St Mary’s Church has a faithful and committed congregation who worship in a well-maintained historic church building set in beautiful Cheshire countryside.

The church has strong traditions upon which to build and a proven commitment to adapt worship in order to reach out to families with children.

There is a major housing development nearby where creative mission initiatives will be vital to explore. There are also excellent relationships with the local Primary School. Both provide good potential for outreach and growth of the congregation.

The Patrons are looking for someone:-

• Who will be very committed to working closely with the Vicar of Alderley Edge and Birtles and the congregations that worship there, to develop a collaborative and supportive approach to ministry and mission.
• Who has strong and deep knowledge of the Christian faith, enabling him/her to enhance the spiritual life of the Church and encourage people to serve God and one another.
• Who through their faith, is pro-active and can provide us with strong, positive leadership and direction.
• Who will treasure what is precious about traditions and challenge where change is needed.
• Who is capable of providing a range of services from the Book of Common Prayer through to Common Worship.
• To continue nurturing our links with the Primary School.
• Who will be warm, compassionate, approachable and a good communicator/listener.
• Who is willing to work with the Wardens and the PCC and demonstrate diplomacy in a wide range of situations.
• Who will look to increase the congregation and encourage people of all ages, especially the young to play a more active role in the Church.
• Who has effective interpersonal skills and laughs easily.

If you think this could be for you, we’d love to receive your application.

The Archdeacon of Macclesfield, The Venerable Ian Bishop is available for a conversation should you wish. Tel: 01260 272 875 or email ian.bishop@chester.anglican.org

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

Nether Alderley Incumbent (part-time 3.5 days + Sundays) - Diocese of Chester (anglican.org)

Closing date: 15 January 2023

Interviews: 9 February 2023

The Diocese of Chester is in the province of York in the Church of England, part of the global Anglican Communion. For more information about our life, ministry and work please visit our website www.chester.anglican.org We are linked with the Anglican Church of Melanesia in the Solomon Islands and the Dioceses of Aru and Boga in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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, Bishop of Birkenhead Julie Conalty and the Bishop of Stockport is Samuel Corley.

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.