About Us

St Mary The Virgin, Gisburn is a welcoming church that has a traditional style of worship. Details of the services and events throughout the year can be found on the Calendar pages. Please come and see us, we would love to meet you.

Want to know more about the church; arrange a Christening, a Wedding or enquire about faith related matters? Please contact our Rector, the Revd Grace Gaze. Her telephone number is 07840 236851, email address: [email protected] or you can use the 'Get in touch' button on this website.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to dress up to go to church? Not unless you want to! Come just as you are.

Can I bring children? Please do! We warmly welcome children to our services and would love to meet them.

I am in a wheelchair, is access easy and is there somewhere for me to sit? Yes. We would welcome you in your wheelchair and someone will help you to find a space to sit if you are uncertain where to go.

What happens at a service? When you arrive, someone will welcome you. The service book shows you when you should stand and sit, but don’t worry if you don’t get everything right. No one is watching and checking that you are doing it correctly – and God certainly doesn’t mind! The important thing is that you want to come and meet with God.

During the service there are readings from the Bible and often a talk or sermon to help us explore and think about the things we have heard and we say prayers – for our world, for our community and for those we know.

When it’s a communion service, we come up to the altar (the table near the front) in turn. We believe God wants to meet us there; He welcomes everyone to receive from him. So anyone who follows Jesus is welcome to receive ‘communion’ which currently is in the form of a wafer of bread. If you don’t feel comfortable with doing this at the moment, you can come forward for a blessing instead. After the service, we are sent out to serve God in our daily lives.

We are a church together, not alone. We are a group of imperfect people who need each other’s help and love as we try to follow Jesus and share his love in the world. Everyone is welcome to come to be renewed and nourished by God’s love here in his church.