Barking Area Fact Sheet

• 166 Churches (60 UPA parishes, including 20 in the Extremely Deprived category. Therefore including some of the most deprived parishes, not only in London, but in the whole country).
• 301 Ministers, including 164 Stipendiary (full-time) clergy, 38 non-stipendiary clergy, and 99 Licensed Readers (March 2002 figures) and several Ministry Leadership Teams.
• 8 Deaneries in 2 Archdeaconries:
  • The Archdeaconry of West Ham with the deaneries of Barking-and-Dagenham, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, and Waltham Forest.
  • The Archdeaconry of Harlow with the deaneries of Epping Forest, Harlow, and Ongar.
• Area Population 1,288,723 (2001 Census) - including part or all of the local authorities of Barking, Epping Forest, Harlow, Uttlesford, Havering, Newham, and Waltham Forest. Church Electoral Rolls: 21,250 church members (March 2002 figure)
• 16 Church "Aided" Schools and 12 Church "Controlled" Schools
• Major features of the Barking Episcopal Area include:
  • Large Numbers of immigrants and refugees.
  • Ethnic Minority population probably about 25% of the total population.
  • Development of Channel Tunnel Rail Link to Stratford.
  • London City Airport. (London Stansted Airport just outside the Episcopal Area to the North.)
  • Good Communications with the M11 and M25 motorways.
  • Docklands Light Railway.
  • Housing Developments in Royal Docks, Barking Reach, and Thames Gateway.
• Experiencing Sunday Worship in many of our churches feels much more like being part of the Anglican communion worldwide than simply the Church of England!

Inspiring Communities: the churches in the heart of the Thames Gateway - playing their part in regeneration

Communications Training: an overview of the key skills and knowledge needed to start developing communications work in parish churches.