Vicar of Catford St Andrew the Apostle

We are a caring, friendly worshipping community whose tradition is broadly liberal catholic. We strive to be a welcoming, generous church where everyone can find joy, peace and fellowship in Christ, by opening our hearts and opening our doors. 

St Andrew’s is in Catford, in the eastern part of the London Borough of Lewisham, bordering LB Bromley. The area is ethnically and culturally diverse, as reflected in our congregation.

We aim to be a vibrant, warm-hearted church family and local hub, central to the lives of all parishioners, not only geographically but by actively engaging with and serving our local community. We are seeking a parish priest of either gender who can lead us in our vision. 

Do you have:
 

We are looking for a priest who can offer encouragement and guidance to our church family and who can relate to and reach out to a multicultural local community. They will have strong communication and preaching abilities and will nurture, expand and develop our worship. They will also encourage growth, especially the participation of children and young people, expand fellowship and encourage additional members of the congregation to take an active role in  ministry.

When invited to name the characteristics they would like to see in a new parish priest, the children of St Andrew’s mentioned a sense of humour, singing during the liturgy, friendliness, good sermons and a love of sports (!). Gender, age and ethnicity, the children explicitly declared, do not matter. This view is shared by the congregation.

To assist, we have a strong licensed lay ministry team of four Readers and an experienced and capable team working collaboratively in a variety of lay roles.

Our aim is to provide for people of every age, background and culture, a place where they may grow in faith through teaching, worship, outreach and fellowship. Our current priorities are:

At the centre of our worship is the Sunday Choral Eucharist at 10.00am alongside weekday services including Morning Prayer. Additional services are held at major festivals including a variety of special services at Christmas, Lent, Holy Week and Easter. Some are specifically aimed at children and families, for example the well-attended Christmas Eve family carol service and occasional Parade Services for our uniformed organisations. House communions are administered as required to those too infirm to attend church. 

Music plays an important and much-valued part in our worship. Although significant development of our music has taken place in recent years, our Mission Action Plan has identified the desirability of widening the musical offering during services and looking beyond traditional sacred music, encouraging participation from all members of the congregation, including children and young people. 

St Andrew’s is a multicultural, inner London residential parish centred around a Gothic Revival Grade 2* listed church built in 1904. The buildings include a recently renovated community hall and a modern vicarage adjacent to the church. There is also a range of ancillary buildings for which renovation options are being actively explored alongside a desire to be carbon neutral by 2035.   

We are surrounded by good local facilities and multiple transport links with one secondary and two Ofsted-rated “Good” primary schools within one mile of our church.

Further information about the church can be found on our website: https://standrewcatford.com 

Closing Date: Wednesday 28 August  

Interviews: Wednesday 11 September