Music plays a very important role in our Sunday worship and in what we offer to the wider community.

The robed choir is one of just two traditional all-male church choirs in the Diocese. The choir performs a wide variety of music: at the Parish Eucharist congregational Mass settings alternate with choir settings, and Choral Evensong is a "Cathedral" style offering with a good repertoire of canticle settings and anthems. The choir has recently been invited to sing at St Paul’s Cathedral on two occasions – an indication of its reputation and quality. It recently participated in the Royal School of Church Music North of England Festival at Durham Cathedral. The Director of Music Hugh Davies, a prominent member of the local RSCM Committee, is ably supported by the Assistant Organist Robert Talbot.

The boys are an enthusiastic team, well supported by their parents and very proud of their Club room in the Kirkland Hall which provides a social aspect to their musical activities, helping to build up team spirit and friendship. It is creditable that this organisation attracts young families to church on a weekly basis. The men of the choir also show great dedication, two of them making a round trip of over 100 miles to attend services.

The congregational choir is a small group of singers helping to lead singing at the 10.00am Sunday service, and singing occasional anthems.

The West end organ is a fine three-manual instrument last reconstructed in 1969 by J W Walker using most of the pipework from the 1877/1904 Willis organ. North of the chancel is the 1874 two-manual organ by Bevington, acquired in 2001.

The church is an attractive and much used venue for concerts held by local societies and groups. No fewer than 30 events will have taken place in 2007. This brings in useful revenue as well as providing a good service to the community. A fine Bechstein grand piano and the recent re-ordering of the chancel with the resulting improvement of the acoustics ensure that the venue will continue to be in demand.

Curate Reverend Stephen McCann (Chaplain to Air Training Corps and Royal Naval Association)

Non Stipendiary Ministers - Reverends Lionel Stock, Peter Smith and Stephen Greenhalgh.

Reader - Mr Richard Horsley

Readers Emeritus - Messrs Arthur Moss, Kenneth Bradley, Jack Roper

Licensed Lay Assistant - Mr Roger Burgess

Potential Commissioned Lay Minister under training - Mrs Margaret Millington

Director of Music Mr Hugh Davies (Directs both the robed and congregational choirs)

Assistant Organist Mr Robert Talbot

Verger & Trainee Reader Mr Graham Skilling

Church Office Manager Mrs Hilary Murphy

Bell Tower Captain - Mr Kevin Mayfield.

Vice-chairman of the PCC – Mr Ernest Woodcock

PCC Secretary – Mr George Thompson

PCC Treasurer – Mr Ian Powell

Senior Churchwarden - Mr Tommy Burton

And three Churchwardens, up to four Deputy Churchwardens, 10 Sidesmen and women, and 21 elected PCC members and a number of parishioners licensed to administer communion.

We also appreciate the occasional services provided by retired clergy living in this area.

• Bellringers – A dedicated group of skilled volunteers (Mr Kevin Mayfield);
• Ministry of Welcome – A group of volunteers who act as stewards when the church is open to the public on weekdays (Mrs Joyce Woodhouse);
• Flower Ladies – A group of volunteers who decorate the church;
• Transport to Church – volunteers offering lifts by car to and from church (Mr Ken Bradley);
• Family & Friends – Open to all parishioners – occasional gatherings such as BBQs (John Hodgson);
• "Be A Friend" team – A group of volunteers who visit the elderly or infirm in need of a friend (Mrs Nora Hunt);
• Mothers Union – Traditional C of E ladies group (Mrs Margaret Woodcock);
• Boys Brigade – A thriving company of boys and young men (Mr Mike Mason);
• Brownies – Two groups 2^nd (Miss Elaine Hetherington) and 4^th (Mrs Sarah Hansen);
• Guides – (Mrs Marion Dixon);
• Choir Club – for "off duty" choristers (Mr Hugh Davies);
• Parent & Toddler Group – Open to all parents with toddlers (Mrs Nicola Kaye).

