Datchet Parish Profile 2024 DRAF : simplebooklet.com

3 As a potential candidate for the position of Incumbent Priest in Charge /House for Duty Priest, we welcome you to come visit and explore our church and surroundings, both in person and through reading this Profile as a part of your discernment process to see if this is the church God is calling you to. Infor-mal discussions with the Area Dean, Revd Canon Janet Binns are encouraged. The details of our parish, its life, activities and relationships with wider community are briefly covered within the pages of this Profile and, we hope, will encourage you to want to find out more about us, and help you in the process of discerning if God is calling you to work with us and help us grow into our full potential as disciples of Christ, rooted in and serving Him in Love and Light both as a Church and as individuals. The Appendices at the end include some further information which may be of interest. Our approach to preparing this docu-ment has at its heart committing the process to God at every stage, through prayer, through Lay-led Services where the people were invited to share their thoughts, ideas, concerns and anxieties as well as looking at what we have to offer and what we would like to achieve in the future. We also held wider consul-tations and have striven to represent as honestly as possible St Mary’s Church’s and local Community’s understanding and thinking, We hope that what follows will help you see what our  Current situation is, as a base line foundation to build a strong faithful service, together.  Where the areas of nurture, cultivation and pruning of the Vine are and the opportunities for rich growth they afford.  Our particular areas of priorities to revive, serve and share, rooted in Christ.  What our perceived strengths are  What our resources are currently  Our relationships with other churches in Deanery and Datchet  Relationship with other organisa tions in Datchet  Vision, Mission and commitment to God is.  Identified ideas of the types of skills, Ministry and understanding of the person who works with, and alongside, us should have  Demonstrate that despite the challenges presented there is a wealth of opportunity for someone to further develop their own potential whilst helping us fulfil ours. The comments from people who have assisted us in preparing this document have shown a caring and loving com-munity; some struggle with change and uncertainty especially the past year; some desire to stand still and “catch breath”, but generally a feeling of “let’s get on with being Church, liv-ing Christ’s Gospel to do our duty with praise and thanksgiving” prevails. It is a committed parish, working hard at integrating with the wider community and Christ - centered; not afraid to speak out when it feels a need, but willing to listen to the still small voice in the thunder storm if given the opportunity.

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4 Datchet, a pretty Thames-side village in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead is ideally located for commuting into London and further afield. It has a population of @5,139 (source: Census 21) Situated some three miles from both Windsor & Slough, five miles from Staines and seven miles from London Heathrow Airport; there are close motorway links to the M4, M25, M40 & M3, making the village very accessible to and from all parts of the country. SouthWest Trains run a twice-hourly service to London Waterloo (50 minutes) and the Windsor & Eton Riverside station (5 minutes). Additional transport links are provided by regular Bus Services. Thus, virtually every required aspect of modern living is easily and conveniently available in the immediate area. There are three principal places of Worship within the village. Apart from the Parish Church of Datchet, St. Mary’s, there is a Baptist Church and the Roman Catholic Church of St. Augustine. We have recently re-stablished the Churches Together in Datchet and hold monthly meetings and enjoy warm ecumenical ties with our sister churches in Datchet. The three churches share in worship at services such as the Christmas Carol Service and Holy Week in Easter Two of the three Schools in Datchet are designated as Church Schools. St. Mary’s Church of England Primary Academy, part of the OSDT has been supported by us in many ways over the years. Churchmead is a secondary school which became a VA Church school in 2004. We have church members on the Governing Body of both. The vil-lage is also fortunate to have Eton End school which is private co-educational school, and educates children up to the age of 11 years and has links with St Mary’s. Datchet is blessed with an excellent Health Centre which provides a very wide range of health care services, delivered by professional, supportive and caring Team. The Healthcare trust serving the area is Frimley Health. The Hospitals are situated in Slough, Wexham Park, is the main A&E for East Berkshire, Upton Park, King Edward VII in Windsor which offers out-patient care and the newly rebuilt Heatherwood in Ascot; The Royal Berkshire Hospital is based in Reading and offers more specialist services not available in Wexham Park. Private Healthcare is available at Princess Margaret in Windsor and via The Spire across the Borough. Apart from our own Church Community Centre there is a good-sized Village Hall for the many local social events held in Datchet, including until Covid the St Mary’s Pantomime we are hopeful this will be reinstated for 2025. There is also a smaller WI Hall, a Library and “The Bridge” Coffee Shop, which is an ecumenical parish centre project now in its 30th successful year. All offer different spaces for the various uses the Community need for their activity or group. For a small village, Datchet is well endowed with hospitality, retail and services. It benefits from many of its own retail outlets and services, which include the following.:- (Not an exhaus-Datchet is classed as a relatively large Thameside Village with a population of some 6,000 residents and with housing stock and a socio-economic diversity covering the whole range. The heart of the Village is very traditional, and features an attractive Village Green overlooked by a number of listed buildings. Additionally there is a small, discreet, but thriving Industrial Estate.

