Faith Support within the local area:
There are 2 churches in Clophill, St Mary’s Church of England and Clophill Methodist Church both of which are sited on the High Street. These churches, in partnership with Ampthill Baptist Church and the St Francis Roman Catholic Church in Shefford, have formed Churches Together in Clophill to promote Christian unity and joint actions of the churches in Bedfordshire. There is a committee to organise collaborative events and a Newsletter is produced every 6-8 weeks to publicise Sunday Services, prayer meetings and initiatives such as the Lent Lunches to help raise funds for charity and overseas aid. Volunteers distribute copies of this Newsletter to virtually every household in Clophill. The Ampthill Society of Friends meets at the Baptist Church at 3pm on the 3rd Sunday of each month. In the wider community, there is the Bedfordshire Progressive Synagogue founded on Liberal Judaism that meets at the Luton Friends Meeting House and there is the Luton Hindu Mandir Temple. In Bedford, The Guru Nanak Gurdwara Building, one of the largest Sikh temples in Britain, was opened in April 2007. There is also the Italian Church of St Francesca Cabrini and the Polish Church of Sacred Heart of Jesus and St Cuthbert for those of the Catholic faith. The nearest mosques to serve the Muslim community are to be found in Bedford and Luton, each of which has 4 mosques.
St. Mary’s, Clophill
At the back of St. Mary’s Church is a list of the former Vicars and Rectors of the ecclesiastical parish of Clophill. My own name is the latest addition to that list as the current incumbent of the post as Rector. The first of my predecessors took up office in 1145 and so for over 800 years there has been a priest appointed by the Bishop to care for the spiritual life of the people of Clophill. The Church of England is the Established church in this country and the ecclesiastical parish (not to be confused with the civil parish), is governed by the Parochial Church Council which is made up of the Rector, Churchwardens and other members of the council elected by the Annual Parochial Church Meeting. A shortage of vocations to ordained ministry means that increasingly priests are having to look after more than one parish, and I am also the Rector of Haynes and Campton too. This means that I have to divide the time I can spend in each of the three parishes as equally as possible; sadly it also means that I cannot be in each church for the main Sunday service every week. The Diocese of St. Albans has recently announced that there are to be further significant cuts in the number of clergy to be deployed across the diocese; this will necessitate new amalgamations of parishes and the remaining clergy will be spread ever more thinly. The current pattern of services at St. Mary’s is as follows-:
Services| 1st Sunday of the Month | 10:30am | Family Praise, 6pm Evensong |
| 2nd Sunday | 10.30am | Parish Communion |
| 3rd Sunday | 10.30am | Morning Prayer4 |
| 4th Sunday | 10.30am | Parish Communion |
| 5th Sundays | | Parish Communion service at Campton, Clophill or Haynes church |
In addition to the main Sunday services there is a weekly prayer group and there are Bible study and discussion groups from time to time. We are fortunate to have a dedicated choir who practice each week and who contribute magnificently to our worship. There is a good relationship between St. Mary’s and the congregation at the Methodist Chapel in the village, and we work closely together whenever it is appropriate and possible to do so. As a Christian community we see our role as much more than maintaining St. Mary’s and providing services. Members of the congregation are involved in one way or another in almost every aspect of village life. St. Mary’s in conjunction with the Church school was instrumental in setting up an after-school club for children attending the school. This has subsequently been extended to offer a breakfast club. In conjunction with the Methodist church there are a series of monthly lunches which provide an opportunity both for fellowship and also to raise funds for local and overseas charities. There have been considerable changes in the Church’s life since the first Vicar of Clophill was appointed in 1145; there are inevitably more changes to come. Nevertheless I am confident that St. Mary’s will continue to offer worship to God and service to the people of Clophill, for many years to come.
The Revd Dean Henley (Rector)
Clophill Methodist Church
Clophill Methodist Church is part of the Bedford South and Ampthill Circuit and is divided into sections with the Rev Gaynor Hall having pastoral oversight for Flitwick and Clophill.
We meet for morning worship on Sundays at 10.30am. We hold United Services, which are held either at St. Mary's or the Methodist Church. The Church Council meets twice a year led by the Minister and is made up of members of the church. Two members represent the church on the Clophill Churches Together Committee. We seek to support the village with:-
a HOUSE GROUP held fortnightly on Monday evenings, TEA & CHAT held every Wednesday morning, CHURCH LUNCHES (in co-operation with St. Mary's Church), TUESDAY CLUB events and the CHRISTMAS CHARITY WEEKEND which starts with a concert on Friday evening and finishes with our Carol Service on Sunday afternoon.
The Church building is also the site of the village Pollong Station, the venue for the local Councillors surgery and can be rented for other occasions.
by Anne Cooper
