St Andrews - Groups and Activities

Groups & Activities

Activities

The Sunday Club

For children aged 4-10 years, meets from 10.15 - 11.30 am, the same time as the Parish Eucharist Sunday service. Contact: 0116 233 7210

Uniformed Organisations

St.Andrew's sponsors the Guide and Scout movement in Aylestone. The groups meet in the Guide and Scout Hut opposite the church.

Contact for Scouts, Cubs, Beavers : 0116 233 7581

Contact for Guides, Brownies, Rainbows :
Irene Simpson - Tel: 0116 283 7870

Bell Ringers

The church has a ring of 8 bells and a long history of bell-ringing.

The bells are rung for Sunday Services and other special occasions, and also for weddings.

Bell-ringing practice is Wednesday evening at 7.45 - 9.00 pm.

The Tower Captain is always pleased to receive enquiries about learning to ring the bells. First challenge - to ring Mr Terry Roper on 0116 278 3652 !!!!

Choir

St.Andrew's maintains a robed choir of adults and children at the 10.15 am Parish Eucharist on Sundays and on other special occasions.

The choir is often required for singing at weddings during the summer on Saturdays, for which there is payment.

Choir practice is Friday evening :
6.30 pm Choristers
7.30 pm Adult Choir

The Director of Music is : Mr Will Welsford - Tel: 0116 283 5086
e-mail: staylestones@googlemail.com for further enquiries.

Curry Club

Meets on an occasional basis. Usually a lads' night out starting at the Black Horse pub, the group samples different curry restaurants in the locality. Call 0116 277 0880 for details of the next night out.

Flower Circle

St.Andrew's Church delights in having a strong team of volunteers who arrange the flowers for Sunday Services, weddings, and special occasions.

The Flower Circle arranges training sessions from time to time and invites others to give demonstrations of techniques and styles in flower arranging.

New volunteers are always welcome to join the team, please contact one of the people below:

Chairman: Mrs Anna Cooper Tel: 0116 283 7050
Secretary: Mrs Sue Morrell Tel: 0116 288 1455

Mother's Union

The M.U. is a friendly and well-established group at St.Andrew's. Meetings are held on a monthly basis and the members enjoy a varied programme of speakers and events. The M.U. also run an annual May Market and contribute in many different ways to the life of the church.

The usual meeting time is the first Thursday of the month at 2.30 - 4.00 pm in the Parish Hall.

Enrolling Member and contact :
Mrs Alice Wallis Tel: 0116 283 5093

Baptisms and Marriages

St. Andrew's is a popular church for Baptisms and Marriages. Its historic atmosphere is a reminder of the long traditions that lie behind Christian faith in this country. Both ceremonies are conducted according to the worship of the Church of England.

BAPTISM (Christening)

means three things :

Celebrating the fact of God as the author of all life

Celebrating faith in Jesus Christ as the Way, the Truth and the Life

Celebrating our membership of the Church as the Christian people of God

Baptism is conducted around the 13th century font.

Baptism is conducted in alternate months either as part of the Sunday Eucharist at 10.15 am or at 3.00 pm in the afternoon.

There is no age discrimination in Baptism. It is offered to babies, children and adults.

There is no fee for Baptism. Donations are welcome.

MARRIAGE

The Church understands Marriage in the following way :

Marriage is intended by God to be a creative relationship, as his blessing enables husband and wife to love and support each other in good times and in bad, and to share in the care and upbringing of children. For Christians, marriage is also an invitation to share life together in the spirit of Jesus Christ. It is based upon a solemn, public and life-long covenant between a man and a woman, declared and celebrated in the presence of God and before witnesses.
(from The Marriage Service, Common Worship)

By law, Marriages are offered to anyone living in the parish of St. Andrew's, Aylestone, or whose names are on the Electoral (Membership) Roll of the parish.

The fees for Marriage vary, depending on what the requirements of the couple are. In addition to the church building and the priest, we can supply: a peal of church bells, organ and choir, an Order of Service, and a pedestal of flowers. All of these items are negotiable. Fees are best discussed.

Bookings for Baptisms and Marriages can be made by telephoning the Ministry Team on 01455 845 564

Read how to plan your ceremony online at http://www.yourchurchwedding.org/

Other Groups

The Ministry Team

The Ministry Team at St Andrew's actively conduct and coordinate Sunday services, Baptism, Marriage, and Funeral Services. In addition to this they carry out pastoral visiting and other ministry work in the parish, and the wider diocese. Brenda, Mike and Pat introduce themselves in the following paragraps. To contact the Team please call 01455 845 564.

Brenda Spencer: I have attended St.Andrew's Church since 1984 and have been a Reader-Minister since 1994. I enjoy preaching, teaching and leading study groups, as well as various kinds of pastoral work. This involves conducting funerals and administering holy communion to the sick and the housebound.

