Pilgrim Courses
We have recently completed all eight of the Church of England’s Pilgrim Courses. We are looking for another discussion group or course to being in the near future.
Quiet Days and Parish Retreats
A healthy spiritual life often needs time and space to pray and reflect. We organize regular quiet days in church (or sometimes away from home). These usually involve short talks or reflections, music and resources to read or look at, and plenty of time for quiet prayer.
Bible Reading Fellowship
The Bible Reading Fellowship publishes accessible and easy-to-understand notes to help you read the bible, a little bit each day. Members of our congregations can subscribe to Bible Reading Fellowship note through St Mary’s: please contact the Parish Office to find out more.
Baptism & Confirmation
We have another page that will tell you about the baptism of babies and young children at St Mary’s.
Baptism (also called Christening) can happen at any age. Our current Vicar was himself baptized at the age of eighteen, and it is increasingly common for candidates to be of any and every age!
The Church of England also encourages older children and adults to come forward for Confirmation (either at the same time as baptism or afterwards). Confirmation is administered in a service by the Bishop, with the laying on of hands and prayer. It is, if you like, a commissioning for the adult life of a Christian. Those who decide to be confirmed usually attend a small discussion group for a few weeks where they can learn about the Christian faith, and bring any questions they might want to ask, or matters to talk about. Please contact the Vicar to find out more about confirmation or adult baptism.