Fowey Parish Church

The church is part of a small community (2,500 people) that swells several times during the summer. Fowey is a beautiful town and the church is in a central position. This means it is valued by the community as a whole, regardless of their view of faith.

It has been a turbulent few years which has been well documented by the national press. But we are now starting to heal and to build again. A potential candidate would need to be comfortable engaging with a wide range of people and building relationships.

We have a wide view of vision, being a church in the community, for the community. There are two schools, a primary school and a secondary school. We have links with the schools but do not have the capacity to support them.

The Priest is a former Headteacher (Primary) and the Mission support minister has many years of varied Christian ministry. Our new intern would work closely with us both, not only working and supporting children and young people, but also having the opportunity to hone skills across the spectrum of church activities, majoring on their specific skill set(s).

We would like to see more engagement with children and young people and the demographics of the community be reflected in the church community. We would like to support children and young people who face challenges eg. caring for adults, struggle with finding their place in community with a variety of projects, 'Wild church', holiday clubs, board games evenings, chaplaincy for example. If the intern has skills eg. music we could develop ministry opportunities to reach our objectives by celebrating their skills.

Fowey is a beautiful coastal town at the mouth of the River Fowey on the south coast of Cornwall. Water sports, including sailing, gig rowing and kayaking etc. are popular and there would be opportunities to participate. There is a local choir, gym and rugby club. Tourism is the main industry and the shops etc. are mainly geared to meeting visitors' needs. There are opportunities to gain casual employment.

The nearest cinema, bowling alley etc. can be found in St Austell 7 miles away. There will be SWYM interns in St Austell so there will be an opportunity to support each other.

The new priest (Carol) was licensed to Fowey on 11th March 2024. She has continued the church mission tradition of leading in seasonal community events which are well attended. We have newer members preparing for baptism. Small groups pursuing healing after the past difficulties. We have a pastoral ministry team. We are beginning a new venture with pilgrimage routes as Fowey is the end point for two major routes and we are seeking an additional local route. We have a traditional BCP service, a family service and in early Autumn a contemporary service.

We are looking towards expanding our provision both in school and in school holidays and early evenings.