prayer | St Mary's Church, Redbourn

To get in touch with the Safeguarding team at St Mary’s Church, please click here

You may have heard the news that the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, has resigned, following the publication of the Makin Review into the Church of England’s handling of serious abuse by John Smyth.

In the light of this, I just wanted to assure you how seriously we take safeguarding in all its forms at St Mary’s, Redbourn. Everyone in any position of responsibility at St Mary’s is required by the Church of England nationally to undertake regular and good quality training to keep up to date on safeguarding, and I am so grateful to Jan, our Parish Safeguarding Officer (PSO) for her help and assistance in recent years to ensure that we’re on track with all relevant training and DBS checks.

Additionally, we’re very well supported by the Diocesan Safeguarding Team, who offer excellent training and also good, professional and wise advice and support on every aspect of safeguarding at St Mary’s and any concern we may have. You may be surprised at the number of conversations we have but they are friendly, helpful and very quick to respond.

If you have any concerns about anything to do with safeguarding, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with myself or Jan our PSO.

These are difficult times for the church nationally as we come to terms with the legacy of what has happened. We stand with those who have suffered abuse of any kind and we pray that justice will be done. And we commit and recommit ourselves to ensuring that all our churches will be safe and welcoming to absolutely everyone who comes through our doors.

Finally, thank you especially to the congregation of St Mary’s for everything you do to help us look after each other here within our church community. I hope that it helps give others confidence that we are a safe and welcoming place to be for all, where all are valued.

God bless, Rev’d Rachel

Website – Thy Kingdom Come

Thy kingdom Come – A Call to Prayer in the week leading up to Pentecost 2016 (8-15 May)

It isn’t that often that I get a letter from an Archbishop! In fact, last week, I got a letter from two! It was an invitation sent jointly from the Archbishops of Canterbury and York encouraging us to set aside time in the week from 8 to 15 May to pray. The letter included these words:

“We long to see a wave of prayer across our land, throughout the Church of England and many other Churches…

At the heart of our prayers will be the words that Jesus Christ himself taught us – ‘Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.’ It is impossible to overstate the life-transforming power of the Lord’s Prayer. It is a prayer that is reassuring enough to be on the lips of the dying and yet dangerous enough to be banned in cinemas. It is famous enough to be spoken each day by billions in hundreds of languages and yet intimate enough to draw us ever closer into friendship with Jesus Christ. It is simple enough to be memorised by small children and yet profound enough to sustain a whole lifetime of prayer. When we pray it with sincerity and with joy, there is no imagining the new ways in which God can use us to his glory…”

So how will we respond and take up this invitation?

Well, in one of several ways I hope.

We are producing a special booklet (available in church from 1 May) to use in your home or workplace during that week, and beyond… Do call in and pick one up – they’re free!

Join us for Morning Prayer at 9.30 am or Evening Prayer at 5.00 pm in St Mary’s Church (Mon 9 – Fri 13 May) as we pray for the needs and people of our village and nation.

Call into church and complete a prayer card (anonymously if you wish) if you would like someone or something prayed for during that week.

Email me: with your prayer requests. (form below)

Join us for a Prayer Meeting in St Mary’s from 8 – 10 pm on Thursday 12 May as we pray together for the churches here in Redbourn, for our world and for each other.

I know with great certainty that prayer must be at the heart of all we do. I hope you will join me in praying during this week: ‘Thy kingdom come, thy will be done…’

Will

Go back