Priest in Charge of St Michael and All Angels Cottingley and Holy Trinity Bingley with St Wilfrid's

Cottingley is a single church parish of around 5,500 people. St Michael and All Angels Cottingley has a faithful congregation which is committed to following Jesus, and a history of strong engagement with the local community.

The Parish of Holy Trinity Bingley has a population of nearly 7,000 people and two churches, Holy Trinity and St Wilfrid’s. The congregation are rightly proud of the parish’s silver eco church status. St Wilfrid’s has a church hall which is very well used by the local community. Holy Trinity and St Wilfrid’s have drawn more closely together, sharing worship. The parish was faithfully served by one incumbent for over 30 years until the end of 2024, after which the priest-in-charge of St Michael’s became priest in charge of this parish also.

The two parishes have been working together more closely since 2023, and have begun to deepen their unity and shared mission across the two benefices, including the pub church in Bingley, which is now ecumenical. They have shared a priest-in-charge since December 2024 and now also share an Associate Vicar who serves on a half-stipend basis.

More widely, we want to move towards an eventual single Parish of Bingley, learning from similar arrangements already in place in the nearby towns of Baildon and Keighley, and now being explored in Shipley. Such a parish could include Cottingley and Holy Trinity Bingley, as well as the parish of All Saints Bingley and the Bishop’s Mission Order and LEP in the village of Eldwick. All the churches that became involved would be expected to work together more coherently and share resources to enhance missional opportunities in the area. This role is therefore a further step towards that vision.

From the perspective of the Episcopal Area, we see five specific objectives for the incoming priest-in-charge:

1. To provide leadership which enables numerical church growth, sustaining and developing a ‘mixed ecology’ of a range of forms of church and worship to grow a wider diversity of ages and more balanced gender mix in the congregations. In particular, this will involve designing and implementing a sustainable strategy for effective ministry and styles of worship to reach out to both men and women, and also to families, young people and children so as to grow young people as Christians.

1. To build stronger, more confident lay ministry from the congregations, both in depth and numbers. This will include developing pathways for greater discipleship and increased lay leadership, and encouraging individuals to grow in their faith and use their gifts and talents. The incoming post-holder will therefore need excellent teaching, team building and team leadership skills.

1. To continue deepening the good working relationships between the parishes of Cottingley and Holy Trinity Bingley particularly, but also with All Saints Bingley and the Eldwick Church, and explore possible future pastoral reorganisation to ensure the Church of England has the best possible relationships with the town.

1. To help ensure continued financial sustainability of the two parishes as well as the Cottingley Community Centre.

For an informal chat about this role please contact the Archdeacon, Ven Dr Andy Jolley on 07973 458403.

Closing date for applications is midnight on 12th November with interviews planned for 27th November.