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5 graveyard. This is a significant building as, apart from its rich historical connections to the village and St Mary’s, it also contributes, by its rent, to the maintenance costs of our Church, through the ecclesiastical branch of the Village’s ‘Barker Bridge House Trust.’ (Church Branch.) Datchet Village has its own Parish Council, (DPC) as well as three Royal Borough of Windsor and maidenhead representatives, one of whom is also chair of the DPC. It has , since Covid, undergone some radical changes and is more proactive than its parochial name would suggest: It oversees the distribution of funds for the people of Datchet, by the non ecclesiastical part of the Barker Bridge House Trust . Datchet has all the usual activities you would ex-pect from WI to Football. Amongst the community activities there are Cubs, Scouts, Brownies, Sea Cadets, A thriving Football Club with several youth teams as well as adult. There is a Cricket Club and a popular running club the Datchet Dashers, as well as a group called the Running Sisters : It has a very integrated historical society - the Datchet Village Society, as well as a more re-cently formed environmentally and climate focused group’ Wild About Datchet’ who are currently working with St Mary’s on a new project to look after the. Churchyard. There are very many other Clubs, Societies, Associations & Activities, far too numerous to mention here which all make Datchet a very pleasant and enriching environment in which to live. A rich source of additional information may be found on the following websites:- www.datchetparishcouncil.gov.uk www.datchetvillagesociety.co.uk and the www.rbwm.gov.uk tive list, and is in no particular order.) Pharmacy, a Tesco Express (with Cash Point), a Petrol Station, a Car Dealership, several Hairdressers, a Dry Cleaners, Sandwich Bar, A funeral Directors, an Indian fashion shop, a ‘Stitch and Fix’ shop for all repairs, A Computer repair shop, a Turkish Barber three small Grocery outlets, a Tesco Express and an Off Licence. It also has many businesses from Accountancy through swimwear manufacturing and Wedding Planning to technical equipment. In terms of hospitality, until 1st October 2022 the village was home to The Manor Hotel which forms part of the boundary with The Green. Pre – Covid it was a very popular hotel for weddings being next to The Green and also the attraction of the historical building. During Covid the Manor Hotel hosted many of those made homeless, under agreement with the local authority. From 1st October 2022, it became an Asylum for the Government and housed @ 60 + Asylum Seekers from several countries, approximately one third from Iran. St Mary’s supported the Asylum residents as far as possible, in particular forging strong links with a number of the Iranians who were fleeing Iran for the persecution of their Christian faith: The Asylum will no longer operate from the end of April, when it is expected the building will return to being an Hotel. Other hospitality areas include eateries such as an Italian Pizza /Wine Bar, 3 Kebab /burger outlets- 2 shops and a popular mobile outlet which has served many a hungry village resident for at least 30 years, 2 Indian restaurants (at opposite ends of the village) and 2 Fish and Chip shops. Addi-tionally, there are two coffee shops a Costa (previously a pub) and The Bridge. There is only one public house, the Royal Stag which lies in the heart of the village and is adjacent to St. Mary’s where its building forms a boundary with the ST MARY THE VIRGIN To Heathrow, M25, M40 M3 M4 To Eton, Slough Windsor, Windsor Great Park Staines The Manor Hotel, on the Green, Datchet St Augustine RC Baptist Church

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6 Registered Charity number: 1131279 St. Mary’s is a village church which worships broadly in the central Anglican tradition. There is a wide range of worship and musical styles in some of the less formal services held at various times in addition to the monthly Lay Led service. There is a strong, connected congregation which has been in evidence during the challenges faced in recent times. St Mary’s has faced some unusual and difficult challenges in maintaining the energy, commitment and enthusiasm for sustaining developing and grow-ing all the activities undertaken and regular worship of the church in the absence of the guiding Leader-ship of a working incumbent being in place, but still in role. Without the focal point of knowing when they would be able to return to take up the duties and re start the stalled processes (due to both covid and ex-tended pastoral leave) this has had a dampening and depressing affect on progress and causing parishion-ers anxiety . This has been one of the biggest chal-lenges and we are proud that despite concerns the parish has put their trust in the leadership of the Churchwardens, PCC and Area Dean and supported them, evidenced by new energy and enthusiasm is beginning to sprout new growth in the last 9 months or so. In common with almost every church, the Covid era has had a devastating impact some of our most active discipleship ceased as a result of all the re-strictions, such as the Homeless Project shared with other churches in Slough and run by the Slough & London Run. Very sadly, during this time our previously thriving church community became isolated, fractured and dwindled as we found that many were unable to access the streamed services and a significant number of the people who carried out duties were no longer able to do so, due to ill health, death and moving away in retirement or for work leaving a church with a very different resource and community profile, which we have been striving to redevelop and grow since. Our church community The range of people worshiping in St Mary’s is very diverse. Despite the strains of the past 4 /5 years, the people of St Mary’s Datchet are all still keen to be a living church in the modern world, although a little tired in sustain-ing this. Whilst change is hard for any group, generally the people of St Mary’s have and will continue to meet any challenges and tests presented, with prayer and thoughtfulness, sometimes a little resistance, but more usually will embrace with faith when it is presented in collaboration with them and as an identified need. Whilst not afraid to experiment, some concerns expressed during the consultation process, were a fear that too much change without due thought is not healthy, and as we have already seen, anxieties caused by uncer-tainty alongside this will make us “tired” by the energy required to “keep up”, and will there-fore be less affirming to our aims unless it is managed positively. However, despite all, many of our members quietly get on with the response to Christ’s Commandment - ‘That you love one another as I have loved you’ : Natural and matter of fact support for others and organisations. Many take ministry to the community in simple ways, serving in the Bridge, assisting at services held in the local Residential Home, Eton House, and the natural acceptance and caring welcome, lasting friendships forged with the asylum seekers since October 2022, Music – worship and entertainment, The Link a community magazine delivered to every letterbox in Datchet now in its 25th year .. An many more areas Just normal every day living, rooted in Christ. View of St Mary’s from Vicarage Lane Website : https://www.achurchnearyou.com/church/416

