St. Catherine & St. Paul’s, Hoddesdon
A church in the centre of town and opposite a busy Morrisons supermarket. In this context it was disappointing to find it locked. The Parish Office is open on Tues, Weds and Thurs 8.45 – 1pm. A bell has to rung to get in. Is it possible to visit the church via this? There is a website on http://www.hoddesdonparishchurch.org.uk but this gives no visitor information. A rather wasted opportunity to minster to the people of Hoddesdon.
St. Cuthbert’s, Rye Park
St. Cuthbert’s is a part of the New River group of parishes, centred around Hoddesden. I found it open on the day of my visit. The church is open on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and has a lot of activities happening in it. There is a large residential district around the church. I found a well cared for church and there was a good welcome leaflet and one on the lovely modern east window. This explains the symbolism of it and also gives some Bible references to think upon. A good idea.
There is a website at http://www.ryepark.com
St. Alphege, Whitstable (Revisited)
I have had the chance to revisit St. Alphege’s. There have been a few changes. This is what I said after a visit a couple of years ago-
This lovely little church sits in the middle of the High Street. It is in a great position to welcome visitors – even on a cold April day there were plenty of people around. It is open every morning for a coffee shop. A simple sign outside says, ‘Coffee Shop Open.’ Inside, I found that this was in full swing and obviously is well used. A table was set up with cards and various other gifts for sale. I was welcomed by a friendly lady.There was a ‘Welcome Leaflet’ available which is very well done. I particularly like the picture of the congregation gathered outside the church. It is a good reminder that here is a living friendly church. This is also downloadable from the website. There is a visitors book but only 10 people had signed this since October.
St Alphege, Whitstable
There is a sign into the church itself (there is a glazed screen to provide a narthex for the coffee shop) which simply says, ‘Church open for prayer.’. It is a peaceful, holy and well loved building with much of interest. There is a prayer book for visitors to enter prayer requests into – this was well used which is so good to see. Also a votive stand. There is a statue of St. Alphege stood in the sanctuary.
There wasn’t anything available on the Christian faith nor on St. Alphege – a story worth telling. Neither was there a church history.
However, this all looks set to change. The church website http://www.stalphege.org.uk gives some details, and a video clip, of an exciting project to tell his story in etched glass. A great idea.
All in all, I rate St. Alphege’s as good for the purposes of this study. It wouldn’t take much more to make it very good. Well worth a visit.
There is now a lovely set of etched glass windows at the back of the church – these tell the story of St. Alphege and there is a book to but which describes them and the life of the saint. There is also a guide to the church which is well produced and, a simple set of laminated guide cards to carry around. These are right next to the door into the nave to encourage people to use them – a simple but very good idea. The church cafe was running and was busy and that all looked good too. There are some pictures of the windows and the guides and I now rate this church as very good. It is also a place with a lovely prayerful atmosphere – well worth a visit.
St. Cross, Wilstone
The only I have seen which has decking outside! The exterior of St. Cross, built in 1860 doesn’t look much, but external appearances can be deceptive. Open the door and you find a delightful little church. There is a website at http://www.stcross.nildram.co.uk/ but this doesn’t seem to give any visitor information. It does have a lot of history on it – St. Cross has more of a story than you might think! It was even planned for it have a tower but the money ran out.
There is a votive stand to use and light was left on. There are also refreshments left out for visitors and a toilet. A smashing little church which I Like a lot.
St. Bartholomew’s, Wigginton
A smashing little church in a very well maintained churchyard. It was open. Inside it is pretty dark but once my eyes had become accustomed to the relative gloom I found an interesting interior. There didn’t seem to be a visitors book nor much else but this is a church with a really peaceful and prayerful atmosphere. There was a bible open and a votive stand also a hand written bible, ‘The Tring Bible’ which was a millennium project. It would be worth making more of this as it was obviously a labour of love.
