We are a welcoming community parish and our vision is to be more involved in the community and serve those whose faith is firm as well as those who are simply seeking faith by providing a space of worship, reflection, healing and prayer.
The three aims of our mission statement are to engage in the life of the local community, to use the church buildings as a spiritual and practical resource and to create opportunities for the wider community to engage in the life of the church.
St Mary's Church has its origins in the mid-13th century and retains important 13th century fabric and also significant 19th century restorations and adaptations. St Mary’s has been serving the local community for over 750 years and has strong links with local community groups.
St Andrew's Church was built in 1893 and extended in the 1950's to add the nathrex. St Andrew's has a popular toddler group that meet every Wednesday morning and the Church Hall is home to Rossy's Rascals.
We have home groups, an active branch of the Mother’s Union and organise coffee mornings, lunches and other social and fund raising events regularly.
The parish youth team arrange regular Messy Church sessions as well as services and activities during celebration times throughout the year.
We use our two Church Centres for various activities and groups. Both centres are available to hire and have full amenities.
Service in and to the community is at the heart of our mission; we hope to become a resource, physically and spiritually, for the whole community. We try to organise more services that attract the wider community such as our Toy Service.
We have active links with charitable organisations such as Welcare, who provide support for local families and the Children’s Society. We support Orpington Food Bank, a 'Churches together in the Crays' initiative aimed at helping local people dealing with short-term poverty issues. We also have close links with several local schools and welcome them for their Harvest, Carol Services and educational visits.
We are part of the Diocese of Rochester.