Table Of ContentPARISH PROFILE  
FOR A PRIEST IN CHARGE 
 
SAINT MARK’S, 
KEMPSHOTT 
BASINGSTOKE 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Jesus at the heart, inspired by the Holy Spirit to 
serve, share and support 
www.saintmarks.org.uk  
Homesteads Road, Kempshott, Basingstoke RG22 5LQ 
 
 
 
Saint Mark’s, Kempshott  |  Parish Profile and Role Description  Page 1 of 23
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Welcome to this Benefice Profile and Role Description…and 
welcome to the Diocese of Winchester! 
At the heart of our life here is the desire to be always Living the 
Mission of Jesus. We are engaged in a strategic process to 
deliver a mission-shaped Diocese, in which parochial, pastoral 
and new forms of pioneering and radical ministry all flourish. 
Infused with God’s missionary Spirit we want three character 
traits to be clearly visible in how we live:  
▪  Passionate personal spirituality; 
▪  Pioneering faith communities;  
▪  Prophetic global citizens. 
 
The Diocese of Winchester is an exciting place to be at the moment. We wait with eager anticipation to see how this 
process will unfold. We pray that, if God is calling you to join us in his mission in this part of the world, he will make his 
will abundantly clear to you. 
“As the Father sent me so I send you … Receive the Spirit” (John 20:21) 
www.winchester.anglican.org/resources-archive/?s=&resourcecategory=mission-action-planning 
 
 
Basingstoke Deanery 
Basingstoke is ranked 11th best place to live in the country. The major town of Basingstoke has a population of 105k and 
around it lies some of the most beautiful villages and countryside in Hampshire, with a population of 65k. The town is 
planning to increase its population by 40k in the next 15 years. Employment is amongst the highest in the country. Different 
communities get on well together. This is the context of our mission and ministry. 
 
The Deanery chapter is amongst the largest in the Diocese. A new leadership team is seeking to support renewal and 
growth across the Deanery and strengthen our ecumenical links. An area wide "Who Cares?" mission is planned for 2017. 
We have a strong Town Centre Chaplaincy, and good links with hospital chaplains, street pastors and foodbank. 
 
We are focussed on applying the Strategic Priorities of the Diocese in our context, with particular emphasis on ministry in 
schools, sharing resources across the Deanery and developing new forms of mission and ministry in places where the 
population is growing. 
 
We want enterprising clergy, who are team players, to join our chapter. We offer a rich depth of experienced leaders, great 
lay leadership, clusters as well as chapter meetings, and a generous and diverse spiritual life. We have challenging times 
ahead, but a strong willingness to support our clergy in the demands of ministry.  
  
 
 Richard Harlow 
 Area Dean of Basingstoke Deanery                             
 
 
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Contents 
The Parish of Saint Mark, Kempshott, Basingstoke ................................................................................ 4 
Parish Map .............................................................................................................................................. 6 
Our Vision and Priorities ......................................................................................................................... 7 
Our priorities for the next 3-5 years ................................................................................................... 7 
Our short-term objectives................................................................................................................... 7 
The Parish, its Mission and Life ............................................................................................................... 8 
Worship at Saint Mark’s .......................................................................................................................... 9 
Meet the Team ..................................................................................................................................... 10 
Church Finances .................................................................................................................................... 11 
Living in Basingstoke ............................................................................................................................. 13 
Basingstoke ....................................................................................................................................... 13 
Kempshott ......................................................................................................................................... 13 
The Vicarage .......................................................................................................................................... 15 
The Person ............................................................................................................................................ 17 
Role description for the Priest In Charge of Saint Mark’s, Kempshott. ........................................ 17 
Appendices ............................................................................................................................................ 19 
Appendix One – Parish Mission Action Plan April 2017 (extract) ......................................................... 20 
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 20 
Appendix Two – Saint Mark’s Church History and Building .................................................................. 21 
Appendix Three - Useful Web Sites ...................................................................................................... 23 
 
   
 
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The Parish of Saint Mark, Kempshott, Basingstoke 
www.saintmarks.org.uk 
 
Our vision and mission:  Jesus at the heart; inspired by the Holy Spirit to serve, share and 
support. 
Saint Mark’s is a vibrant Christian community that 
offers a broad range of worshipping experience. We are 
committed to being a parish church – a focal point 
which is accessible to the whole community, offering 
pastoral care and a variety of outreach activities. 
We hope that everyone who visits Saint Mark’s will feel 
they have been personally welcomed and valued, and 
that they will have encountered God in some way. 
While we are an Anglican church, within the congregation at Saint Mark’s are those from a range of 
church traditions including Roman Catholics and Methodists, as well as those who are unsure about 
faith, those who are of an Evangelical persuasion and those who belong to groups such as Inclusive 
Church and the Progressive Christian Network.  Our members also value connections with other 
churches, and outreach and social justice activities. 
Saint Mark’s Church successfully includes a breadth of worship opportunities, which happen at 
various times throughout the week, enabling people from a variety of traditions (and none!) to 
worship in a style which is helpful to them. 
 