There was the usual ‘Saints and Pilgrims’ – which is very good and the sacrament is reserved here. The church floor slopes down to the East end which is rather unusual – I have seen churches that go the other way . Also there is a toilet that visitors can use. The church website says this; ‘The church is open during the daytime, every day. As you will see as you browse these pages, Morning Prayer is said at 8.30am. Many people drop in during the day, some for quiet contemplation, some to get things straight with themselves, and with God, and others, just to get away from the frantic world we live in. Slow down and feel better.’ Good stuff! See http://www.stbartholomewschurch.org
All Saints, Long Marston
All saints was built in 1882 but contains a 14th century font, part of a 15th century screen and a 17th century pulpit, all in a late 19th century church! However, interesting as this is it wasn’t possible to see inside. Nor is there any indication of when or if this is possible. This is a church that really ought to be open. It sits in the middle of a village and could be a good place for people to call in and become something of a spiritual resource for the people of Long Marston. All Saints is part of the Tring Team and the website is at http://www.tringteamparish.org.uk but there is no visitor information for here.
Churches will never grow if we shut people out. They need to re connect with the area they are set in and become places for the people again.
St. Mary’s, Puttenham
St. Mary’s is down the end of a lane in this small village. It is noteworthy for being one of the ‘Thankful Villages’ where no one was lost during the First World War. Unfortunately I found it locked with no indication of when or how I might get inside.
St. Mary’s is in the Tring Team and the website – http://www.tringteamparish.org.uk gives no visitor information either. This a great shame and I have to rate this as very poor for the purposes of this study.
St. Peter & St. Paul, Tring
St. Peter & St. Paul’s is situated in the middle of the small town of Tring. It is open each day and well worth visiting. There is a welcome notice outside
Inside, I found a prayer request box, a prayer leaflet, a welcome board and a range of leaflets about the church and what goes on here. There is a history guide to carry around on a visit and displays about the various clubs and groups that are associated with the church. ‘Saints and Pilgrims’ too – this seems to be almost universal in Herts churches. All this gives the impression of a lively place which is friendly and worth being a part of. There is a votive stand and whilst I was there a family were explaining to a young child why they were lighting a candle in memory of a loved one. One simple instance of why it is so important for a church to be open during the week. This place is a focus of their grief and a way of offering memories to God. If it wasn’t open what would they do?
The church website is at http://www.tringteamparish.org.uk but doesn’t give visitor information, although there is plenty of other useful stuff on it.
I rate St. Peter and St. Paul as very good for my purposes.
St. John the Baptist, Albury
The church is open and there is a ‘church open’ sign so that people know that this is the case. This church is in the Tring Team and the website, http://www.tringteamparish.org.uk, says this; ‘The church is open daily through out the year as a place of prayer for all people.’
Quite a lot of effort has gone into ministering to those who visit this church. There is a childrens area and walk around leaflet which is very well done. Also some post cards for sale. Some lights had been left on and there was a nice display about the weddings being held here this year as well as a lot of children’s work displayed. These all go to show that this is a living community of faith and not just a place of history and heritage. There was a good prayer board with book marks and a votive stand for lighting candles. The usual ‘Saints and Pilgrims’ book was displayed. There were 15 entries in the visitors book for May but there were several people in the church when I was there so this must get a lot of visitors.
A lovely church which I rate as good for this study. Here are a few more pictures.
St. Mary’s Northchurch
I found St. Mary’s locked, which is a shame.There was no indication anywhere of how I might get in, apart from coming along on a Sunday. This church is famous for the gravestone and brass memorial plaque to ‘Peter the Wild Boy’. The church website is at http://www.stmarysnorthchurch.org.uk This gives lots of information about what happens here but no visitor information. I read this there; ‘
St Mary’s is a living place, more than the sum of its stone, wood and glass and all the history that they contain. St Mary’s is a house of God for the people of Northchurch, a spiritual centre for their lives, a living symbol of the faithfulness of God.
If you can visit St Mary’s, then you will be able to spend time admiring the beauty of the building. But you can also sit in silence, in the intimacy of the Lady Chapel or in the breadth of the nave, and offer prayers of thanksgiving to God for his constant love, his constant care and his constant presence with us.’ I am sure that this is all true but it is hard for a church to be a place for the community if it is only open for services. A closed church does seem a waste really and it would be good if the doors could be opened and St. Mary’s became truly a place for the community of Northchurch.
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