If you want to become more involved in church life, there are lots of ways that you can support the church community. Each task is organised by means of a rota which is prepared well in advance and shares the duties out evenly. If necessary, people are always happy to swap dates.
Our current teams to join
Newport Pagnell’s bellringers are part of the wide community of ringers to be found throughout English speaking countries.
Newport Pagnell's church bells are usually rung at set times and days. There are also a few other times when you might hear the bells being rung. In this, Newport is typical of the thousands of towns and parish churches in this country.
Before the main Sunday service at the Parish Church, the bells can be rung for 30 minutes before the service. For evensong the bells can be rung between 5:00 and 6:00. On Wednesdays, between 7:30 and 9:00, is practice night. Visitors are welcome to come to watch.
For more details, please contact Doug Hird doughird49@googlemail.com
If you feel that you could give some time to visiting and supporting bereaved families and individuals, then please get in touch.
We offer a level of training, but the main requirement is that you have a friendly nature and can offer a listening, caring ear.
This is not a professional bereavement counselling service but sometimes it just helps bereaved people to talk to someone outside their immediate circle of family and friends. You can get in touch with us by contacting: Beth Mackay (Parish Visiting Coordinator) 01908 612475 beth.mackay@yahoo.co.uk
or Rev Nick Evans (Rector) 01908 612244 nickevans49@outlook.com
The Fabric Committee look after the Parish Church - St Peter & St Paul, and St Luke’s buildings.
The work of the Fabric Committee ranges from minor maintenance, such as changing lightbulbs or re-painting woodwork, to major repairs, such as stonework or the church roof. Most actual work is carried out by members of the committee unless outside contractors are needed. In that case, the committee takes on a project management role.
Volunteers are always welcome as there is always work to do. If you are able to help with cleaning, painting & decorating, woodwork, project management or fund raising we would be happy to find you a job or two.
For more details contact Doug Hird at doughird49@googlemail.com
The churches are always in need of additional volunteers to help in keeping things spick and span.
You don’t need to take on the entire building by yourself! There is a team so if you can spare the occasional hour or two, then contact our church office, npparish@gmail.com. You can then chat to current team members and see if it’s something you might enjoy.
We’ve all learnt one thing from two years of lockdown, social distancing and mask wearing - we need face to face fellowship with one another to grow and thrive as human beings and as Christians.
We meet about once every three months for no more than two hours round a table and thrash out ideas for the future. We look at what we have done before and what worked and didn’t work. Our role is to support anyone who comes along with an idea to organise an event.
We are conscious that many of our projects support the mission outreach of our church – both to the congregation and to our community.
It’s a friendly committee of men and women whose membership has changed over time, and new voices and new ideas are always welcome.
Would you like to join for a year or two and offer your thoughts and support in this important area of our journey together?
Dick Smith nppcctreasurer@gmail.com
The flower team work together to provide flowers for our weekly services, and we help our local community celebrate weddings and remember friends with funeral tributes, when these take place in our churches.
The Parish church and St Luke's have separate teams who work together at Festival times.
We do not have to pay for the flowers ourselves, as the church covers the cost up to a generous limit.
We meet lots of interesting people whilst flower arranging - visitors from abroad, wedding couples sneaking a peak at the venue for their important day and individuals wanting a quiet moment of prayer.
Over the years we have had many people join us who have never arranged a flower before, but with our help, have learnt this enjoyable new skill.
If you would like to know more information about flower arranging in our churches, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Lynda Evans lynda.evans01@gmail.com
We are always looking to improve and enhance the way the church buildings can be used for worship and by the community.
Redevelopment of St Peter & St Paul
“A building that celebrates the past, lives in the present and embraces the future.”
The aim of the redevelopment project is to create a building that cherishes the past, lives in the present and embraces the future. The Grade One listed building is the historic heart of the town and is as well as being a place of worship is also a centre for civic events, concerts, and fairs.
If you are interested in being part of the team that is driving forward these plans, contact Mervyn Evans at smevans@me.com and click here for more information.
Providing simple refreshments gives the opportunity for people to chat and get to know each other better. This helps us to develop as a worshipping community. We usually have refreshments after the main service at St Peter and St Paul and before the service at St Luke’s.