I am licensed as a Reader-Minister at the Leicester General Hospital. I am a member of the Leicester Anglican Cursillo movement. I am the Diocesan Selection Secretary for Reader-Ministers in the Leicester Diocese; and the Secretary for the Leicester Branch of the Womens’ World Day of Prayer Organisation, as well as our Area Representative.

Michael Cleaver: I was licensed as a Reader in the Church of England in 1996, after having served as a Methodist Lay Preacher for over 25 years.

As a Reader I most enjoy leading worship, preaching and teaching. I also take on some other church duties: Parish Treasurer, General Secretary of the Readers with Licence to Officiate in the Diocese, Lay Director of Leicester Anglican Cursillo, and member of the Diocesan Liturgical Committee. I help to train Readers for Funeral Ministry.

Pat Cleaver: I was licensed as a Reader in October 1999. Being a Reader has broadened my experience of lay ministry. Having been a teacher with responsibilities for the pastoral care of students, I now also enjoy the tasks of preaching, leading worship and leading house groups.

I like to maintain contact with many Christians across the Diocese, and do this through Deanery Synod, the Leicester Anglican Cursillo Movement, the Mothers' Union, the Readers' Council, and invitations to preach at other churches. I feel we are well blessed with a network of prayerful support, in which we may all share.

The Friends of St Andrew's

The Friends of St. Andrews exists as a network of people who continue to value their contact with Aylestone, its people and heritage.

There are about 72 Friends at present. They keep in touch through a quarterly newsletter and an annual re-union in the Parish Hall. On these occasions Friends enjoy the chance to look at some interesting material about local history, followed by lunch, an interesting talk and a brief service in the church.

Friends' subscriptions have made substantial contributions to enhancing the life and outlook of St. Andrew's. So far donations from Friends have helped with the installation of the innovative lighting scheme, repairs to the organ and some re-ordering.

The president of the Friends is Mr Nigel Cooper. If you wish to know more about the Friends please contact:

The Friends of St Andrews, the Parish Office, Old Church Street, Aylestone, Leicester, LE2 8ND

Annual Membership £15. Life Membership £100.

St Andrew's Initiative

St.Andrew's Initiative is the name given to how St. Andrew's thinks about its purpose as a church and plans its future activities. Overall, the aim is to become as open to the wider community as possible.
This means serving the geographical parish of Aylestone in a number of ways -

by being a community of hospitality and welcome
by providing good and accessible worship
by serving those in need through friendship and ministry
by developing programmes of life-long learning in Christian faith
by valuing the heritage of the medieval church building and enhancing its use through a programme of arts events.

Four working groups plan the future and cover the following main areas of work :-

a) Resources and Programme
This group explores the use of the church building for spiritual, educational and social purposes. It also develops an annual programme of events involving concerts, exhibitions, children's days, quizzes, and social gatherings.

b) Worship and Learning Committee
This committee reflects on the style and provision of worship, which both holds the Eucharist as central to the life of the Church and aims to be welcoming to all ages. It also plans opportunities for learning and growing in the Christian faith.

c) Pastoral Care
This group manages the visiting scheme of the Church, as a way of fostering a sense of community within the congregation and relationships in the wider community of Aylestone.

d) The Friends of St. Andrew's
This group promotes St. Andrew's as a Church that values wider friendships between those who live in Aylestone and those who have moved out of the area. The Friends publish a quarterly newsletter and organise an annual lunch and day together, when people from all over the country meet up and renew acquaintances.

St. Andrew's Initiative works towards the Mission Statement of the church in order to maintain the Parish Church as a living community of faith for all.

Any monies raised through the events of St. Andrew's Initiative are put towards developing the future life of the Church in relation to the wider community.

SOUTHERN EDGE MISSION PARTNERSHIP

St.Andrew's has joined with with the Emmaus Team (St.John's, Clarendon Park and Church of the Nativity), St.Mary's, Knighton, St.James, London Road, and St.Christopher's, Saffron Lane to form the Southern Edge Mission Partnership (SEMP). We can expect new initiatives as the partnership develops. A working group will be looking at priorities and interests for future working together.

The Diocese has formulated a strategy for parishes to share their resources and talents with one another in partnership's for mission. SEMP is a resultant cluster which covers the southern edge of the city. The Convenor of the partnership is the Revd Alistair Helm who may be contacted at alistair.helm@btinternet.com

Please visit our links page to connect to our partner churches.

NEED A VENUE FOR YOUR COMMUNITY GROUP?

Then why not consider St Andrew's Parish Hall......

This is a substantial meeting place that is available for hire, and can take up to 150 persons. There are ample car parking facilities.

The sprung floor of the Hall is of high quality ballroom standard, and a number of dance groups meet here.

For availability and bookings, contact the Hall Manager:
Terry Cox : (0116) 283 4746