Every Sunday · 9:15 am
Sunday Service
Communion or Morning Praise with hymns, prayer, a family-friendly welcome and refreshments.
St Mary’s ChurchParish life
What’s On
Regular worship, gatherings, community activities and current parish notices in one place.
Coming together
Services and gatherings
Every Wednesday · 9:00 am
Morning Prayer
A simple thirty-minute service of the Word and prayer.
St Gregory Chapel, St Mary’sEvery Friday · 10:00 am–12 noon
Friday Working Team
Practical volunteering to help clean and maintain the church. Come for an hour or two if you can.
St Mary’s ChurchSecond Friday each month · 10:00–11:30 am
Parish Coffee Morning
A friendly parish coffee morning with a drink, food and a listening ear. Current public listing states £2.50.
Scarth Memorial Hall, 5 South Green, Staindrop DL2 3LDFirst Friday each month · 2:30 pm
Collective Worship
Whole-school worship for Staindrop CE Primary School; parents and parishioners welcome, with refreshments afterwards.
St Mary’s ChurchSecond Thursday each month · 6:30–8:00 pm
Youth Saints in Gainford
Monthly youth group for 7–11 year olds, advertised within the wider parish/benefice programme.
St Mary’s GainfordLatest from St Mary’s
Parish news and notices
Regular worship at St Mary’s
Sunday worship is at 9:15am and Wednesday Morning Prayer at 9:00am.
Read full notice
Our current public service pattern is Sunday worship at 9:15am, normally Communion or Morning Praise, and a simple Morning Prayer service on Wednesdays at 9:00am. Please check What’s On for special services and changes.
St Mary’s is open daily
Current visitor information lists opening as 9am–5pm in summer and 9am–4pm in winter.
Read full notice
Visitors are welcome for prayer, stillness and heritage. Services, weddings, funerals and maintenance can occasionally affect access, so check before a special journey.
Eight bells: a century of the 1925 ring
St Mary’s marked the centenary of the recasting and augmentation of its bells from six to eight.
Read full notice
Bell ringing at Staindrop is documented back to 1552. In 1925 the older bells were recast by Taylors of Loughborough, augmented to eight and hung in a new iron frame. The parish celebrated their centenary in 2025 and continues to encourage new ringers.
Staindrop CE Primary becomes a Growing Faith learning hub
The local Church of England primary school was selected as a Growing Faith Foundation Learning Hub for 2026.
Read full notice
The Diocese of Durham announced that Staindrop CE Primary School would become one of a new national group of Growing Faith Foundation Learning Hubs, strengthening the relationship between church, school and households.
A regular rhythm through the week and month
The listings above are managed by the parish. The current public programme also includes Sunday worship at 9:15am, Wednesday Morning Prayer at 9am, the Friday working team at 10am, a second-Friday coffee morning at Scarth Memorial Hall, and first-Friday Collective Worship with Staindrop CE Primary School.
For last-minute changes, festival services and benefice events, check parish notices and A Church Near You.