St Lawrence the Martyr, Abbots Langley & Church of the Ascension, Bedmond
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St Lawrence the Martyr, Abbots Langley & Church of the Ascension, Bedmond 1 Choir social evening: Thank you for considering the Parish of Abbots Langley with Steve, our organist as a place where God may be calling you. It is a great place to live and work! In the following pages we hope to give you an idea of who we are; what we are looking for; and Kathy and Steven’s wedding • where we are hoping to go in the future. Welcome to our Parish to our Welcome Susie with Lucas Post Office Rifles lay a wreath You can also find our more about us by visiting: http://www.abbotslangley.org.uk/ or you can find us on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/StLawrenceChurchAbbotsLangley or https://www.facebook.com/TheTinChurchBedmond 2 Our Mission Action Plan 4 - 5 Parish Communion at St Lawrence What we are looking for 6 What we can offer you 7 Possible Areas of Growth 8 Who we are – the Villages 9 - 10 Who we are – the People 11 Who we are – the Churches 12 Index Our Worship 13 - 14 Our Worship – Services 15 Our Worship – Young People 16 Our Worship – Music 17 Churches Together 18 Outreach 19 - 20 Social 21 Business & Management 22 – 23 The Vicarage 24 www.abbotslangley.org.uk 3 Our Vision is to offer worship to God which nurtures Christians of all backgrounds and ages, which attracts and inspires newcomers, and encourages them onto the path of discipleship. We began our Mission Action Plan in 2011. So, our Priorities as we agreed them in We held a congregational meeting and 2012, were: asked for views on the churches, the community and where we see ourselves to draw people, especially the regular going forward as a parish. congregations, deeper into worship; As a result, we wanted to be able to to bring more school families, baptism Mission Action Plan Mission communicate more effectively within the families and wedding couples into communities and within the regular worship; congregations, provide teaching to build people’s confidence in the Good News of to find ways of providing more for the God and to challenge the assumptions needs of the elderly in the community. and anxieties of a secular age. 4 In the light of these priorities our Goals (revised in 2015) are to: improve the confidence of those taking part in worship; look at the timing and types of services offered; reach out to the residential homes; Visiting in Abbeyfield complete the extension to St Lawrence Parish Communion Church (providing proper access for the disabled into church, toilet facilities, a meeting room and a small kitchen area - the North Door Extension Project). Mission Action Plan Mission North Door Extension Project, October 2015 5 The person we are looking for will be: a confident, outgoing a visible figure in the prayerful and led by and experienced - an inspirational community team leader and God able to preacher, able to demonstrate the manager; an effective warmth and love of teach theology and communicator and the Bible in an Jesus Christ in empathetic pastor engaging way; practical ways; who is approachable, motivated and excited to be with us! We hope you will also: Who we are looking for Who be happy to engage with all ages; bring new approaches to worship, particularly reaching out to those less familiar with ‘church’, whilst maintaining traditional services; continue our history as a training parish for curates; Could nurture our talents and involvement in worship and this be community; you? be confident with technology and social media; have a sense of humour and join in our social activities – we do enjoy parties! 6 We will offer you: • supportive, organised and • a parish with stable finances; active congregations with the Parish Share and Clergy many skills and talents; expenses are always paid in full; • the opportunity for you and ‘Friends’ Social - Wendy & Lesley your family (and/or those • a supportive and active close to you) to live in a Deanery and Churches beautiful area in a good Together; Second Sunday Service community, and with excellent links to London and • space and time to allow your nearby towns and airports; involvement in external activities and with the wider • two well-maintained historic church; churches; one with new facilities and opportunities to • support and friendship for you What we have to offer What we support those who visit us; and your family; • a busy, challenging parish with • encouragement and support many occasional offices – for your continued learning baptisms, weddings, funerals; and development. • a Church Office, with full-time administrator and part-time secretary; three retired clergy Abbots Langley High Street and a Reader; 7 Abbots Langley Players perform in the churchyard Opportunities and Challenges Whilst we are grateful for all the growing and