Vision

 
We keep our doors open to all-comers, no matter where you are on your journey of faith. As the parish church of Linton we welcome everyone to join us at our regular worship and other gatherings on Sundays and during the week.

We believe that God calls us to be a church which celebrates and affirms every person and does not discriminate. We will continue to challenge the church where it continues to discriminate against people on the grounds of disability, economic power, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, learning disability, mental health, neurodiversity, or sexuality. We believe in Church which welcomes and serves all people in the name of Jesus Christ; which is scripturally faithful; which seeks to proclaim the Gospel afresh for each generation; and which, in the power of the Holy Spirit, allows all people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep God's love really is.
 
We are glad to celebrate with those who rejoice at weddings, christenings (both Baptisms and Thanksgivings for the Birth of a Child) and for those in same-sex couples who wish to dedicate their love for one another using Prayers of Love and Faith, recently introduced by the Church of England It is our privilege to mourn with those who grieve, through funerals. memorial services and national times of Remembrance.
 
St Mary’s is always open during the day for anyone who would like to slip in for quiet prayer and reflection or to light a candle. Many children like to come in with parents and grandparents and play in our children’s corner.
 
We value our special link with Linton Church of England Infants’ School, and love having its children, their teachers, parents and carers join us weekly in term-time for the Friday Church, held in St Mary's. We warmly welcome other schools in the village when they come on visits, or for special services. We serve our village community through our regular visits and services at Symonds House Care Home and Nichols Court sheltered housing,
 
We run Tots in Tow in the Village Hall, a weekly group for babies and toddlers with their carers. The Baby Steps course is offered on a regular basis and our Make Lunch community project has supported numerous families in the local area through these difficult times. We are joint partners in The Beacon Youth Trust which employs a youth worker for the village (the only provider of youth work in the parish of c5,000 people). We also  support  Haverhill Food Bank.  Behind the church is our Peace Garden, a quiet place for anyone to visit and enjoy its beauty and tranquillity.   Our church and Pavilion buildings are available to members of the wider community for special events at reasonable charges. We are always looking for new ways to serve Linton and its people.
 
We work hard at building community within our church and beyond, through a varied programme of social events and have a lot of fun together!  We want our ancient building to be full of art, music and creativity of all sorts. There are also four Roots & Branch groups (yes, RnB) where people meet in homes across the village through the week to deepen their faith and friendships, and explore together the Bible and matters of life, the universe and everything. We welcome everyone at our social events, our fellowship groups and the Mother’s Union.
 
Everything we do comes from the awareness that the Church doesn’t belong to us, or even to Linton, but to God. We believe that everyone is a beloved child of God, our Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.  We value the riches of the Bible and the Church’s inherited tradition of wisdom and worship, and we also recognise that, in the words of Gustav Mahler, 'tradition is the passing on of a living flame, not veneration of the ashes.'