**Coronavirus Church Response**
Church continues to be alive and active, but our buildings must close in London in response to Covid-19. All public worships are suspended. Colliwobbles is cancelled under further notice.
Stay at Home, Protect the NHS and save lives. Read the latest message from Archbishops and Diocesan Bishops of the Church of England to all clergy in the Church of England..
Explore our online services during the lockdown period. Please download the latest bulletin to keep up to date with what is going on at Christ Church. Please visit Church Diary and Rotas to find out who is leading the services.
For online service on the Feast of Pentecost, please follow this link.https://www.christchurchsw19.org.uk/sunday-service-feast-pentecost A homily for Pentecost Sunday 2020 by the Rt Revd Dr Richard Cheetham, Bishop of Kingston A Pentecost message from the Bishop of Southwark A ‘thank you’ from the Archdeacons of the...
On Sunday, the 30th May, as we celebrate the feast of pentecost we can all share together the Agape even whilst we are separated and in our different homes. Download the Service Sheet [ PDF ]. Section 1: Introduction, Reading and Talk – Revd Alison Judge...
We shall be having another Messy Church online-gathering on Saturday 13 June and our theme will be the story of God’s call to Jonah (Jonah 1). So if you would like to join in here are some creative things that you could make or do....
Are you a patient person? I hope that I am when it comes to people but I know that when it comes to life in general I am not very patient. I like to know what is going to happen – and what I need...
Prayers for the week, by Liz Holder From Christian Aid: A prayer for times of isolation ‘For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come… will be able to separate us from the love...
Thy Kingdom Come – Christian week of prayer from Ascension to eve of Pentecost – By Rev’d Belemo Alagoa. Download the service sheet [ PDF ]. Download the collect and reading for this sunday [ PDF ]. A couple of days ago the church ...
Today we celebrate the Ascension of our Lord into heaven, and the end of his earthly ministry. In some ways it is an end point in the Christian story, Jesus vanishing, closure on that chapter of our evolution, closure on an earthly life, closure on...
“DO NOT BE AFRAID” There are a lot of reasons to be afraid just now. Am I or my family going to get the coronavirus? Will I survive? Will I have a job to go back to? Am I going to be able to pay...
O God our Father, you invite us to pray, and you grant what we ask, when we ask according to your will. Hear me as I tremble in this darkness, and stretch forth your hand to me. Shine your light before me. Recall me from...
Sunday Service – Sixth Sunday of Easter – Rogation Sunday – By Rev’d Alison Judge. “The God who made the world and everything in it, he who is Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by human hands.” Download the service sheet [...
Tuesday 12 May 2020 Dear brothers and sisters, ‘So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all, and especially for those of the family of faith’ (Galatians 6.10). Eastertide greetings to you all in these strangest of lockdown...
‘Trust & Obey’, by Andy Coles. I am reminded of the Old Gospel Hymn, written around the time of Moody the famous American Evangelist, and well known by previous generations of Sunday School Children… which goes onto say ‘For there’s no other way to be...
Keep us, good Lord, under the shadow of your mercy, In this time of uncertainty and distress. Sustain and support the anxious and fearful, And lift up all who are brought low, That we may rejoice in your comfort, knowing that nothing can separate us from...
Sunday Service – Fifth Sunday of Easter -Stewardship Sunday – By Rev’d Mark Eminson. Download the Collect and the Reading for this Sunday. Introduction – Holy Trinity Vicarage drive Alleluia. Christ is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia. We thank God...
A Messy Church celebration from Merton Priory Team. As part of our Messy Church initiative Rev’d Alison Judge shares the story of Noah’s ark and God’s Rainbow along with the art work done by the Children of the Merton Priory Team.
Evelyn shares below a prose poem from Paul’s letter to the Colossians Chp 1. The cosmic dimensions of who Christ Jesus is revealed with awe and wonder. In the second half we read that Christ brings about a New Creation. Download the full document in PDF.
Food and practical support during Covid-19 Merton Voluntary Service Council (MVSC) Volunteer Task Force Help for isolated households and those more at risk of COVID-19, Monday to Friday. To get help: E-mail: help@mvsc.co.uk Telephone: 020 8685 2272. In addition, an urgent COVID-19 Community Response Hub...
During the current Covid-19 restrictions It is vital that we continue to safeguard those who need our help. Please download the Covid-19 related safeguarding guidelines. HT Safeguarding 020420 Thought [PDF] Safeguarding matters domestic abuse [ PDF ] Think Safeguarding [ PDF ] For more information about safeguarding at...
Prayers – Mardelle Jordan I will lift up my eyes to the hills form where cometh my help My help cometh from the Lord who made heaven and earth Lord in your mercy hear our prayer. For those who have to make decisions that...
