Simply Worship at St. Mary’s
Tag: young people
First Sundays@StMarys
Request for Clergy Reference Form
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.
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.
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 moreA vision of Heaven
Harpenden Child Contact Centre
Without the services of Harpenden Child Contact Centre, many separated families would be unable to meet their children after a relationship breakdown. So local volunteers were delighted to meet Hitchin and Harpenden MP, Bim Afolami, when he dropped in at one of their fortnightly sessions at All Saints’ Church Hall in Harpenden recently.
» Read moreAll Saints Children and Youth
As a church, we strive to cater for all ages, from the youngest to the oldest and to make them feel welcome and valued, and to include them as much as possible in all our activities.
Worship
» Read moreSt. Georges School Reference
Jeel al Amal
Jeel al Amal (“Generation of Hope”) Boys’ Home and School in Bethany
St Mary’s has held Jeel al Amal in our prayers ever since 1999, when our own Rev’d Duncan Swan led a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, during which a number of people from St Mary’s visited the Home in Bethany, in the Palestinian West Bank. There they saw the dedication and the love that the surviving founder and her staff showed to the boys – as one of our members described it, “Christianity in action”. They determined to continue to support the Home, and ever since, St Mary’s has held events in aid of Jeel, and our coffee money has been devoted to Jeel.
» Read more