Todmorden and Walsden are located in the upper Calder Valley in West Yorkshire, on the border with Lancashire and Greater Manchester. The communities lie within easy reach of both Leeds/Bradford and Manchester, with rail links direct to both, and to Halifax, Huddersfield, Wakefield and beyond. There are excellent links further afield via the M62/M1/M6 motorways and internationally via Leeds/Bradford Airport and Manchester Airport (both an hour away by road).

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

Please apply on Pathways

The closing date for this post is 26^th June 2023

Interviews are expected to be held on 27^th 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 Mary, Todmorden and St Peter, Walsden are well established as a benefice and seek to reach out into their communities with the love of God. They are seeking a new incumbent who will bring fresh vision and a commitment to work collaboratively, to lead the benefice into the next chapter of its story. The congregations want 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, build a culture of trust, and encourage others to own and share leadership; offering fresh leadership as the benefice continues to emerge from the covid pandemic;
  
• Lead the development and strengthening of discipleship among the congregations, inspiring growth in numbers, spiritual depth, and responsiveness to God’s call 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;
  
• Work with Deanery colleagues to further the mission of God throughout the are, by engaging fully in Chapter, Synod and the life of the Deanery;
  
• Be committed to good pastoral care, by visiting and leading the development of the pastoral visiting team, supporting ; lay Eucharistic ministers in the home communion ministry, and ensuring that housebound members of the congregation are not forgotten;
  
• Develop the ministry of the church buildings / churchyards to visitors, including opportunities to enhance the ecological potential of the church grounds;

• Work to attract more young people and families into the life of these parishes, including a focus on maintaining and developing good relationships with the schools in the parish, offering collective worship, supporting the Open the Book team, reviving after-school clubs, etc;

• Engage with ecumenical partners in the area; build relationships with other Ministers, and support joint working eg with the Scouts;

• Maintain the connections with, and foster good working relationships with, the local community and community organisations, such as Incredible Edibles and the Todmorden Folk Festival; be a visible presence in the life of these parishes.

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 lies 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.