History
The Parish of St Paul's, St Albans was formed in 1910 when a large new church was built to replace a mission founded in 1899 as St Albans expanded under the Victorians. Situated in the area of the city known as Fleetville, the parish has a population of about 10,000 with most housing being Victorian or later. There are a few very large homes, some detached, many semi-detached and terraced family homes, a good number of small terraced homes and, more recently, a good number of flats. There are also some council houses and flats.
Originally it was an artisan area with workers in local print works, a rubber factory, the Marconi factory and psychiatric hospitals. All of these have now closed and their sites re-developed with new housing.With a fast rail link to London in the parish, there has been a big increase in the number of commutors, many of whom are accountants, bankers, journalists and computor experts. The housing is now expensive partly due to the ambiance of the city and because the education provision here is good.
There are three primary schools, two secondary schools and a FE college campus in the parish. We also have a signifcant community of Bengalis and two mosques. This community is tight knit and originally came to work in the rubber factory. St Paul's is pleased to have good relationships with the mosques.
St Paul's is an evangelical charismatic church. When Tony became vicar he felt that God was saying that as a church we needed to grow, especially in intimacy with God, a deep love of and knowledge of His word and also ministry, both in the power of and with the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. The motto of the church is 'To listen to God, enjoy Him and do what He says'.
