About St Giles' Cripplegate Church
Our Location
The Parish of St Giles' with St Luke's is unique in the City of London Deanery in that people live here. There is a large settled residential community with some people able to trace their roots back 400 years in the neighbourhood. There are many children and young people coming into the parish to attend three primary schools, a special needs school, and an independent girls' school.
There is also a significant proportion of elderly people either living on the estates or coming
in each day to centres and lunch clubs. Whitecross Street which runs north of the Barbican Centre has a weekday food market with a wide variety of high-quality food on offer, bringing city workers
back day after day. It is also an important meeting place for the community and ensures there is still 'village' life in the heart of a capital city
Each weekday the neighbourhood is transformed by the thousands of office workers who commute to
this part of the City.There is always building work being carried out, and the expansion of offices north of the square mile has changed the nature of this part of the
parish.
The Barbican Centre, with its concert hall, theatres, cinemas and restaurants brings people here in the evenings. Seen from the Centre, St Giles is a distinctive landmark. Many tourists and schools visit the London Museum on the edge of the parish.
During term-time we enjoy the company of students at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama,
with their new concert hall and theatre in Milton Court and the Cass Business School, City University London in Bunhill Row.
The YMCA hostel in Errol Street is currently being re-developed to provide a 'brand new flagship hostel and is due to open later in 2019 giving a home and a future to 10,000 young homeless Londoners over the next 60 years'
Two Livery Companies have their halls in the parish, there are many civic links with the Corporation of London and St Giles is used as a polling station.
Our Mission
Our 20/21 Mission Action Plan was agreed before start of the Covid 19 pandemic and much of it has been curtailed because of the restrictions imposed including the closure of the church. Much has been learned as we have adapted to the situation with online services, virtual coffee mornings and private prayer and study groups via Zoom.
MISSION ACTION PLAN 2020 – 2021
We are here to love God and to make Christ known in word and deed.
We are an inclusive church and welcome all comers.
Strengthened by this knowledge, these are our objectives for the coming year.
What we stand for |
Our targets/goals for 2020-2021 |
We are energised by our faith
• We celebrate God through regular worship and prayer and pilgrimage • Music is a central part of St Giles – we praise God through singing, organ playing, bell ringing and concerts. |
i. To continue to welcome new attendees and visitors. ii. To support our Curate, Alex. iii. A parish weekend at Othona in the Summer (planned for 3rd. to 5th.July 2020) iv. To explore opportunities for prayer and contemplation. v. To promote the monthly private prayers on the website and in church publications vi. Continued participation by members of the congregation in the rota, in leading Morning and Evening Prayer and preaching. In August they choose the hymns and have the opportunity to lead different styles of worship. vii. To continue to support individual and class organ tuition by RCO accredited teachers and the Summer Organ School. viii. To continue support for our Organ Scholar. ix. To continue support for the City of London Brass Band which rehearses/performs in the church each Wednesday evening. x. To continue to support the Director of Music in encouraging sight readers to join the choir at the Parish Carol Service and other occasions during the year. xi. To encourage City of London School for Girls to promote their lunchtime concerts. xii. To encourage the bell ringers especially when ringing with shutters open.
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We make room for others
• We embrace diversity in our church • We seek to build a positive atmosphere for our visitors. |
i. To offer an open church, with a welcome for stressed City workers seeking peace and quiet, during the working week and, whenever possible, at weekends. ii. We will continue to work hard to create a welcoming and social environment at the church, in particular before the service greeting people by name, and after the service, sharing coffee and cake. iii. We will work hard to promote St Giles as a church where everyone is welcome, regardless of race, sexuality or disability, and including people of other faith traditions, whether they are attending a service, concert, the book fair or visiting the church at other times. iv. To continue our registration with Inclusive Church and Visible Congregation. v. To continue to welcome the London Gay Symphony Orchestra |
We look outwards
• We will give a warm welcome to all our congregation – new and old • Our church is open during the week, offering space for prayer, for peace and information about our history • We support international and local charities – and members of the congregation in their individual fund-raising ventures. • We are committed to raising the issue of hidden and unrelieved poverty within the parish. • We consider the wider world in how we purchase goods for the Church |
i. Listening to God and Listening to London (Discerning our 2030 Vision) - we will pray and listen to discern God’s plans for our city. ii. Continue the practice of inviting stake holders in the community to read at the Parish Carol Service iii. Invite representatives/descendants of notable figures associated with St. Giles’ to read at the Parish Carol Service. iv. Foodbank collections four times a year targeting specific shortages as needed in partnership with Wesley’s Chapel. v. Support and promote the London Capital Credit Union to ensure that affordable loans are available to those in the parish who need them. vi. Book Fairs which raise funds for the church, involve a wide range of volunteers and simultaneously encourage the public to come into St. Giles’. vii. Where we can, making sure the sick in hospital and at home are visited viii. Supporting members of the congregation who are caring for sick, elderly, lonely or bereaved parish residents. ix. Encourage individual fundraising by members of the congregation, especially Sunday cake stalls and sponsored activities. x. Support for Refugees at Home. xi. Support for the Diocesan Lent Appeal. xii. Support for Alex’s Sunday Lunches |
