Links
The Church in the benefice is connected to other organisations locally and right across the world.
The Church of England is the denomination of the worldwide Christian Church to which the churches of the benefice belong. It came into being as part of the Protestant Reformation, not purely (despite what many people claim) as a result of King Henry VIII’s desire for divorce. | Government is facilitated by local authorities (councils) acting in smaller geographical areas like counties. In the Church of England, the equivalent geographical region to a county is called a Diocese, centred on a Cathedral City where the Bishop has his administration. We are in St Albans Diocese. | ||
A deanery is the church governance equivalent of a civic district (like East Herts) which has its own council to represent the people. Our parishes are in the Hertford and Ware Deanery. | The Fairtrade Foundation exists to promote fairer trade deals for Third World countries. The foundation campaigns against injustice in trade rules and practice, and promotes sales of fairly traded goods. Goods bearing the Fairtrade mark are guaranteed to be fairly traded. | ||
CMS is an evangelistic mission working to see a world transformed by the love of Jesus. Hunsdon church have a link with a mission partner, Ruth Huelser, who runs a medical centre in Tabora, Tanzania. More details of that link are available at the Rectory. | Traidcraft is a major contributor to the Fairtrade Foundation and its work around the world. It uses a wide network of global contacts to buy and sell goods providing the producers with access to new markets and a fair deal. Quality merchandise is available to order from the Rectory. | ||
Saffron Walden Bible Focus aims to encourage and strengthen Christians in their faith through Bible teaching and providing a forum for fellowship with other believers from the region. | Harlow Food Bank works in partnership with churches, businesses, supermarkets, schools and front-line professional care agencies. Tinned and dried food is donated by the public, “banked” in a warehouse and then given to people in crisis. | ||
The churches are all intimately connected with the village communities they serve. This link will take you to the Hunsdon Village website. Church based events and information can be found on this web-site. | The churches are all intimately connected with the village communities they serve. This link will take you to the Widford Village website. Church based events and information can be found on this web-site. | ||
Wareside | The churches are all intimately connected with the village communities they serve. This link will take you to the Wareside Village website. Church based events and information can be found on this web-site. | This is the Church of England Primary School in the benefice. It is a “Voluntary Controlled” school, and there are two “Foundation” governors on the Governing Body to ensure there is Church representation at management level. The Rector frequently leads “Collective Worship” in the school. | |
The Friends of Widford Church care deeply about the beautiful and historic church building of St John the Baptist, Widford. Their funds provide special assistance towards major projects and regular maintenance of the fabric itself, contributing greatly to the life of the church. | The Friends of Wareside Church care deeply about the striking and extraordinary church building of Holy Trinity, Wareside. Their funds provide special assistance towards major projects and regular maintenance of the fabric itself, contributing greatly to the life of the church. | ||
The St Albans Diocesan Evangelical Fellowship (DEF) seeks to unite evangelicals within the Diocese. It arranges occasional meetings, provides a means for evangelicals to consult together and is a constituent part of the national representative bodies of the evangelicals within the Church of England. | The A21 Campaign is dedicated to abolishing injustice in the 21st century. The shocking truth is that there are more slaves now than ever before. The young people from the AWE Community have supported this campaign. |
The links below are for organisations with which the churches have less formal connections. Nonetheless, we believe you might find them useful.