ABOUT OUR GROUP OF PARISHES - last edited 31st July 2026
The Heckington and Helpringham Group of Parishes is a Church of England benefice of eight churches (seven parishes) on the northern edge of the Linconshire Fens, 6 miles east of Sleaford just off the A17. We are part of the Lafford Deanery within the southern part of the Diocese of Lincoln. Our churches are - St Andrew's Asgarby, St Andrew with St Nicholas & The Blessed Virgin Mary Burton Pedwardine, St John the Baptist Great Hale, St Andrew's Heckington, St Oswald's Howell, St Andrew's Helpringham, St Andrew's Scredington, and St Michael's Swaton. Their towers or spires are shown in order on the skyline above along with the eight sailed Heckington windmill and Lancaster bomber which occasionally flies over head.
Two of our churches - St Andrew's Heckington and St Michael's Swaton, are listed in Simon Jenkins book 'England's Thousand Best Churches', though everyone of our churches is a real gem that deserves to be visited. Although mostly built in the 14th Century they are still very much alive in the 21st and offer a warm welcome to anyone looking for a church to call their spiritual home. Heckington Church has just had a new internal lighting system fitted which shows off that amazing building in a whole new light. The 14th century carvings in the chancel including the famous Easter Sepulchre now look incredible. Do come and have a look. If you want a personal guided tour or perhaps want to bring a group do contact our Church guide at Heckington (Mike Rose 01529 461293).
We have now entered into a period of vacancy, following the retirement of Rev'd Chris Harrington. Please contact the Parish Office in the first instance where your enquiry can be dealt with and if needs be signposted from there.
We have a great team of retired clergy and authorised lay people, church wardens and other volunteers who help to lead our services, run groups, lead projects and serve the community in a variety of ways. We are blessed with a number of good musicians who aid our worship. We also have home groups, midweek services, and Bible study groups. Prayer is essential in keeping us connected with our Lord Jesus and provides a foundation for all we do in our group of parishes. There is a Silent vigil for Ukraine every Wednesday at 7pm at Great Hale Church. There are also home prayer/study/fellowship groups, and a monthly 'Julian Group' for contemplative prayer inspired by Mother Julian of Norwich.
Three of the churches - Burton, Scredington & Swaton play host to a mobile Christian community called 'Living Stones' which travels around the three churches for worship, social events and mutual support and is led by retired priest Canon Beverley Stark and her husband David. Living Stones services are more informal in nature and are on every Sunday at 9.30am. See Pew News page for details of services.
As well as supporting local food banks, we support a number of mission charities in the UK and abroad including Church Army, Barnabas Fund (supporting the persecuted church worldwide), the Children's Society, Tear Fund and Christian Aid. We also run several local community initiatives to help the elderly, lonely and bereaved such as 'Community Spirt' which organises pastoral visits to those at home. Also community support groups like 'Lets Get Cooking' 'Lets get Creating' & 'Lets get Poetic' helping local people to prepare and cook good value & nutritious meals, and discover their inner creativity at Heckington Church. There are also a number of craft, art, and friendship groups run by members of our church family. See the Pew News page for details.
We enjoy good links with the two local Primary Schools at Heckington & Helpringham who come to our churches for a number of special assemblies throughout the year. St Andrew's Primary School in Heckington is a Church school and the church appoints Foundation Governors to the Governing Body. The headteacher is Mrs Judith Bentley who was appointed in January 2018. Each year we give a Bible to every child moving up to secondary education from both schools.
We also value our links with Heckington Methodist Chapel and the congregation at the Wesleyan Chapel in Heckington and work together on a number of initiatives throughout the year including Advent and Lent courses, Remembrance Day and delivering Christmas and Easter Cards from 'Churches Together in Heckington' to all the homes in Heckington.
If you are looking for somewhere to worship and become part of a community of people who love the Lord Jesus Christ then please do come and visit one of our churches. We're not everyone's cup of tea, but we might be yours. The kettle's on.