History and Introduction

St.Andrew's Church, Leicester Forest East

A member of the Western Edge Mission Partnership

St.Andrew's is an ecumenical partnership based on a large modern building which also houses the church office for the whole parish.

Until the early twentieth century only a few farmers and graziers lived in this part of Leicester Forest, and they used to go down the hill to St.Bartholomew's church. After the First World War many new houses were built here. A Methodist chapel was opened in 1931, and in 1948 the Kirby Muxloe PCC opened a temporary wooden building in LFE both for worship and as a church hall. The parish still dreamed of a permanent church for Leicester Forest East, and after many years of planning and fundraising this dream became a reality in 1966, with the opening of a large modern building seating 200. Throughout this time the congregation in LFE had been working increasingly closely with the local Methodist congregation, and in 1977 a Local Ecumenical Project was formed in LFE. Shortly afterwards the Methodist chapel was sold, and the money used to build a church hall next to St.Andrew's church, with a common vestibule and office. The 'project' is now a permanent Partnership, and we aim to be a united Christian community.

There is now a single service each Sunday at 10.30, attended by both Anglicans and Methodists. Sometimes this is Morning Prayer, and sometimes it is a Methodist service led by a Local Preacher. Once or twice a month it is Holy Communion, with wine from a chalice if it is an Anglican service, or individual glasses if it is a Methodist service - but all are welcome to take part in both. The first Sunday of each month is 'People Praise', which aims to be more suitable for people who are not used to going to church. Songs and computer presentations are often projected onto a new screen. The congregation on Sunday mornings is normally around 40.

The parish is served by the Rector, Revd Tom Ringland, and the Curate, Revd Jane Wood. Although the Curate's house is in LFE, both she and the Rector serve the whole parish, including St.Mary's Anglican congregation in Braunstone West. In the same way, the Methodist Minister also has responsibilities for the Methodist congregations in Glenfield and New Parks. Our new Methodist Minister, Revd Andrew Pantland, arrives in September. Several lay ministers from Parish and Circuit assist with services, including three who are members of St.Andrew's congregation; Lay Preacher Alan Kennedy and Readers David Lucas and Denise Wright.

The church hall is widely used by the community, with something going on every evening. As there is no cemetery in LFE, we have recently created a 'Garden of Rest' in the grounds of the church, to provide the community with a place where ashes may be buried and loved ones remembered. We also run a monthly Bereavement Support Group.

We have run several Alpha courses and hope to do more of this in future. We have just begun a fortnightly storytelling service for accompanied young children, using a method called 'Godly Play'. The parish 'Open the Book' team take Bible stories into the local school assembly each month.