The Parish Church of St Mary of Charity

Faversham is a town with a long and colourful history. Its Christian origins go back over 1000 years and much of this is reflected in the Parish Church of St. Mary of Charity. 

Welcome to the Parish Church of St. Mary of Charity. The church is a diverse community with a lively and mixed congregation who participate in traditional and contemporary worship. A significant number of people are engaged in home groups and other social gatherings that are both spiritual and social, including children and young people. Others care for our significant Grade 1 listed building and promote mission through heritage and tourism. We hope you will find a welcome whatever the purpose of your visit and we invite you to allow some time to connect with the history and spirituality that speaks of engagement with God both in the past and present. Our aim is to promote the church as a 'sacred place' at the heart of the community that is as accessible to as many people as possible. Visitors to the church can be assured of a friendly welcome, whether exploring the treasure of its history, wishing to take part in one of our variety of services or seeking a quiet place for private prayer. It is our aim that St. Mary of Charity remains not just a reminder of the past but a vital part of the modern community for the future. Our vision is to encourage diversity of opportunity for Christian worship and broaden access and use of the church by offering a range of activities." These pages provide some information to help you, but if you cannot find what you are looking for please contact the church secretary or the appropriate contact from the list below. < Rev'd Canon Tony Oehring

Access

The church is open 10am to 5pm - 7 days a week for prayer and visiting. Entrance is via the South Porch, Church Road, Faversham. For security reasons sometimes the church has to be closed early.

If you are making a special visit please contact the Vicarage on 01795 532592 or e mail the church secretary at - admin@stmaryofcharity.org.

Area Dean

As well as being Priest in Charge of the Parish Church, Tony Oehring is also Area Dean appointed by the Bishop to assist with communication and aid consultation at a local level. Tony's responsibilities are shared with a Lay Chairperson. They include chairing the Deanery Synod (a forum for local discussion of issues of national and local importance, decision making and information sharing) pastoral matters and responsibility for financing the local ministry.

A current activity for the Deanery Synod is to form a Deanery Mission Plan. Full details can be found on the Diocesan Website - www.canterbury.anglican.org.

Services

Services for this month
Monthly pattern of services and description of services

The Priest in Charge of St Mary of Charity, Rev'd Tony Oehring, also has responsibility for ministry at the adjoining parish of All Saints, Graveney.

Services are held at Graveney each Sunday at 10.00 a.m. with Morning Prayer at 8.45 a.m. on Mondays and Compline at 5.30 p.m. on Fridays.

Music

Faversham Parish Church is particularly lucky in that its music is of a consistently high standard. The choir perform cathedral repertoire each week and sing a full range of choral services while the excellent music group lead more family-orientated services.

Please go to our Music page for further information.

Youth

We take our work with children and young people very seriously at St Mary of Charity. We make sure it’s fun and that they always enjoy it!

Please go to our Youth page for further information.

History

The first documented evidence of a Church goes back to 1070, in a Charter of William the Conqueror, giving the Church to the Abbey of St. Augustine at Canterbury – just 4 years after William’s invasion.

Please go to our History page for further information.

Built to Inspire Project

Built to InSpire is a Heritage project that has been funded by the Local Heritage Initiative. The aims of which are to heighten the awareness amongst the local community, schools and visitors to the richness of treasures within the church and churchyard of St Mary of Charity and to gain an understanding of the origins, history and importance of the church within the local community, including customs and traditions.

Please go to our Built to Inspire Project page.

Restoration Appeal

Please help us with the next stage of restoration of the Parish church by making a donation. We wish to ensure the historic Parish church remains in good repair and is developed in ways appropriate to future generations who will wish to visit and worship at the church.

Please go to our Restoration Appeal page for further Information.

Plan of the Church

To see an annotated plan of the church, please go to Plan of the Church.

Photo Galleries

You can see pictures of the church, including many of its beautiful interior on our Photo Gallery - St Mary of Charity page, and of our stained glass windows on our Photo Gallery - Glass - Parish Church page.

Church Contacts

Please following the link to the relevant contacts Contact us

How To Find Us

St Mary of Charity Church is situated in the north east of the town. You can get to the church by either going down Church Street, off Court Street, or down Church Road, off East Street.

Please see Town Map in Quick Links above.