Members of the congregation prepare and read the prayers of intercession at Family Communion Services on Sundays. These prayers are traditionally read from the back of the church as these are prayers from the people on behalf of the people and not priest led.
Churches have resources to refer to which will help with this, and the internet is full of ideas for prayer.
This group looks at ways to try to fulfil the Five Marks of Mission (adopted by the General Synod of the Church of England in 1996):
• to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom (Tell)
• to teach, baptise and nurture new believers (Teach)
• to respond to human need by loving service (Tend)
• to seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and to seek to pursue peace and reconciliation (Transform)
• to strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth (Treasure)
Our priorities at the moment are to improve baptism preparation in order to welcome new families into the congregation; to ensure displays in church are relevant to the season and appeal to anyone visiting the church during the week as well as on a Sunday; to explore the possibility of Alpha groups and support the new Cameo project as a Stay and Play session for families.
If you have a heart for mission and would like to join the group, please contact: Karen Goff karengoff_2000@yahoo.co.uk
We are a team of people who are ready and willing to go out to visit members of the congregations and others who might appreciate a visit from someone from one of our churches. The reasons vary, it may be because they’re elderly, housebound, in a care home, suffering from illness or recently bereaved. It maybe they are just lonely or struggling and in need of some company.
On visits we are happy to worship and pray with people, and share Holy Communion, as well as have a good chat. Sometimes we’ll just chat if that’s what people want. We always contact people by phone in the first instance and only visit if they are happy for us to do so. All team members are required to have regular DBS checks and relevant safeguarding training.
We believe that pastoral care isn’t just the responsibility of one person or one designated team. To be successful it has to be a shared ministry by us all in response to Jesus’ command that we love one another as he loves us. So, as a team within the church, we rely on other people to alert us to situations where we may be able to help.
If you feel that you might like to be part of this team and would like to find out more about it, please contact: Beth MacKay, Parish Visiting Coordinator beth.mackay@yahoo.co.uk 01908 612475.
Church of England parishes are legally represented by their PCC. The size of this body depends on the number of people who attend church regularly but always includes the vicar or rector who acts as chair, the churchwardens plus elected members from the congregation. They are elected at the Annual Parochial Church Council Meeting.
The PCC is responsible for supporting the Rector and making practical, financial, and other decisions about aspects of church life. Because the church is a charity each of the members is a trustee of the charity.
Members of the congregation read the set bible passages at services on Sundays and at other services during the week.
You'll be told of the passage well before your turn so you can prepare properly, and dates can always be re-arranged.
The overriding aim of the sacristan is to ensure that the priest can celebrate the Eucharist with absolute confidence that all necessary items and processes are in place. They care for the altar cloths and linens and change the altar frontal, chalice veil etc. to match the colours of the liturgical year.
They are responsible ensuring that the sanctuary is set up for Holy Communion, Baptisms or Funerals, making sure that all the requisite books and sacramental vessels are in place. After the service they clear the sanctuary, put everything away, extinguish the candles and make sure the church is left secure and tidy. Karen Goff karengoff_2000@yahoo.co.uk
Serving at the altar is a privilege and forms part of an act of worship in which all can take part.
At St Peter & St Paul, servers are used during mainly Family Communion services but are also used at some other services. Under the general direction of the clergy, they provide support to the clergy, serving at the altar, to celebrate the Eucharist. There is usually a team of 3 consisting of the Crucifer (carrying the cross) and 2 acolytes (carrying candles).
Members of the team can start from as young as 8-9 years old and there is no upper age limit and can be male or female. Full training is given, and the robes (albs) are provided.
If you feel you would like to help provide this important role or would like to know more, please contact Marlene Smith after a communion service, by telephone to 01908 730870 or email marlene_smith3@msn.com
This is a very important role in our church life. It does not demand any special skills. Sidesmen and women welcome people into the church, and make sure everyone has what they need for the service.
They do slightly different things at each of our churches, but they are there to make sure the service runs smoothly, and that new people feel supported and valued. Please contact the Parish Office (npparish@gmail.com ) to be added to the rota.