St Bartholomew’s in the Community
St Bart’s is here to serve its community all the year round – not just by providing Sunday services or conducting weddings, baptisms and funerals but by finding out what our community wants and needs and working together to meet those needs.
The parish extends to the east side of Canterbury Road, as far as the railway line to the south, the sea to the north and the Rising Sun in Beltinge. The church provides a wonderful resource which has excellent acoustics. As a result, it frequently hosts concerts, for example by choirs, brass and silver bands as well as organ recitals. The church’s own annual fundraising concert is always a great success and showcases local talent. The annual Reculver School Carol Concert takes place at St Bart’s, which can seat up to 300 people. The Herne Bay Flower Club meets regularly in the church and members create superb displays for its annual competition.
Raising funds for good causes lies at the heart of our mission. We regularly support charities such as Porchlight in Canterbury, The Children’s Society and the Canterbury Foodbank. You will find the yellow foodbank bin at the back of church – please pop in during the day to drop off your donations. A recent Macmillan coffee morning was very well supported. Every few years we welcome the Kiev Classic Accordion Duo, Igor and Oleksiy from the Ukraine, to raise funds for the Revival centre in Chernihiv which supports adults and children dealing with ongoing Chernobyl related illnesses. They never fail to amaze and delight audiences!
Thanks to Canterbury City Council, we now have a number of large planters around the grounds. Our plan is to offer members of our community the chance to help with planting them up and caring for them – especially those who have no garden or would simply enjoy the opportunity to meet others and create attractive displays.