A significant number of lay members of the church are leaders of our different ministries and you 
can read more about these in our Parish Mission Action Plan, which can be found on the church’s 
website at this address http://docs-eu.livesiteadmin.com/ab65e3db-e12f-46a1-a3bd-
f6fdf47c5f38/pmap-2016-2017.pdf  
Saint Mark’s is a young church, not constrained by tradition, with an openness to encountering God 
in a variety of ways and offering the new Priest in Charge the opportunity to deepen and develop 
areas of our broad worship and outreach activities. 
 
 
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We have a culture of encouraging members (both lay and ordained) to discover and use their gifts 
and talents.  This has led to three members of the church being selected for training to the ordained 
ministry within the past 15 years and several members becoming Licensed Lay Ministers.  We have 
previously been a training parish and are keen to become one again. 
In 1997 the Methodist, URC and Anglican churches agreed to establish a church in Hatch Warren 
through the creation of a Local Ecumenical Partnership. Saint Mark’s appointed a Curate with 
responsibility for Hatch Warren and the other churches appointed Ministers.  The new church, 
Immanuel, meets in the buildings of Saint Mark’s School, which we were also instrumental in setting 
up.  Over time, as Hatch Warren and Beggarwood developed, the Parish of Saint Mark’s became too 
large and the dynamics of the LEP changed so, in October 2007, Immanuel was established as a 
separate Parish of the Church of England and now has a full-time Priest. 
Ordained ministers within the church have been supported and encouraged as they have developed 
ministries both within and outside the parish, and we would anticipate giving the new priest in 
charge similar support. We have warmly valued and encouraged our clergy families both as 
individuals and as members of the church. 
 
   
 
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Parish Map 
   
 
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Our Vision and Priorities 
Our vision is of a church with Jesus at the heart of everything we do:  we are grateful for all that God 
has already done with us and for us.  We create space for the Holy Spirit to inspire us, to work in and 
through us; releasing us out into the community to meet the needs of God’s children as we 
encounter them.  We aim to be inclusive, accessible, and visible to our Parish, showing the relevance 
of God's unchanging message of eternal love to the lives of those we meet. 
 
Our priorities for the next 3-5 years 
To be a visible presence in the community, offering something that is relevant and accessible to all, 
ensuring we are known as a place of community and friendship. 
To be a truly welcoming church, developing deeper connections with all people and to include 
everyone no matter what their age, sexuality, ethnic origin, disability, family makeup or if they are in 
any other minority group; nurturing, encouraging and valuing all equally. 
To grow the church and ensure that the people of the expanding Parish recognise Saint Mark’s as 
their Parish church. Explore Fresh Expressions, Pioneer Ministry and church planting as ways to 
meet the faith needs of the community. 
To be confident with articulating where we sit theologically even if that is a broad church and 
continue offering different styles of worship. 
To make Saint Mark’s an active part of the Diocese and Deanery and engage ecumenically in the 
town. 
Our short-term objectives 
Find out from the community what they need, prioritise the Who Cares? Mission to gain an insight, 
and follow up these needs by: 
Discerning the priorities, focusing our efforts and encouraging mobilisation of church 
members into the community; 
Continuing and developing current outreach projects (Saturday@ St Mark’s, Coolzone, Open 
the Book and Messy Church); 
Continuing and growing home groups to ensure varied needs are taken into account; 
Continuing to offer faith development/discipleship courses; 
Support and develop other groups needed within the community, for example, lunch or 
coffee club, after school or youth club and hobby/interest groups. 
To broaden and deepen our pastoral care within the church and community. 
Progress the proposal to appoint a Stewardship Champion and encourage good stewardship of all 
types of giving. 
Ensure all work is collaborative. 
To encourage and value people expressing themselves when they feel inspired, prompted or moved 
by God.   
 
