns of Crawley and East Grinstead, and is mid way between London and Brighton, making for excellent travel links being close to both Gatwick Airport and the M23.

There are strong links to Gatwick Airport with many being employed within the airport itself or associated businesses. There are several small industrial developments locally as well as local shops and businesses.

There is a distinct community feel within the village, and the village Green is used for various village events, including the Copthorne Carnival – held on the last Saturday in June – and the St. John’s sponsored ‘Jazz on the Green’ early in June. Other major events have been Millennium and VE Day anniversary celebrations.

Our Church

This mid-Victorian church was built in the 1870’s and was completed by 1877; services were held by special licence until 4 August 1881, when the church was formally consecrated by the Bishop of Chichester. It has an attractive stone exterior, with a red, black and white brick interior.

Before that, Copthorne had largely been part of the ancient parish of Worth. The new parish was also carved out of part of the neighbouring new parish of Crawley Down (formed in 1862), and from Burstow and Horne. The population in 1881 was 1,079 (and by 1935 was
1,335).

By the 1990’s Copthorne had grown to over 5,000 people, and our predecessors of 100 years ago would not be able to imagine the thought of the M23 or Gatwick airport!

The church has also grown and developed over the years. There is an active congregation of around 85 most Sundays between our 2 morning services – at 9.00 and 10.30am. The Sunday Clubs cater enthusiastically for children from baby to teen-age. The church is a mix of many ordinary people – some old Copthorne families, some very new to the village; some very down to earth, some with high profile jobs.
The thing that links all of us is that we are all seeking to know more of God’s love, to experience it for ourselves, and to share it with others.

There is a ramp to the main door for disabled/pushchair access; PA system/hearing loop; bells – a set of six Carillon bells; an insitu computer projector and roller screen – useful to illustrate sermons and children’s talks, show words for hymns/songs not in our pew books, and words for special liturgy or prayers. The church clock is currently not working due to vertical ladder access issues.

The church is usually open 24 hours a day for prayer and contemplation – a much appreciated feature amongst the village community. CCTV operates, but we have had little trouble, although we did recently have a random arson attack by a distressed individual. We are taking the opportunity to consider some improvements during the necessary refurbishment.

Churchyard

There is still some space available for graves, and a recently completed (2005) Labyrinth Memorial Garden for interring of ashes. The labyrinth represents the journey of life and many villagers and visitors spend time there. There is a wonderful glass sculpture at the centre of the labyrinth, specially commissioned, and installed by Colin Reid (artist in glass), and which is a great feature and focus for thought.

Church Hall

An aging hall, which badly needs replacing. It is currently used for various groups, church and others, as well as being the home of St. John’s Sunshine Pre-School.

It is a necessity to keep this going, as along with space for the various user groups, it provides our only toilet facilities for church!

The Vicarage

Between the church and Copthorne CE Junior School, the vicarage overlooks the Village Green. It is a good sized modern 4 bedroom house with garden, garage and parking for several cars. Currently the study doubles up as Parish Office, until our Parish Centre is built which would ideally then house a new office for our parish administration.

Our people

We have an Assistant Priest NSM (part time), Paul Smith, and in June 2010 Liz Logan was ordained deacon, returning to us as a part time NSM. In past years we have seen not only Paul and Liz called to ministry from St. John’s, but also 2 others now working full time as priests.
In common with many churches, our congregation is mainly older, but shows distinct signs of growth of families with young children. Again, commonly, we struggle to keep our teenagers.

We had 159 on our Electoral Roll at our APCM in March 2010 (163 in 2009). So far in 2010, we average 37 adults, and 1 or 2 children at our 9am Sunday services and 32 adults and 16 children at 10.30.

Our Wednesday morning Holy Communion has between 16 and 24 communicants

Statistics for special services

Church Life

Our services

Our main services use material from Common Worship (modern language), with a strong emphasis on biblically based teaching. We use ‘Songs of Fellowship’ as our main source of hymns and songs. Our spirituality is middle of the road Anglican, with a touch of evangelical.

Sundays:

9.00am Holy Communion (CW)

Fresh coffee and croissants are served for both congregations between the services.

10.30am Worship Together

Using a service book with material from CW and New Patterns for Worship enabling a less structured feel. The children start in church, but leave during the first hymn for their own groups. They return at the end of the service to show us what they have been doing in their sessions. Holy Communion is usually offered on the 3rd and 5th Sundays in the month. An All Age Worship service is held on the 1st Sunday, when the children remain in church, using material that we hope speaks to people of all ages and stages of their journey of faith.

