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 2021 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
MISSION ACTION PLAN 2021 – 2022
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 2021-2022 |
We are energised by our faith
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i Recruitment of a new Rector to lead us in this mission. ii To continue to welcome new attendees and visitors. iii To support our Curate, Alex. iv A parish weekend at Othona in the Summer (planned 10th. to 12th. September). v To explore opportunities for prayer and contemplation. vi To promote the monthly private prayers on the website and in church publications vii Continued participation by members of the congregation in the rota and preaching the God at Work sermon series. In August they choose the hymns. viii To continue to support individual and class organ tuition by RCO accredited teachers. ix To continue support for our Organ Scholar. 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 when rules for social distancing permit ringing to restart. |
We make room for others
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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
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i To be Confident Disciples, a Compassionate Community and to Create Growth. ii Continue the practice of inviting stake holders in the community to read at the Parish Carol Service iii Foodbank collections four times a year targeting specific shortages as needed in partnership with Wesley’s Chapel. iv Support and promote the London Capital Credit Union to ensure that affordable loans are available to those in the parish who need them. v Book Fairs which raise funds for the church, involve a wide range of volunteers and simultaneously encourage the public to come into St. Giles’. vi Where we can, making sure the sick in hospital and at home are visited vii Supporting members of the congregation who are caring for sick, elderly, lonely or bereaved parish residents. viii Encourage individual fundraising by members of the congregation, especially Sunday cake stalls and sponsored activities. ix Support for other charities from our commercial income when activities in the previous year generated a surplus. |
We are inquisitive
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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 St Paul’s when permitted. vi Preparation groups for young children (aged 7) to receive communion before confirmation. vii Encourage involvement with “Home Prayer Groups”. ix Promote links with local schools. |
We adapt and grow
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i Complete the first phase of the Strategic Plan with new furniture and repairs to the interior walls. Plan for a servery. ii To encourage donors who pay UK tax to Gift Aid their donations. iii To encourage regular donors to give by standing order. iv To continue use of the portable card reader and Give.net for contactless payments. v To promote St Giles’ as a venue for concerts, recordings and filming publicising when covid restrictions permit. vi To conclude discussions with the City of London Corporation concerning the church yard lease. vii To encourage visitors, especially organised tours, to contribute to the upkeep of the church. |
We build community
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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. 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’. xiii To engage with the YMCA and support its chaplain. |
Diocese of London - Vision 2030
'For every Londoner to encounter the love of God in Christ'
For full details click below
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.
Clergy
The Rector
Revd. Canon Jack Noble
Fr Jack grew up south of London and studied history at university. Discerning a call to priesthood, after graduating he served in an inclusive and vibrant parish in Manchester for a year before being formed for priesthood at the College of the Resurrection, Mirfield in West Yorkshire. He spent three years at Mirfield, living alongside the Monastic Community there, and completing further studies. This included wonderful extended periods of exchange in Zimbabwe and Barbados.
As a priest, he has served in a thriving West London suburban parish church, and most recently in Central London at St Marylebone. As Assistant Priest and Chaplain to two secondary schools (a girls’ comprehensive and a co-ed special school) he thoroughly enjoyed ministering amongst residents, businesses, students and young people, staff, and local institutions and centres of creativity including the Royal Academy of Music.
During the Service of Choral Evensong in St Giles’ on Sunday 8 May that included his Institution by + Sarah, Bishop of London, he received the spiritual care and leadership of the parish and at his Induction by Fr Luke Miller, Archdeacon of London, the legal charge of the church buildings and its property.
The Curate
Rev'd Alex Norris
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 Minister. 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.
Administration
Churchwardens
PCC Members
Music
Choir Members