Choirs – Church services benefit from the services of a robed choir (men and boys) and a mixed congregational choir (see 7 above)

Music – The Church is frequently in use for orchestral or choral concerts and organ recitals both by local and visiting musicians.

Study Groups – Lenten and other study groups are arranged on a regular basis.

Charities – Support of Christian Aid, the Children’s Society, Pump Aid the Parish Education Fund and other local charities.

Time Travellers – In recent years the church has attracted around 300 children (Key stage 1 and 2) on each of two days for a "pilgrimage" - an intensive introduction to the history of the building and what goes on inside it. With help from schools and other churches in the area

(both C of E and others) we assemble about eighty volunteers to act as stewards, guides, marshals and activity leaders.

We are a member of the South Kendal Group of Churches (the other parishes being Natland, Old and New Hutton and Crosscrake) and clergy and lay assistants from Holy Trinity help out in those parishes from time to time when requested. There are also contacts at "grass roots" level but there is a need to explore more fully opportunities for working together within this group.

Within Kendal we have cordial relationships with the other C of E churches (each of which is linked to outlying parishes) and with the United Reformed Church. There is limited lay participation in a lonely people’s luncheon club at the Methodist Church in Stricklandgate.

There is currently no church to church contact with the Roman Catholic Holy Trinity & St George, or with the Society of Friends or the Unitarians. Members of these and other churches can and do attend Holy Trinity study courses and occasionally join in our services.

The PCC employs an Office Manager, Mrs Hilary Murphy, who works part time in the church office which doubles as the clergy vestry. She is a key member of the team and provides help with the preparation for Sunday worship including assisting with the preparation of the liturgy, producing the weekly notice sheet (handout), writing up the registers and ensuring the lay participants in the service are in place. She also helps with the production of the Parish Magazine, helps at baptism preparation meetings and with baptism follow-up. She also deals with the Book of Remembrance.

The office equipment includes:

Photocopier, Risograph, folding machine (used in the production of the leaflets and service sheets), laminator, shredder, two PCs of different specification each having a printer (one monochrome laser, one inkjet colour), wireless broadband internet connection, three telephone handsets.

12. Financial State

The congregation of Holy Trinity is generous in its giving but it owes a great debt of gratitude to previous benefactors whose legacy has enabled us to avoid stringent financial measures in recent years. Our annual running expenses exceed our annual income by about £40,000 a year and this has meant that capital reserves have had to be tapped to enable us to pay our way. We are also fortunate that the Kirkland Trust has been prepared to make available to the PCC some of its earnings from the adjacent car park. Our practice has been to pay our quota in full and to give ten per cent of our income (about £12,000) to charity each year.

Holy Trinity parishioners and parochial church council are very appreciative of the continuing financial and other support given by Trinity College Chapel, Cambridge, the patrons of the living.

13. The Vicarage

The Vicarage is a modern detached house about a mile from the church on a private cul-de-sac, and has well established gardens to front and rear. It comprises:

• Entrance hall and cloakroom, well appointed kitchen, dining room, lounge and annexe, utility room and office on the ground floor;
• Landing, bathroom, shower room and 4 bedrooms on the first floor.

Holy Trinity’s strengths include:

• The quality and variety of opportunities for worship;
• Its ability to stage impressive "Civic" services;
• Its outreach to nursing and residential care homes in the town;
• The pastoral care offered to parishioners through the "Be A Friend" scheme and Transport to Church;
• A thriving Boys Brigade thanks to the officers and other supporters;
• Guides and Brownies who hold their meetings in the church halls;
• A robed choir in which choristers have an excellent opportunity to gain a first class musical education and to progress into the men’s choir and a congregational choir;
• "Time Travellers" - an outreach to primary schoolchildren which attracts up to about 300 pupils from local schools on each of two days in the year and is oversubscribed again this year;
• A thriving Mothers Union;
• The welcome provided by the Ministry of Welcome Team - stewards who enable the church to be open to the public on weekdays;
• Contact with people who attend the occasional services of marriage, baptism and funerals;
• Its membership of "Churches Together In Kentdale" (CTIK);
• Its involvement with the local Kirkland Partnership;
• Successful attention to "bricks & mortar" issues and development of office support in recent years which should allow greater attention to spiritual and pastoral needs in the immediate future.

