FULL-TIME TEAM RECTOR DESIGNATE AND TEAM VICAR DESIGNATE — A NEW TEAM MINISTRY IN SEMI-RURAL NORTH ESSEX

Closing date:	21 October 2026
Contact:	Archdeacon of Colchester
Website:	http://www.withamdeaneryvacancies.org.uk
Location:	Witham deanery

We have a great opportunity for two full-time, stipendiary ordained ministers to join us in north Essex. You will help shape a new and ambitious team ministry in a beautiful rural and coastal area of the Witham Deanery. Working alongside two Team Vicars already in post, lay and ordained leaders and deanery colleagues, you will bring imagination, pastoral depth and a heart for mission in a multi-parish rural context.

Team Rector Designate

We are seeking a sensitive, adaptable and dynamic leader who will inspire growth, foster collaboration and engage deeply with the diverse communities of this new 18-parish benefice
You will lead and encourage others in discipleship, vocation and ministry, valuing the gifts and experience of all
You will have particular responsibility for the Heathland Parishes of Tiptree with Tolleshunt Knights and Great Braxted, Inworth, Layer Breton with Birch, Layer Marney and Messing

Team Vicar Designate

We are looking for a pioneering, missional priest with energy for growing the church numerically and spiritually (especially among families and young people, of course!) and connecting with people of all ages across the wider community
You will have particular responsibility for the Beacon Parishes of Wickham Bishops with Little Braxted, Great Totham, Little Totham and Goldhanger

We offer

supportive and experienced lay and ordained colleagues within the team and wider deanery
spacious housing in an attractive part of Essex close to the Blackwater Estuary
easy access by rail from Witham into London and East Anglia
the support and resources of the Colchester Area Team and wider diocese

To arrange an informal conversation, contact Revd Canon Simon Garwood on 01376 573701 or email him here, or Ven Ruth Patten, Archdeacon of Colchester, on 01376 513130 or email her here . For an application form, please contact the Archdeacon’s office.

Closing date: 21 October 2026

Interviews: 3 December 2026

Visits by arrangement prior to interview

The Diocese of Chelmsford is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. All post holders are expected to share this commitment. All appointments are subject to acceptable pre-employment checks, including a satisfactory appropriate level of DBS check.

Parish profile - Team Rector Parish profile - Team Vicar

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