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7 1. The Stag pub from the Church Porch 2. Congregation members 3. The Church Community Centre 4. Mothers’ Union at the Coronation Fete - turning water into Wine - a very popular stall! There has been some amazing new growth - the introduction of Messy Church at Christmas and Easter- each session being better attended than the previous one, and after the most recent, we found some of the children attended church for the first time following it. We have also have seen an increase, albeit slowly, in weekly attendances as well as a significant rise at the Christingle, Carol Service and Christmas 2023 and Easter 2024. Worship and Study Our worship patterns currently includes a monthly (said) Service of Holy Communion at 8.00 am, which is from the Book of Common Prayer, on the first Sunday of each month, Our main Sunday Service is a Holy Communion (sung) at 9.30 am except for the third Sunday, when it takes place at 11am and is a more informal Lay-led service offering worship for all ages and is based on the Café style of worship within a loose formal struc-ture. In addition to these we have a regular Choral Evensong (BCP) once a month on the fourth Sunday at 6.30 pm. Every month on the first Wednesday, there is a (said) Service of Holy Communion (CW) at 11.00 am. There is also an annual Bereavement Service, celebration and other special services such as Mothers’ Day which is organised and led by Mothers’ Union as either a lay led or integrated with Communion when it doesn't fall on a third Sunday. A group attend the Eton House service held on the last Thursday of the month and led by Revd Robert Spicer (retired) for Communion, or a lay leader for a Service of the Word. This is always very well received. Occasional Offices in 2023 saw a rise in Baptisms St Mary’s has three Bible Study groups with an average of between 8 –12 members each. One is specifically an ecumenical group, although all are open to anyone who wishes to join. One of our most successful periods was the attendance of our friends from Iran who joined in and shared their own thoughts, insights and views reading in Farsi alongside the English. This made for a unique and very enriching experience for those present. Community Until the onset of Covid, Church members had the option of belonging to a number of groups each of which was responsible for some aspect of the life Baptism Weddings Funerals 16 1 2

