Sowerby Bridge sits at the heart of the Calder Valley in West Yorkshire, within easy reach of the cities of Leeds, Bradford and Wakefield and the larger towns of Dewsbury, Halifax and Huddersfield. There are excellent links further afield via the M62/M1 motorways and the rail network with good train services to London, Manchester and Leeds. Leeds/Bradford Airport is 19 miles away, with national and international connections.

We are looking for a priest who is committed to helping our church to grow in numbers, in discipleship and in service to the local community as we seek to be and become the church God calls us to be.

In return we will offer you our support, prayers and practical help from the multi-talented people in our congregations who are, in true Yorkshire style, welcoming and friendly.

The closing date for this post is 1^st June 2023

Interviews are expected to be held in late June/early July.

If you require further information including copies of the accounts or would like a conversation about this post please do not hesitate to contact The Ven Bill Braviner, Archdeacon of Halifax by email initially on archdeacon.halifax@leeds.anglican.org . He will then arrange to have a telephone or Zoom conversation with you.

Christ Church Sowerby Bridge seeks to live out its vocation as a parish church, sharing the life of the kingdom, shining the light of the Gospel, and sharing the love of God in and with its community.

It is woven into the fabric of life in the area, engaging well with schools, uniformed and other organisations, community events, and the wellbeing of the place and people. The congregation have a focus outwards, which informs their life as a gathering of disciples.

There are opportunities and challenges to be grasped, as well as experience and enthusiasm to be drawn upon. There is an openness among others in the community to the church’s engagement with them, and a desire for good and fruitful relationships.

We are looking for a priest who will:

• Be someone with a heart that oozes out the love of God, accepting and embracing all people;
• Be a confident leader inside and outside the church building, ideally with experience of working in a town parish, and of areas of post-industrial deprivation;
• Be a good communicator and motivational speaker able to communicate Jesus and the faith in a way which is easy to understand, and inspiring; be confident in the use of IT and Social Media as well as more traditional forms of communication;
• Demonstrate experience of implementing ideas which are vibrant and attractive to young people, and a commitment to draw them into the life of the parish, including maintaining and deepening links into local schools;
• Be a good people person, down to earth and practical, with a good sense of humour and experience of engaging with wider community issues affecting the parish;
• Be organised and used to working with (and in) teams, and through partnerships;
• Be resilient and supportive of others, encouraging those who need help or a listening ear;
• Be committed to good self-care, knowing their own limitations, and able to draw on wider networks for support.

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

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 & Craven, and Pontefract) assist the Diocesan Bishop (The Rt. Revd Nicholas Baines)

This church is in the Halifax and Calder Valley Deanery of the Huddersfield Episcopal Area, in the Archdeaconry of Halifax. The office of Bishop of Huddersfield is currently vacant, though our new Area Bishop will be consecrated in June. The Archdeacon of Halifax is The Venerable Bill Braviner.

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.