St Lawrence the Martyr, & Church of the Ascension,

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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 our to 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

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 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

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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 Action 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.

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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 Action Mission

North Door Extension Project, October 2015

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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 looking are we 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!

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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 to have we What 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;

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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 of 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

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The Parish

This historic parish consists of two villages in a beautiful part of south west . Abbots Langley and Bedmond lie either 2 side of the M25, between three neighbouring towns, , and . 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 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 the are: we 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/

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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 the are: we Who

Bedmond JMI, although not a Church of 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.

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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 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.  30% hold qualifications of A-level The largest single group within our and above - but Renewable Energy Systems HQ parish are the 25-44 year old  18% of the adult population have professionals who mostly commute to no formal qualifications London via the nearby Kings Langley  700 people in the parish are railway station, or drive to one of the registered as not speaking English local towns for work. as their first language  63% of the population identifies The biggest areas of employment in itself as Christian with an our parish are retail, transport & increasing representation of other

Who we are: the People the are: we Who communication, education, health and faiths and ethnic groups living in construction, and the new Warner the local area. Brothers Studios and Harry Potter Experience. A significant retired, elderly and Vine House Health Centre disabled community live within or near Residents have, over the last decade, the parish and 15% of the adult New development been getting younger; current average population provide some sort of care age is around 40 years old. We are a and support, with our church growing community and our location community being closely engaged with close to London and on the edge of local care and residential homes. several major towns makes this parish a highly sought-after place to live. Information from: Census 2011 11

Each village has its historic church located in the centre of the community and the churches are well-regarded by local residents. Bedmond’s east window St Lawrence Church is situated prominently in Bedmond spire the village of Abbots Langley. Dating from ca 1154, it has fine Norman arches in the nave, and many later additions and historic monuments. Seating is on wooden pews. After a major fire in 1969, the chancel area was re-ordered to give increased flexibility in the use of the church.

The church is surrounded by a large ancient Inside Bedmond churchyard. We follow the principles of ‘A Living Churchyard’ and aim to achieve a balance between conserving wildlife and maintaining the churchyard as a fit setting for the church. It is maintained by a small band of volunteers using a grant from the Parish Council. The churchyard is closed for new burials but there is a Garden of Remembrance for the burial of ashes.

The Church of the Ascension in Who we are: the Churches the are: we Who Norman Bedmond is a ‘’ dating from 1880, arches one of the few remaining in the Diocese. It has a spire and a bell, which is occasionally rung for The churchyard services. It has a simple wooden interior with chairs, replaced in the late 1980s, seating around 60 people. By the mid 1990s it was obvious that it would make life much easier if extra facilities were added, so a corner of the Inside church was turned into a kitchen area and an St Lawrence outside storeroom converted to a toilet.

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The main act of worship at both churches St Lawrence is open is Holy Communion, with choral music every day of the week and servers at St Lawrence. as a place of prayer with an intercessions board The Sacrament is reserved at St Lawrence and votive candles always and taken to several residential homes on available. The clergy will a monthly basis, as well as to the readily meet with anyone housebound and anyone in need on who needs help or

request. Noah’s baptism support.

The parish has worshippers from a wide The ringing chamber variety of church backgrounds and we offer an unconditional welcome to all who wish to join us.

We have a willingness to explore new patterns, alongside a solid base of well– delivered worship.

Our Worship Our St Lawrence regularly holds civic services attended by local and district councillors. We also welcome other denominations

from within Churches Together in Abbots Arrival of the ‘Kings’ Langley, warmly and confidently. on Christmas Eve

The Electoral Roll includes both churches and in 2015 is 267. Approximately 20% are resident outside the parish; Altar of Repose approximately 60% are regular worshippers (at least once a month), 20% are occasional worshippers and Ascension Day celebrations 20% rarely or never come to church services.