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8 of St. Mary’s. For example, Mission & Social Re-sponsibility, Worship & Study or Youth. Sadly alt-hough we have maintained and are continuing with these in some basic form, looking at new ways of meeting the needs is one of our more exciting opportunities offered for a new person - as well one of the priorities for our own revitalised en-ergy and Vision There is a flourishing Mother’s Union Group which meets monthly on the third Thursday of each month at 3.45 pm, currently in The Bridge Coffee shop.. Governance St Mary’s is a registered Charity 1131279 . This be-came a requirement when we were fundraising for the new Church Community Centre some years back as the amount took us over the upper threshold. The PCC currently has 8 members, including ex- offi-cio members and meet around 5 or 6 times a year to share in the responsibility of overseeing parish life. Finances Until very recently St Mary the Virgin has a proven track record of delivering on a strong commitment to stewardship and giving. We signed up to the Parish Giving Scheme in 2017 and pre-covid had a high per-centage of sign up - @ 90% with a number of the re-maining being committed to giving through Pledged Giving envelopes: Post covid and the departure away from the village of two treasurers in five years, com-bined with the extended pastoral leave interrupting the routines around Stewardship we are finding this area has become one of our most significant challenges and a key priority: We have taken steps to address this al-ready alongside developing an events programme with both social and fundraising aims and hope to re-establish the Annual Pantomime for 2025,(Oh yes we do!) we have invited the Diocesan Giving Advisor help us assess, plan and implement a robust strategy to move forward and get back on track to return to a sus-tainable, well supported and effective Stewardship of our resources - human, assets (including volunteer time) as well as financial. Up to the end of 2023, we managed our Share pay-ments in full each year. However this was with the welcome receipt of several legacies. With our current position, the forecast is that for 2024 we will struggle to meet the full amount. Despite this, we are still able to pay ‘Caesar” the majority of what is owed through the great blessing having the Barker Bridge House Trust Church Branch. This means we are to be able to plan works, meet the Quinquennial schedule, other repairs and maintenance as required, and to currently pay off the increas-ingly high rising costs of utilities such as heat-ing, energy use and similar through this fund. We are aware of how fortunate this Trust has made us and give thanks that is has been a par-ticular blessing in helping us navigate through the past few years. We were also able to re-place the totally inadequate and non functional sound system with this in 2023 as this was a sig-nificant barrier to effective engagement at ser-vices and events, as people found it difficult to follow what was going on due to the poor quali-ty of sound and hiss. On at least one occasion the system managed to tune into a radio pro-gramme which caused great amusement, but was not helpful to the worship. Children and Youth working As a part of our commitment to inclusion, St Mary’s offers communion before confirmation to suitably prepared children. Until 2019/20 children and young people and work with them had always featured strongly in the life of our community and we had a series of Youth Workers for a period of 12 years or so until the last one left in 2015. Since then we have seen a decline in church attendance of children and young people, partly through the drop in birth, common to all organisations in Datchet, but also the pan-demic. Another key factor, more noticeable since returning to ‘normal’ life, is through Sundays being a day in competition with other activities such as Drama clubs, football and other sporting events and other activities where the children can’t access them unless they attend ona Sunday. However during the latter half of 2023 we have seen a cautious increase in interest and attendance - especially at events such as the Messy Church events held, the Christingle and Nativity. We have a strong desire to return to having a thriving Ministry to the young, led by a team of lay, authorised and ordained people. We have many people who are passionate about working with children and young people, and a number have identified this as one of their essential desires to see in a new Incumbent

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9 and expressed this as “someone who could help St Mary’s look at the reason’s why we appear to not meet the needs of this group sufficiently, with ideas and drive to help build on existing, and develop new, approaches to the Ministry” – what we need to do, or do we have a need? We have been trying to recruit a Schools Chaplain working in partnership with Church-mead School, however due to various circum-stances this has not been possible: We have not given up our vision of this and pray that God will guide the way to fulfil this in the fu-ture. . In the meantime, Churchmead has ap-pointed a Chaplain afor 1 year in the first in-stance, and we would envisage the person appointed to the Benefice would work in close partnership with them. The Deanery is working to develop a Youth Work post across Deanery and is currently looking to make a bid from the ???? Fund Music and choir St Mary’s has a traditional robed choir, but also uses informal styles of music at various services from Mission Praise, Taizé to Iona and beyond. Some special services include a band. Conclusion Our challenge is to maintain the commitment and encourage new people to expand our ministry and mission. We are therefore looking for someone with  clear thinking,  ability to identify needs, gifts and true paths  facilitation of others’ gifts to nurture the slow growing seeds of this dream:  the ability to draw out people’s gifts and inspire and empower them to serve God in new ways  Willingness to work collaboratively In general, a more collaborative way of sharing our engagement, ministry and worship has grown from the dry ground of the past few years, both within and outside the church community. We would very much wish to further build on and nurture this into a flour-ishing and fruitful Vine for Christ moving forward

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10 The Bridge was set up in 1994 as a Village Hub, Help Point and Coffee shop by the three churches in Datchet. St Mary’s, St Augustine’s and Datchet Baptist Church. It is a bridge between the church and the community. It has been a very successful ecumenical project from the beginning and now draws a great deal of support, both volunteers and customers, from across the community. The Bridge welcomes those of all faiths or none, how-ever, the Christian ethos is explicit with an infor-mation leaflet on each table. The coffee shop is open from Monday to Saturday 9.30am to 3.30pm and is available after hours as a meeting place. It is run entirely by volunteers with just one paid member of staff, the cleaner. The three faith leaders are the Directors and there is a board of trustees; The Bridge is run by a Management Group which has representatives from each of the three churches. The Bridge is a registered charity and is run successfully as a small business. It is housed in a historic building in the centre of the village which is owned by the Parish Council. The Parish Council is very supportive of The Bridge and charges an affordable rent. The Bridge is a valuable asset in the village as it offers low cost refreshments, company and op-portunities for volunteering. We are able to share the love of Jesus Christ in a practical and normal way; The Bridge is a great blessing to all those who come as customers or volunteers. The Bridge in 1994 Some of The Bridge Volunteers in 2024

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11 "Datchet Parish Council forms the lowest level of local government and is an important part of the fabric in the community. Being the first point of call for residents to bring issues, concerns, ask for advice or ideas to improve the village and community life. The parish council was established nearly 130 years ago and has worked hard in the most recent years to bring all the community of Datchet closer together by offering a professional and independent platform for residents to discuss local issues. Datchet Parish Council also runs regular community events, where we look to bring together all elements of the community to celebrate life, important national and traditional events like the upcoming D-Day beacon event. The council enjoys constructive and developing relationships with all com-munity groups throughout the village and it is hoped this will continue to evolve with St Mary's church." Cllr. David Buckley ,Chair of DPC and Cllr. RBWM

