The Marlpudlian online

An All Saints Church Marlpool publication

Category: What’s Happening at All Saints

What's Happening at All Saints

We’re Moving Forward

So what’s happening at All Saints NOW?!

As a building, All Saints appears to be in a pretty good state. However, this is something of an illusion. The lift (disability platform) has been broken beyond repair for several years, the main church heating system has been condemned, the roof is leaking – and this is just the big ticket items!!

Looks bad doesn’t it? – And indeed it is.

So what’s to do? First of all, let’s be clear – there is not a big pot of money available for us to dip into. Some grants may be available but every Church of England church has to stand on its own feet. Nor has any church the right to exist because ‘it’s always been there’.

Is there a need for All Saints church in Marlpool?

As things stand, All Saint’s congregation is small – the building is capable of holding ten time the average congregation, There are a few groups using the building during the week but these are also small, in total the building is used on average for between 10 and 15 hrs per week in total (there are of course exceptions to this but these are infrequent). The cost of running the church is around £27,000 pa excluding the the vicar and the vicarage, which are funded centrally. The cost of carrying out all the remedial work required is estimated to be somewhere in the order of £250,000.

Looked at from this perspective suggests that making a big financial commitment to the All Saints building, even if the money was available, would not be a very good investment. But ……

What of its potential?!

Rather than wring our hands in anguish we at All Saints have grasped the nettle and initiated a course of actions:

  1. We have taken a leap of faith and invested in the installation of a new lift. We have funded this partly though a grand, partly from personal donations and partly from our own limited reserves. This will be installed on 6th-7th July. By taking this action we open up the first floor hall to users who are unable to use the stairs.
  2. Once the lift is in place we will actively be seeking out groups for whom this would be an ideal space.
  3. We have invested in a feasibility study to establish the viability of a carbon neutral heating system for the whole building.
  4. We have carried out a cost v benefit analysis of installing a PV (solar) system for electricity generation
  5. We have considered a number of possible options for operating as a church without the existing building
  6. We are currently carrying out a Mission strategy initiative which we have called ‘Reaping the Harvest 2026’ to identify develop and implement a means of effectively presenting the Gospel message in our communities. We’ve included ‘2026’ to remind ourselves that this is not a talking shop looking towards an ever moving future but a call to imminent action.

By the end of 2026 we expect to have moved forward significantly.

Will we manage this?

WATCH THIS SPACE!!

All Saints Church / What's Happening at All Saints

A Big Change at All Saints

As of Tuesday 31st March 2026, Revd Karen Padley is no longer the vicar of All Saints church, nor is she priest-in-charge of the churches of St Lawrence Heanor, St Andrew’s Langley Mill andSt John’s Aldercar.

The following statement gives the reasons for this development

Rev Karen Padley has been removed from office as Priest in Charge of St Lawrence Heanor, St Andrew Langley Mill, and St John Aldercar, and Vicar of All Saints Marlpool, by an Independent Tribunal established under the Clergy Discipline Measure 2003, and is prohibited from ministering as a priest in the Church of England for three years.

The result of this is that these parishes are now in vacancy. During this time the responsibility for the continuation of ministry is assumed by the Churchwardens and the Area Dean, together with the assisting clergy of the parishes, who will be fully supported by the Acting Archdeacon of East Derbyshire and colleagues in the Parish Support Team.

The Diocese of Derby has offered pastoral and practical support for Karen at this time.

No further details been made available to us at this time However, for the avoidance of any misunderstanding or erroneous assumptions it can be stated that: This decision was NOT as the result of any safeguarding issue or financial impropriety on the part of Revd Padley.

What happens now?

All Saints, together with the other three churches are now in what is referred to a ‘Vacancy’
During this time the responsibility for the continuation of ministry is assumed by the Churchwardens and the Area Dean.

Unless stated otherwise, Sunday Worship will continue as usual as will the other services and activities of All Saints.

As you can appreciate, this sudden removal of our vicar came as something as a shock to the All Saints congregation. To date, nothing beyond the above statement has been published so unsurprisingly rumours abound. Until the ruling is published on the Church of England website there is nothing we can add to the above statement.

All Saints Church / Christmas / What's Happening at All Saints

Carol Service with a difference

Have you managed to get to a Carol Service this Christmas? Or maybe listed to or watched Kings College traditional Nine Lessons and Carols?

