Diocese
of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich
Serving Suffolk's Communities
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Diocese
of St Edmundsbury & Ipswich |
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Rector Haughley
with Wetherden and Stowupland The Benefice lies approximately 13 miles to the north west of the county town of Ipswich, and approximately 13 miles to the east of the Cathedral town of Bury St Edmunds. Stowmarket (pop. 15 thousand), the nearest market town, has a variety of shops, restaurants, entertainment and sporting facilities. There are excellent road and rail connections from the Benefice to London, the Midlands and the North. To the south of the Benefice there is easy access to the A14 trunk road and the main line railway from Norwich to London Liverpool Street stops at Stowmarket, (journey time 80 minutes). All three parishes
in the Benefice fall within the Local Authority of Mid-Suffolk District
Council. There are three churches in the Benefice: The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Haughley; Holy Trinity, Stowupland and St Mary the Virgin, Wetherden all of which fall under the Patronage of the Lord Chancellor, the Bishop of St. Edmundsbury and Ipswich and Diocesan Patronage. Other Christian denominations are cared for locally by the Wetherden Baptist Church; the Stowupland URC and the Roman Catholic Church in Stowmarket. The URC chapel in Haughley has closed recently and the URC congregation now shares worship in Haughley Parish Church, where one service each month follows the URC tradition. The Services As well as using the Book of Common Prayer at some services, all three churches use Common Worship. There is a common Benefice Service Book and all use the same Hymn Book- “Hymns Old and New.” Church Tradition The Church tradition at all three Churches is considered Central. The Priests In addition to the Incumbent, the current staffing of the Benefice is one self-supporting minister, one part-time ordained local minister, and one stipendiary curate, who has recently been ordained priest. All the priests take services in all three churches in rotation with the Vicar/Rector. Lay involvement in the administration of the Parishes and in the conduct of services is encouraged. Haughley and Wetherden each have a lay elder. The Church Finances All three Churches pay their parish share in full. Priests’ expenditure claims are also paid promptly in accordance with a Benefice formula. The Vacancy All three Churches have agreed that the Benefice needs a Priest to:
The Incumbent must have use of a car. In addition, the individual parishes have identified further qualities that would be especially helpful to them:
Applications |