The Vale of Pewsey Team

GENERAL INFORMATION

The Vale of Pewsey Team covers an area eight miles wide by six miles deep, designated an 'Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty'.  Pewsey is 20 miles from Swindon and Salisbury; Devizes. Marlborough and Hungerford are within easy reach. Bath, Bristol and Southampton are all within one hour.

We have sixteen churches in our team, grouped, for administrative purposes, into five 'clusters'. Each of the clusters contain three churches. Pewsey, by far the largest village at the geographical centre of the team, is designated as a single-church. There is one church cared for by the Churches Conservation Trust.

The Team's mission is :

"To build a united and growing Christian Community."

Geography

The Vale of Pewsey is bounded on the south by the Salisbury Plain and the north by the Marlborough Downs. The area is essentially rural, with sheep farming on the high ground and arable in the Vale. The largest village, Pewsey, has a total and growing population of some 4,300; the smaller villages total some 4,000.

The Clergy Team

The full Team comprises three stipendiary priests, one associate priest and two active licensed lay ministers.

The Team Rector has special responsibility for the Parish of Pewsey and for the overall leadership of the Team. He is also priest-in-charge of the Upavon/Rushall/Charlton St Peter cluster. The Rectory is in Pewsey.

Lay Ministry

We encourage and value the ministry of lay people who provide assistance in a variety of ways including worship, pastoral care, education and mission. We have a large group of lay pastoral assistants (LPAs) who are active throughout the Team.

Team Council

The Team Council, which meets four times each year, consists of representatives from each parish together with a Lay Chairman, Treasurer, Secretary and the clergy. Churchwardens are encouraged to act as their Parish Representatives. We have lay led committees for finance, social activities, fete, education and youth.

Team Vision

Our aim for the next five years is to achieve spiritual growth throughout the community.

Move from maintenance to a focus on mission and a wider involvement with the local community.
Increase the regular training for lay members with the intention to enlarge this into the Deanery.
Encourage the spiritual growth of the church membership of all ages.

Our longer term vision is currently under consideration and will be published here shortly.

Our worship

Within the clusters worship is fairly equally divided between Common Worship and The Book of Common Prayer. It is predominantly Eucharistic with a combination of sung and said worship. Across the whole team the balance is weighted towards Common Worship. We try to ensure that the pattern of worship meets the current needs of the parishes within the cluster. There are some lay led services as well as healing and youth services. We have evenings of meditation from time to time and a Team retreat annually in the spring

Prayer Groups, Study Groups and Adult Nurture

Within the Team we have well supported Lent courses, regular prayer and bible study groups and other short study groups from time to time and of course confirmation classes together with preparation for marriage and for baptism. Our aim is to provide a greater range of training and course material.

Mothers' Union

This group currently has over thirty members and a full programme. It meets in Pewsey once a month on Wednesday afternoons and, very occasionally, in the evening. Members come from across the Team.

Ecumenical Links

Sound ecumenical links are in place with the Roman Catholic and Methodist Churches in Pewsey and with members of the Society of Friends.

The Deanery

The Pewsey Deanery comprises two teams. The Deanery Synod meets three times a year.

Overseas Links

These exist between some parishes and overseas missionaries. Christian Aid Week and work in the Sudan are well supported throughout the Team with special services, collections and fund raising activities.

The Church in the Community

The Church Community actively supports a wide range of local activities as well as national and global charities.

YACHT - Youth and Children's Team

The Children's work across the team (and deanery) is quietly flourishing with well-established groups like 'Little Fishes' and 'Ducklings' pre-school as well as newer ventures like 'Sparklers'. There is good collaberation and teamwork between people who care for children and good sharing and resources (as seen in the Summer Holiday Club in St John's at Pewsey). 'YACHT' takes an active role in planning, leading and reviewing work with children and youth. This gives a helpful overview of misson to children and families in the team/deanery. As a result, twice yearly now, there is a deanery breakfast meeting where children's and youth leaders gather for fellowship, worship, encouragement and input. The deanery contributes an annual budget and we are very well supported by the Diocesan Children's Adviser and the Diocesan Youth Adviser.

In Pewsey, St John the Baptist Church has excellent children's work, with seasonal workshops and provision for children at each Sunday Service. The churches in the smaller villages are unable to provide for children on a weekly basis but many do offer monthly All Age Worship Services.

The clergy take an active part in the schools in the team. All the schools are welcoming. Three are Church Primary Schools. There are exciting opportunities to be involved in the life of the Pewsey Vale School thanks to a supportive Head Teacher there. This is our only Secondary School in the team and deanery. Youth ministry is challenging everywhere in the Church but here we are concerned to seek ways to provide for the spiritual needs of our teenagers.

In 2009 we were able to begin the 'Open the Book' scheme in two Primary Schools and we aim to phase in more teams in other schools in 2010. We have also dabbled in 'Messy Church' at North Newnton and an after school club called 'Sparklers' (for 5-7's) is developing very well.

Other groups in the area include a well-supported youth group called 'The Shak' attached to Pewsey Leisure Centre and Pewsey Vale School; Brownies, Scouts, St John Ambulance Brigade and a Pony Club.

The Team Magazine

Our Team Magazine is published ten times each year and is distributed free of charge to every household, regardless of church membership.

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