Get to know us

Our Leadership Team

  • Revd Jenny Bland

    Vicar

  • Helen Winrow

    Church Warden

  • David Timms

    Church Warden

  • Derek Bish

    Treasurer

  • Laura Ward

    Administrator

  • Simon Elvin

    Lay Reader

  • Grace Ogoe

    Lay Reader

  • Margaret Hart

    Lay Pastoral Minister

  • Carol Coleman

    Lay Pastoral Minister

  • Jill Timms

    Asst Churchwarden

  • Mike Brown

    Asst Churchwarden

  • Geoff Hodges

    PCC Member

  • David Hylden

    PCC Member and Hall Booking Manager

  • Charlotte Nobbs

    PCC Member

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Understanding our roles

  • As the vicar of our church Jenny has many roles! She leads us in worship during weekend and weekday services as well as being involved in a number of groups. Jenny has a significant pastoral role supporting members of the church family and local community both in significant life events and services but also nurturing faith and wellbeing on a daily basis within the parish.

  • What we do :

    There are many definitions of “Church Warden” one of the shorter ones is:

    Churchwardens are vital to the health and wellbeing of our church communities. It is an important and, at times, demanding role.

    Churchwardens represent the church family is cooperating with the parish priest (Rev. Jenny).

    They shall set an example to encourage parishioners in the practice of true religion and to promote unity and peace among them.

    They shall maintain order in the church and churchyard, particularly during services .

    The property of the church is vested in them, and the maintenance of the buildings is their responsibility.

    They should care for and support the parish priest, and be people to whom the incumbent can turn for advice and support.

    They should try to ensure that the incumbent is relieved of superfluous administrative, and other, tasks .

    They can provide feedback, as a ‘critical friend’, for the parish priest.

    Time and Place:

    Wardens are responsible for ensuring services take place, so along with our assistant wardens, we are on duty once a month at the Sunday service, plus additional services during the year.

    We meet once a month as part of the “standing committee” – Vicar, treasurer, pastoral representative – to discuss anything and everything.

    We report to the PCC every two months and try to attend the meetings of the PCC, as members.

    It is very useful to have some flexibility to react to sudden needs and occurrences such as water leaks in the heating system!

    Further info:

    To a certain extent, the role can be “what you want to make it”. There are core essential things that have to be done, but also endless opportunities to be involved in the growth and wellbeing of our church family and the wider community.

    How to get involved :

    David and Helen would love to recruit “trainee wardens”. They both have a wealth of knowledge that needs to be shared for the future of our church and church family.

    Contact:

    Helen: warden.earlsbarton@outlook.com tel: 01604 811410

    David: warden2.earlsbarton@outlook.com

Our Mission

Vision Statement and Mission Action Plan

October 2024 - October 2029

 We want to grow in our faith, in our impact, in our numbers. We want to be known as the heart of our village, a place where everyone belongs and to be a hub from which good news shines into our community.

Name: All Saints Church & Community Hub

Bible verse: ‘You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.’ Matthew 5:14

Vision Statement: Loving, Serving, Shining in Earls Barton

Our Priorities in 2024-2029:

Please note, these are in no order and do link into one another

  • WELCOMING BUILDINGS - To better value and share our historic buildings and ensure our Church and Hall are welcoming, accessible and user-friendly for all.

  •  ENCOUNTERING GOD - For prayer, worship and discipleship to be at the heart of all we do and to offer a variety of ways for Earls Barton to learn about and experience the love of the Living God.

  •  CHILDREN + YOUTH - To prioritise children, teenagers and young families in our church community, to support their growth in faith and invest in their spiritual needs as they help to shape our church.

  •  LOVING SERVICE - To love in action: to serve the needs and strengthen our community to be visible and on the frontline in social justice and in caring for creation

 Our Mission Action Plan:

 WELCOMING BUILDINGS - To better value and share our historic buildings and ensure our Church and Hall are welcoming, accessible and user-friendly for all.