Whilst maintaining the current initiatives and the variety of services we need to seek:

• Ways and means of reaching out to parishioners who are not regular members of the congregation – particularly in respect of young people and young families;
• To create a working "structure" that stimulates active lay participation;
• To develop stronger local links, including Churches Together in Kentdale (CTIK) and the Kirkland Partnership;
• Active participation with other churches in the Deanery and in particular within the South Kendal Group;
• To balance outgoings and income;
• To develop and nurture contacts with people involved in baptisms, marriages and funerals.

Will maintain our current activities, and actively participate in:

• Enabling the whole church to share the love of Christ with all through our worship, teaching and life together;

• Fulfilling a caring pastoral role, nurturing the present congregation and reaching out to parishioners who are not regular members of the congregation;
• Helping make Holy Trinity a lively and welcoming church to the glory of God;
• Exploring and developing opportunities for participation with other congregations in the South Kendal Group;
• Leading and encouraging parishioners in the areas of nurture, outreach, development of worship and faith;
• Cooperating with the PCC in seeking to balance outgoings and income.

He or she will have:

• A firm grounding in the liturgy and traditions of the Church of England, allied with a willingness to experiment, and be neither "High" nor "Low" church;
• Good management and communication skills;
• The ability to inspire and motivate others.

BISHOP’S STATEMENT – HOLY TRINITY PARISH, KENDAL

1. Holy Trinity is a large and beautiful parish church with a very significant role and ministry in the important Lakeland town of Kendal. It is a parish church, a civic church and a centre of musical excellence. It’s "vicar" must be someone of stature with strong qualities of leadership.

2. The congregation is quite diverse and the variety of services is valued. With the strong musical tradition, it is also important to retain, and perhaps develop, the elements of congregational participation in services, if the wide range of interests of the congregation is to be served. This may also serve to keep the church attractive to families and a range of younger adults.

3. In addition to the stipendiary clergy, Holy Trinity Church is fortunate in having the services of several non-stipendiary clergy and Readers. Nevertheless in a church which attracts able people into its congregation, it is important that the ministry of the laity in general is developed to the full, including opportunities for discovery of the gifts amongst more lay members of leading prayers and worship, of preaching, of evangelism and of pastoral work.

4. The purpose of suspension is to signal the need for a consideration of the links Holy Trinity might have with neighbouring more rural and village parishes. Each of the three parish churches in Kendal itself is being linked with some surrounding parishes, in a model resembling the significance of a minister church. In the case of the other two central parishes, the shape of the connection has been determined and relationships with the smaller parishes and the Kendal parish are good. It is around Holy Trinity and its proposed links that discussion urgently needs to take place. When the new priest-in-charge is in place it is expected that this discussion will lead to the nature of the connection being determined. The Deanery’s preferred model is a team – see the Rural Dean’s statement.

5. With its considerable resources for leading worship and pastoral work, it is expected that the ministers of Holy Trinity, both clergy and lay, will be available to support the services and pastoral work in the surrounding parishes, and to play a full part in whatever structure emerges for this unit.

† Graham Carlisle 11.07.07

TEAM MINISTRY IN KENDAL DEANERY 

In 2003 Kendal Deanery instituted a review to examine how best to allocate stipendiary clergy for the Deanery. The reason for the review was the fairly imminent departure of several clergy and the need to reduce numbers from 16.5 to 12.8 incumbent posts.  