The Good Shepherd – John 10:1-10. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who together with God leads us to what we need, food, water, air, true security, rest and real love. When we trust Him we are free to enjoy all the good gifts fully as...
Our next Messy Church is due to take place on 9 May and will again be a virtual celebration. The theme will be Noah’s Ark and you can read the story in Genesis starting at Chapter 6 and going through to Chapter 9 verse 17. There...
Dear Lord, you have allowed us to receive. We have not always spent this wisely. Please now teach us how to give, to our brothers and sisters around the world. Lord, I have come into your presence as a profane man. Thanks to my wife,...
Blessed are you, Sovereign God ruler and judge of all, to you be praise and glory for ever. In the darkness of this age that is passing away may the light of your presence which the saints enjoy surround our steps as we journey on....
Resurrection Journey. As we receive Jesus welcome to come and be with him we can open our hearts in thanksgiving and worship, and we can share with him our current loneliness and fears. Download the service booklet. I am sure we are all missing the...
In this video homily, Rt Rev’d Dr Richard Cheetham talk about something which points to the deepest truths about reality, and about life, and about God.
Thought for the Week 22 April Reflections on “Saying Yes to Life” This year’s Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lent book, by Ruth Valerio proved more relevant than ever. One group member reflected: ‘We’ve been able to continue with the Lent book in the isolation of our...
Prayers for the Week 20 April The Easter Anthems Christ our passover has been sacrificed for us: so let us celebrate the feast, not with the old leaven of corruption and wickedness: but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. – 1 Corinthians...
Thanksgiving for the Resurrection and Spiritual Communion. Today, the Second Sunday of Easter, has sometimes been known commonly as “Low Sunday”. That never used to sound quite right; the day also being the eighth day of resurrection, leading us on to new creation. But scholars...
In this message, Bishop Richard talks about the the transition from fear to a profound peace in the presence of the risen Christ.
Best to get this bit over with first: I believe that God has spoken to me four times in my life, twice when I was a child and twice in recent years. Four times in seventy-odd years isn’t much – a quiet word once a...
This week’s prayers include a version of the Lord’s Prayer used by the Anglican church in New Zealand. As the world continues to stumble in darkness, we look towards the light and the good news. Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver, Source of all that is and that...
This is the day when our Lord Jesus Christ passed from death to life. Throughout the world Christians celebrate the awesome power of God. As we hear his word and proclaim all that God has done, we can be confident that we shall share his...
At sunrise on Easter Day, we can proclaim, “Alleluia! Christ is risen!” This is my first Easter among you in the Merton Priory Team and it is far from how I imagined it: no Palm procession, no Watch of the Passion, no veneration of...
Archbishop Justin Welby explains the five (5) reasons for why the church buildings are closed.
Explore a variety of art work created by the children of the Merton Priority Team, as part of our messy church initiative, while Rev’d Alison Judge also shares the good news of the Easter story.
“Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases.” As we seek to walk with Jesus this Holy Week, we know profoundly that He really does walk with us and share in our personal and collective suffering; because it is His too; he has made...
On Maundy Thursday we remember Jesus last supper with his disciples, his betrayal and arrest. Three things stand out from the gospel accounts of that night: Jesus companionship with his friends, the physical actions of washing the disciples feet, the breaking of bread and sharing...
As we approach the central time in the Christian year, the celebration of Holy week and Easter, Rt Rev’d Dr Richard Cheetham, Bishop of Kingston offers a brief reflection on how we might approach this in such a challenging context. A homily looking to Holy...
A Scriptural Way of the Cross, with Bishop Jonathan Clark and Bishop Paul Hendricks as an alternative for the cancelled 2020 Croydon Walk of Witness. — With thanks to Reach Plc, for permission to use the photos.
Merton Priory Parish Safeguarding Update April 2020. Currently all seems fairly quiet on the church safeguarding front, however, that doesn’t mean that it is no longer relevant. Whilst we are no longer meeting in person as a congregation or holding group activities, we are...
Prayers for the Week 6 April 2020. Gracious God, give skill, sympathy and resilience to all who are caring for the sick, and your wisdom to those searching for a cure. Strengthen them with your Spirit, that through their work many will be restored to...
Watch the Sunday Service – led by Belemo Alagoa, with the theme of “Palm Sunday.” We are reaching the Church community via digital media for worship and prayer during this time of closure of Church building. Please join us from wherever you are. Morning Prayer...
We would normally be meeting for our Messy Church Easter Celebration on Saturday 11 April but of course we won’t be. Here is an idea. Attached are some craft ideas for drawing and making. If you can make something or draw or colour something please send...
