Kington
St. Mary’s Church
The Church of St Mary the Virgin, Grade I listed, stands high on the hill overlooking Kington at its western edge and close to the site of Kington Castle, whose foundation dates from the reign of Henry 1 (1100-1135). The church's elegant 18th Century Lych Gate welcomes visitors approaching from the town. The Norman tower houses a ring of six bells, which welcomes worshippers to services. The Church boasts some fine stained glass windows, mainly from the school of Clayton and Bell. The Church as a whole is well maintained and in a good state of repair. It is open for 365 days of the year, allowing visitors to enjoy the calm, peaceful atmosphere of a lovingly tended Church. The visitor's book is full of appreciative comments. Our choir leads the singing at the main service every Sunday as well as on special occasions.
Ann : Our Church Warden
Our building is simple compared to many churches but it is a welcoming, well cared for sanctuary as welcoming when I was a schoolgirl as it is now I am an octogenarian! Friendliness and love are key features, together with so many opportunities for active involvement.
I count it a privilege to be a Churchwarden at St Mary's. I value the opportunities I have been given to serve our Church in so many ways, the opportunities I have had to walk alongside so many different people, I value the friendship and kindness afforded. For me it is a safe haven where I feel God's presence, his understanding and from where God helps me to help others in small, often insignificant ways.
As I enter the building at eventide to lock the doors, I feel a calmness following the 'busy-ness' of the day and I hear that still small voice, 'Be still and know that I am God.'
Thank you St Mary's, many you long continue to be a welcoming place for all who cross your threshold.
Our Community
The whole Marches region up and down the Welsh border brims with energy and creativity. Straddling the beautiful Offa's Dyke path, Kington is full of walkers. And in the Autumn there is a Walking Festival with much feasting and exhausted relaxing. It is high time for worship with the skylarks on stunning Hergest Ridge, although we have had a baptism in the river recently. There are cyclists as well as a widely used Leisure Centre and a range of sports facilities appealing to all ages and capabilities including the local football team.
The town boasts the Nature Trust, a thriving branch of the Young Farmers, Kington Community Choir and troupes of players. Every September, the Kington Agricultural Society hosts the Kington Show, one of the largest one-day Agricultural Shows in the country. We have also embarked on a four year voyage of discovery through Kington Remembers, researching the part Kington and its parishes played in the Great War. And we mustn't forget the world famous Hergest Croft Gardens ten minutes walk from the church.
If you take seriously, as the writer of Ecclesiastes has it, that God put eternity in the hearts of men, then all these enthusiasms, young and old, working and Sabbath-resting, are embers waiting to be blown by the Spirit into life. Life in all its fullness, as our Lord promised.