-    To remove the pews in the body of the church and replace with chairs

-    To install a toilet into the church

-    To install a servery into church (aim - to serve food and drink in church easily)

-    To repair the church hall, to update it and make it fit for purpose

-    To open the church in daylight hours and encourage more visitors

-    To use our church for regular community events such as concerts, plays, choirs and to build a social calendar of events to welcome more people into the church building

-    To be able to demonstrate that we are a church who are accessible and welcoming to the diverse community we are a part of

 ENCOUNTERING GOD - For prayer, worship and discipleship to be at the heart of all we do and to offer a variety of ways for Earls Barton to learn about and experience the love of the Living God.

-    To evolve the pattern of Sunday services to reflect our intergenerational style and variety of spiritual needs

-    To develop a pattern of weekly public prayer outside of regular HC services

-    To offer regular Bible studies for the church family and those exploring Christianity in the community inc enquirers courses

-    To encourage and equip each church member to develop a regular pattern of prayer and discipleship and to contribute to church life by serving on a team where they can

-    To prioritise good communication in church and with our community, to rebrand and be visible in publication, online, in person and develop how we welcome people to church and share news

-    Equip church members to feel confident sharing faith and how and why they follow Jesus

 CHILDREN + YOUTH - To prioritise children, teenagers and young people in our church community, to support their growth in faith and invest in their spiritual needs as they help to shape our church.

 -    To employ a youth worker and continue to raise funds to keep this post

-    To prioritise our relationship with EBPS and the Uniformed Organisations

-    To start a monthly service designed for young families to better keep in touch with baptism, B1Bs & BOBS, JaM and All Together families

-    For every Sunday to display and reflect our intergenerational values[1]

-    To build on our current youth group by connecting with more young people, sharing resources with other churches and fostering links with the Young Adults group

-    Equip parents and grandparents to facilitate faith growth at home and good conversations about God

 LOVING SERVICE - To love in action: to serve needs and to strengthen our community; to be visible; and to be on the frontline in social justice and in caring for creation

 -    To run, host and share courses, groups and events that meet the needs and life stages of those in our community, to be missional with these too and lead some from beyond the church walls, working more closely with our community businesses, organisations and churches

-    To get involved with annual and biannual community events in a meaningful and impactful way: Festival Fortnight, Carnival, Christmas Market, Soap Box Derby

-    To be active in service, to develop teams who will be light in our community by practical service (such as litter picking, hosting, helping, garden work, painting, cake making, fixing, befriending)

-    To continue to invest and promote the Fairtrade shop and being a Fairtrade church. To lobby to become a Fair-trade village and elect an Eco Officer and Eco Team who feel called to lead on this area

-    To be known for caring for creation and living sustainably as part of our being an eco church. To grow Wild@AS and remain ‘gold’ as part of the Wildlife Trust Award. To actively prioritise and promote green issues, to host educational and relational groups on recycling, building wildlife friendly items/areas, make and mend shops and to develop our outdoor worship

 If we do these things in 5 years we can say…

 We are growing in our faith, in our impact and in our numbers. We are the heart of our village, a place where everyone belongs and a hub from which good news shines into our community.

 [1] We think carefully about worship style for each generation and who will be ‘in the room’ at the service.

Our Values

Welcoming: Just as God is a welcoming and inclusive God, we will be a welcoming and inclusive community, celebrating diversity as a sign of God’s infinite love and creativity.

Worshipping: Through prayer and worship we will allow ourselves to be transformed by the power of the spirit, increasing in faith and commitment to the gospel, which is the good news of Jesus Christ.

Serving: Through word and action we will live the gospel, serving others generously and unselfishly.

Sharing: Empowered by the spirit we will share the gospel with our community and the wider world.

Growing: In doing these things, we will deepen our relationship with the living God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and we will grow in numbers, in discipleship, and in love for one another.

