Come and sample one of our services

Herbert our Vicar, and everyone in our congregation, welcome you to our community at St Thomas à Becket Church.

We’ve been a place of Christian worship to Almighty God since at least the 12th century. And we are open every day from 8.30 to 5pm.

• Every Sunday we have sung Holy Communion at 9.45am.
• NEW – sung Evensong at 4pm on the first Sunday of the month from September 6th
• And on the first Wednesday of the month we have a midday ‘said’ Holy Communion.

St Thomas’ is always ready to welcome you to the presence of God. Take a little time amid the busy-ness of daily life – be refreshed and renewed in peace.

• The church is open every day for private prayer, and to visit from 8.30am to 5pm.
• We have a range of worship and social activities – see What’s On. Or pick up our free monthly Parish News.

Enjoy this oasis of calm and tranquillity, for a service, a visit, meditation, or private prayer.

September message from our Vicar:

Dear Friends,
In this season of Trinity we are embraced by the resurrected and ascended Christ who beckons us all to seek after him and to grow in faith by his grace.

 The gospel reading recently for the 11th Sunday after Trinity, from St Luke 18 concerned Jesus telling the parable of the two people going to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a Publican or Tax collector. They both came to pray, but from different perspectives of heart.

I was reminded that we too are all invited simply to come and seek after Christ in prayer, in silence and just being still in gentle peace. Moreover, also to receive his blessings on our lives and his forgiveness for our failings, as did that tax collector who simply said in pray ‘God be merciful to me a sinner’.

On the 21st September the church remembers the feast day of St Matthew, the apostle, who was also a tax collector. Matthew confirmed that his life would change as he sought to follow Jesus and in that he was forgiven, welcomed and received by God’s grace.

 Jesus spent a good deal of his earthly ministry with people who were on the margins and edges of life as seen by society. The tax collector in that gospel parable was one such person – but he was blessed by God’s welcoming grace as he came in prayer.

St Thomas a Becket church, as part of God’s community, welcomes each and everyone. We know that many visitors, friends and neighbours enjoy the peace and solitude of this place, to sit in silence, to be refreshed, to be renewed in the peace of God and to pray. As someone once said, ‘Prayer is the voice of faith directed to God’.

We live in a world much troubled by doubts, fears, concerns and unrest so let us all bring those struggles to God in our prayers but more importantly let us bring ourselves before almighty God and similarly to the tax collector in the parable, be refreshed, restored and welcomed into his presence and by his grace.
With best wishes and love,
Fr Herbert.