If not or even if you have, check out All Saints Church Marlpool’s online Carols by Candlelight

King’s college it isn’t! As you’ll see, it’s a home spun collection of recordings of members of All Saint’s church involving a cross section of our church family.

Click on the link below and sit back and enjoy

https://youtu.be/7jOTseGuQfk

What's Happening at All Saints

Barn Dance

Never been to a Barn Dance? Can’t dance? The big advantage about this sort of dance is that the majority of us either don’t know the steps or have forgotten them. Every dance is demonstrated before hand and the ‘caller’ guides us throughout the dance . It really is fun for all ages.

Check out the poster below for details

All Saints Church / Community / What's Happening at All Saints

Do you need some space?

From the outside, All Saints church may look like any number of other churches. But inside it is Tardis like!

Let’s begin on the first floor. Up one flight of stairs is the hall. This is an ideal space for any number of activities and, depending on the usage, can accommodate up to around 60 people. Although it can’t compete with the Blackpool Tower Ballroom, the hall does have a slightly sprung floor so is ideal for dance classes, tea dances, barn dances and the like as well as keep fit, Zumba and similar. Attached to the hall is a fully fitted kitchen so catering for parties and group meals is not a problem. There is also a disability access toilet on the same floor.  Need space for a formal meeting? The hall has good acoustics for speech and there are tables and chairs available. Is it warm enough? – The hall is in effect a ‘pod’ within the main building. It has a well insulated ceiling and a central heating system independent of the rest of the building.

On the ground floor, there are four rooms of various sizes; the smallest is the ‘Tower Room’. This is a cosy room set out with sofas and chairs and is ideal for small meetings or one-to-one sessions. Next is the ‘Meeting Room’ which is approximately 4.5 m x 4.5m and will comfortably hold around twelve people. There is a piano in this room so it could be used for a rehearsal space for a small choir or music ensemble.

Then there is the ‘Narthex’ (yes I know – what does that mean? It’s a churchy word meaning a space separate from the main church area – blame the architect!).  This is a long thin area but is actually bigger than it looks. it is connected to a small kitchenette and has an adjacent disability access toilet. There is also a piano in this space.

And finally, there is the main body of the church. This will hold 150+ people and has superb musical acoustics so is ideal for performance by choirs, orchestras, bands and other forms of performance as well as large meetings (there is a sound reinforcement and loop system).  There is a third toilet in the entrance hall. Oh, and there is yet another piano in the area as well as a very good pipe organ.

If you think that you could make use of any of these spaces then please get in touch. There is a set range of charges depending on the space required but we also want to make the building available as a community facility as far as possible. To this end, we are prepared to discount room charges for non-profit activates and for start-up initiatives.

If you are interested in using any of our rooms please get in touch with Janice by email: janicearogers7@gmail.com, ring the church office on:  07756 555101 or messages us on Facebook (you’ll find the link on the home page).

What's Happening at All Saints

Story Swappers

Story Swappers is an informal group which meets together every Tuesday at around 2:30pm. There is no leader or agenda, just a group meeting together to exchange experiences, stories, jokes or whatever over a cup of coffee or tea and in all probability biscuits and./or cake. Anyone and everyone is welcome..

For more information ring or text Janice on 07918 177376 or call the church office on 07756 555101

Community / What's Happening at All Saints

Rainbows

Rainbows is the most junior branch of the Guiding organisation catering for girls aged between 4 and 7 years.

At Rainbows the children learn new skills, obtain badges when they reach a level of expertise and most important of all, have fun together in a safe environment with trained leaders and volunteers.

A branch of Rainbows meets weekly at All Saints on Wednesday evenings between 6:00 and 7:00pm.

For more details go to: Rainbows (4-7) | Girlguiding

What's Happening at All Saints

Fun Hub

Some Fun Hub artwork

Fun Hub meets on Tuesday afternoons in term time from 3:45 until 4:45pm It is aimed at children of primary school age but  younger and older siblings are welcome to join in.(in the case of younger children we ask that a responsible adult stays with them.

Parents and carers are welcome to stay and get involved and many do, which makes it a real family affair.

We do a variety of things including crafts, cooking, games and trips out. No two sessions are the same but all do have a  Christian ethos and we look at Christian themes and stories.

Whatever we are doing, there is a warm welcome for everyone and the keyword is fun!!

Jonah and the Whale