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12 We take Safeguarding especially of children and vulnerable adults very seriously here at St Mary's. Governance The PCC adopted the Church of England policies relating to this, for both adults and children. We follow safer recruiting processes and all our personnel involved in working alongside children or vulnerable adults are required to be DBS checked and undergo rele-vant Safeguarding training which is appropriate to their role and function: The PCC has adopted a Safeguarding Officer, and a Deputy Safeguarding Office and details are posted around the church and on the A Church Near You website Dashboard We have only recently been able to access this as named members of the PCC and are working with the SO to im-prove our level which is currently at Level 2 Training St Mary's has adopted and uses the Church of England online training where a record of individuals' progress and outcomes of training can be monitored by the Safeguarding Officers, and follow up /further /updated training as re-quired. IN addition to the SO we have several who have completed Safeguarding leadership training. Monitoring The PCC review safeguarding as a matter of course at each meeting to ensure training and other aspects are up to date and compliant. A report is provided to the APCM by the Safeguarding Officer.

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13 Being in limbo since 2019 when the then new incumbent arrived, just months before Covid hit, this is one of the areas that has stalled. We have identified it as a priority for our focus and understanding of the future development of our church - community, function and direction. We feel it is not just important, but vital to bring the community back together in a common understanding and shared Service. We have been continuing to use the three year, 3 strand vision from 2015, and developed at a time when the Church could not envisage the fast paced changes of how to ‘be church’ resulting from the pandemic, juxtaposed with the new tests and challenges that and the post covid world we live in today. It is tired, has lost its impetus through all, but still provides a foundation to build upon. The key objectives and tasks needed for us to deliver a Christ centred and focused mission are:  To begin serious conversations around developing a sustainable, long-term Vision, to include  the shape of ministry and pastoral care within Datchet  and to carry this into working alongside, in collaborative ways, across the new proposed Benefice joining with Eton with Eton Wick and Dorney with Boveney.  To strengthen our relationships with church and local communities; to be an active presence.  To re-establish a supportive and effective Pastoral Ministry to include  Healing and Prayer  Training  Ensuring all are supported in faith, wellbeing and ability to carry out activities  With the assistance of the Diocesan Generous Giving Advisor to develop a robust and sustainable Stewardship.  To encourage a prayer based foundation to all we do and a belief we CAN.

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14 In drawing up this outline, we consulted with parishioners, members of Datchet village commu-nity we tried to make our expectations realistic and achievable, but are probably still aiming for the higher angels than mortal beings. We are looking for someone who  Is Christ- centred, committed to and balanced in approach and faith of self and others Has a broad experience of life, empathy and able to engage appropriately in the social aspects of Community, recognising boundaries, understanding of others’ failings and application of Ministry to a diverse community.  Can demonstrate insight and wisdom in discernment of God’s word and enable others to come to know and develop their particular gifts, fostering a climate of encourage-ment and affirmation for all.  Can demonstrate good leadership with a willingness and ability to delegate tasks and responsibility appropriately; has a good level of administrative skill, able to use modern technology, and able to manage often conflicting tasks positively.  Able to demonstrate strategic thinking, planning and implementation , but also to work in partnership to develop the Vision required for St Mary’s to reflect the Kingdom of God in vibrant and affirmative ways to serve the different communities  Will embrace change management with tact, understanding, affirmation and encourage-ment, moving forward at a pace suitable to the community served.  Who will work collaboratively within Parish, Benefice, Southern Grouping and the broader community developing fellowships and building bridges, explore and progress new and emerging areas of ministry.  Is able to evidence a deep prayer life, and spirituality, meet people where they are, walk alongside during their journey, encouraging and supporting without overwhelm-ing.  Holds forward thinking values within the central Anglican tradition, able to identify and interpret the Word using communication that empowers a wide range of people to un-derstand the values and reality of Christ in the modern world, facilitating and affirming positive growth and development.  Has an understanding of Church – School educational and relationship development; is someone who can facilitate and affirm Youth Ministry (not necessarily self)  Recognises their own need for Spiritual Direction, care and personal and professional development of themselves; the need to “top up” reserves, ensuring adequate time for self, friends and family during designated time off periods to affirm a healthy and bal-anced thinking, spirit and Ministry

