All Saints Halifax is a church with a rich heritage and great potential, and we are looking for someone very special to help lead the mission of the church in this parish.

The parish is located in an attractive suburb of Halifax, a pleasant place to live and a great base for mission and ministry. As the parish brochure makes clear, church attendance has declined in recent years, and this is one reason we are actively considering the possibility of pastoral reorganisation, as part of our strategy for mission and ministry across the Halifax Deanery. For this reason the post advertised is for a full-time interim priest-in-charge. The successful candidate will initially be appointed for three years, but with the possibility of an extension for an additional three years.

We believe that with the right leadership All Saints has great potential to reach out, to serve its community more effectively and to grow both numerically and spiritually. We also believe that, in time, All Saints has the potential to become a catalyst for renewal in and around this part of Halifax.

This is a great opportunity for the right person. It will require someone who can work creatively with the congregation supporting and challenging them to explore new ways of mission and outreach, and at the same time making connections with people who would at present never dream that the Church could have anything to offer. It will also require someone who is ready and willing to work imaginatively with the Bishop and Diocese to explore new patterns of ministry, including likely pastoral re-organisation and sharing ministry with a neighbouring parish, in ways that still need to be worked out together.

The closing date for this post is 21^st April 2021

Interview Date TBC depending on the road-map for the lifting of lockdown restrictions

If you require further information please contact The Ven Dr Anne Dawtry, Archdeacon of Halifax by email initially on archdeacon.halifax@leeds.anglican.org . She will then arrange to have a telephone or Zoom conversation with you.

To lead, in a collaborative way, the congregation of All Saints to a new vision and revival by:

• Communicating the Good News of Jesus to all by teaching, preaching and leading worship in an accessible way so as to appeal to a range of interests and traditions
• Growing the congregation in discipleship, mission and numbers
• Developing the links between the church and its school and encouraging young people and families in their discipleship
• Empowering and enabling lay people to take on roles of service and leadership within the church and the community
• Seeking opportunities for outreach using the Welcome Garden Project and other means as a way of reaching out to and embracing the community
• Caring for and getting alongside people so that the congregation and community feel that they are valued
• Working with the Bishop and Diocese to explore new patterns of ministry in this part of Halifax

The ideal candidate will be:

• A Spirit-led, Bible based believer and teacher
• Keen to grow the congregation both young and old in discipleship, mission and numbers
• Committed to communicating the Good News of Jesus to all
• Passionate about helping the church move forward in mission whilst also being able to manage a range of interests and traditions within the congregations
• A team-leader committed to co-operative working and able to offer leadership and inspiration to the ministry team and to the wider congregation
• Ready to develop the church’s vision through empowering and enabling lay people to take on roles of service and leadership within the church and community
• A person who will care for and get alongside the congregations and local community
• Enthusiastic about building strong relationships with our church school, with children and families
• Able to help the church strengthen its links with the Diocese and Deanery, seeking to become a catalyst for growth and renewal within South Halifax

Please see the Person Specification attached for further details of the essential and desirable qualities we are seeking in relation to this post.

About Us

The Anglican Diocese of Leeds comprises five episcopal areas, each coterminous with an archdeaconry. This is now one of the largest Dioceses in the country and its creation in 2014 is unprecedented in the history of the Church of England. It covers an area of around 2,425 square miles with a population of around 2,642,400 people. The Diocese comprises major cities (Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield) large industrial and post-industrial towns (Halifax, Huddersfield and Dewsbury), market towns (Todmorden, Harrogate, Skipton, Richmond, Ripon and Wetherby) and deeply rural areas especially in the Dales. The whole of life is here, along with all the richness, diversity and complexities of a changing world.

Five area bishops (Bradford, Huddersfield, Kirkstall, Ripon and Wakefield and five archdeacons (Bradford, Halifax, Leeds, Richmond and Craven and Wakefield. assist the Diocesan Bishop (The Rt. Revd Nicholas Baines)

The parish of Halifax All Saints lies in the Halifax Deanery of the Archdeaconry of Halifax and the Huddersfield Episcopal Area. The Bishop of Huddersfield is The Rt. Revd Dr Jonathan Gibbs and the Archdeacon of Halifax is The Venerable Dr Anne Dawtry.

Our vision as a Diocese is about confident clergy equipping confident Christians to live and tell the Good News of Jesus Christ. For all our appointments we are seeking clergy who have a joyful and confident faith and with a commitment to church growth both numerical and spiritual.