St. Mary Magdalen - our High Street Church
Anyone
walking along Billericay High Street on the afternoon of Trinity Sunday,
14th June, 1992, would have witnessed an historic event. At 3.00 pm, the
congregation of St. Mary Magdalen, Billericay left the church en masse, led
by the Area Bishop, the vicar, curate and church wardens. Then, they
proceeded up Billericay High Street to take possession of their new church,
Emmanuel, which had been completed and was ready for occupation. This event
was but part of the ongoing story of the Anglican Church in Billericay that
started centuries ago.
Today,
nearly 15 years later, St Mary Magdalen is about to enter a new era of
community use, while still retaining its all-important role as a spiritual
haven at the heart of the High Street. Much work has been happening over
the past few months with a view to equipping the building to serve the
community in a variety of ways. A heated, tiled floor has been laid, see
picture on the left, and wood-framed upholstered church chairs added,
similar to those in the Cathedral, see picture below.
Like the Cathedral, St Mary’s will be very much more comfortable and flexible. In addition, a kitchen and new toilets will have been installed and the heating renewed.
It
is anticipated that the church will once again be open by the end of April
and it will be an ideal setting for concerts, exhibitions and a wide range
of public events and community occasions as well as for services. For this
to be possible, we have made the interior of the church more flexible and
inviting, with appropriate heating and lighting improvements.
Throughout the centuries, St Mary’s has been adapted many times to the needs of each generation. The baton has been passed to our generation, and we are determined to see this beautiful church used in the best possible way to meet the needs of our community in the 21st century.
St Mary Magdalen Development Group
Road Rep Wanted
A Road Rep is required for the following location
-
Horseshoe Close - 26 Houses
Interested members please contact Trevor Stansfield on 01277 623519
Copy Dates for "Resident"
If readers wish to advertise an event or have an article printed in the newsletter the following gives dates by which copy should be received by the editor – Trevor Stansfield, 174 Perry Street CM12 0NX or e-mail Tremar@aol.com:
February issue copy by 15 January, March issue by 15 February, April issue by 15 March, May issue copy by 15 April, June issue by 15 May, July/August issue by 15 June, September issue by 15 August, October issue by 15 September, November issue by 15 October. December/January issue by 15 November, February issue by 15 January.
If an event is to be held before the 10th of the month then, to ensure circulation, the advertisement should be included in the previous month’s issue e.g. an event taking place on 3 May should be advertised in the April issue. Similarly if an event is scheduled for 3 September then the advertisement should appear in the July issue.