Cleckheaton is located 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 16 miles away.

We are looking for a priest who is committed to helping our churches to grow in numbers, in spiritual commitment to God and in service to the local community as we deepen and strengthen the relationships across our benefice of 3 churches. 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 23^rd June 2023

Interviews are expected to be held in early/mid 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.

The churches of St Luke, St John and Whitechapel in Cleckheaton are well established as a benefice and seek to engage across the town to bring the love of God to bear. Following the departure of the previous vicar to a national role, we are now seeking to appoint a new incumbent to lead the benefice into the next chapter of its story, as the congregations seek to further develop their relationships, mission and ministry across the community, and to grow their congregations in number, depth and engagement.

We are looking for a new incumbent who will:

• Work with colleagues, lay and ordained, to further God’s mission in the benefice and encourage others to own and share leadership;
  
• Lead the development and strengthening of discipleship among the congregations, inspiring growth in numbers, spiritual depth, and engagement in ministry and mission, nurturing new Christians and the existing congregations into a deeper sense of the presence and purposes of God in their lives;
  
• Reach out to the areas of new housing in the Benefice to build relationships and encourage connections;

• Work to attract more young people and families into the life of these parishes, including a focus on engaging with baptism families; develop also strategies to engage the ‘missing middle’ group of people aged 30-50;

• Maintain and develop the good relationship with the schools in the parish, including the offer of collective worship;

• Be committed to pastoral care, and the work of the pastoral visiting team;

• Engage with ecumenical partners in our vibrant Churches Together; build relationships with other Ministers, including the recently appointed Methodist and Roman Catholic clergy;

• Maintain the connections with, and foster good working relationships with, community organisations

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 Benefice of three churches lies in the Dewsbury & Birstall 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.