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In 2014, these 52 were our 42 occasional services: 22

Queuing to get into church on Christmas Eve

- at one of five services

Weddings Baptisms Funerals

Lay Support Second Sunday Services Back to Church Sundays

In all our regular worship at During the all-age Second The congregations are St Lawrence there is strong lay Sunday Service in St Lawrence encouraged to invite friends, involvement: reading lessons, we welcome babies/children family and neighbours back to leading intercessions and who have been baptised in the one of the series of ‘Back to

Our Worship Our assisting with the chalice, as well previous month. These services Church’ Sundays. Both churches as servers, choir and bell ringers. are kept as informal and user- participate in ‘Open Church There is a strong team of friendly as possible. Sunday’ in June, although sidespeople at both churches to St Lawrence is open every day. welcome the congregations. Christmas Eve Flower arrangements are Services for the Community provided in both churches. We now hold five Candlelight Services (with real babies and a These include the Act of We have teams of Pastoral donkey!). In recent years we Remembrance at the War Assistants, Baptism Visitors and estimate 1600 people coming - Memorial on Remembrance Bereavement Visitors. the queues at the door are Sunday, with services in both testament to its significance in churches. The ringers have been The ministry of Sick Communions the village and beyond. A tolling the bell to commemorate and Elderly/Residential Home Travelling Crib goes round local servicemen who lost their Communions is shared between homes in the parish and is lives in the First World War. the clergy and Pastoral returned at the Candlelight Services have been held to Assistants. Services. commemorate royal occasions. 14

Usual St Lawrence Church Services each week Children attendance Morning Prayer 9.30 am Monday to Friday 3 - 5 Evening Prayer 5.15 pm Holy Communion 10.15 am 3 - 5 Wednesday Mothers’ Union 10.15 am 10 - 15 Corporate Communion (2nd Wed) Friday Holy Communion 9.30 am 3 - 5

Sunday Holy Communion 8.00 am 15 - 20

Parish Communion 9.30 am 80 - 120 6 - 10 Second Sunday 9.30 am 80 - 120 10 - 15 Service (with Communion on alternate months) Evening Prayer 6.30 pm 3 - 5 Church of the Usual Services each week Children Ascension attendance Holy Communion 11 am occasionally

Our Worship: services Worship: Our Sunday 15 - 25 (1st Sunday) 1 or 2

Family Service 11 am occasionally 15 - 25 (3rd Sunday) 1 or 2

Second Sunday Harvest Eucharist at St Lawrence

Worship at Bedmond Second Sunday Service at St Lawrence 15

Sunday School

‘Seekers’ is run in the church hall during the 9.30 am Parish Communion in St Lawrence for children aged 3-10 years. This is a chance for children to engage in teaching, prayer and activities. We currently have a strong team of leaders and helpers. The Seekers join the service during the distribution of communion and then feedback to the congregation what they have been doing. Tom grabs their attention at the Seekers party

There is also a crèche in the church hall for parents to leave their 0-3 year olds during the service. A Youth Choir children’s corner is set aside in St Lawrence for those parents who wish to keep their children with The Choir meets every Friday evening in them during services. St Lawrence during term time for both boys and girls of seven years and up. They practice a range of Children from the age of seven years upwards may music from contemporary to choral - and anything be prepared by the clergy to receive communion from the Beatles to Bach! The choir leads the prior to confirmation. singing at Second Sunday Services and usually

Our Worship: young people young Worship: Our contributes an anthem. They also join the adult choir for special services eg Nine Lessons and Tiny Tots Carols.

This group for pre-school children meets every first Youth Group and third Monday afternoon during term time in St Lawrence. The session includes singing, Currently taking a break, giving us an opportunity to teaching, craft activities and, of course, tea, juice look at new ideas, the youth group is a great way to and biscuits for the parents/carers and children to bridge the gap for teenagers interested in enjoy. Sessions are both clergy and lay led. becoming involved in the church.

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Music is important to the An organist or two!

St Lawrence congregation

Organ

Our fine Nicholson organ had its electrics and controls refurbished in October/November 2015 after a very successful fundraising campaign.

