Our Vision for the Future

We are committed to enabling as many people as possible to worship at our church and to become part of
our parish community at St Margaret’s. Our services and worship put faith into practice through prayer and
scripture, music and sacrament. We seek to provide pastoral care for those living in the parish. Together we
aim to learn about the gospel and develop our knowledge and trust in Jesus.

The three priorities for our vision are:
• Sharing God’s love in Olton – which includes practically helping the community
• Evangelism – which means to spread the good news of the gospel
• Prayer – which includes listening to and petitioning God

Some of the ways we aim to fulfil our vision is by
• To build on the Outreach of our existing Pastoral and Ministry and Mission teams.
• To develop our culture of open door and welcome.
• To introduce the growing younger objectives as laid out in our recent proposal.
• To channel the energy of our congregation to reach outside the confines of our church building.
• To develop small house groups to offer prayer, support, learning and encouragement to Church members.
• To strengthen our links with St Margaret’s School and other schools in the Parish.
• To work alongside other churches who share the same values.
• To make our presence known on the internet and use it to publicise who we are and what we offer.
• To continue to celebrate our unity and diversity, acknowledging the needs of all, whether they be young, old or somewhere in between.
• To develop more varied Worship whilst not losing sight of our traditions


To build on the Outreach of our existing Pastoral and Ministry and Mission teams.
• To develop our culture of open door and welcome.
• To introduce the growing younger objectives as laid out in our recent proposal.
• To channel the energy of our congregation to reach outside the confines of our church building.
• To develop small house groups to offer prayer, support, learning and encouragement to Church members.
• To strengthen our links with St Margaret’s School and other schools in the Parish.
• To work alongside other churches who share the same values.
• To make our presence known on the internet and use it to publicise who we are and what we offer.
• To continue to celebrate our unity and diversity, acknowledging the needs of all, whether they be young, old or somewhere in between.
• To develop more varied Worship whilst not losing sight of our traditions

Our Church Life

Ministry & Mission

• Prayer Link
• Visiting the sick and housebound at home, in care homes and in hospital
• Baptism preparation and support
• Youth ministry
• Welcome and outreach
• Bereavement support
• Home communions

Youth Group

Within the last year we have established a Youth Group at St Margaret’s. This group provides important fellowship opportunities for our young members of the congregation and choir.  Recent events have included: movie nights; ice skating; bar-b-que events.

Bible Reading Fellowship

Members of the congregation are encouraged to take an annual subscription to the Bible Reading Fellowship’s Notes: ‘Guidelines’ or ‘New Daylight’. There are currently 20 subscribers from the congregation. The purchase and distribution of these booklets is organised by a member of the congregation.

Bookstall

The Bookstall is managed by a member of the congregation; it is stocked with paperback titles, on Christian themes, from Bible commentaries and books of prayers to biographies and children’s books. There is provision always to try to obtain any (religious) book as a specific request by any member of the congregation.
The Bookstall also sells greetings cards; it maintains a policy of stocking mainly cards containing a Christian message.

The Olton Messenger

The Olton Messenger is the parish magazine that has been in distribution since 1880. The monthly publication was a pivotal source of communication to the parish, keeping everyone informed on the build of St Margaret’s Church as well as making appeals for various funds like the Building fund and the Organ fund.

Choir

St Margaret`s Church has always benefited from a good musical tradition with currently a four part choir.

About Our Choir