The altar was moved from the east wall to the chancel arch to allow the priest to face the people; the choir
stalls and chancel screen were removed and the semicircular pavement and altar rail were installed. The
concept of a return to a Georgian style combined with design concepts of the 1960's produced the interior
we see today. Perhaps the two most radical features of this re-ordering were the re-siting of the Font to the
south-east of the Nave and the introduction at the east end of a 4.5m high cross bearing a fibre-glass figure
of the Risen Christ. When the church of St Mary the Virgin was closed the two parishes were combined and
St Giles church was re-dedicated as the church of St Mary & St Giles, on Palm Sunday the 7th April 1968.

Not simply history!

This Parish Church is about more than what has gone before. We are a living community of faith and the
central point of our common life is the Parish Mass at 9:30am every Sunday. Here the people of God,
of every age and race, gather around the altar to celebrate Christ's great sacrifice on the Cross and his
glorious Resurrection and Ascension. It is at the altar that we receive the fruits of his redemption in the
Blessed Sacrament of his Body and Blood. In the strength of this food we are sent out to be Christ's Body
in the world today. The symbol of the Risen Christ is before us reminding us that through His Cross has
come Everlasting Life for all who will accept him.

Christian Worship takes place in this building day by day. Here people of all ages are Baptised and
Confirmed  as members of Christ's Body, here men and women come to be joined together in Christian
Marriage, here the sinful come to receive God's forgiveness in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, here the
sick are Anointed, and here the dead are prayed for and commended to the mercy of Almighty God in the
Funeral Rites of the Church.

As the People of God in this place we seek to live out our Christian Life to the full. We meet for fellowship
and enjoyment in various groups and activities believing that our faith in Christ inspires all we do and say.
We believe that we share in Christ's continuing mission of redemption so that people may come to know his
love and forgiveness~ for themselves and seek to worship Him in the fellowship of His Church.

Take a look around you.

This is a place of worship and prayer. The building is not the Church it is the "house of the Church" where
we gather together for worship. The building's primary function is to house the Altar so that Christ's people
can celebrate, with a validly ordained priest, the Eucharist or Mass. So the altar, which came from the church
of St Mary the Virgin, is given the prime position.

Presently, the Font stands to the south east of the altar.  Usually, the font would be by the main entrance
indicating that it is through the Sacrament of Baptism that we enter the Church/Christ's Body. The font was
moved here during the 1960's re-ordering to emphasise the link between the Sacraments of Baptism and
the Eucharist, for only the baptised may receive the Body and Blood of Christ.






(continued...)