Our Identity

Church of England

All Saints is part of the Church of England (also known as the ‘C of E’ or Anglican Church). The Church of England has around 12,600 parishes grouped into 42 Dioceses. The Church of England is the ‘established church’ in England meaning, among other things, that the Queen is the Church’s Supreme Governor. Spiritual direction and leadership in society come from the Archbishop of Canterbury who is supported by the Archbishop of York. Big decisions in the Church of England are made at General Synod which usually takes place twice a year, once in London and once in York. Membership of the General Synod is made up of Bishops, Clergy (e.g. Vicars), and laypeople (e.g. congregation members). Visit the Church of England website for more information.

The Archbishop of Canterbury is also the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion. The Communion is a group of 45 Anglican Churches (including the Church of England). Together the Communion is made up of tens of millions of people from over 165 countries. Visit the Anglican Communion website for more information.

Diocese of Peterborough

All Saints is part of the Diocese of Peterborough, which encompasses much of Northamptonshire. Our Diocesan Bishop (the Bishop of Peterborough) is the Rt. Revd. Donald Allister. The Bishop of Peterborough, who is supported by the Suffragan Bishop of Brixworth, oversees our Church and provides us with pastoral support. The Diocese offices also manage much of the administration and also provide training. The Diocese also runs a number of events each year; to find out more please visit the Diocese of Peterborough website.

All Saints Church, Earls Barton

The parish of All Saints encompasses the whole of Earls Barton and some of the surrounding area (view the parish boundary on A Church Near You). Our Vicar (sometimes known as a Rector in other parishes), with a dedicated team of lay volunteers, supports the Church in its mission and provides pastoral support to the congregation and parishioners in Earls Barton. The Parochial Church Council (or PCC) is the charitable trust which manages All Saints' Church. The PCC is made up of the Vicar, Churchwarden(s), and other congregation members elected to the role. The PCC is consulted and takes decisions on matters for promoting the mission of the Church. Our Churchwarden(s), elected each year, work(s) with the Vicar to ensure the Church is run effectively.

Church Life

Although we are blessed with a wonderful historic building, our Church is the community. This community of individuals is diverse, coming from different backgrounds, different traditions, and each person has their own personal relationship with God. Despite our diversity, we are united in our worship and fellowship together. Our Worship (throughout the week and on Sunday) helps us to recognise who God really is; it opens our hearts to what is good and gives us direction. The Church of England has produced a video exploring why people feel gathering together is important. Please visit the Worship section for more information; we have also produced a useful list of Frequently Asked Questions.

As a Church, we hope to support people through their everyday lives and together be a blessing to the world. We also provide encouragement and support to help us live out our ‘weekday’ lives in the love of God. Please see the Our Community section for more information.

The Christian Faith

As a Church we are united in the Christian Faith. The Church of England has a useful section exploring what the Christian faith is. The following excerpt provides an introduction:

Belief in God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit is at the heart of our faith. Christians believe that Jesus is God’s Son. Jesus reveals to us that God is our Father, and that God is available to us through the Holy Spirit. 

You won’t ever be asked if you completely understand all this. But you are asked whether you believe and trust. This is called faith. It is a different sort of knowledge. It is the knowledge of being known and loved, and of loving in return.

The Christian faith is not a human invention. There are signs of God’s existence and handiwork in creation for anyone to read (Acts 14.15–17). But we believe in the way we do because God has come to seek us out and has made himself known to us. 

God has revealed himself through the Bible. God has revealed himself most clearly through the gift of his Son, Jesus Christ. God makes himself known personally to each believer through the work of the Holy Spirit. 

If you are exploring the Christian faith then please feel welcome to come along to a service (either during the week or on a Sunday) or contact the Vicar directly for a friendly chat. The Church of England website also has some useful information.

Any questions?

We know that coming to a new church can be daunting and we want to help you feel as comfortable as possible, have a look at our FAQ’s to find out the answers to common questions or contact us, we will be happy to help.