St Martin's & St Paul's
Parish Canterbury
and welcome to the website of the parish of St Martin & St Paul in Canterbury.
About this site
We are part of the Church of England, and are a parish serving the south east of Canterbury, about 60 miles south east of London in the heart of Kent, which is known as the Garden of England. You will find links to events and services in the next week or so, and location plans for the two churches. We look forward to seeing you soon!
You can find more information here about services or how to find our churches.
News
We are looking for someone to join us in September 2012 as our Children & Families' Minister. Could this be you? Look here for the advert notice and here for more details of the post.
Many congratulations to Paul our curate, who has been appointed Rector of a group of five parishes at Chilham, Challock & Molash, Crundale, and Godmersham. He will be
instituted at the end of June 2012. We shall be very sorry to see him leave our parish but we wish Paul, Heather and their family every blessing in this new
part of their ministry. Paul and his family will be leaving us at the end of May 2012 to prepare for this new ministry.
The cost of the re-ordering project for St Paul's Church has been increased by the changes proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the 2012 Budget, in which he abolished the VAT relief on approved alterations to Listed Buildings such as St Paul's Church. There is an e-petition on the Downing Street website asking the Chancellor to reverse this change. Please sign the petition by going to http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/32229. We need to raise 100,000 signatures as a first step in order to get a debate in the House of Commons about this measure.
Pilgrim Post
May's edition of Pilgrim Post is now online.
. A welcome from the Rector
Canon Noelle Hall, writes "I am Rector of the Parish (since 2000) and am married to Malcolm, an organ tuner and builder. We have an fifteen year old son. I have been in the ministry of the Church of England since 1986 and have served in four parishes.
"Our Parish is one of ten in the Deanery of Canterbury, and while St. Paul's Church is close to the City Centre the Parish extends a long way out on the Eastern side of the City. St. Martin's Church is the oldest Parish church in the English speaking world and part of Canterbury's World Heritage Site. St. Augustine came here in 597 to begin the mission authorised by Pope Gregory the Great.
"Our churches stand in the centre of the Anglican tradition and we have an enthusiastic choir and a lively Sunday School called Sunday Zone which meets at St. Paul's at 10.30 am in term time.
"If you would like me to visit you or if you would like to discuss a baptism, wedding, or funeral or any other special service please contact me on 01227-462686".
A new vision for the Parish
We are called to worship God in Jesus Christ and to make Christ known in our community.
We do not have all the answers. We are on a spiritual journey.
We look to Scripture, reason, and tradition to help us on our way. Whoever you are, we offer a space for you to draw nearer to God and walk with us.
This is a Vision for the Parish approved by the PCC (Parocial Church Council) in December 2008. Will you join us?
Older News
Bishop Richard's visit to Bethlehem as an Ecumenical Accompanier
Bishop Richard Llewellin went to Bethlehem on Saturday, 19th February 2011 for three months. He is part of a team of four people, serving as Ecumenical Accompaniers. Their main tasks are:
- monitoring Checkpoint/Terminal 300 (Gilo)
- accompanying weekly demonstraions
- visiting outlying villages
- taking part in activities in refugee camps
- supporting the Christian community
- networking with non-governmental and Church organisations, and
- advocacy.
Bethlehem has the largest Christian population in the Palestian Territories. It is a centre for Palestinian and other organisations and is strongly affected by the separation of the new barrier/wall. Many outlying villages are also affected by the expansion of seetlements; house demolition and harassment are common.
- provide a protecting presence and support for non-violent resistance,
- visit families,
- take testimonies of Human Rights violations,
- participate in olive tree planting and harvesting,
- collect stories for advocacy, and
- pray and show solidarity with the local Christian community.
The possible re-ordering of the interior of St Paul's Church
Following the special parochial meeting held on the 9th February 2011 to discuss whether to go ahead with the proposed re-ordering of the interior of St Paul's Church, the PCC voted to go to the next stage, by seeking approval for the re-ordering from the Diocesan Advisory Committee, and obtaining tenders from builders for the work. A final decision whether to go ahead will not be made until alater in 2012. The cost of the project has been increased by the changes proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the 2012 Budget, in which he abolished the VAT relief on approved alterations to Listed Buildings such as St Paul's Church. There is an e-petition on the Downing Street website asking the Chancellor to reverse thsi change. Please sign the petition by going to http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/32229.
St Martin's Conversations: Going back to go forward
Find out more about the St Martin's Conversations, which expored aspects of the Christian life in an informal setting in this historic church, the oldest in the English-speaking world. We are taking a pause to consider the next stage of this reflection on our passing on the tradition of pilgrimage and prayer that has been part of St Martin's Church for over 1,400 years.
,
Nick Ashman, our Youth & Families Worker
Nick is aged 28 and is our Youth Worker until the Summer of 2012 while exploring the possibility of ordination and working with students at Canterbury Christ Church University. He has spent already spent one year in the parish, having previously worked for two years in South London engaged in youth work. Before that, he lived in Tenterden. Interests include being a DJ, clubbing, football, computer games, and music production.
The Parish Pantomime
The parish pantomime, Cinda's Error, was held on the 4th and 5th March 2011 in the Parish Centre. It was a great success, with true love triumphing over divers dastardly plots, as can be seen from these photographs.
Caption 1
Caption 1
Paul's Priesting
Paul Ratcliff, our curate, was ordained Priest on Sunday 4th July 2010 at 2.30 pm in St Paul's Church by Bishop Trevor in front of a congregation of about 140 people. Many friends and supporters from Paul's former parish at Seasalter were present to witness this tremendous day for Paul, Heather, and their family. Please remember to keep them in your prayers. Here are a few images; the one with the Archbishop was taken in the Old Palace garden on Saturday, 3rd July and is copyright Robert Berry. The rest were taken in the Parish Centre after the Ordination service.
Feedback and comments
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Pictures of the churches
Images of St Paul's Church(left) and St Martin's Church (right) For a larger picture, please click on the photograph. More pictures can be found on other pages in this website.
Updated 11 Apr 12
© PCC St Martin's and St Paul's Canterbury 2008 - 2011