supporting positive and good things that the congregation and are happening in the parish, we worship at the Church of acknowledge that there are the Ascension, to build on areas of opportunity and the good work that is growth. happening in the village; Some of these are: growing our youth and children’s work within the reaching out to the new church, with schools and estates and to bring more in the community, helping families into church; us to find ways to engage with children and young following up contacts people; from occasional offices And more opportunities: (baptisms, weddings and encouraging and funerals); developing participation in housegroups (we have using the new extension four, lay-led, but some enabling us to speak with to connect with the need more direction) and confidence about our faith community; a possible Pilgrim course. and bring others to faith Possible Areas of Growth Areas Possible through practical example; Bedmond Church Fete developing our lay ministry; developing our connection and involvement in community projects; growing our connections with the charities we The new estate support financially and 8 The Parish This historic parish consists of two villages in a beautiful part of south west Hertfordshire. Abbots Langley and Bedmond lie either 2 side of the M25, between three neighbouring towns, Watford, St Albans and Hemel Hempstead. There are excellent rail links to London (20 minutes) and road links to nearby airports. We are surrounded by beautiful countryside. Abbots Langley, as its name implies, has historic links with St Albans Cathedral which we are pleased to honour. Abbots Langley Abbots Langley is a thriving community with a good selection of shops, cafes, pubs and restaurants, two banks, a post office, library, Community Centre, and many resources. Three doctors’ surgeries and two dental practices are located in the parish. Scouts and Guides and their respective younger units are active in Who we are: the Villages Who Abbots Langley. A dancing school meets in the church hall. Sports clubs include cricket, football and bowling; there is a gym in a YMCA building. Music and drama groups include Orchestra, Players and Gilbert & Sullivan Society with several halls and venues. Abbots Langley High Street However, Abbots Langley retains its village atmosphere. A Local History Society and Gardening Society also cater for residents’ interests. There is a bi-annual Festival of the Arts (ALFA) in which we take a part. A weekly village coffee morning is run by volunteers in Find out more about Abbots Langley village the local community hall. There are plans afoot for this hall to activities at: become a Village Hub and films are now shown there on a regular http://www.abbotslangley-pc.gov.uk/links.htm basis. and http://www.abbotslangley.biz/ 9 Bedmond Bedmond High Street Bedmond is a smaller village with a few shops and a pub. A successful Task Force Group has been established aiming Bedmond Task Force: to promote the village and engage the local community. Christmas Carols Events organised so far have included a village fete, carols around the Christmas tree, a pensioners’ Christmas tea, an Easter Egg Hunt and a village clean-up. Bedmond was the birthplace of The Bell, Bedmond Nicholas Breakspear, the only English Pope, Adrian IV, who held that position from 1154-1158. Schools Bedmond School hosts the Diocesan Celebrate 100 icon There are three primary schools in the parish: Abbots Langley JMI, Tanners Wood JMI and Bedmond JMI; all three have nurseries attached. Breakspeare School is for children aged 3-19 years with severe or profound learning difficulties. There are both private and parent-run pre-schools in Abbots Langley. Who we are: the Villages Who Bedmond JMI, although not a Church of England school, has a service for all pupils in the Church of the Ascension twice a year. Abbots Langley JMI holds Christingle services and a Christmas concert in St Lawrence. All schools in the parish visit St Lawrence as part of their school curriculum and the clergy are involved in these visits. Abbots Langley School ‘Poppies’ There are several high-achieving state and private academy, grammar and secondary schools nearby. 10 Population and Employment The population of the parish is 11,200 - While the parish may appear on the and growing; there have been several surface to be a large, leafy, rural Beating the Bounds new estates over the last two decades. village, there are hidden areas of meets Warner Brothers The newest development of 400 deprivation and around 31% of the Kings Langley Station dwellings, most of which are in the population are classified at Level 1 on parish, is near the Warner Brothers the Government Deprivation Scale. Studios at the southern tip of the parish. The site formerly housed There is a mixture of backgrounds in Leavesden Aerodrome and a Rolls the community: Royce factory.