The Family Café runs most Friday evenings, providing a hot meal for those who need it and a space for families and children to come together. The Café runs on the first, second and third Fridays of the month and is closed on the fourth and fifth. Keep an eye on Facebook for up-to-date information and notice of closure.

Doors open from 4pm with activities for children, and food is served from 5pm. All are welcome, with priority given to those attending with young children.

We have a professional catering chef supervising the kitchen, and are looking for volunteers to help prepare, serve and clear on a Friday afternoon, as well as to collect food from local supermarkets during the week. Please contact us if you are able to help.

Thank you to those who have shown support for this project, including West Suffolk Council (through the Community Chest and UK Shared Prosperity Fund), Haverhill Town Council, International Flavours and Fragances, Hughes and many individuals. If you are able to support the work of the Family Café with a donation, your support would be appreciated.

We were pleased to work with Haverhill Town Council and other community partners to bring the Knife Angel to Haverhill during the month of September in 2025. Although the Knife Angel's visit is now past, this page is left up as a reminder of the Knife Angel's presence in our community, an encouragement to pray for peace on our streets, and a legacy of thinking critically about the use of knives and violence, especially among young people.

The Knife Angel is the national monument against knife crime and violence amongst young people, a sculpture created by the British Ironworks Centre from 100,000 blades surrendered in amnesty, which has been touring the country for the last two years. This will be its first visit to Suffolk, and an opportunity for the community to come together to reflect on the effects of violence, and to show that together we can help and encourage one another to be better.

Here are some of the ways you can join in over the month:

• See the art exhibition at St Mary's from prisoners at HMP Highpoint, including some poignant responses to violent crime from those who have been directly involved or affected.
• Use the prayer station at St Mary's to reflect on your experience of the Knife Angel and to offer to God any particular people or places on your heart.
• Write in the book of remembrance at St Mary's if you know someone who has been lost to acts of violence, or in response to events that affect the whole community.
• Speak to one of the many local community groups offering advice and support, including Open Mind who are on Market Square every Saturday during September.
• Follow the monthly bible study from St Mary's, looking at responses to violence, available online.
• Fill in an anti-violence pledge on a wooden heart and leave it at the railings surrounding the Knife Angel.
• Take part in the national photograph competition by posting on social media with hashtag #KnifeAngelPhotoCompetition.
• Collect a colouring sheet and return your design to Haverhill Arts Centre.

There are various services and events happening throughout the month including:

• Saturday 31st August: Knife Angel arrives in Market Square from Luton.
• Wednesday 4th September at 6pm: Civic Opening Ceremony, in Market Square.
• Monday 16th September at 4pm: performance of original rap music from Suffolk artist the Revd Kiran Lotay, in St Mary's Church (book free tickets online).
• Saturday 21st September at 2pm: our Messy Church service for primary school aged children looks at forgiveness, in St Mary's Church.
• Wednesday 25th September at 7.30pm vigil service with music from St Mary's choir, in Market Square.
• Friday 27th September: Civic Closing Ceremony, in Market Square.
• Sunday 29th September at 11am: in-person bible study on responding to violence, in St Mary's Church.
• Monday 30th September: Knife Angel leaves Market Square for Sandwell.

Check with Haverhill Town Council for more events and opportunities too.

St Mary's will be open regularly at the following times to make use of the opportunities inside the building, and at other times by request or for particular services, events and workshops:

• Sundays 10-12
• Wednesdays 10-12
• Fridays 10-4
• Saturdays 10-2

We would welcome school groups who would like to attend the church, and we can offer a workshop using the artwork and resources to respond to the Knife Angel and issues of violence, anger and hatred. Please contact us to arrange your visit.

This is a unique opportunity to come together as a community in response to rising concerns about youth violence and knife crime, and St Mary's is pleased to be playing a central role in events this September. We have already sadly seen the effects of knife crime first hand in Haverhill, and so our hope and prayer is to encourage everyone - and young people in particular - to recognise the damage that acts of violence can cause, and to be moved to respond to one another in peace.