Wednesday morning Holy Communion 10.30am (CW), followed by coffee.

We have coloured Service Booklets according to the church ‘season’; a weekly PewsNews sheet with hymns, readings, Collect, and other information. Lay involvement has always been encouraged and supported within the services, with an introductory prayer, Intercessions, readings, and communion administration being taken by members of the congregation on a rota system.

Additionally Holy Communion is taken weekly, often with lay leadership, to both Heatherley (Monday), our local Cheshire Home and Orchid View (Thursday), a new Care Home near the Church Hall.

Organ and/or Clavinova are used at both 9am and 10.30am services. Other musicians are occasionally available – including guitar, flute and violin - and a small singing group at 10.30am.

Other occasional services may be lively Praise & Worship or quiet contemplative Taize style. We also have services for special times of the year – Christmas, Christingle, Easter, harvest, Remembrance Day (with involvement from uniformed organisations and The Copthorne Silver Band) and Annual Memorial service, which are well attended.

Church Organisations

• Home Groups – 3 groups meet in afternoon or evening for study, discussion and fellowship. ‘Alpha’ courses and other study sessions (eg for Lent, Advent) run from time to time.
• PrayMates – a small group of parents, carers and under 3’s meet for praise and worship with activities appropriate for the ages of the children. They meet weekly on Thursdays in church.
• Naomi’s Friends – a group for those who have lost a partner, or someone close to them, with time to share experiences and pray. They meet monthly in the church hall and have occasional trips out.
• Tuesday Teas – a social gathering for older folk, playing card games, Scrabble have tea and chat. They meet on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Tuesdays each month in the church hall. In addition to this our local Care Home – Orchid View – also offer tea, cake and chat to anyone on the other Tuesdays of the month.
• The Copthorne Magazine – a bi-monthly magazine produced by St. John’s and distributed free to homes in Copthorne, thanks to delivery volunteers and the revenue from our advertisers.
• Prayer Circle – a telephone/email link to ask for prayers for those in need and who ask for it. In addition, we have a Prayer Board in church for anyone to request prayers, which are read out during our Wednesday Holy Communion services, and on Sundays, prayer ministry is offered during communion.

Schools

• St. John’s Sunshine Pre-School – A Pre-School with a Christian ethos, meets daily in the church hall. Excellent recent Ofsted report
• Fairway Infant School – outstanding local infant school ages 4-7 in Copthorne
• Copthorne CE Junior School – village CofE Junior School ages 7-11. It is usual for the incumbent to be a governor and take a weekly assembly. The school goes into church for a service each half term and for Leavers and Christmas services.
• Holy Trinity CofE Secondary School – local Crawley CofE comprehensive ages 11-18
• Copthorne Preparatory School – a private preparatory school for ages 3 -13

How we see the role of our Incumbent

A prayerful shepherd of our flock

• Who has vision for the future of our church and a collaborative leadership style.
• Who is passionate about sharing the gospel with all ages and encouraging us all to grow in faith and love.
• Who will be supportive of our new NSM curate as she continues her training in post and prepares for her ordination to the priesthood next July.
• Who is willing to take an active part with our Pre-school, and village schools (Fairway and Junior CE)
• Who has patience and time to spend with older folk for whom personal, face to face contact is so important
• Who is happy to be involved with the village community
• Who is confident with children and young people
• Who will share our enthusiasm to create a new Parish Centre to enable us to provide facilities for the whole community, as well as church activities
• Who is ready for a challenge - to lead us forward to growth in not just numbers, but in our individual faith journeys

We hope that the incumbent will desire to foster a whole variety of gifts and ministries, enabling the ministry and mission in Copthorne to be joyfully engaged in by all People of God at St. John’s.

What we can offer a new incumbent and the future for St. John's

We offer a new incumbent opportunities:

• to give fresh inspiration, new ideas and leadership to build on our traditions and enhance our worship
• to encourage, develop and enable the prayer life of the church
• to challenge each one of us to develop our own faith and spirituality
• to foster links with neighbouring parishes and other local worship centres – Copthorne Chapel and St. Edwards (RC)
• to get to know the families, children and young people of Copthorne
• to be a visible presence around the village
• to engage with and promote pastoral work by the church

To help with this we offer:

• the assistance of 2 part time NSMs
• enthusiastic and hard working Wardens and PCC to support and share in the mission
• a committed congregation ready to share your vision
• a strong sense of community within the village
• a church with the heart to grow and reach out, not only to the community in which we live, but also to others in greater need world wide.