The conclusion reached was that larger rural groupings were undesirable because of the strain placed on the clergy and that the better solution would be the creation of teams. It was accepted that Team Ministry has many advantages, namely: 

• It encourages the sharing of resources and gives a variety of ministry.
• It involves stipendiary clergy, NSMs and OLMs, Readers and other lay people in a formal and lasting structure such as a ministry team.
• It ensures that the identity and character of parishes are maintained while enabling them to be open to other ideas and ways of working. It also helps smaller parishes feel that they are not being taken over by larger ones.
• It offers both congregations and clergy a stable structure, more so than in "clusters" or groups.
• It enables the development of specialist ministries such as chaplaincies within a deanery. It was envisaged that the Parishes of Crosscrake, Kendal - Holy Trinity, Natland, with Old and New Hutton, would form a Team ministry, but it was recognised that a movement to Team could only take place when Clergy and Parishes felt the time was right.   

After initial meetings, the South Kendal or Helm Team made little progress in moving towards Team Ministry.  The appointment of a Priest in Charge at Holy Trinity however, enables the process to move forward, as it is expected that whoever is appointed would be a person who enjoyed working collaboratively, who ideally had already gained experience of working in a Team, and who would be committed to driving forward the Deanery Strategy for the creation of this 5 Parish Team.

PARISH PROFILE, CROSSCRAKE 2007

Crosscrake Ecclesiastical Parish is situated some 4 miles south of Kendal including the villages of Stainton and Sedgwick and smaller communities along the A65. The population is just under 1000 with an Electoral Roll of 88. There are some working farms but most of the residents are retired, work from home or commute to Kendal, Lancaster and further afield.

Church-Completed in 1875 but much altered. It holds around 120 maximum and has an average Sunday attendance of 45. Attendance at special occasions can reach approx 90 or more. It is in reasonable condition and active consideration is being given to providing improved toilet and kitchen facilities, a meeting room and reordering of the East end.

Clergy-In 2004 Revd Terry Wilcock was appointed Curate in Charge, and in 2006 was licensed as Priest in Charge of Crosscrake with additional responsibility for Old Hutton for 5 years. He is NSM, House for Duty working Sunday and 3 days. He is Training Incumbent for Revd Deborah Preston, NSM curate, who ministers primarily in Old Hutton and New Hutton. The vicarage is near the church.

Services- Common Worship Eucharist at 10am every Sunday, said BCP Communion at 8am second Sunday, 7.30pm Wednesday midweek Communion; occasional Sunday evening services. A successful first Sunday service with simplified liturgy is aimed at younger families who stay in the service throughout. A Sunday Club -Discovering Jesus-meets alongside the third Sunday service (approx 10-15 children). Crosscrake School help lead worship once a term. Scouts, Beavers, Cub Scouts, Brownies and Rainbows attend periodically. There is a small robed choir. Fifth Sunday services are joint with Old Hutton and New Hutton. Tots for Jesus meet once a month at 9.15am. A special children's activity half day is held three times a year at the end of school terms,

Other Activities - an elderly but active Mothers' Union. A parish pastoral/visiting group. Parish magazine. Home group. Active Social Committee. Worship group. There are continuing ecumenical links with the congregation of a URC chapel in Stainton - we meet four times a year on Sunday afternoon for joint worship.

Crosscrake Church School - A Voluntary Aided School sited close to the church with approx 100 pupils, including nursery provision. There are excellent relations between church and school with weekly visits by the Priest in Charge into school for assemblies and other work. School make regular use of church for worship and some RE work.

The aim - of our church community is to be a true family of God, living, worshipping, and working in what we know is a difficult and demanding world. We will be open and outward looking, growing in faith, using the talents of our members, radiating our witness to Christ, meeting him in our neighbours, giving and receiving the love of God.

St Mark's shares a parish boundary with Holy Trinity on the southern edge of Kendal. The parish has three main centres of population, Natland, Oxenholme and the Oaks Estate, with numerous individual farms and other properties in the surrounding area. The total population is approximately 1750 adults (Natland 650, Oxenholme 800, the Oaks 300.) The parish is divided by the main A65 and the West Coast Main Railway line. Although the parish is semi-rural only a very small proportion of the population is directly engaged in agriculture.

