Forward
looking
We believe that God continues to lead and guide
us into new ways of thinking and that the
discoveries of science, archaeology and psychology can change
our previous understandings of the Bible and Church
teaching. We do not claim to know the whole truth, but to be
on a learning journey together in our Christian faith.
We welcome this opportunity to live and learn
together as
a prayerful, searching and questioning community, working
for justice, showing care and concern for the environment
and deepening our faith, and trust in God.
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Friendly
We believe in a God of love
who comes to us in many ways: in worship; through the
Sacraments, especially the Sacrament of the Eucharist; through prayer, and through our meeting together
week by week.
We welcome the
opportunity to be channels of peace in the world through our compassion, our care, our
forgiveness and our love for one another.
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Inclusive
We believe that everyone is
created equal and in the image of God. We value each
person's life experience and we try to learn from one
another. We encourage children to develop their spirituality
on an equal basis to adults.
We welcome all people
equally into our community regardless of relationship
status, colour, disability or sexual orientation. As a church we
support the full inclusion of women in the ordained
ministry.
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Diverse
We believe in a God of
extraordinary and imaginative creativity, and that we are
enriched as a community by our wide variety of
nationalities, races, life-styles, relationships and
ages.
Although as Christians we believe that
God has been revealed supremely in Christ, we also respect
the diversity of other
major world religions, whose wisdom can enrich our own
spiritual experience of life, prayer and service.
We welcome people regardless of how much or how little faith
people have when they join us. We rejoice in our
individuality and diversity.
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Musical
We believe that music
and art can be a source of inspiration and joy raising the
thoughts and emotions of heart and soul to worship God. The
Church has
strong connections with both art and literature through
William Blake, who was married here, and Joseph Turner, who painted
the River from the Vestry window.
We welcome our wide
musical tradition drawing out the best of music over the
centuries and are open to new expressions of music in
worship as well as maintaining a traditional English choral
tradition. |
Historical
St Mary's
stands on one of the earliest known consecrated sites on the
South Bank of the Thames. The original church was built as
early as 800 AD, presumably by the Saxons, and the present
Grade 1 listed building was
completed in
the Georgian style in 1777 to replace the dilapidated
medieval church. Benedict Arnold and his
family are buried in the crypt, and the church has further links
with the botanist William Curtis and the explorer "Scott of the Antarctic."
Christians
have worshipped here regularly for well over 1000 years and
continue to do so to this day. The Spencer family has been
patron of the church for 200 years.
site
map
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