A PROFILE OF THE PARISH OF ST. PAUL
WOKINGHAM
WITH ST. NICHOLAS EMMBROOK

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MINISTRY

We have recently appointed Fr John Connell SCP as our new Parish Priest, and he will be licensed as Priest-in-charge on Saturday 30th April.  Fr John has experience of, and commitment to church growth, having received training with Springboard on church growth and mission, and having shared in a mission in inner city Leicester.  He is a committed member of Affirming Catholicism, the Society of Catholic Priests (a society for women and men) and a page 1 signatory of Inclusivechurch.net.  One of the reasons he was attracted to his new post is the commitment on the part of the parish, Deanery, and Episcopal Area to engage the issues raised by Mission Shaped Church.

Currently there is one NSM and one retired priest who are covering services with the help of other priests in the area. The parish also has a lay reader (LLM).

There has always been a history of home visiting with the sacraments, particularly to the sick, and this is being organised using lay ministers where possible. Chaplaincy at the local hospital and MacMillan Day Unit will be maintained jointly with other parishes. There is an established ecumenical pastoral support team to the local old people's home in which the parish is involved.

There have been chaplaincy visits also to the local college, which had premises in Wokingham. The support was aimed at foreign students learning English. The college has moved, and arrangements are under discussion to continue at some new venue.
A new feature that has been introduced is a ministry to industry. This is particularly associated with St Nicholas' and the industrial estate in Emmbrook.

There are also lay ministry teams including a healing team and the Emmbrook Schools' ministry team.