About Us

At St Wilfrid's, we recognise that we have inherited a listed building that is as impressive and expensive to run as it is old.  Whilst we accept our responsibility to try to keep the fabric of the church in good order for future generations, our main focus is on the spiritual wellbeing of the people of Grappenhall and beyond, whether they are part of our regular congregation or not.

The tower of St Wilfrid's Church, seen from the south

Our Ministerial Team is led by the Rector, Rev Jane Proudfoot, who is assisted by Rev Margaret Jones.  Jane and Margaret are assisted by three Parochial Readers.

Our Parochial Church Council meets monthly and receives regular reports both from St Wifrid's C of E Aided Primary School and from sub-groups responsible for developing different aspects of our Parish Plan.  Our Parish Plan was established in 2005 to ensure that we at St Wilfrids develop and implement a strategy for growth, growth not only in the numerical sense, but also spiritual growth.

Our regular worship is as follows:

Sunday Services:

8.00am  Holy Communion

10.00am Family Communion

9.45  Sunday Club

         Junior Church

6.30pm   Evensong  (4.30pm in Winter)

Midweek Communion

10.00am Each Wednesday

Services for Saints' days and other holy days will be included in the Calender page of this website.  

Baptisms  

Baptisms are usually held at 11.45 on the second and fourth Sundays of the month for babies/children, and adults who live in St Wilfrids parish or who live outside the parish but are on the church Electoral Roll, or in the case of babies/children whose parents were married at St Wilfrids. 
Please contact the Rector by telephone (261546) to set a date and arrange an appointment to collect the Baptism Application form and explanatory leaflets.  The completed form will then be collected during a home visit made prior to the service by a member of the Baptism Visiting team.   The Visitor will also be present at the service and remain in touch with the family afterwards. There is no charge for Baptism.  Please contact the Rector for further information.

Music

At St Wifrid's, we have a strong tradition of bell-ringing.  Our bellringers are very accomplished and successful in competitions.  Bell ringing practice is on Wednesday evenings, and the group calls us to worship at our regular services.  St Wilfrid's also has a strong tradition of church music.  Our choir includes a junior section and leads us in the Family Communion and other services as well as singing in Chester Cathedral.  Choir practice is on Friday evenings. 

In addition to meeting for worship, St Wilfrid's has numerous organisations catering for all age groups within the parish. Younger people are welcome to attend our weekly Sunday Club and Junior Church before progressing into SWYG.  This is nothing to do with uncouth drinking habits, it is the appropriate acronym for St Wilfrid's Youth Group!  The organisations also include the Mothers' Union, the Women's Group and the Men's Group all of which meet regularly in the Parish Centre opposite the church.  We also have a Pre-School Praise Group which meets twice each month.  Energetic members of the congregation get together a few times each year for a ramble in the Cheshire countryside.

Uniformed organisations include Beaver Scouts, Cub Scouts and Scouts, together with two groups of Rainbow Guides, two groups of Brownie Guides and one group of Guides.

Bridgewater Churches Together (BCT) Bus Project

St Wilfrid's supports the Bridgewater Churches Together Bus Project in South Warrington which is enabled by the Church Army.  This project encourages young people who have limited or no connections with their local church to socialize in a Christian environment in the bus by taking part in normal leisure activities such as playing computer games.  While there they can talk about Jesus Christ with the staff who run the bus project.  The project benefits from the experience of the Church Army Captain on board and he is assisted by dedicated volunteers from a number of local churches including St Wilfrid's.  The bus is parked at Broomfields Leisure Centre on Friday evenings.  More details of the valuable service this iniotyiative provides to the toung people of our community and St Wlifrid's involvement can be found here.

 Live at St Wilfrid's

One of the best known organisations associated with St Wilfrid's Church is "Live at St Wilfrid's".  This is a programme of classical musical concerts held at regular intervals.  By use of a stage and reorganisation of the seating, the nave is transformed into an unusual but very effective and atmospheric concert venue which attracts top artists.  Please click on the following link to access the Live at St Wilfrid's website.

Click here to see the latest Live at St Wilfrid's programme 

Further details of St Wifrid's organisations can be found on the Organisations page.