Diocesan resources: The Bishop of Southwark is livestreaming from his Chapel – he celebrated the Eucharist for the Diocese on Passion Sunday, 29 March and you can watch that service via his twitter page at twitter.com/BishopSouthwark The Cathedral is livestreaming Morning Prayer and Compline daily from...
Pope Francis Urbi et orbi 27 March 2020 “When evening had come” (Mk 4:35). The Gospel passage we have just heard begins like this. For weeks now it has been evening. Thick darkness has gathered over our squares, our streets and our cities; it has taken...
Merton Priory Team Thoughts from Nature – Fiona Totty In times of uncertainty it is comforting to see the seasons changing, keeping to schedule when we have all changed ours. There is a pear tree outside our window, and I always love the moment when it bursts into...
The Royal School of Church Music (RSCM) promotes the study, practice and improvement of music in worship. In the absence of all of the usual routines of life, we RSCM has put together a whole range of initiatives, which will help to hold everyone together. For...
When it isn’t possible to join with the local church, this outline is designed to help you have a short time of worship as a household. Please adapt it to suit those who are present – add anything you might usually do in church or...
Ever present God, we give thanks for each new day. For all of us life is very different to one we experienced two weeks ago. As we get used to living lives of self-isolation and social-distancing help us to recognise the good things that each...
Watch the Sunday Service – led by Rev’d Alison Judge, with the theme of “Passion Sunday.” We are reaching the Church community via digital media for worship and prayer during this time of closure of Church building. Please join us from wherever you are. Sunday...
O Lord, open our lips and our mouth shall proclaim your praise. Welcome and introduction May Christ, the true, the only light banish all darkness from our hearts and minds. O come, let us sing to the Lord; ♦ let us heartily rejoice in the...
Most merciful God, who by the death and resurrection of your SonJesus Christ delivered and saved the world: grant that by faith in him who suffered on thecross we may triumph in the power of his victory; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who...
Letter from Archbishops and Diocesan Bishops of the Church of England to all clergy in the Church of England Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, Stay home, protect the NHS and save lives We are writing further to you given the rapidly changing nature of...
Church continues to be alive and active, but our buildings must close in London in response to Covid-19. All public worships are suspended. The following are the letters circulated by Church authorities in response to coronavirus: Letter from Archbishops and Bishops of the Church of England....
We are living in strange and unfamiliar territory as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak. We are isolated from our friends and neighbours and many of us are living alone reinforcing a sense of isolation and loneliness. But what if we are to see it...
Following on from the Prime Minister’s message on 23 March, the Diocese of Southwark announces: Church continues to be alive and active, but our buildings must close in London. London is seeing a huge increase in the number of people falling sick with COVID-19. We...
“We are to pray in times of adversity, lest we become faithless and unbelieving. We are to pray in times of prosperity, lest we become boastful and proud. We are to pray in times of danger, lest we become fearful and doubting. We are to...
Join in us worship and prayer recorded by Rev’d Mark Eminson – Team Rector. During this challenging season, let us come together through digital sources to share our faith and exemplify the hope and peace that God offers to all of us. (Audio Recording)
Video Message from Rev’d Mark Eminson on Mothering Sunday. Coronavirus Pandemic: Thought for the Week 21.3.20, by Mark Eminson Here we are, brothers and sisters, in these unprecedented times, on the eve of a very untypical Mothering Sunday: no church services, no meals out or...
The term ‘Spiritual Communion’ has been used historically to describe the means of grace by which a person, prevented for some serious reason from sharing in a celebration of the Eucharist, nonetheless shares in the communion of Jesus Christ. The form of prayer below offers...
If it is not possible for people to worship together, the various Church of England apps for Daily Prayer and Reflections are a wonderful resource and unite us in prayer. Alongside them, we have crafted two simple acts of worship, particularly geared to those who...
The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby is to lead a national broadcast as the Church of England responds to the challenge of becoming a “different sort of church” in the face of the coronavirus crisis. The service, including prayers, hymns and a short sermon, will...
Message from Mark Eminson, Team Rector of Merton Priory Team. Download in PDF Wednesday, 18 March, 2020 Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Many of you will have heard that, in the context of the Coronavirus pandemic, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York have directed that...
Wimbledon food bank is run by local people for local people to ensure we can continue to stop people going hungry. We collect food products at Church from people and handover to the food bank. If you wish to donate, please follow this link to offer a onetime gift or a regular gift.
Merton Priory – including Christ Church – is a founder member of the newly-launched Merton Citizens organisation, affiliated to Citizens UK. Merton Citizens will be campaigning for
At the launch events, on 19 April, Merton councillors from all major parties pledged to support these goals.
The Merton Priory Team Ministry has a Mission Action Plan, including Objectives for each Church and for the Parish as a whole.
For Christ Church, the summary is:
Christ Church is Open:
For more details, download the full Mission Action Plan.