Natland is the oldest main settlement and is the location of the Church, St Mark's CE Voluntary Aided Primary School and the Village Hall. It is a beautiful, peaceful and much sought-after place to live and now has a very high proportion of retired people who have moved to the Village from elsewhere in the UK. Property prices are high

Oxenholme is a distinct community that originally developed with the coming of the railway in the 1840s; the railway is no longer a significant employer and most people now work in Kendal. There are a significant number of younger families in Oxenholme nearly all of whom send their children to School in Natland. The only pub in the parish is on the edge of the Village but it has no other social meeting places.

The Oaks has developed since the late 1990s and now numbers approximately 160 homes, ranging from large detached 4 bedroom houses to 2 bedroom flats. There is a mixture of the retired many of whom have moved to the area and younger families. There are no social meeting spaces on the estate except a small children's playground. Because it is continuous with the town of Kendal The Oaks is in many ways a suburb and can seem rather detached from the rest of the parish; it has no obvious link with Natland except the School and the Church.

Schools. Besides St Mark's School in Natland a small number of children go to other primary schools. The majority of young people move on to one of the two Kendal Secondary Schools, one of which is Kirkbie Kendal in Holy Trinity's parish. A smaller number of young people go to School either in Mllnthorpe or Kirkby Lonsdale.

The Church. St Mark's current Electoral Roll stands at 150, of whom about 30% live outside the parish but mostly within a mile of the parish boundary. This gives the congregation a strong sense of belonging to the local area. It is a parish church rather than a gathered congregation and so welcomes people of many different church backgrounds or none. Worship is central Anglican (Common Worship Eucharist and Morning Prayer) with a robed choir and the focus of our mission is the locality, its people and its concerns. There is no other place of worship in the parish. The close proximity of Kendal means that some people prefer to travel there to attend worship in the tradition that they prefer. The proportion of people of other faiths in the parish is still very low but grown in recent years.

There is a considerable amount of enthusiastic and able lay ministry in the parish including home groups, the choir and a small youth group as well as involvement in a wide range of other organisations such as the Guides, the Wl and St Mark's School.

Currently the parish is served by Canon Tim Evans (Priest in charge since 1997), the Rev Martin Jayne (NSM) and the Rev Martin Dew (NSM Curate since 2004.) The priest in charge is also Vice-Principal (one third time) of the Carlisle and Blackburn Diocesan Training Institute, which prepares men and women for ordained and lay ministries.

Tim Evans June 2007

PARISH PROFILE, NEW HUTTON

This scattered, rural parish is coterminus with the civil parish of New Hutton. The population in 2001 was 313 in 109 households. The mean age was then 37; 33% of households consisted of couples with dependant children, 26% couples with no dependant children. 86% of properties are owner occupied. 81% of households own one or two cars/vans/farm vehicles, and a further 17% own three. There are no shops, no pub and a limited bus service on weekdays. There are approx 30-40 under 11-year-old children in the parish and most attend Old Hutton C of E Primary School, then move onto secondary schools in Kendal, Sedbergh or Kirkby Lonsdale.

It is a beautiful area which few see, with undulating drumlins running north-south down towards the Kent Estuary. Employment in the parish is mostly farming (sheep, dairy, some beef) and remains the backbone of the village community. There are also a number of small, mostly home-based businesses; also a quarry, and tourism in the form of a caravan site and a B&B or two. A small industrial estate has workshops for fitted kitchens, etc. The farmers face enormous economic challenges with poor returns for both milk and fleeces, and few have children able/willing to follow them on farms which have been in the hands of a few related families for many generations. Many have moved on, bringing about a redistribution of pasture and the conversion of farmhouses and buildings into attractive homes. Some of these have been purchased by young families looking for a rural setting in which to bring up their families: the wage-earner has to travel into Kendal for work, or further, for example Manchester or even living during the week further off still.

