Our Church
The Church Of England
St Luke's Cranham with Moor Lane Church is part of the Church of England.
The Church of England is organised nationally into regions, each called a Diocese; we are in The Diocese of Chelmsford led by Bishop Guli, assisted by Bishop Lynne (the Bishop of Barking). The Church of England is itself part of the worldwide Anglican Church, which has more than 70 million members spread across 161 countries.
St Luke's and Moor Lane may not look like traditional Anglican Churches from the outside - but we are very much part of the local and national Church of England. In practice, that means we have certain local responsibilities - such as baptisms and weddings - and it also means that we have a financial responsibility towards the Diocese and other parishes.
We are a registered charity, number: 1128304
Why Two Churches?
One parish, same overall Vicar and we do many things together (eg our youth work), so why are there two churches here?
St Luke's Church
St Luke's is the Parish church, established in the 50's as Cranham began to grow from a tiny hamlet to an established large village. The parish now has around 13,000 residents - more than enough for any one church to try and serve effectively.
Moor Lane Church
In the 80's, a church building became available at the other side of the parish and the decision was made to 'plant' a congregation into it. Since then, Moor Lane Church has grown and thrived and serves its part of Cranham effectively as well as being part of the parish-wide ministry.