Patrick Comerford
I spent part of today [11 February 2026] at a meeting of clergy in the Milton Keynes area at the Church of the Servant King at Dulverton Drive, in Furzton, in south-west Milton Keynes.
There were opportunities today to welcome some new colleagues and to say farewell and to say thanks too to a number of colleagues who are moving on: the Revd David McDougall is retiring from Saint Mary’s Church, Bletchley, while the Revd Fran Reid is moving from Wolverton next month following her appointment by the Bishop of Chichester as the next Rector of the Benefice of Brede with Udimore and Beckley and Peasmarsh in East Sussex.
The Church of the Servant King is an ecumenical church in Furzton. The church forms part of the Watling Valley Ecumenical Partnership, a Local Ecumenical Partnership (LEP) that belongs to the Church of England, the Baptist Union, the Methodist Church and the United Reformed Church.
The Watling Valley is a large area on the west side of Milton Keynes. This area is covered by one Anglican parish. The other churches in the Watling Valley Ecumenical Partnership are: All Saints’ Church, Loughton; Saint Mary’s Church, Shenley; Holy Cross Church, Two Mile Ash; and Saint Giles’ Church, Tattenhoe.
Servant King is one of two modern churches in the partnership, and opened in September 1992 as both a church and a community centre.
Furzton is in south-west Milton Keynes, in the civil parish of Shenley Brook End, just north of Bletchley, and roughly 3.2 km (2 miles) south of Central Milton Keynes.
The housing in South Furzton was built in the early to mid-1980s, with the Parkside and Favell Drive housing to the east coming first. Development then moved west along Blackmoor Gate. The shops were built after 1984 – before then, the nearest local shops were at Melrose Avenue, in Bletchley.
Before North Furzton was built, the land on the north side of the brook in the linear park was farmland, and the residents of South Furzton had only a short walk to reach open countryside. When plans were announced for North Furzton, particularly the extension of Dulverton Drive to form the link between the two sides, residents’ meetings were called to protest at an expected increase in traffic.
Most of the South Furzton housing was complete when started on the lake. North Furzton housing and shops were built between 1990 and 2004.
Because of its clay soils and relatively flat topography, the designers of Milton Keynes had to provide for flood control. A key element of this strategy is to restrain floodwater from reaching the River Great Ouse where it would create problems for downstream area, using balancing lakes and managed flood plains.
Loughton Brook rises in Whaddon, beyond Tattenhoe, and joins the Ouse at New Bradwell. It is usually a very minor tributary, little more than a metre wide at that point. It has quite a large catchment area, added to by the hard surfaces of the surrounding developments.
Furzton Lake was built in the 1980s, and with an area of 28 ha (70 acres), is the first major balancing lake Loughton Brook encounters. The flood plain of the brook forms a linear park about 200 metres wide that runs through the district west to east. The lake and its surroundings provide an important local leisure facility.
The Church of the Servant King in Furzton is an open and inclusive church where all are welcome, and is part of the Inclusive Church Network and the Heartedge Network. I was last there for a similar meeting last March (2025).
The congregation in Furzton started meeting in a community house in the area, led by a Church Army sister. As numbers grew, they moved first to the Meeting Place in South Furzton, and then to Coldharbour School.
The present church building has been in use since June 1992, and was opened officially in September 1992. The building, on Dulverton Drive, is shared with the Ridgeway Community Centre.
The church is used throughout the week for groups catering to all ages, including the Furzton Tots Preschool, Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Brownies, fitness groups, a 50+ Club every Tuesday afternoon, choir practices and a theological reading group. The church building is also home to the Watling Valley Partnership office.
Now, after many years of heavy use, the church and community centre are showing the expected signs of wear and tear and a £130,000 refurbishment project involves improving the facilities. The work is being carried out as the funding comes in, and the future plans include a community coffee shop.
The staff team include the Revd Mike Morris, Team Rector and Lead Minister at Saint Mary’s and Servant King; the Revd Kath Long, Team Vicar Lead Minister at All Saints and Saint Giles; and the Revd Adedayo Adebiyi, Associate Minister. Ian Murray arrives as a deacon next month (1 March 2026).
The Watling Valley Pertnership offer a wide range of worship from the traditional Book of Common Prayer to the more informal Café Style. The Sunday services at the Servant King Church are at 10.30 am, and include the Eucharist or Holy Communion on the second and fourth Sundays, and ‘All Ages Together’, an informal service for all ages, on the first Sunday.
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