The Church was re-ordered in 1986, and is a light and attractive open chapel, carpeted, and with an upstairs balcony and room behind. There is no water or toilet, and overhead heating. The graveyard is open, and the few funerals are big occasions. There has been about one wedding each year. Five babies were baptised in the past year. Revd Canon Tim Evans is the priest in charge, Rev Deborah Preston is his curate, and Anne Russell is CLM and training as a Reader. These latter two share the services: Eucharist on 1^st Sunday, two Family Services and a CW Morning Service the other Sunday. There is a midweek Eucharist once a month. Two families with seven children between them keep the congregation young and lively, and worship is sometimes lead by another couple of long experience with young people. Otherwise, there are about a dozen older, mostly retired people who attend regularly. Big occasions like harvest and Christmas bring out the crowds. Fundraising is based around social events, such as excellent parish lunches or barbeques, or flower displays. The parish share is always paid in full.

The wardens and clergy are very positive about being part of the proposed team. Several of the congregation have already moved in retirement to Kendal and have a wider view of the church than a parochial one, while others are not likely to be seen elsewhere. The preferred style of worship varies from relaxed and informal on most Sundays to BCP at the mid-week celebration, but always welcoming.

PARISH PROFILE, OLD HUTTON 2007

This rural parish is coterminous with the civil parish of Old Hutton and Holmescales The population in 2001 was 357 in 143 households. The mean age was then 43; 26% of households consisted of couples with dependant children, 23% couples with no dependant children, and 17% pensioner households. 86% of properties are owner occupied. 86% of households own one or two cars / vans, and a further 10% own three. There are no shops, no pub, and no buses. There is a highly regarded and successful Primary School (Voluntary Controlled) with 104 pupils, which has close links with the clergy of St. John the Baptist's church.

It is a scenic area comprising the three hamlets of Bridge End, Old Hutton and Middleshaw, all on the B6254 Kirkby Lonsdale-Kendal road, plus a few scattered farms. Unseen, the parish is a corridor for the important aqueducts taking Lake District water to Lancashire/Manchester, and there's a main electricity switching station supplying the area. Employment includes sheep and dairy farming, there's a small quarry, a riding centre, an activity centre, a training centre for disadvantaged and disabled young and tourism in the form of a B&B or two. Farming has decreased greatly over the last decades and is now in the hands of a very few families, who try a number of 'diversifications' such as 'going organic', outdoor adventure, riding, contracting, etc. With retirements many farms have ceased, bringing about a redistribution of pasture, and the conversion of many farm buildings into attractive homes These have largely been purchased by young families looking for a rural setting in which to bring up their families: the wage-earner has to travel long distances for work to Kendal, Manchester or even living during the week further off still.

The Church is a Victorian rebuilding, well loved and cared for. It has no water or toilet, and an antiquated electric heating system that necessitates warm clothing in cold spells. New lighting and a hearing loop amplification system were installed recently. The extended graveyard is open, and the few funerals are big occasions. There are very few weddings. Five babies were baptised in the past year. Revd Terry Wilcock (House for duty priest, Crosscrake) has extra responsibility for Old Hutton. Rev Deborah Preston is his curate. Services are at 9.30am: Eucharist on 1^st and 3^rd Sunday, Morning Service 2^nd Sunday, Evening Prayer 4th. The second Sunday service is led by visiting readers or clergy. Main service congregations are elderly and numbers vary between 6 and 20. There is a bi-monthly 'Special Family Service' organised by a small group and extensively advertised by the Commissioned Lay Minister, Mrs Norene Robinson, whose ministry is to families. This attracts one to six families and is very lively and informal, followed by refreshments and fun. Big occasions like harvest and Christmas bring out the crowds. Fund raising is not always easy, usually achieved by excellent parish lunches and a Christmas fair and from hosting an annual walk day supported by the Long Distance Walking Association. The parish share is always paid in full.

The wardens and clergy are very positive about being part of the proposed team. Several of the congregation have strong ties in Kendal, and have a wider view of the church than a parochial one, while others are not likely to be seen elsewhere. The preferred style of worship is conservative, BCP & CW , traditional, but welcoming.