St John the Baptist, Stone
‘Belong, Believe and Build with Christ as our Cornerstone’
We are a friendly, traditional Anglican Church serving the village of Stone and surrounding villages such as Bishopstone and Hartwell.
We welcome people of all ages and backgrounds.
Over recent years we have been joined by several people who have immediately felt at home, with several adults finding faith and being confirmed.
We are a small church, but very active with a variety of regular events in our church and in our community.
The foundation of growth has been prayer: within our Sunday services, over the week of ‘Thy Kingdom Come’ and bi-weekly prayer meetings.
Find out what is going on this week by clicking here and downloading our latest Newsletter.
Stone Church
Sunday Worship
Every Sunday 10:30am
Our main Sunday worship is accessible for all ages.
1st, 3rd, and 5th Sunday Family Worship
2nd and 4th Sunday Holy Communion and our popular children’s group Joyfull Juniors (term time)
Festival Services feature our Choir.
1st and 3rd Sunday 9am
Matins
A traditional said service from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer
4th Sunday 4pm
Lego Church
(Jubilee Pavilion, Stone Recreation Ground)
A fun service with times of reflection and creativity followed by pizza and cake.
Regular Activities
Café in the Park
Every Tuesday: 11am to 1pm
Jubilee Pavilion, Stone Recreation Ground
Homemade cakes, lite bites, soup and spuds.
Café in the Park
1st Saturday of the Month: 10am to 12noon
Jubilee Pavilion, Stone Recreation Ground
Breakfast Rolls, home baked cakes, fresh brewed coffee.
Our Café is a great place to join with old friends and to make new ones.
Little Wrigglers
Every Thursday (term time) 9am to 10:30am
For 0-5 years and their adults.
Jubilee Pavilion, Stone Recreation Ground
Communal play – Bible Story – Snacks – Singing
Socially Crafty
3rd Monday every Month: 10.30am to 12.30pm
Adult Craft (all abilities welcome)
In Church, SJB
Make friends – Drink Coffee – Eat Cake – Share your Talents
Choir
A fun and friendly choir.
We sing anthems and lead the hymn singing at festival services and occasional weddings.
If you would like to join, speak to our organist.
Supporting the Spiritual Life of Our Community
10am Good Friday Walk of Witness
Stone School to SJB
Thy Kingdom Come
10 Days of prayer and reflection from Ascension Day to Pentecost
Remembrance Day
10:45am A Service of Remembrance by the Remembrance Gates in Stone Memorial Recreation Ground
10:30am A servcie of Remembrance – Bishopstone War Memorial
Service of Loving Remembrance
Sunday Evening at 6pm for All Souls and All Saints (usually the last Sunday in October)
Loved ones remembered by name and the lighting of candles.
Zoom Prayer Meeting
Bi- weekly Thurdays at 8pm
details on the latest Newsletter
Stone School
Canon Phil Groves leads collective worship at the school once a week and our LLM organist Richard Smith leads musical worship.
The school worships in church at Harvest, Christmas, and Easter.
Our Project
Access to our church is limited. It is either by a difficult set of steps or a worn path with tree roots presenting a trip hazzrad.
We are delighted to announce that we will begin work in Autumn 2026 to repair a dangerous monument and upgrade the path from Bishopstone Road to the entrance of the church.
We are raising funds to complete the work by reordering the steps from church close.
Our Church
The church was built in 1135, on an artificial mound which was probably an ancient barrow at the intersection of two old British trackways; one leading to Aylesbury from Oxford and the other towards the Icknield Way. Its 12th century font is originally from the church of Hampstead Norreys (an historic village recorded in the Domesday Book), and we are proud to have been part of it’s preservation. Numerous examples of medieval graffiti can be found around the church including scratch dials used before clocks were readily available, to calculate the time to call parishioners in for services.
Our churchyard is a haven for wildlife and is managed to encourage this. We have the highest recorded varriety of butterfiles and moths of any church in the Thames Valley.
The interior of the church is looked after by a hardworking group of volunteers and we have a wonderful display of flower arrangements.
St Mary the Virgin, Hartwell
The church, set in the grounds of Hartwell House, is now just a shell and looked after by Churches Conservation Trust. The building cannot be used for services, but an annual outdoor Evensong is held on the first Sunday of September in the shadow of the church and very much appreciated by those who attend.
There is an open churchyard in Hartwell.