About Us
The church of St John the Baptist is of the English Decorated style which dates between 1275 and 1380. The earliest parts of the church are the nave and south aisle which date from this period. The clerestory windows were added in the 15th century as well as the tower. The church consists of a west tower, nave, north & south aisles and chancel. In 1846-47 the church underwent restoration by a H. I. Stevens of Derby, the chancel was rebuilt, the north aisle added (in Decorated style) and a short recessed spire removed. There is a piscina in the south aisle and in the chancel a monument to a Stephen Everard (died 1615) who is represented with his wife and seven children in the attitude of prayer.
St John The Baptist Church is part of the Sence Valley Mission Partnership with Coalville and Hugglescote parishes, coming together to support each other as we seek to serve our communities. We hold occasional combined events which are open to anyone from this part of North West Leicestershire. During the year we also have study sessions on various topics, an annual Quiet Day, and join with Churches Together for Lent groups, the children's holiday club and the week of prayer for Christian Unity.
St John The Baptist Church in the life of Heather
Worship - through our regular weekly services of differing styles, we come together to worship God, to learm more about him, to share together, to pray for our community, the needs of people and the wider world, and to encourage each other as God's family.
Special Services - we hold special services to celebrate Christmas, Easter and other festivals. We welcome staff and pupils from Heather Primary School to our church at Harvest and Christmas.
Weddings, Baptisms and Funerals - it is a privilage to be alongside families at these special times. We hold christenings during the All Age service. Weddings are planned with couples during the year, and we are also here to support bereaved families through funerals, both in church and at our crematorium.
Prayer in the week - on Wednesday evenings from 7.30 - 8.15 a small group meet to pray in the church. This quiet time enables us to bring people and events of the past week to God in thanksgiving, to pray for those in need and to ask his blessing on our community.
Music Group - this group practice on Tuesday evenings in the church from 7.00 - 9.00 and perform musicals during the year both at St John's and other local churches. For more information contact Shirley on 01530 260 688
Open Garden - in June Jenny's garden in Swepstone Road is open and you can join us for tea and cakes, as well as enjoying the garden and purchasing some plants of your own.
Flower Festival - our group of flower arrangers regularly decorate the church on a theme for the flower festival. Recently these have been as diverse as the Olympics, poetry from World War 1, weddings and 'my farourite hymn'. If you'd like to join them contact Jenny on 01530 261 398
Community Events - we have good relationships with both the public houses in Heather and recently joined in with the Dickensian Christmas Fayre at The Crown and a week of events at The Queens Head. The church also has its own scarecrow for the annual Heather Scarecrow Festival.
During the year - we hold a number of special events like the strawberry tea, Christingle service and have plans for a beetle drive with a fish & chip supper, and the teddy bear parachute jump as soon as the tower is made safe.
We hope this gives you some idea of St John the Baptist church and our church community's involvment in the village. You are welcome to join any of our services, groups or events.