|
|
 |
You are here > Home > About Us |
||
 |
About Us All Saints Church Staplehurst is situated at the south end of the village on the A229, a Roman road which forms the main high street. It dates from the early part of the last Millennium; indeed the south door has been dated to around 1050 and has some very fine early ironwork on it. The population of Staplehurst is now around six and a half thousand and at All Saints church we seek to serve the whole village and not just those who come to our church. Our church is open seven days a week and many people come to pray there, using our votive candle stand near our side chapel. Our churchyard is still open for burials and is a place of peace for many visitors. Style of Worship We have a mixed rota of services at All Saints Staplehurst, with three each Sunday, including weekly 8.00 a.m. communions and a 10.00 a.m. Eucharist on three Sundays each month, the other having an evening communion. On the first Sunday of the month we have a family service at 10.00 a.m. Our evening services, which are at 6.30 p.m., include Taizé, Evensong, a Praise service and a monthly youth service, entirely run by our young people. Youth and Children's ministry All Saints has a Sunday School group called “Supersaints” who meet during the 10.00 a.m. service on 2nd, 4th and 5th Sundays. They have basic teaching of Bible stories, through songs, fun colouring, making things etc. On a Thursday evenings a group of 11 - 15 year olds meet. This group is called “The Cru”. They continue with learning the Bible but in more depth and with some topics in preparation for Confirmation. Confirmation however is in no way compulsory. Fun evenings include videos, quizzes, speakers and there are outings. “YPF” meet 2nd and 4th Sundays in the month from 7.30 p.m. This is for 15 - 18 year olds and they have discussions, quizzes, play snooker, table tennis etc. Also they have a large input into our youth service held once a month. “18 - 30” meet on 2nd and 4th Sunday from 7.30 p.m. in the Kings Head. They also help prepare the Youth Service and have discussions on various topics and outings. Fellowship - House Groups, Nurture groups Our “Points of View” group meet on the first Monday of the month when a speaker is invited to speak on a topic and then a discussion takes place. The “Thursday Prayer Group” meets every Thursday. We have a prayer group which meets once a month to pray about topics relating to the parish, and a monthly house group meeting on the 3rd Thursday in a month. Emmaus Groups meet on a weekly basis during term time. We have a baptismal team, who visit families whose children are about to be baptised. The Health, Healing and Support Prayer Group meet fortnightly to pray for the sick and those who need support. We also run house groups during Lent and Advent. Details of other church activities We support and are supported by Mothers' Union, Choir and Bellringers. All-age workshops are run on three Saturday mornings during the year for our young people and others. Social/Fundraising activities The “Friends of All Saints”, the main fundraising focus of the church, recently organised events including a baptismal and confirmation exhibition, 70s quiz and Brain Game, Kent Police Band concert, “Last Night at the Proms”, Shepherds' Market and the Church Fete. We have a very active social committee who arrange social events such as day trips to France, parish lunches, parish breakfasts, pancake parties, harvest supper, trip to Bewl water, Body Shop evening, and a rounders afternoon. Links with Schools in the Parish We have a very strong link with Staplehurst Primary School where both the Rector and Curate visit and take assemblies regularly and the Rector is on the Governing Body. The Rector also takes assemblies at Angley School in Cranbrook. Overseas links/projects All Saints have monthly charities and a proportion of these are abroad. Affiliation/links to other organizations/churches The “Churches Together” in Staplehurst enables all churches in the village to work and worship together. Regular events include joint worship on the 5th Sundays at each church in turn; Tuesday coffee mornings; distribution of Easter and Christmas cards, detailing services within all four churches; and the organisation of the Christian Aid collection for Staplehurst. The three nursing homes in the area are visited regularly and Holy Communion services are held once a month in each of these. There is a strong link with the Cheshire Home in Staplehurst and the McCabe Centre, where a house communion is taken each month. Specialties of the Clergy Gill is involved in Spiritual Direction and is the HIV and AIDS Resource Officer for the Diocese. Morning and Evening Prayer are said at 8.00 am (8.30 a.m. on Saturday) and 5.00 p.m. respectively in the Church (all are welcome). The Church is of course open for prayer and reflection every day. Please see the notice board outside the Church for additional details of services. For details of our Church Services and useful contact details please download a copy of our Welcome Leaflet which is available in pdf  format.If you do not have a pdf reader follow this link to download Adobe Acrobat 
What's On Page | Mission Statement | Inclusive Church declaration  Back to Top |
 |
|