The Parish of Stanwix
We are two Anglican churches in the north of Carlisle.
Though we are two congregations, we are one church family.
Together we follow Jesus, knowing that we are works in progress.
We are open to God's Holy Spirit and uphold the faithful teaching of the Bible.
We long to see God's Kingdom grow in our communities and so, as well as our Sunday worship, we run various groups and activities in the week.
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We are part of the Two Rivers Mission Community, a group of four Church of England parishes, and two Methodist Churches, working together in mission to reach people in Carlisle with the love of God.
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Everyone is welcome to join us.
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St Michael's
There has been a succession of churches on this site for at least 1,000 years, but there is archaeological evidence of Christian worship dating back to the early years of the Roman occupation. The World Heritage site of Hadrian's Wall runs through the parish, though there are no visible traces of the Wall or the fort today. One reason for this is probably that most of the masonry was taken to construct other buildings - including the church!
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The present church was erected in 1841 to accommodate the growing population of the parish. It is a Grade II listed building in sandstone, with some interesting stained glass commemorating the Roman history of the area.
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The churchyard contains some interesting items of stonemasonry from previous buildings, and a number of memorials from the time when it was used for burials. One of the most significant is the memorial to the five daughters of Archibald Tait who died within five weeks of one another in 1856. Tait was Dean of Carlisle and went on to be Bishop of London and then Archbishop of Canterbury. Part of the churchyard is managed as a wildlife area.
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Adjacent to the church is St. Michael's Parish Centre, which accommodates the church office and a number of meeting rooms used every day of the week by the church and local community.
St Mark's
In response to the post-war expansion of Carlisle north of the river Eden, St. Mark's was built in 1952 as a mission church to serve the new housing estates.
It is a multi-purpose building equipped both for worship and for community and social activities.
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St Mark's hosts our local Messy Church, annual holiday club, and the weekly Chit Chat group among other regular church events and activities.