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15 Burnham and Slough Deanery (burnhamsloughdeanery.org.uk) There are 26 parishes and 31 churches, currently served by 17 incumbent status clergy, 3 curates and some NSMs, working well together to, support their colleagues, praying and meeting with one another as groups. They regularly meet as a Deanery Chapter and have joint Quiet Days. Governance is via the Standing & Finance, Mission & Pastoral, Education and Oasis commit-tees, each made up of both laity and clergy. Finance The Deanery Parish quota in 2022 had a shortfall of £55,472 on the amount allocated to the whole Deanery. To cover this there would have to be an additional £3,000 contribution from each parish/benefice, including those paying more than 120%. The actual Deanery share paid in 2022 was £813,069 (2020; £762,509. hows a reduction in the shortfall, but more progress is needed. The Burnham and Slough Deanery is part of the Episcopal area led by the Bishop of Buckingham and covers the whole of the Borough of Slough, parts of South Bucks district north of the Thames and south of the M40., it also covers part of the RBWM north of the river Thames. This area is divided into 10 Deaneries, with ours further divided into four geographical groups. Datchet is part of the southern grouping of parishes, one of four in the deanery -The Jubilee River Group, Eastern Group and Northern Group. They all support each other covering for sickness, holidays and vacancies where possible. Slough’s urban centre is surrounded by many beautiful and historic villages and towns, reflecting the quintessential traditional of British village life (church, pub and village green). Eton College and the Olympic Rowing Lake are also within the Deanery and many people commute to London. The Deanery is fortunate to have the only Full Time Area Dean in the Diocese, who supports all aspects of the life of the parishes and Clergy .

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16 The Diocese of Oxford serves the mission of the Church in Buckinghamshire, Berkshire and Ox-fordshire. The Diocese comprises over 600 par-ishes, with over 800 churches, serving a diverse population of more than 2 million people locat-ed in all types of settings. Due to the size and complexity of the Diocese, we have three Area Bishops who exercise considerable strategic and pastoral oversight for their Areas. The late Rt. Revd. Dr. Alan Wil-son, Bishop of Buckingham since 2003, over-saw the eastern area on the map until February 2024 with his sad passing. The post is covered by the Archdeacon and 4 Area Deans to cover the Archdeaconry duties together. The Archdea-con of Buckingham is Ven. Guy Elsmore, ap-pointed in 2016. In 2020, Revd. Canon Chris Bull was appointed Associate Archdeacon. Through prayer, listening and discernment a common vision has emerged for the Diocese of Oxford. The vision is based on the qualities de-scribed in The Beatitudes and addresses what kind of church we are called to be: Common Vision :- A more Christ-like Church for the sake of God’s world: contemplative, compassionate, coura-geous. Our Common Vision continues to emerge as we identify together areas of our common life where God is calling to focus. The diocesan focal areas are not a description of everything we do, but these priorities are being supported centrally by resources, training, conferences, workshops, and much more. The diocese is in-viting benefices and their clergy to share a vi-sion rather than demanding a response, moti-vated by hope not driven by anxiety, and thereby to flourish in their ministry. It is hoped that clergy appointed into the Archdeaconry of Buckingham will commit to this vision and en-courage their benefice to share in becoming a more Christ-like church for the sake of God’s world.

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17 Eton End is a family school where the friendly, car-ing ethos goes hand in hand with high standards and outstanding academic success. The school stands for a solid foundation in education yet the importance of a happy and memorable childhood is never forgotten. Our stimulating environment encourages in the pupils an enthusiasm for learn-ing, confidence in themselves and consideration for others. A strong emphasis is placed on good manners and thoughtfulness. Broadly Christian in ethos, we welcome all faiths and celebrate other faith festivals. Our aim is to promote an awareness of spiritual values. We consider our morning assemblies to be an inte-gral part of school life as they present moral, cultural and topical themes in a simple and meaningful way. Eton End holds services in St Mary’s and attends and suppors many events Eton End School taken from the rear

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18 St. Mary’s and our School: The school visits St Mary’s for our Christmas and Easter services in which the incumbent has been involved in the design of and provided a reflection for the different services. As a voluntary aided school there is a position of ex officio on our governing body for the parish priest. The school has been involved in supporting other activities at the church including the Homeless Project, Remembrance Services and the Church Christmas Fair. Our School Churchmead School is an currently oversubscribed 11-18 Voluntary Aided secondary school within the Diocese of Oxford and the local authority of Windsor and Maidenhead. Our PAN is 120 and the school currently has over 30 students on the waiting list for a Year 7 place. The Sixth Form started in September 2023 with Year12 and the intention of growing to100 by September 2025. The school is non-selective serving the communi-ties of Slough, Datchet, Wraysbury, and Iver. The school was recently awarded the top grade of “Excellence” in their SIAMS church school Inspection (March 2022) and the school has also been awarded the Gold Quality Mark for Religious Education. Future Partnership Looking to the future of our partnership, we are looking for a strong vision of the future of chaplaincy in the school and the local area. We have the unique situation of having Church of England primary and secondary schools on the doorstep of the parish church. In addition, we would like to have more fre-quent visits to the school to provide an opportunity for students to engage with our local clergy to sup-port the pupils through guidance and prayer in our school chapel. We are keen to continue to develop the role of parish priest, so they are seen as an important member of our school community.

