Mission and Ministry
Mission Statement
“We believe that the Parish Church of Saint Mary the Virgin, Godmanchester, exists to build up the individual and corporate spiritual life of our Church and to spread the love of Christ through word and deed, by enabling those who live and work within our town to come into contact with God’s love and come to faith in Christ.”
Ministry
The staff team comprises the Incumbent, a full-time stipendiary Assistant Curate in her third year, a retired priest, a Licensed Lay Minister (formerly known as Reader), a colleague returning to licensed lay ministry, and a Lay Pastoral Co-ordinator. This team meets once a week for a diary meeting.
There has been mutual advantage to both the parish and the individuals concerned from being a training parish for curates and from offering placements to ordinands from Ridley Hall and Westcott House in Cambridge, and to licensed lay ministers in training from other parishes.
Baptism is generally available to all comers and is followed up through St Mary’s 0s to 5s, Building Blocks, and a first anniversary visit. Baptisms are usually held at the “Grassroots” service unless the family, usually regular members of the congregation, specifically ask for baptism during the 9.45 service. Grassroots is a less formal, non-eucharistic service targeted at those with little, or no, church background. It is the result of much ongoing thought and prayer about when baptism might best take place. It is attended by church members as well as by the families and friends of the baptism candidates. There were 29 baptisms in 2004.
In 2005 7 people were confirmed – 3 young people, and 4 adults.
In recent years we have been open to marrying divorcees. Marriage preparation involves Relate and is shared with other Huntingdon churches. There were 7 marriages in 2004 and 11 are booked for 2005.
Burials take place in the town cemetery which is on the edge of the town, and cremations at the Cambridge crematorium about 15 miles along the A14. There were 32 funerals in 2004.