We are inquisitive
• We are ready to explore our faith – St Giles offers the chance to discuss themes and views on faith and religion |
i. To maintain our significant Ecumenical Partnership with St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Jewin Welsh Church and Wesley’s Chapel. ii. To create opportunities to increase awareness and understanding of other faiths. iii. To support the weekly Ecumenical Saturday Groups in Lent and October. iv. Encourage participation in the St. Paul’s Cathedral Adult Learning programme. v. Baptism and Confirmation classes will be held twice a year to prepare candidates for baptism and/or confirmation at All Saints and on Holy Saturday at St Paul’s. vi. Preparation groups for young children (aged 7) to receive communion before confirmation. vii. Encourage involvement with “Home Prayer Groups”. viii. Promote links with local schools. |
We build community
• Our church is a sacred place for the benefit of our community. • We look towards the wider community, local and virtual. Our events are for everyone – attenders and nonattenders alike. • Children are an important part of our church – through the Sunday Club and through their roles in services, we are building a congregation that is confident to share the gospel with future generations |
i. We will share the church with our neighbours, welcoming them to community events including our Advent Fair, Give & Take days and Book Fairs. ii. Encourage the wider community to join the regular congregation by publicity for the All Souls service, Christingle Service, Parish Carol service and “Welcome Back Sunday”. iii. Bringing others in the community into contact with the church by making it available as a venue for non-church events iv. Continue distribution of the Advent/Christmas and Holy Week/Easter news leaflets and include a “Year Card”. v. To practise hospitality and to eat together including PCC Supper meetings, Maundy Thursday, Progressive Lunches, Bring and Share lunch at Open Church Sunday, special Sundays and summer picnics. vi. To socialise together e.g. pub quizzes. vii. We will encourage parental involvement in the Sunday Club and continue to support the children in their fundraising cake stalls and other events. viii. To support St. Luke’s CofE Primary School as governors, in worship both at school and at St. Giles’. ix. We will encourage others to join the cleaning angels who meet monthly to clean and share companionship x. We will maintain appropriate relationships with our neighbour Moorgate Talks. xi. To participate in the Culture Mile and maintain a friendly relationship with the Barbican Arts Centre. xii. To build links with Livery Companies and businesses in the parish or with connections to St. Giles’. |
One Body, One Faith
PCC member Daniel Gerring discusses OneBodyOneFaith
12 September 2016: The Triennial Visitation by The Venerable Rosemary Lain-Priestley, Associate Archdeacon of London
At this visitation Rosemary met with our Clergy, Katharine and Jennie, Church Wardens, Lorraine and Tim , members of the PCC and Anne our Director of Music. It is an opportunity for her on behalf of the Diocese of London to meet us in our own church, to check that we have in place all necessary safeguards, accurate records, the proper care of the building, and our plans for future developments. We discuss our mission and ministry and express any concerns we may have that we wish to seek help for from the Diocese.
We have now received the Report of the Visitation which you can read below. We are encouraged by the favourable nature and contents of the report which gives us all a sense of achievement and the will to continue our work of God’s ministry in this holy place.
Capital Vision 2020, the Diocese of London's vision for the next seven years was launched at St Paul's Cathedral in March 2013 with three major themes, www.london.anglian.org/mission/capital-vision2020/
We at St Giles'are,
Rising to the London Challenge 2020
We are confident: a confident community is one grounded in prayer: Thursday lunchtimes, Prayer Partners; retreats at West Malling Abbey and Othona; ecumenical study mornings; ecumenical pilgrimages
We are compassionate: active involvement in charities and fundraising: book fairs; Hackney Food Bank and Help4HurtingChildren (Kampala,Uganda); Plan International; Christian Aid; Children's Society and other charities
We are creative: Anniversary production of Benjamin Britten's Curlew River November 2013; Royal College of Organists at St Giles': fully using the church for the arts
Clergy
Katharine
Rumens
Rector
Katharine trained as an art teacher and ran a fashion design studio before ordination.
She was on the staff of St John's Waterloo and also chaplain to the South Bank Centre, London Television Centre and the Old Vic Theatre.
At St Giles', the Barbican Centre are our neighbours. She enjoys making creative connections between the arts and the church. The parish presents many other opportunities in terms of ministry in schools, local businesses, livery companies and with the many residents.
Having served 20 years at St Giles’, Katharine will retire in May 2021.
Alex Norris
Curate
Alex was ordained deacon at St Paul’s in June 2019, and subsequently was ordained Priest in St Giles in September 2020 and serves as a Self-Supporting Curate. You will find him in the parish on Sundays and at other times during the week.
His full-time work is as a Digital Officer within the Digital Team of the Church of England.
For a number of years, he was Director of Music at his home church in Pimlico where he lives with his wife Keri. St Giles’ strong music tradition is one of the many reasons he looks forward to serving his title here.
Administration
Churchwardens
PCC Members
Music
Choir Members