The Southend and Leigh Circuit is located in
the most south-easterly part of Essex, UK. The Circuit includes all
of the Southend Conurbation plus smaller villages to the north and
includes Canvey Island.
The Circuit is basically bounded to the west by the A130 (so
does not include Basildon), to the south by the River Thames, and
to the north by the River Crouch. The Southend and Leigh Circuit is
the largest circuit in Essex, and falls within the Beds, Essex
& Herts District of the Methodist Church.
Local
map
Southend is mainly known for being the nearest large sea-side
resort to the East-End of London and has the honour of having the
longest pier in the UK at 1 1/3 miles long. These days, the
sea-side trade is mainly day-trippers. The end of the pier boasts a
fine modern lifeboat station. Many people in Southend commute to
London to work, but there is a substantial amount of light
industry.
There are 17 Methodist Churches in the Circuit, and a total of
10 full time staff, and one part time administrative assistant are
employed by the circuit. Some of the churches do employ other
part-time staff.
Full time Circuit staff comprise 6 ordained Ministers and 4 Lay
Workers. Lay Workers do a variety of work within the churches,
including pastoral visiting and work with young people.
The Superintendent Minister of the Circuit is Rev Bryan
Tolhurst, the Chair of the Beds, Essex & Herts District is
Rev Anne Brown.