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19 The school was founded in 1843 as St Mary’s School by a past incumbent of St Mary the Virgin Church, Datchet . Since then there has been a long history of strong if sometimes eccentric links with the school. The school currently enjoys a thriving relationship between school – pupils and staff, and Church - its members, leadership and clergy. The school became part of the Oxford Diocesan Schools Trust (ODST) in January 2017. As a re-sult, the structure of governance changed with the Governing Body becoming a Local Governing Body (LGB), overseen by a board of trustees, who in turn report to the Members. It is no longer a re-quirement for the local priest to sit on the LGB, but if there is a vacancy they would be very wel-come. However interaction and working in partner-ship is both encouraged and expected. The school ranges from Reception up to year 6, and follows a strict Admissions policy. It has a PAN of 30, being single form entry, and has an average of 200 –230 pupils in total. It draws pu-pils from a very diverse ethnic and cultural back-ground It has a strong ethos and demonstrates its Christian Values clearly in the lives and activates of the pupils. The school has a philosophy of enabling children to reach their full learning potential appropriate for them in a supportive and friendly environment. Members of the congregation and village attend to assist in reading and other activities and projects such as Prayer Spaces, more recently the ‘Open The Book’ initiative led by the Area Dean Revd Canon Janet Binns, as well as supporting the events hosted by the school such as the school Fetes and Sports Days where you don’t have to have child attending the school to come along and shout encouragement. The school holds several services a year in Church as well as learning events about church and com-munity including within the church and church yard. Pupils are encouraged to attend events such as Messy Christmas and Easter, The Nativity and other church –led activities when they are held. We look forward to working in partnership with the new Vicar and looking at ways we can bring church and school closer together. Visit our website https://www.datchetstmarysacademy.co.uk Datchet St Mary’s Vision We are one, we are strongest working together in unity 1: Corinthians 12 - 14 On commenting on ‘Open The Book’ Nicola Green, Headteacher wrote in an e mail ….lovely seeing you at open the book which is a great success so please thank everyone involved. The children love it !!!

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21 Barker Bridge House Trust – This charity has a long and convoluted history, starting life as The Bridge House Trust set up in 1570 when the funds of the property rented out ( the Bridge House, what is now known as The Royal Stag ) were used for the upkeep of the bridge that spanned the water-course that ran from Slough Road to the recre-ational ground, pooling out in the heart of the village - the area we know as The Green, it was in the 1870s that the then trustees paid to have this waterway culverted under the Green. Robert Barker, ( of Wicked Bible fame) the Printer to the King (James 1st) lived in both London and Datchet : he was granted the license to print the King James’ Bible in 1611, and gave his name to the Trust whenas the last surviving trustee in1644, he regularized the process of trustees appointment and the duties. To-day the Trust is essentially made up of three sections, Church Branch, non-Ecclesiastical and joint Es-tate Trustees made up of the trustees from each branch with a Company Secretary. the Charity Commissioners reviewed the old trust schedule in the 60s, and updated them: The Estate disburses the income generated from the lease of the Royal Stag Public House, situ-ated adjacent to the church, and a small sum from farm land on Southlea, to the two branch-es with 2/5 coming to St Mary’s Church and 3/5 to the non Ecclesiastical. The joint trustees meet approximately two or three times a year. They also contributed to our research into the type of person the community would see as being the next Vicar, during the discussions, several expressed the concern that the Trustee vacancy traditionally held by the Vicar should be someone who is focused on Datchet. This would require and an amendment or a codicil from the Charity Commissioners to change the relevant part of the schedule to allow a regular member of St Mary’s to be elected by the PCC in place of the Vicar should they not be focused on, or live in, Datchet Church Branch : Has 5 trustees - which must include the Vicar and the 2 churchwardens . The income received can only be used for repairs and maintenance of the Church and grounds excluding the boundary wall ( cur-rently under discussion with CC to include this.) The accumulated funds are often far greater than the sums paid out; the last major significant expense was the repair to the steeple in 2016. Codicils added in the early noughties allow for the Utilities ( not phone) to be paid. During Coivd the Stag was unable to trade and an agreement was reached with the lease holders regarding reduction of rent for a period. Governor duties currently at both Churchmead and St Mary’s C of E school Datchet United Charities Committee This is a charity made up of several smaller ones and which distributes small grants to those demonstrating a need for it for their wellbeing, Director of the Bridge Ecumenical Centre. The Bridge is a self supporting company, regis-tered with Companies House. It serves the community in many ways, provision of re-freshments, a meeting place, a place to talk to someone and a resource of information. It is run ecumenically and volunteers operate the service on a rota basis. The building is leased from the Parish Council and has privately rented accommodation, which has in the past been used for the Youth worker upstairs. The Royal Stag PH—its rent funds the BBHT

