Tag: connect

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 2025 v2 (003)Download

Applications to St George’s School – Parish of Harpenden Clergy References (‘Church Forms’)

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 process for requesting these references is set out below.

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 the parish office by Wednesday 1 October 2025: 

· A completed ‘Request for Clergy Reference’ Form (available at the back of each church, via the Parish website 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 may be collected from the Parish Office by parents/guardians on Saturday 11 October 2025 between 10am and 12.00noon. 

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

Prayers of Love and Faith for same-sex couples

The Parish of Harpenden (All Saints’, St Mary’s, and St Nicholas’) is pleased to welcome the Prayers of Love and Faith for same-sex couples.  All the clergy in our parish are happy to provide such prayers within a service upon request.  The PCC has unanimously endorsed this decision of the clergy and the use of the newly commended Prayers for Love and Faith.  As a parish we are committed to being an inclusive church, called to be caring, loving and welcoming to all.  Please contact the Parish Office (01582 765524) if we can assist.

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.

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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?

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St Mary’s Bug Church

St Marys bug church was filled up with twigs, leaves and other materials at our outdoor Simply Worship service. We found some caterpillars, and moved one into the bug church complete with his favourite leaves!

We added the Please and Thank you prayers to the prayer board in church. We are proud to have received our Eco Church silver award.

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