St. Mary’s is a vibrant Anglican Church at the heart of the community in Linton. The church has been established here for more than 800 years – and aims to be a place where people can be warmly welcomed and encounter God in the 21st-century…
As a family, we embrace a wide variety of church traditions. We take delight in our Anglican heritage, recognising that it provides a useful framework for developing a deep and well-rounded spirituality. But most importantly, we are a mission-shaped church; constantly seeking to present the Christian faith in ways that are meaningful and accessible for all who worship here.
St. Mary’s is not a Purpose-Driven Church! We believe that God is at work in Linton and our task is to catch a glimpse of what he is doing – and then try to follow him in our mission and ministry. We value space and time to pray and reflect and encourage the deepening of spirituality for each individual member.
However, we have plenty of activities and interest groups within the church family. This website will introduce you to the life of St. Mary’s in more detail – you can read about our youth work, children’s work, pastoral care group, variety of services, excellent musical tradition, Bible study groups, discipleship courses, social activities, schools work, overseas support and a whole lot more here!
Most of all, we believe that we worship a hospitable God. At St. Mary’s, we want to do all we can to reflect that hospitality to the local community and all who visit. We are a church on a journey – we are far from perfect and we have a long, long way to go! But if you want to come along and see if this is a place where you can find God, you will be more than welcome!
Introducing our Rector…
Rev Dr Steve Griffiths has been Rector since October 2009. Prior to that, he was on Faculty at Ridley Hall Theological College as Director of the Centre for Youth Ministry. Before that, he was Vicar in various parishes in North Essex, the East End of London and on an urban estate near Birmingham.
Rev Dr Steve has always been very heavily involved in youth work, both in the UK and overseas – particularly India, South Africa, the US, Norway and mainland Europe. He was Chair of the International Association for the Study of Youth Ministry and founding Editor of the Journal of Youth and Theology. He has written a number of books on theology, youth ministry and pastoral theology – and you will find links to these elsewhere on the website.
As well as following the ministry of Rev Dr Steve on a day-by-day basis through Twitter, you can also follow his thinking and ideas through his blog, Rector’s Ramblings. Why not Bookmark these with an RSS feed so you can get regular updates?
Introducing Linton…
Linton lies about 10 miles South-East of Cambridge, UK. Whilst managing to retain the ‘feel’ of a village, it is a bustling and friendly community. The population is about 5,000 and there are many clubs and societies for all age-ranges. The village is very well served by shops (including supermarkets, a chemist, newsagents, opticians, florist, IT consultants and much more) as well as a number of lovely pubs, each with their own unique flavour and identity.
Linton has four schools. There is an Infants School (St. Mary’s CE), a Middle School (Linton Heights), a secondary education Academy (Linton Village College) and a school for those with Special Needs (Granta).
For pleasure, our local residents can be found enjoying walks around the beautiful countryside that surrounds the village – or even at our local Linton Zoo where the lions live peaceably (though not always quietly!) alongside other animals…
Linton is situated well for travel. It is close to the A11 and the M11. It is well served by train stations approx. 20 mins drive from the village. Stansted airport is a short drive away – but we are not hampered by any noise pollution in that regard.
All in all, Linton is a beautiful place to live and work – and worship, of course! If you come for a visit, you are sure to receive a warm welcome!
Introducing our website…
This website is currently under construction, replacing an older version. We are looking to improve it considerably over the coming months. If you have any comments or feedback, please let us know by contacting Rev Dr Steve via e-mail: revdrsteve@hotmail.com.