St. Mary's Church have a strong partnership with our local school, St. Mary's CE Primary, Purton. You can visit their website by clicking here

We commit ourselves and our Churches -

• to move through co-operation to clear commitment to each other, in search of the unity for which Christ prayed and in common evangelism and service to the world.
• to engage in joint worship, prayer and study so that we may know and value each other and seek God's will for His people.
• to work together in pastoral, social and evangelistic outreach into our community.
• to publicise and promote our Church life and worship by joint means wherever possible.
• to develop an Ecumenical Ministry Team for regular prayer, study, consultation and appropriate action.
• to co-ordinate decision-making and use of resources through a Partnership Enabling Group comprising the Ecumenical Ministry Team, two stewards/churchwardens from each church, two lay representatives appointed by and from each participating congregation, and, by specific invitation of the Partnership Enabling Group, lay representatives of other traditions in the partnership.
• to ensure that each ordained or lay appointment to the Ecumenical Ministry Team, although made by the appropriate denomination, will be appointed according to the agreed procedures laid down by the Sponsoring Body.
• to set specific targets under each of the above headings and review progress annually and to express our achievements and aspirations in a united act of worship and rededication, marking the anniversary of the signing of the covenant.

We participate in the mission of God by being planted in our local context and by seeking to understand the needs of our community. We have to start with people where they are, not where we might like them to be.  

As a church family (and usually in partnership with our Methodists brothers and sisters) there are several ways in which we seek to be better connected with our community:

Messy Church and Activity Days

... are all opportunities where we meet with parents and children and witness our faith. We have positions for two Foundation Governors at St Mary’s school giving opportunities to lead assemblies and promote the Christian ethos of the school. Click for next Messy Church and news on past events. 

 Media

We have a presence on social media and a website. We write articles for the parish magazine and we deliver leaflets at Easter and Christmas to every household in the village. We witness to our faith in our fundraising for Christian Aid and in the Walk of Witness on Good Friday.

Wedding, baptism and funeral services, the remembrance service and floodlighting

Our wedding, baptism and funeral services, the remembrance service and floodlighting also provide important connections.

Getting Involved

If you would like to get involved in any of our current ways to connect with our community here in Purton, we’d love to hear from you. There are many different roles, with different degrees of experience and time commitment, but all needing enthusiasm and a desire to reach out to people. For all volunteers working with young people there is a recruitment process with DBS checks.

We’d also welcome people with new ideas that will help us to understand the community better. We want to become more aware of the needs of the community. We also want to be able to communicate the Christian message more effectively.

We recognise that our online presence is not as good as it could be, and we’d appreciate advice and help in this area – both on the technical side and on how to communicate well. Is this where your talent lies?

At funerals there are times when a bereaved person may need a compassionate listener.  Are you someone who can recognise that need in another and, remaining quiet about your own situation, just be present for them?

When we come together in fellowship, when we share time and food together, we forge stronger relationships that help build our church family. Being a stronger, more connected family, we are in a better place to reach out to the wider community and help fulfil our mission as disciples of Jesus.

Currently the social events team organise 2 or 3 events each year (e.g. curry evenings, murder mysteries) and there are several shared meals (usually at the Vicarage). Refreshments are provided after the 10:30 services and after most special services.

Lifts are provided on an ad hoc basis to help people get to church for services and other events.

We also have a group of pastoral visitors who visit people in their homes or at care homes. A number of these visitors are trained to provide communion to the house-bound.

How you can help?

Do you enjoy bringing people together? Do you have a knack of introducing people and helping them to get to know each other? Do you like arranging social events which can strengthen our connection with each other?

If so, we’d love you to bring your ideas, your energy and your enthusiasm to help increase our range of events that will help build stronger relationships in the church family.

If befriending people through home visiting is where your vocation lies, then you might be interested in training as a pastoral visitor.

Another way people can care for others is by supporting them with prayer. A list of people who are sick and a wider Prayer Calendar are available to help you with this.

There are probably other areas where there is a need to help members of our church family which we don’t know about (lifts may be an example). If you are someone who likes to investigate needs, might this be a project for you?