Bloxwich

• Bloxwich All Saints
• St Thomas', Mossley Estate
• Holy Ascension, Lower Farm

Training Incumbent
The Revd David Candlin

Trained: Ripon College Cuddesdon. Deaconed: 2018 Guildford

My ministry starts from enjoying talking to people; I hope it’s energetic and engaging. The sacraments are very important to me and my theological instincts are liberal. I'm interested in politics and I enjoy music. I also do the not-quite triathlon of swimming, cycling and walking the dog!

The context

Bloxwich is a working-class parish serving a strongly rooted local community. It is largely suburban. The population has high levels of deprivation, both materially and in terms of health, education outcomes and job prospects.

All Saints' is the parish church in the town centre: it has a mid-church tradition which we are gradually refreshing for example through greater use of contemporary worship music and a new informal afternoon service. The congregation wants to modernise and grow in numbers and outward mission. There is a strong ministry of occasional offices and many in the community see All Saints as 'their church' because of generations of family baptisms, weddings and funerals there.

St Thomas's serves the Mossley estate, a low-rise social housing estate built in the late 1950s. The congregation has a real heart for welcoming all-comers - the highlight last year was a pet service which attracted a good turnout of residents and pets! We have just committed to the diocesan Enabling All programme and with a bit more self-confidence, St Thomas's could be a real blessing on the estate.

Holy Ascension sits in a suburban area of mixed private and social housing. It has a well-attended place of welcome coffee morning and a successful programme of fund-raising events through the year.

The churches support one another and members of the three congregations gather for regular Bible study and to celebrate the patronal festivals. Relations with our colleagues across the deanery are exceptionally strong; we also maintain good ecumenical relations through the Good Friday Walk of Witness and the Remembrance Day Parade.

We connect with people of other faiths through the Walsall inter-faith forum. Locally, services including the fire station and Manor Hospital open opportunities for chaplaincy work experience during curacy.

We would be looking to use the Prayers of Love and Faith as part of our ministry here at Bloxwich.

Mission statistics (2023)