Who we are

We are a Christian Church, a part of the Church of England within the large Anglican Diocese of Leeds and that we seek to enjoy living our lives with God and to share the joy of knowing Him in all His fullness with as many people as we can.

We are a church on a journey with a desire to see the Church of Jesus Christ grow in the Upper Dale through experiencing the love and presence of God in our daily lives.

There are four church buildings: St Oswald’s in Askrigg, St Matthew’s in Stalling Busk, St Mary and St John in Hardraw and St Margaret’s in the market town of Hawes.

Serving such a wide area spiritually requires a range of different expressions of worship and our service structure has undergone several changes in recent years as we have grown and the needs on the ground have developed.

Our aim has been to provide a range of ‘Opportunities of Encounter’ and currently this incorporates the traditional and the more contemporary, the formal and the informal, Eucharistic and non-Eucharistic but with the word of God as revealed in the Scriptures, firmly at the centre of who we are and how we live our lives amongst our communities.

‘The Gathering’ is our monthly Benefice all age Communion service held in Askrigg whilst ‘Jubilate’ is our non Eucharistic all age service held in Hawes. Other services include Common Worship Holy Communion, BCP Communion, Café style, Morning Prayer, Afternoon prayer, Evening Prayer by telephone and Forest Church. There are monthly meetings for our younger members in ‘Explorers’ and ‘Pathfinders’, weekly prayer meetings, Bible teaching podcasts, weekly Bible Study Home Groups and many other social and outreach events.

This is all made possible by a wonderful group of Spirit filled disciples who are part of the ‘Shared Leadership Team’. They enable worship to take place in all of the buildings at a regular time and on a regular basis.