The Ark is committed to working in its local community, particularly with young people. At present ,the church runs a Wednesday night Kids club in term time at Hillside Hall, School Mead in Abbots Langley. This is provided completely free of charge.
The Ark has also hosted a number of free, children’s Fun Days on School Mead, to help families and kids enjoy themselves in a safe environment. Activities have included face painting, parachute games, giant football, tug o’ war and obstacle races.
Healing Spring and Pool cleaned up in Bedmond
A joint team of 14 volunteers from The Ark Community Church, Bedmond and St Lawrence Church of England, Abbots Langley waded in with their wellies and secateurs to clean up Bedmond Village School’s pond and nature area on Bank Holiday Monday.
The local churches came together as part of a project called ‘The Noise’ which aims to demonstrate the local church’s commitment to both faith and action in the community. Click here to read the full story.
HM Prison Maghaberry, Belfast, Northern Ireland
This was my second visit to a maximum-security prison for serious offenders, the first being to Olmos prison, Buenos Aires, Argentina where I had personally witnessed a significant revival amongst the prisoners.
I was privileged to attend an extraordinary chapel service at Olmos with around 800 inmates radically praising God and interceding with real passion for our nation of England back in 2001. This revival continues today, with lasting impact on prisoners, many of whom have not re-offended since release.
HMP Maghaberry was one of the prisons on the receiving end of those heartfelt prayers, as prisoners in Argentina prayed for fellow prisoners in our own nation to be free in Christ even behind bars!
click here to read the more about our 3 day mission to Maghaberry.
Soul in the City 2004
In the Summer of 2004, the Ark hosted a group of 30 teenagers in Bedmond and Abbots Langley from various parts of England under the ‘Soul in the City’ national youth initiative. This group teamed up with church members of different ages, and for a week in July took part in voluntary community projects supported by Abbots Langley Parish Council and Three Rivers District Council.
"soul in the city" participants
The three main projects were:
Clearing a nature area in the grounds, and removing thorn bushes from the playground of Bedmond Primary School for the children and governors.
Weeding and tidying the gardens around Kitters Green, Abbots Langley for the Parish Council.
Rubbish clearance in Tanners Wood for the District Council.
Bedmond pond — before...
Bedmond pond — after...
The clearing of the school’s nature area was so successful that a further clean-up day was organised by the church on January 1st, 2005. A team cleared the undergrowth around the natural spring and dredged the stagnant pond in the school grounds. The spring, which has a long and significant history in the village of Bedmond, began to flow again and the pond water cleared.
The cleaning crew is in town!
The garden crew
This is how we do it...its all in a broom
Since starting in 1995, The Ark has participated in more than ten carnivals and shows in Watford and Abbots Langley. Our participation in these public events has been to encourage kids and adults to come and see the work of the church and that it has a relevant message for people of today. There has been a different theme for each carnival promoting the church and the Alive and Kicking Kids club.
