St Lawrence Church, Seal Chart
St Lawrence Parish Church serves all who come to us, and the St Lawrence ward of Seal Parish Council within the District of Sevenoaks in Kent, UK.
Church Road, Stone Street, Sevenoaks TN15 0LN
St Lawrence Dragon Boat Update
07/09/26
Dear donors,
Just a quick update to say that the Dragonboat Race took place in Tonbridge yesterday, and the St. Lawrence Shipmates did themselves proud once again. The final overall results have yet to be declared, but I can comfortably declare that we were in the top 10 of the 30 teams that raced, and that was with a good number of newbies in the boat....
I must thank all those who took part in the boat, all those that provided much needed refreshment on land and all the additional friends and families that came along to show their support on person on what turned out to be perfect conditions for racing.
All that said, the most important thanks are reserved for yourselves, those people who put your finances at our disposal in fundraising for our charities, and once all the different income streams are added together I am certain that we will surpass our stated £4000 target...We are collectively very, VERY grateful and once the grand total is known I will share the end result with you all.
Thanks again...
Link to Crowdfunder Page:
St Lawrence Gift Day Appeal 2026
Dear Church Family,
Hopefully you will have now heard about the changes that we are planning to make St Lawrence Church a more welcoming, useful space for our congregation. Our objective is to create a space at the back of church which Serena can more easily use for children’s services, increase the space we have for the social aspects of church attendance and to improve accessibility for wheelchair users as the raised platform in this area creates a barrier to movement but also a trip hazard for all parishioners.
Our plan is to take out the raised platform and ensure the new floor is level with the tile floor. We will be removing three pews from the back of church, however one of them is currently used for storage and one faces backwards. We also need to improve the storage space we have, so we will be having some storage cupboards made to replace the harmonium by the door and also in the north transept where we will remove three pews, again two of which are currently used for storage. We will also be able to accommodate stacking chairs in this area to place at the back when the church is full.
In total six pews will be removed, however three of them are currently being used for storage and one faces backwards so we do not foresee much change to the everyday capacity of the church. The pews and the harmonium will be available for sale so please contact me if you have any interest. We hope the works will be completed in the Autumn.
The project was announced at this years APCM and at the Dedication service on the 14th. And to coincide with this exciting news we are launching this year’s Annual Gift Day Appeal which focuses on the life and work of St Lawrence.
We in the St Lawrence community have built a neighbourly church which nurtures a true spirit of inclusivity that welcome’s everyone – whether they attend regularly or not. We want this church to continue to be here for everyone wherever they are in their journey of faith with Jesus Christ.
If you would like to support the work of St Lawrence through a Gift Day donation please make a bank transfer with the reference Gift Day to the church account:
Account Name: St. Lawrence (Seal) PCC
Sort Code: 405240 (CAF Bank)
A/C: 00017413
Thank you for your support
Hilary Denby-Jones
Church Warden
St Lawrence Annual Report & Accounts 2025
Please click here for the annual report and accounts for St Lawrence church.
REGULAR GIVING
Our church is dependent on donations from parishioners and supporters and we are hugely grateful for every contribution we receive. We are responsible for funding everything at St Lawrence Church, the fabric and buildings and ministry here.
Please click here for a copy of our 2026 Annual appeal letter.
We use Standing Orders as a preferred mechanism for enabling regular giving and encourage all regular donors to use this approach if possible. We see a number of benefits on both sides:
For the donor, the obvious advantage is that one no longer needs to remember to bring cash with them to each service, nor does one need to fill in a Gift Aid envelope (if appropriate) during each service.
For the church, the advantage lies in a streamlined process of collections (and Gift Aid reclaims), but also easier and more accurate income forecasting and budgeting, since we have far greater visibility into what our income for the year will be. This helps us plan additional fundraising campaigns well ahead of time to ensure we are able to meet our financial commitments, both in terms of church upkeep and also charitable outgoings.
If you would like to consider setting up a Standing Order, the process would work as follows:
Contact the Church treasurer, Andy Rowell andy.rowell@me.com or the Vicar Rev Serena Willoughby, to provide you with the Church’s bank account number and sort code.
You decide what amount you would like to donate, and what the frequency would be. We have donors who contribute monthly, quarterly, semi-annually and annually, so it’s really a matter of what’s most convenient for you.
Once you have made the decision, you can contact your bank to set up the standing order (or do so yourselves via online banking). If you could include your names as a reference on the payments, that would help us be able to thank you for your generosity.
Regarding Gift Aid, if you are a tax payer and your donations are thus eligible for Gift Aid top-up payments, we’d ask if you could kindly complete a declaration which will allow us to claim an additional 25% over and above your donation. You can download the declaration form here and hand it to one of the Wardens next time you’re in church.