Choir

The adult choir (SATB) (20 members) sings for each 9.30 am Parish Communion and for Choral Evensong

up to six times a year. Recently it has been invited to sing for services in St Albans Cathedral, usually once a Concerts year, but occasionally twice. The choir has also been invited to sing in churches and cathedrals around the As part of our recent fundraising initiatives for the country, including in Bristol and Chelmsford. Another organ, we instituted a series of Spring Concerts on weekend away is planned for 2016. The choir also sings Saturday mornings in May (with refreshments) with

for weddings and funerals when requested. guest organists and musicians including solo voices. Our Worship: music Worship: Our St Lawrence has good links to other well-established musicians at St Albans Cathedral and in the wider The Abbots Langley Orchestra performs its concerts in London area. The Youth Choir (6-10 children) sings for St Lawrence three times a year. Other groups and the Second Sunday Services in St Lawrence when the soloists also perform in the church, especially during adult choir are not in attendance. the Abbots Langley Festival of the Arts (ALFA).

David plays his sax

Claire conducts Choir tour the Youth Choir 17

CTAL Walk of Witness Churches Together in Abbots Langley on Good Friday

CTAL is a very warm and active ecumenical group, comprising Roman Catholics, Methodists, Baptists and St Paul’s, , our neighbouring Anglican parish. CTAL Safari Supper We share worship together:

 Epiphany Service

 a Service during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

 Blessing of Palms (with donkey) on Palm Sunday CTAL ’float’  Walk of Witness on Good Friday at the AL Carnival  Early Morning Sunrise Service on Easter Day

Lent groups or talks are arranged by CTAL each year. Pub carol singing with CTAL

Churches Together Churches CTAL organises an annual street-to-street collection during Christian Aid Week.

The Methodists share their Covenant Service at St Lawrence.

Social activities include taking part in the annual Abbots Langley Carnival and a Safari Supper to raise funds for charity.

The clergy meet regularly to share food and fellowship together.

Messy Church meets once a month at the Methodist Church (largely an Anglican and Methodist initiative), with 70+ children, carers and volunteers. Messy Church at the AL Carnival

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Care Homes

The parish has a long tradition of welcoming and Sunday Lunch Club supporting residents with severe learning difficulties. When Leavesden Hospital closed in A Sunday Lunch Club is held 1997 some of the long in St Lawrence Church hall housed in three care homes-term inresidents the village were and a twice a month, usually with few have since been brought to services by 20+ elderly, lonely or church volunteers, and others are brought by the disabled members enjoying a care home staff. They integrate well into the home-cooked lunch provided services and enjoy staying for coffee after the by volunteers. service. Lay people also lead sing worship in the homes. -a-

longs and Outreach

MU members Linda & Pam meet Malawi MU member Malawi

Together with St Luke’s Watford, in 2013 the congregation raised £10,000 towards £30,000 needed to build a new Maternity Unit at a clinic in Nkasala,

Malawi.

In 2014 a group from both parishes visited Malawi to provide more practical help. It is intended that this link will continue with a further visit to Malawi in 2017.

http://abbotslangley.org.uk/uploads/downloads/ Malawi%20Update%20July%202015.pdf

In Malawi, Wendy teaches the children ‘Heads, shoulders, knees and toes...’.

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Charities

Our policy is to give 10% of our voluntary income to charitable causes. We currently support a number of selected charities:

 Camphill Village Trust  Church Urban Fund  Crisis Fairtrade  Leprosy Mission

 Orbis We are proud to be a Fairtrade parish with a monthly  Practical Action Traidcraft stall. Our Tuesday coffee morning in

 Us. St Lawrence and monthly Bedmond coffee mornings  Citizens’ Advice Bureau in Three Rivers use Fairtrade products, as do our social activities where possible.

Outreach

Home-made cakes and preserves for sale

The Environment

The congregation has been involved in the ‘Shrinking the Footprint’ initiative.

The CAB leases http://abbotslangley.org.uk/uploads/ the stable block downloads/Shrinking%20the%20Footprint%

20results.pdf

We also participate in the Abbots Langley Transition Town events with a stall-made at their Community Markets selling -homegrown cakes, preserves and home produce.

