St Mary the Virgin and All Saints, Potters Bar - About Us

Lay involvement: There are regular rotas for reading, interceding, serving at the altar and administering Holy Communion. Groups and committees deal with stewarding the church mid-week (the Church is open 12 noon – 2pm every weekday), finance, childrens’ work, maintenance of buildings, parish magazine production and social events. The Friends of St Mary’s organise several social events throughout the year.

PCC: Membership of 18, including the 2 clergy and 3 Deanery Synod representatives. PCC meets approximately every 2 months.

Adult education: There is a well-attended monthly Bible study. The Alpha Course has been used, and special courses organised on an occasional basis. The Lent course (either organised on a parish basis or as part of Churches Together in Potters Bar) is well supported.

Communication: The parish magazine has recently been redesigned and will now appear on a bimonthly basis. A weekly news sheet is distributed at Sunday services and published on the parish website. This site is kept up-to-date with the parish diary and other relevant information.

Areas of particular ministry

Schools: Local county primary schools visit the church periodically as part of their curriculum. These visits are very popular with the children and the teachers. This contact will benefit the growth of the church with further development. Father Peter is a Governor at Ladbrooke School and also serves on 2 of their sub-committees.

Several schools in our own and neighbouring parishes use our large church for their Christmas carol services (e.g. Dame Alice Owens, Chancellors, Ladbrooke, Stormont and St John’s). St John’s Schools in the Ridgeway are keen to extend this link, even though they are situated just outside the parish boundary, in London Diocese.

Children: Sunday School is divided into two age groups, and has a good team of committed leaders. The uniformed organisations linked to St Mary’s are thriving, though, in common with many churches, there is a problem in finding leaders for these groups. The Beaver group currently lacks a permanent leader. The District Commissioner is running the group temporarily.

Young people: The parish actively supports the ecumenical youth organisation “Act 4” which has its office in one of our gallery rooms and work with local schools and church youth groups.

Hospital: Church members have received training and are accredited visitors to the community hospital under its chaplaincy scheme. The local clergy are on-call for the hospital. St Mary’s leads a service at the hospital on a rota basis with the other churches in the town, approximately five times a year.

Old People’s Homes: Church members assist the clergy in leading monthly services in two of these homes, including the home immediately opposite the church (Mayfair Lodge).

Churchyard: St Mary’s detached churchyard in Mutton Lane was closed for burials in the late 1970’s, but ashes continue to be interred there. The administration of the churchyard takes up a considerable amount of Father Peter’s time, but is an important service for the residents of our town.