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The Parish, its Mission and Life 
The Parish of Kempshott is in the south west of Basingstoke.  The Parish has a population of 6,128 
and is almost entirely residential, with virtually all being privately owned.  Saint Mark’s was a church 
plant by Saint Thomas, Worting as the suburb of Kempshott developed in the 1970s.  The church 
building was consecrated on 29th March 1987.   
The demography of Kempshott has changed in the church’s lifetime from a young, mobile 
population to a more mature, stable one (the median age is 45).   
The Parish of Kempshott is set to expand with new houses being built to the south. A development 
of 310 homes is under construction at present, with some houses already occupied.  A further 
development of 730 homes, a junior school and community centre are planned with construction 
expected to start in 2018/19.   
Together with the proposed Manydown development to the west of Kempshott, this will bring 4,460 
new homes to the area.  In the 2015 / 2016 Kempshott Community Plan 17% of residents who 
responded suggested that concerns about housing development were their key concerns in the area.  
Saint Mark’s is mindful of the changing nature of the parish and is already engaged in connecting 
with the new residents. 
Saint Mark’s connects into the community of Kempshott by running groups for the young (Coolzone) 
and the elderly (Young At Heart), by hosting a monthly “open house” (Saturday @ Saint Mark’s) with 
a free café, free courses and a Traidcraft stall, by regularly running the CAP Money Course, and by 
taking Open The Book into the local schools.  We currently employ a part-time Outreach Worker. 
 
We also connect to the wider world through our support of linked Mission agencies, including 
Compassion, Mission Aviation Fellowship, the Food Bank, the Children’s Society and others.  Through 
Compassion, we have a link with a church in Kenya where members and friends of Saint Mark’s 
sponsor 73 children.  
 
More detail about the church’s ministries can be found in our Parish Mission Action Plan, which can 
be found on the church’s website at this address http://docs-eu.livesiteadmin.com/ab65e3db-e12f-
46a1-a3bd-f6fdf47c5f38/pmap-2016-2017.pdf 
More detail about the Parish, its history and facilities can be found at Appendix Two. 
 
   
 
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Worship at Saint Mark’s 
Every Sunday at 8:30 am we hold a said Order 2 Common Worship Communion service which meets 
the needs of those who enjoy traditional, Anglican liturgy. 
At 10:00 am on Sundays we alternate between Services of the Word, Parish Communion services 
and All Age worship.  
 
On the third Saturday of each month, we have Messy Church, which also draws in people from 
outside our regular congregation. 
Mid-week worship takes place in home groups. 
We regularly have groups from Saint Mark’s attending gatherings such as Spring Harvest, Greenbelt, 
Soul Survivor and Big Church Day Out.   
 
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Meet the Team 
  Dave North 
Dave is a Licensed Lay Minister and also a Home Group leader.  He is married to 
Pauline and between them they have four children and three grandchildren.  
Together, they have attended Saint Mark’s since 1997. 
 
  Debbie Veel 
Debbie is a Licensed Lay Minister and heads up the children's and youth work, 
balanced with being Lead Chaplain in Winchester.  Debbie is married to Chris; they 
have 3 children and their first grandchild. They have been at Saint Mark's since 2004 
 
  Ebow Essel 
Ebow is our Outreach Worker, having joined Saint Mark’s from Buckskin Evangelical 
Church where he, his wife Barbara, and their children had been worshipping for 5 
years. His passion is for people to discover and live out their true identity in Jesus. 
 
  Neil Hunt 
Neil is a Methodist Local Preacher licensed to the parish.  He and Yvonne joined in 
2007 after the birth of their second son, attracted by the Children’s and Family work.  
As well, as preaching, he is involved in all-age worship, Coolzone and the music group. 
 
  Kim Robins 
Kim is an LLM in training and our parish administrator. She loves being involved in 
Open the Book and Messy Church. Married to Graham, who sings in the music group; 
they have worshipped at St Mark’s since 2011. They have two grown up children. 
 
  Clare Nunn 
Clare has enjoyed being part of the Saint Mark’s family for over 20 years along with 
husband Jason and sons Jack and Harry, who are both at University. Clare is one of 
our Church Wardens, and enjoys working at the Food Bank during the week. 
 
  Laurence Besemer 
Laurence is the other Church Warden and part of the Open the Book Team. He and 
Sarah, who sings in the Music Group and runs the Chat n Play toddler group, joined 
the Church in 2012. They have 3 daughters aged 3-12. 
 
  Jon Morris 
Jon is the Leader of our Music Group and Lay Chair of the PCC. He came to Saint 
Mark’s when he and Penny moved to Basingstoke with their young family 25 years 
ago.  Now the kids are all grown but Jon is still here, part of the Saint Mark’s family. 
 
 
   
 
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Description:will abundantly clear to you. “As the Father sent me so I send you … Receive the Spirit” (John 20:21) www.winchester.anglican.org/resources-archive/?s=&resourcecategory=mission-action-planning. Basingstoke Deanery. Basingstoke is ranked 11th best place to live in the country. The major town o