Fauls, Tilstock and Whitchurch

• Fauls Holy Immanuel
• Tilstock Christ Church
• Whitchurch St Alkmunds

Training Incumbent
The Revd Chris Precious

Trained: Cranmer Hall, Durham Deaconed: 2016, Lichfield

Served curacy in Lichfield diocese and been here ever since! Currently just over a year into second incumbency here in Whitchurch, with my wife, three children, guide-dog puppy and a first curate who became famous during her time here. I'm a blend of traditional church for those who are used to it, mixed with pioneering to encourage new ways of being church for our community. I'm passionate about removing barriers between church and community, and church being at the heart of community life.

The context

The FTW benefice is a blend of truly rural ministry and small-market town ministry. You'll gain experience of leading Sunday services with six people, around 15 people and over 60 people depending on the church. Then at Christmas over 400 at our Whitchurch crib festival services. With five schools - four primary and one secondary - in the benefice, and five nursing homes, there is plenty of opportunity to gain experience with all ages. We also have a thriving ecumenical hospital chaplaincy team. You'll see from our stats that funeral and baptism ministry is a big part of what we do, and we are also intentionally focusing on reaching unchurched younger generations through Bubble Church, Brick church and ecumenical outreach. We have a thriving Churches Together group here in Whitchurch, with Catholic, Methodist and Free churches in the town. Whitchurch is a town of over 10,000 people, with a thriving high street with coffee shops, cafes, restaurants- including two which are Michelin starred- and various pubs offering an eclectic music scene. It has a great community spirit, and is like a town that thinks it's a village- most people know each other. Fauls is the most rural of the villages, with a dedicated congregation. Their school - Lower Heath - is a bus journey away, so the PCC helps to pay the cost of the coach. In Tilstock the church struggles to connect to the community, but has really strong links with the school 100 metres down the road- the school take full advantage of their proximity to the church, visiting us regularly. If you are into motorbikes there is a huge bike meet in Tilstock that we are eager to minister to, perhaps you'd like to join us?

Mission statistics (2024)