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All Saints', along with its neighbouring church St Lawrence, once stood in the shadow of Evesham Abbey, one of the most prosperous English Benedictine houses in the Middle Ages. Since the dissolution of the Abbey in the 16th century the churches have stood alone next to the Abbey bell tower, the sole surviving abbey structure. St Lawrence church is in the care of the Churches Conservation Trust. The parish is bounded on three sides by a meander in the River Avon, and to the north by Twyford Bank . The congregation of the parish church is an eclectic mix of Christians whose journeys may have begun in the evangelical movement, the charismatic church, the Anglo-catholic tradition, Roman Catholicism and radical orthodox Christianity. All Saints is an active participant in Churches Together in Evesham and District and shares common mission projects with sister churches through the Evesham and District Justice and Equality Network, (EDJEN). We support theVale fo Evesham Christian Centre's Caring Hands programme for the homeless and we maintain a food cupboard for rough sleepers in Church House. All Saints' works in partnership with St Peter's, Bengeworth and St Andrew's Hampton as the Asum group of parishes. We share resources and celebrate Holy Week jointly. Our four local Methodist ministers have the Bishop of Worcester's permission to officiate. The worship in the main parish eucharist is led by a four-part robed choir in mostly traditional English hymnody, although in the last year services have enjoyed musical input from The Northumbria Community and John Bell and Alison Adam from the Iona Community marking out a path for our adoption of contemporary music. We enjoy good relations with local schools and the Sacred Music Group of Prince Henry's High School joined us last Christmas with a repertoire which included John Tavener's God is with us. Worcester Cathedral Chamber Choir led a service of Evensong with music including Thomas Tallis. Apart from services of worship, All Saints is also a venue for concerts of all kinds. Christian Education is provided for by study groups. Homegroups meeting at the Vicarage have been using material from Living the Questions while a group meeting in Church House has been using resources from the York Course. Each Lent All Saints' hosts a series of Monday evening Lent Lecture. In 2009 these were on aspects of the theme: The Feminine in the Sacred. In 2010 on the relationship between ritual and life: On Earth as it is in Heaven. For much of its history, Evesham has been a place of pilgrimage. In 2007 the vicar invited the Roman Catholic parish to use St lawrence for its annual pilgrimage to Our Lady of Evesham. In 2010 in May we will host an ecumenical Marian pilgrimage led by Bishop Kallistos Ware. The three Evesham parishes are gathering candidates for a confirmation to be held in May. Anyone who would like to know more about the Christian faith, or who would like to consider being part of a confirmation courtse are encouraged to get in touch with the Vicar, the Revd Andrew Spurr (01386) 442213. |