The Parish of St. Augustine's
Explore our Parish
St Augustine’s sits in the far south west corner of the Parish as can be referenced from the parish map shown below.
It is in a highly visible location in Medway on the corner of a busy junction between the main A2 and Rock Avenue.
The site consists of the church and church room at the west end: behind the church room to the north east there is a car park, Vicarage and Shaw Memorial Hall.
The car park is used by the church family and users of the premises.
A primary and secondary school are close to the church.
In terms of domestic residences much of the area around the church buildings are terraced houses built in the early part of the 20th century.
Property residents in this area tend to be young families of all ethnic backgrounds along with a considerable number of elderly single residents.
There are an increasing number of properties in this area being “Let” and we know from those who attend services from time to time that some are itinerant workers, including employees of the nearby Medway Hospital.
As one travels east from the church all of Watling Street (A2), including small businesses is in the parish.
North of the A2, most of the housing is again terraced but noticeably of a higher standard and now in a conservation area. As a general rule, property prices here are about 25% higher than in the area close to the church (and for those houses in the parish down Chatham Hill).
To the south of the A2 is the Darland estate. Developed both before and after the Second World War, house prices here are amongst the highest in Medway. Residents come from all ethnic groupings and span right across the age spectrum.
Further east from the Darland area is a further estate of detached and semi-detached residential housing built in the 1980s after the Army left the area. Close by is both a Premier Inn and Brewer’s Fayre, and the Gillingham Business Park, all of which is in the Parish.
The population of the parish is around 10,000. According to the Church Urban Fund, St Augustine’s ranks around average on the deprivation scale for parishes in the country, however, the Citizens’ Advice Bureau and other sources indicate that it is one of the most deprived areas in Medway and in the South East. In the immediate area around the church, including some of Chatham Hill, what is known locally as Poets Corner and some other streets to the north of the A2, CAB and other sources indicate particular issues around social isolation and levels of debt. More generally there are also significant healthcare issues in the locality including obesity and substance abuse.
Explore our Deanery of Gillingham
Gillingham Deanery comprises eight parishes with twelve churches. Travelling broadly from North to South: St Luke’s, St Mark’s, (which has a church plant at St Mary’s Island in the old dockyard area), St Mary Magdalene’s, St Barnabas, Holy Trinity Twydall, St Augustine’s with St Margaret’s Rainham and South Gillingham Team Ministry in the South (St Matthew’s Wigmore, St Peter’s Bredhurst, St Paul’s Parkwood, All Saint’s Hempstead). St Mary Magdalene and St Barnabas now share a priest. A map of the deanery is shown below.
The parishes range from inner city with high levels of deprivation (St Luke’s), to urban and suburban in the south and east. Approximately 106,000 people live in the Deanery, which is mostly within the Authority of Medway. The current Area Dean is Team Rector of South Gillingham, which has five clergy (stipendiary and non-stipendiary). The Deanery as a whole publicises events from each parish, and churches in the Deanery support them as well. St Mark’s also has an initiative called REACH at Gillingham Pier, which makes connections with local people to help meet practical, social and spiritual needs. The Deanery is bounded by the River Medway in the North and West, and farmland woods and countryside to the South and East. The whole area has formal parkland, wild green spaces and several country parks.
Gillingham Deanery is varied in churchmanship and setting, but there is a good history of the churches cooperating and supporting each other, enabling each parish to play to its particular strengths. We are open to innovative ways of working, without being ‘precious’ about parish boundaries, seeking to see each expression among us of the mission and ministry of God flourish. Members of chapter will look forward to welcoming a new priest at St Augustine’s, and working together to build the Kingdom of God in this deanery.
Explore the Diocese of Rochester
Called Together: The PCC has agreed and is responding proactively to the Diocese led “Called Together” strategy launched in 2017. This is centred on growing disciples, enriching communities and resourcing our mission and ministry.
The PCC has been determined that St Augustine’s plays a pivotal role in doing its part in embedding the three core areas of the strategy in its own future development for the church and community.