St. Mary the Virgin, Ware

St. Mary the Virgin, Ware

I have been continuing my exploration of the Anglican churches of Hertfordshire. I have had an enjoyable day visiting churches around Ware and Hertford. St. Mary’s is open each day. It is well worth visiting. I found a lovely welcome notice in the porch and the door was wide open. Inside this imposing town centre church I found both a free guide and a larger one to purchase. This, to my mind is a good way to do things. A casual visitor will take a free guide to help them understand what they are seeing and, if they are really interested, will then buy the larger one.

There is much to see here. A chapel is set aside for quiet and prayer and there is a votive stand to use as well as a prayer request board. The ‘Saints and Pilgrims’ book was open at the right day. This is widely used in the Diocese of St. Alban’s and gives a saint or other notable Christian for each day of the year. It is an attractive book and provides another way of interesting visitors. Mission projects are displayed and there is a children’s area at the back of the church. One thing that does catch the eye here are some very nice kneelers which portray the local street scene. These are most attractive and a bit different as well. There is also a display about the current organ restoration project which is going on. These sorts of things are often of great interest to visitors and it is worth highlighting what is going on.

The church website can be found at http://www.stmarysware.org.uk and this gives nice, clear, visitor information.