Tag: community

Electoral Roll

What is the Electoral Roll?

It’s the membership list of the parish which is St Nicholas’, St Mary’s and All Saints’ churches. It’s a declaration of you belonging, being part of and committed to a particular church. Legally, it is the list of names and addresses of every person who can vote at a parish’s Annual Meeting (and any special or extra church meetings).

Who can be on it?

Any lay person (i.e. not ordained clergy) who is baptised and over 16 years old, provided they live in the parish or have worshipped at the church regularly for at least six months. It is possible to be on the Roll of more than one church, but in that case a choice must be made over which one church you wish to vote in.

How can I be more involved in the church?

For many people being on the Electoral Roll will be but a start of their involvement in the life of the church, helping them feel that they belong and part of the fellowship represented by God’s people in this place. There are many ways to support the week to week work of the church in Living God’s Love.

If you would like to join the Electoral Roll please complete it here

Helping our local Ukrainian community

Since the war in Ukraine began, the Parish has taken a number of initiatives to offer support to Ukrainians in Harpenden.  In the first phase of their arrival, we offered help with clothing, access to the swimming pool and holiday clubs, Christmas hampers, and welcomed them to coffee mornings and fun activities.  We continue to pray for them and for their friends and families in Ukraine.  We pray for peace and justice for all.

Most recently, we were pleased to host a special information session for local Ukrainians about finance and taxes.  This took place in the Church Hall at St. Nicholas’, as the photo shows.

Our friends in Markyate, at St. John’s Church, organise help for refugees locally and welcome your help.  See link here:

Our friends from Flamstead and Markyate churches continue to support refugees. Help is welcome to provide conversation and games at Markyate Baptist Church, Weds 2.30-4.30pm, or by providing clothing. Revd Jo Burke at St Leonards Flamstead is collecting donations of: warm casual clothing, casual coats, new socks and underwear, also bags or suitcases in good condition. These can be taken to Flamstead Church by arrangement, or direct to Markyate Baptist Church on a Weds pm.

Parish Profile

Our Parish Profile has been prepared as part of the process of appointing a new Rector. It is an opportunity to share the wonderful things that we do here in the Parish with those who are considering such a move.

Parish Profile final v2Download

Request for Clergy Reference Form

Request for Clergy Reference 2026Download

PARISH OF HARPENDEN CLERGY REFERENCES (‘CHURCH FORMS’) FOR APPLICATIONS TO ST GEORGE’S SCHOOL

St George’s School Harpenden requires those applying for places (under the ‘Church Attendance’ category) to obtain a Clergy Reference to meet the school’s admissions requirements. The Parish of Harpenden (St Nicholas’, St Mary’s, All Saints’ Churches) does not set the requirements, and we have no involvement in the Admissions Process, but we are happy to supply references confirming applicants’ involvement in Church life. These are based on the ‘Passport’ – the family-held record of your attendance at services over the past 24 months. You are responsible for this passport as we have no other records of attendance.

Please note St George’s School Governors set the admissions policy, not the Church. Queries about the policy or the process, or about your child’s application, should be addressed to the admissions team at the school. The school requires church attendance at least once per calendar month for each of the 24 months prior to the date of application for a school place. It is parents’ responsibility to check the admissions requirements and ensure they meet them

To help us deal with requests for clergy references efficiently, we ask parents/guardians to send the following documents by email to clergyreferences@parishofharpenden.org by Tuesday 6 October 2026: 

  • A completed ‘Request for Clergy Reference’ Form (available at the back of each church, via the Parish website above, or from the parish office by email) and
  • A scanned colour copy of your child’s completed record of church attendance (Passport’).

Completed clergy references (Church Form) may be collected from the Parish Office by parents/guardians on Saturday 10 October 2026 between 10am and 12noon. 

Please do not fill in and send the Church Form provided by the school as we will do this for you based on the information you supply on the ‘Request for Clergy Reference’ Form.

Please contact the parish office by email at clergyreferences@parishofharpenden.org or by phone (01582 765524) if you have queries or difficulties.

Farewell to Dennis

Sunday 9th June 2024 was a marvellous celebration of Dennis’ time as our Rector.  The Parish came together to create a memorable send-off and so many people came and contributed to the special day.  It was a fitting tribute to Dennis’ wonderful leadership with us. The morning joint All-Parish Service at St. Nicholas’ Church was exceptional, and weaved together so many different styles of worship. The Church was full, the volume high and the warmth palpable. The afternoon Farewell Tea Party was very well attended, with cream teas, cakes, tea, music, crafts and presentations of cards, gifts and many warm words of thanks to Dennis and Helen.

» Read more

Our Parish now Supports Azalea

Azalea means beautiful and dignified in ancient Greek and its mission is to empower and facilitate sustainable transformation in the lives of the men, women and neighbourhoods impacted by sex trafficking through several different projects. Sex trafficking is when an individual is coerced, forced, or manipulated into providing sexual access or services to a ‘punter’ often through threats of, or acts of, violence from a perpetrator.  So what work does Azalea do?

» Read more

Ecochurch: Taking Action for Future Generations

The Church of England wants churches to take a stand on the ecological challenges we face. The diocese is encouraging all of us to better support our church as stewards of God’s creation.

We can do this by participating in Ecochurch, which is an award scheme that recognises the work done by churches to care for the Earth. Churches complete a survey covering a wide range of questions such as how well they are caring for the wildlife in their churchyards or how environmentally friendly their church buildings are. Depending on the answers given by each church, they can work towards an award, and All Saints Church and St. Mary’s Churches already have Bronze Awards. We are not doing this just as a box-ticking exercise to get an award. The award scheme is a means of motivating us as a church to bring about ecological change in our daily lives.

» Read more
Leave a comment

Harpenden Learning for Leisure

Join a Course run by Harpenden Learning for Leisure (HLfL)
If you are interested in the world, keen to keep your brain active and want to participate in an activity with like minded people then an HLfL course may just be what you are looking for.

» Read more
Leave a comment

All Saints’ Services

Sundays

10am: The Sunday morning service alternates between Holy Communion and a more informal Morning Worship.

Music is provided by one of our two classically trained pianists and includes the best of both traditional hymns and contemporary worship songs.

Morning Worship is often led by a lay member of the church, and in all our services we strive to engage the children in reading etc.

During term time, the children and teenagers go to the hall for their separate activities in several age-related groups. At other times, worksheets are sent out by email for them to complete during the service. In both cases, a highlight of the service is towards the end when they are encouraged to share their work with the whole congregation.

You can join the service either in person in the church building or online (joining details are emailed to church members or may be obtained from our Associate Vicar or a church member to whom you are known)

St. Mary’s History

A History of The Church of St Mary the Virgin
Kinsbourne Green, Harpenden, Hertfordshire

The story of St Mary’s is the story of a small country church and the way in which it has continued for the greater part of a century and a half to meet the needs of the community it serves.

The original early Victorian building, as the architectural style bears witness, still forms a large part of the present day Church. It was purpose built in 1869 as a combined church and school on a site given by the then Lord of the Manor of Annables, the Reverend William Smyth. A few years earlier in 1865, Canon Vaughan, the first Rector of Harpenden, had arranged for meetings and children’s classes to be held in the kitchen of Mrs Grips who lived in a house facing the Green. When the Church-cum-school was completed, the first school mistress was a Miss Freeman. A separate classroom for infants was added to the original building in 1892. When St Mary’s was rebuilt in 1968, this classroom was incorporated in the present Church Hall.

» Read more