The Knife Angel prayer:

Loving God,
you call us to turn
from violence to peace
and from anger to love:
work in the hearts
of all those affected
by knife crime and violence,
so that we may all know
the power of your healing
and reconciliation;
through Jesus Christ
our Saviour.
Amen.

Both of our churches at Haverhill and Withersfield hold a BRONZE award from the Eco Church project at A Rocha UK, which helps us to understand our responsibility to care for God's creation and the ways in which can do that better as a church community.

This includes a range of activities, including reducing our environmental impact as churches, using the resources we have available to promote the local ecology, and encourage people to take responsibility in their own lives for their stewardship of God's gifts.

So, for example, we have:

• Appointed an interim eco-church officer to help us think through the implications of the eco-church survey and share the results more widely.
• Established a wildflower area at Withersfield, which will allow a greater diversity of flowers and plants to grow, which will encourage other insect and bird life and enrich the soil.
• Stopped using floral foam in our flower arrangements at Haverhill, and trying to use locally grown or sourced flowers where possible.
• Been working with local organisations to promote initiatives around energy saving, caring for wildlife, and other environmental initiatives.
• Continued to pray for our link diocese of Kagera in Tanzania, and particularly for their environmental sustainability.

Your interim eco-church officer for summer 2025 is Charlotte Kalinsky, who is helping us to think about our care for God's creation in the benefice.

The rosary is a way of reflecting on the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, from the perspective of Mary his mother. It is a repetitive, meditative form of prayer. You are welcome to bring your own rosary or borrow/take one from church. We will look at different sets of mysteries each month until we have covered them all.

An exciting NEW opportunity starting each September to join the Future Youth scheme offering a year's experience of Youth Ministry in the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich.

Who is the Future Youth Scheme for?

The scheme is for anyone aged 18-30 interested in working with children, young people and families in the church and community. You would need to show an existing strong Christian faith, an awareness of God's call on your life within the Anglican Church, and a desire to learn more about mission and ministry with young people through experience, study and reflective practice.

Where will I be based?

The scheme is based primarily in Haverhill, Suffolk in the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, but with opportunities to travel to other parts of the diocese to learn more about different ways of working with young people. Accommodation is provided in Haverhill.

Haverhill is a market town which experienced significant population growth in the post-war period, and is again growing with new developments. It has good public transport links to Cambridge.

What will I be doing?

Ministry and Mission:
There are lots of opportunities for joining in with our established team of ministers working with young people at St Mary's Church and as part of the active network of Churches Together. We have strong links with the seven primary schools and two secondary schools in the town and part of the role will involve developing our ministry in these places.

Study:
As part of the scheme, regular study and accreditation is provided through the nationally-run Aurora Certificate in Youth Ministry.

Reflective Practice:
Regular supervision is provided from a qualified and experienced youth ministry practitioner to help participants reflect on their experience. Supervision is also provided by the parish in helping to reflect on your spiritual journey, relationships within the ministry team and personal development.

What do I need to provide?

All costs of the scheme are provided for, including accommodation, training, transport and a grant for daily living paid monthly. Travel around Haverhill is possible on foot or bicycle and transport to other sites will be provided. The application process will require references, a confidential declaration of suitability for work and a satisfactory DBS check.

How do I apply?

Contact us to find out more, set up an initial informal discussion and request an application form.

The scheme runs each September through to July. You are welcome to apply at any point in the year to begin the following September.

Are there other opportunities like this?

Future Youth is a national scheme being offered by the Church of England, being delivered for the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich here in Haverhill. There are other places all across the country offering the Future Youth Scheme for experience in ministry with young people, or the Ministry Experience Scheme for a broader experience of church and parish life. For more information on the national scheme, other placements elsewhere in the country and testimony from previous participants, take a look at the national website.

Each month, we release a series of videos looking at a particular book, passage or theme from the bible. You are encouraged to work through these in your own time, or in a small group, and make your own notes based on your learning. At the end of the month, we gather to talk about the passage and what we have learned from our studies.