All Hallows Church, Ipswich

All Hallows is an Anglican Church within the Church of England located to the south east of Ipswich town centre in the St. Edmundsbury & Ipswich diocese and we are part of the Ipswich Deanery group of churches.

All Hallows church is a unique red-brick building designed by the architect Munro Cautley. People have said that it looks very much like a Power Station and in fact one of our previous priests would retort “it is a power station, full of the power of the Holy Spirit”.   The church's foundation stone was laid on 8 May 1938 and the consecration of the church by the Bishop was held on Friday 26 May 1939 along with the dedication of the font and cover which was gifted by members of the Mother's Union across the diocese in memory of Lady Alastair Graham. Lord Alastair Graham was reportedly mainly responsibe for raising funds for the building project.   The church was built in the new council housing estate to replace what is now the church hall, as the centre of Anglican worship for the parish and it has been granted Grade II listed status. Of special interest is the inlaid walnut marquetry in the chancel, choir stalls and twin ambo (perhaps better known as the reading desk and pulpit) which are in art deco style. We also have a bronze maquette depicting St Paul at the moment of his conversion which was made by Bruce Denny who worshipped with us as a child. People often speak of feeling the presence of God in this beautiful, yet simple, building.   But of course a church isn't just bricks and mortar, it is a place where people can meet, celebrate or find peace in the presence of our Lord God.   As well as our own Sunday services, a black led church, True Vine, uses the hall for worship every Sunday. The Egyptian Coptic Church of East Anglia also worships in the church building on the first Saturday of each month and our local schools use the church for leaving or seasonal services. As a result there is, as you can see, excellent potential to witness to our shared faith.   The Parochial Church Council is always open to ideas about how to further the kingdom of God within and beyond our parish boundary.  A Mission Plan has been formulated  and we would very much like to follow the plan in raising both the profile and the experience of the church to a wider number of people.  To this end we will continue to develop our work with both Morland Church of England Primary School and Pipers Vale as well as the local uniform organisations and retirement establishments.   We are actively engaged in working with Rhiannon King, the Archdeacon of Ipswich, and other churches in the town on the Inspiring Ipswich project.