However the Church is not so much the building but the people who worship in it week-by-week. Our Church Electoral Roll numbers c. 140 of whom roughly half are likely to be in Church on any given Sunday. The Parish Church is the only place of Christian worship within the village; almost all church members live in Bentley.

The Rector since 1995 has been the Revd James Campbell; he is also the Vicar of Binsted where he and his family live. St. Mary's Church has two Churchwardens and a Parochial Church Council (PCC) which has 17 members. There is a variety of regular Sunday worship from traditional services from the Prayer Book , Communion Services, All-age Services to Informal Services. The Church has an active childrens work ('Children's Church') which meets twice a month during the main morning service. There is also a choir present at most services, made up to a dozen or more adults, teenagers and children. A team of bell-ringers ring the six bells for the main services.

The midweek life of the church is important. Various groups meet for study, prayer and fellowship on Tuesday mornings and Wednesday evenings. There is also a teenage study group and a teenage art, crafts and drama club known as 'Kick Start'. Alpha courses have been run every year since 1996 both for those enquiring about the Christian Faith and for those wanting a refresher course on the Christian essentials.

Many Church members are involved in different aspects of community life and seek to live out their faith along side those who live in the parish. The Church was originally instrumental in setting up the Care Group and the Parish Magazine is run by the Church.

The Church building remains open during daylight hours. Just as pilgrims of earlier centuries scratched small crosses on some of the pillars in the Church en route from Winchester to Canterbury along the Pilgrim's Way, so today visitors are very welcome. Anyone living in the parish can be married in the Church (unless they have been married before) or be buried in the Churchyard.

James Campbell writes "at St. Mary's Church we seek very much to be part of the community and to make people welcome at every opportunity; to provide a variety of opportunities for people to explore the Christian faith, to worship God within an Anglican context and to grow in faith; and to demonstrate that the Christian Faith can be relevant and bring purpose and hope into the life of every individual."

Special thanks to James Campbell for this contribution.