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Easter Monday As a parish we like social events: anything from church fetes and Pilgrimage to fun days to mulled wine and mince pies at Christmas; from harvest St Albans barn dances to coach trips to West End theatres.

Fetes and Fun Days, etc Easter Monday Pilgrimage to St Albans The annual St Lawrence Fete in June

raises money exclusively for local charities The pilgrimage is part of our

including New Hope, Ascend, the Peace routine of hospitality. At Hospice and the Hospice of St Francis. St Lawrence breakfast is provided for our St Lawrence Church Fete The Bedmond Fete in September raises own pilgrims before they set out, and supper funds for the church. when they return. Breakfast is also provided for a parish which sets out from further Social The St Lawrence Fun Day in August before afield. the Patronal Festival is a recent addition and raises funds for the church. At Bedmond more recently, we have been providing tea and biscuits for pilgrims who Harvest Suppers (or Lunches) are held at both are passing by from three or four churches, sometimes with a Barn Dance neighbouring parishes. included.

We have organised a number of coach trips to West End and other more local theatres over the years.

Jane (churchwarden) takes her turn!

Mothers’ Union MU celebrates 125 years We have an active Mothers’ Union branch with 20+ members. They meet twice a month, in the morning and the evening, and have a Corporate Communion on the first Wednesday of each month. Their Simnel Cake

programme for 2015 can be found at: on Mothering Sunday http://abbotslangley.org.uk/uploads/downloads/MU%20prog%2015.pdf 21

Staff Finances

We currently have a full-time Our finances are stable, although not stipendiary curate who will be with us without some difficult years recently until the second half of 2016. Three which has necessitated additional retired clergy and one Reader help fundraising. For the Annual Accounts and support us on a regular basis. to 31st December 2014 see: http://abbotslangley.org.uk/uploads/ PCC downloads/full%20accounts% 202014.pdf The PCC meets six times a year and is supported by several committees: Our Parish Share is always paid in full Finance & Fundraising, Property, in monthly instalments. This year Children & Youth Work, Worship, (2015) it is £100,065. Outreach, Social, Health & Safety and Communications; a report from the Clergy expenses are paid monthly in Bedmond Congregational Meeting full according to the guidance. (which happens on a Sunday morning following worship four times a year) Fundraising - Claire (our Treasurer) is also received. The two completes her sponsored skydive churchwardens meet with the stipendiary clergy before each PCC. Business & Management & Business The APCM in April includes a visiting speaker. The Annual Report for 2014 can be found at: http://abbotslangley.org.uk/uploads/ downloads/Annual%20Report% 20201415.pdf

The PCC has an annual ‘Awayday’ to focus on the year ahead.

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The church hall

Church buildings Other buildings

St Lawrence and the Church of the The parish owns a three-bedroomed Ascension are in good order. The last house in Abbots Langley, currently Quinquennial inspection (2012) on lived in by the Curate. St Lawrence showed that we need to do repairs to the stonework tracery St Lawrence Church Hall is well used on some of the windows, which we by a pre-school during the day and by shall address when the North Door other community groups in the Church Extension Project is completed. evenings and at weekends. The Office Church Office is accommodated in The Friends of St Lawrence is a one end of the Church Hall. separate charity which raises money through social activities and The Stable Block is leased by the donations towards work on the fabric parish to the Citizens’ Advice Bureau at St Lawrence. Their most recent in Three Rivers at a subsidised rent. project was to fund the renovation of Pumpkin Pre-school two stained glass windows. use the church hall

Quinquennial work required on the

stonework tracery at St Lawrence Business & Management & Business

The ‘Friends’ renovated the font

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TheVicarage The present five-bedroomed Vicarage dates from 1716 and is Grade II listed. Its future as the Vicarage is currently under discussion in the Diocese.

For further information, please contact the Archdeacon of St Albans.

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Photos courtesy of: Beating the Bounds through the bluebell woods Carol Higgs Phill Higgs Norman Jones Stuart Little Jane McHugh Jill Matthews Pam Rastall Bill Sanderson Steven Smith Simon Stanley David Warner www.abbotslangley.org.uk Shady Firs Photography 25