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22 The LINK" - is Datchet's popular Community Magazine, first published in March 1999. The brain child of the then Curate Revd Robert Spicer. It was published quarterly in March, June, September & December. However, in 2023 the Team decided to trial having only three editions a year, removing the September edition, (always a ‘thin’ edition with the copy deadline being during the summer holidays in August ) with the final one being published in November to capture all the Christmas activi-ties in good time, It serves as a Link between Church & Village life and It is delivered to every house in the village, free of charge, by a group of dedi-cated volunteers who turn out in all weathers to make sure it reaches people; it is also sent out across the world to past residents and other interested parties who have requested their regular copy! Since the first edition, it has grown into the 32—40 page (depending on content and which edition) A4 document it is today and continues to be well received. It is a not for profit publication, run and edited by volun-teers with professional printing to ensure quali-ty of print. The funding is met largely though the advertising, which is charged at competi-tive rates, with the occasional donation. The Contents cover a wide range of topics both sacred and secular, from Parish /Church News, the Datchet Village Parish Council News, Future Church & Village Events, School News from the 3 schools in the Village, CAB and other organisations such as RBWM Trading Standards, regular Reviews, Profiles of Village & Church Members, Local Services & Advertising and much more. Regular features include, a highlighted topic - for example December 2017 was on the Homeless Project the church participated in during the winter months, until Covid arrived, when Slough borough council provided a warehouse which is still used, removing the need for churches to offer their facilities. Other regular articles include Thoughts and Prayers contributed by a member of the Village, one of the groups, or one of 3 schools, As well as popular Village History Articles written by the well known, published, local Historian Janet Kennish. The team are proud of the fact that we were able to sustain The LINK by innova-tive ways of think around distri-bution and we only missed one edition being delivered as normal ( although people could request a copy) However we took precautions and also thought strategically to ensure sustainability into the future should other issues crop up, and taking a leap of faith we intro-duced an electronic flip book in colour: This has proven very popular. "The LINK Editorial Team is al-ways on the look out for those who would like to contribute ideas, news, articles & local Information or offer their eskills and gifts especially in helping us to develop our online presence as we are looking to develop a bog along-side the printed and flip book version. New advertisers and new distributors are always very welcome too. You can view some samples if you scan the QR codes below November 2023 June 2021

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23 The diocese built the current vicarage as a new detached building in its own grounds about 38 years ago. It is a four (4) bedroomed property with separate Study and a Parish Office. Large gardens to the rear and space for up to 8 cars (with careful parking) in the front. Traditionally visiting preachers and parishioners, have made use of the car parking facilities (in particular those who are disabled and unable to access the church if not able to park there) at the invitation of previous occupants, but it is not an expectation : for example, the last incumbent only gave access to those who were disabled. Set back off the London Road behind the church building, access is via a single-track lane, Vicarage Lane which runs alongside the eastern boundary wall of the churchyard. This is currently shared with two other properties. As well as a lounge, a gar-age, entrance lobby (leading to main body of house, separating study and office from living space) utility room, a large kitchen and a separate dining room complete the structure. There are two bathrooms upstairs and one cloak room facility in the lobby. The lane is ill lit and some concerns re-garding the safety of passage on foot in the dark will need to be addressed when new occupant ar-rives. The Diocese are currently upgrading the house and new windows along with other works including gar-den maintenance and tree husbandry are being un-dertaken during the interregnum. The right to private living is recognized and valued by the members of our community. In the past St Mary’s has enjoyed a series of regular events in the Vicarage and its gardens such as Bar –B-Q’s, Christmas drinks and mince pies, murder mystery events and Creche ( in the days we had sufficient babies) but always by invitation of the residents. Because the Parish Office is located on the same site, we have had to work hard (successfully) at remembering that the whole is a private dwelling first and foremost and not the property of the par-ish. The Office is separated from the main living ar-ea, with its own entrance so as not to disturb the residents : The Vicar’s Office leads into this from the house but is separated from the living quarters by a locked door. Front showing lobby entrance and Vicar’s Oce Back garden Vicar’s Study showing entrance to Parish Oce from inside Vicarage Kitchen Rear of Vicarage from back garden

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24 St Mary’s Church Community Centre, CCC for short, was build in 2014 after a huge fundrais-ing drive and at a cost of @ £300,000. It is much appreciated by the congregation and is used every Sunday by the choir, and for coffee and tea after the service, also for Messy Church and other activities, and Lay- led or more infor-mal worship on occasions ( particularly when it is cold outside as it is warmer than Church) The CCC has a flexible working space with a soundproof folding partition which can be used to divide the room allowing for two events to be held at the same time. It is also used by groups in the community, such as the regular PiYo & keep fit classes, parties, groups for meeting and other uses. A donations to the Church funds is made rather than a fee charged. We will be reviewing this policy during 2024 now that the building is 10 years old. The CCC has a kitchen, toilets (one disabled) and baby changing facilities.

Datchet Parish Profile 2024 DRAF

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