Current State
St Mary’s Church, Harrow-on-the-Hill operates today as an Anglican parish church serving both its historic parish community and the wider borough. Its core role is Christian worship, prayer, pastoral care and community life. Sunday worship includes an 08:00am Eucharist, a 10:30am Choral Eucharist, Sunday School on the first and third Sundays, and Evening Prayers at 18:00pm, with Choral Evensong sung on the third Sunday of the month. The church is also open during the week for anyone who wants to come in for quiet prayer or reflection. Beyond worship, it provides activities such as a Thursday coffee morning, a toddlers’ group, heritage walks and talks, gardening and flower arranging, music, and educational visits for nearby schools. The parish church committee (PCC) stated charitable purposes include public worship, pastoral work, local community activities and educational activities for local schools.
Relationship with Harrow School
The relationship with Harrow School is particularly important to the church’s present identity. St Mary’s is historically connected to the School through John Lyon, its founder, who is buried inside the church, and the church describes itself as maintaining a close relationship with Harrow School. The relationship is still active rather than simply historical: Harrow boys worship at St Mary’s during the week, while school staff and their families form part of the wider congregation and choir. Harrow School also contributes to the cultural life of the church and parish. A recent St Mary’s parish profile describes the church as working closely with Harrow School not only through worship but also through pastoral engagement with pupils and staff.
Get Involved
There are therefore several ways for someone to become involved without necessarily becoming a regular Sunday worshipper immediately. People can attend a service, join the choir, help with gardening or flower arranging, take part in the coffee morning or heritage activities, bring children to Sunday School or the toddler group, or volunteer more generally. The church’s own information specifically invites new choir members and volunteers, and its charitable records currently identify around 30 volunteers alongside the PCC trustees. People can also support St Mary’s financially or through practical help with maintaining the historic building and its community activities. The most straightforward starting point is simply to attend the 10:30am Sunday Eucharist or contact the Parish Office; the church explicitly describes its worship and community as open to all.
The official website for St Mary’s Church, Harrow-on-the-Hill is:
St Mary’s Church, Harrow on the Hill
It contains information about services, events, the church’s history, volunteering, community activities and its relationship with Harrow School.