St Margaret’s
SUNDAYS AT ST MARGARET’S

A PLACE
FOR YOU.

Join us for worship, prayer and Holy Communion on Sunday. Whether you’re visiting for the first time or returning, there’s a place for you. Explore what to expect, follow the service, or join us online.

An all-age service at St Margaret’s Church

YOUR SUNDAY STARTS HERE.

FAITH, FUN AND FRIENDSHIP

252 KIDS

A Sunday morning group for children in Years R–6, exploring faith through creative activities and friendship.

FIRST SUNDAY OF THE MONTHALL-AGE SERVICEWorship together,
across the generations.
NEXT SERVICE
NOVEMBER1SUNDAY10:30AM

FIND US ON SUNDAY

You’ll find us on Rainham High Street. Open directions to plan your journey to the church.

St Margaret’s Church
High Street
Rainham, Kent
ME8 7JH
GET DIRECTIONS
ST MARGARET’S · RAINHAM

YOUR FIRST SUNDAY

ARRIVING AND FINDING A SEAT

Welcomers are at the door for our 10:30am service. Choose a pew or the tables and chairs at the back. Mobility scooters are welcome. Toilets and a kitchenette are on your right as you enter.

COME AS YOU ARE

There’s no dress code. Wear whatever feels comfortable.

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

Children are welcome to move around and make themselves at home. Toys are available for younger children, and you’re welcome to breastfeed. Ask if you’d prefer somewhere private. 252 Kids meets during term time, except on the first Sunday of the month when everyone worships together at our 10:30am All-Age service.

FOLLOWING THE SERVICE

Holy Communion usually lasts around an hour and ten minutes. The booklet and screen help you follow along; bold words invite everyone to join in. Worship includes Bible readings, prayers, hymns and contemporary songs.

AFTERWARDS

Stay for refreshments and a chat, we’d love to meet you.ST MARGARET’S · RAINHAM

WATCH ONLINE

Join our worship online, or watch a previous service to get a feel for a Sunday at St Margaret’s.
ST MARGARET’S · RAINHAM

THE SERVICE EXPLAINED

Our Holy Communion service brings together Bible readings, prayer, traditional hymns and contemporary worship songs. It usually lasts around an hour and ten minutes. Explore the different parts of our worship below. Select a heading to read more.
ST MARGARET’S · RAINHAM

SERMONS

Explore the messages shared at St Margaret’s, with reflections on the Bible and questions to help you think further. Select a sermon below to read it here.
ST MARGARET’S · RAINHAM

ALL-AGE SERVICE

NOVEMBER1SUNDAY
NEXT ALL-AGE SERVICE10:30amSt Margaret’s Church
On the first Sunday of each month, we come together for an all-age service at 10:30am.

There is no separate 252 Kids session that morning, so children and adults worship together in church.

Our 8am Communion service also takes place on Sundays.ST MARGARET’S · RAINHAM

ORDER OF SERVICE

READ DOCUMENT
ST MARGARET’S · RAINHAM

Being ‘Sent’

Every service has to end somewhere. But the end of the Holy Communion is not just about closing words and going home. It is about being sent.

The pattern is simple. Notices may be given, banns of marriage are read, and often a final hymn is sung. But then comes the heart of it: the blessing, and the dismissal.

First, the blessing. The priest speaks words drawn from scripture: “The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.” The blessing isn’t just a wish – it is a prayer of protection and peace, spoken over us as we prepare to go back into daily life. And then comes the Trinitarian blessing: “And the blessing of God almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be among you and remain with you always.” With these words, God’s name is spoken over us, just as it was at the beginning of the service.

But that’s not quite the end. A minister says: “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.” And we all reply: “In the name of Christ. Amen.”

Those words are important. They remind us that what has happened in church is not meant to stay here. We have been fed at God’s table, forgiven, strengthened, and blessed – not to keep it to ourselves, but to live it out in the world. The dismissal is not “the service is over” but “the service begins.” It is the Church being sent into the streets, the homes, the schools, the workplaces, where Christ is already at work.

This idea of being sent runs right through the Bible. In the Old Testament, the people of Israel were blessed by God so that they might be a blessing to the nations. In the New Testament, Jesus sends his disciples out: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And in the very earliest liturgies of the church, the word Mass itself came from the Latin phrase Ite, missa est – literally, “Go, you are sent.”

That is why the end of the service is not a winding down but a sending out. We arrive scattered, we are gathered together, we are fed and renewed, and then we are scattered again – but now as bearers of Christ’s peace and love.

Think of the dismissal as the hinge between worship and mission. We don’t just go back to ordinary life unchanged. We go back carrying Christ within us. The bread and wine have become part of us; the Spirit has filled us; the blessing rests on us. Now our task is to live that out – to love God and neighbour, to bring hope and light wherever we go.

And that little word we all say together – Amen – seals it. It means “yes, let it be so.” We agree not just with our lips, but with our lives.

So the end of the service is also its beginning. We are sent, in the name of Christ, into the world he loves. And as we go, the promise of the blessing is with us: the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep our hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of Christ Jesus our Lord.

ST MARGARET’S · RAINHAM

How to Pray

Prayer is one of the simplest things we can do, and yet it is also one of the most profound. It is nothing less than opening our hearts to God. But prayer is not just something we do alone in private; it is also something we do together as the Church. When we pray as a congregation in worship, we join our voices in what is called the intercessions.

The word “intercession” means to stand in the gap – to bring before God the needs of the world, of others, and of ourselves. It is the Church’s great act of corporate prayer: not one person praying only for their own needs, but the whole people of God lifting up the whole world to God’s mercy.

That’s why the intercessions usually follow a pattern. They begin with the Church of Christ. We pray for Christians everywhere – for our own parish, for our diocese, for the Church across the nations. We ask that the Church might be faithful, united, and full of the Spirit’s life.

Then we pray for creation and human society, for those in authority, and for our Sovereign. This is part of our calling as Christians – to pray for rulers and leaders, for peace between nations, for justice and wisdom in public life. In doing this, we recognise that our faith is not cut off from the wider world. We bring before God the climate, the economy, and the needs of our society.

Next we pray for our local community. These are the places and people among whom we live day by day. We pray for schools and hospitals, for local councils, for shops and businesses, for our neighbours. In doing this, we remember that God’s kingdom is not just somewhere far away – it touches the very streets we walk.

Then we pray for those who suffer. This is always close to the heart of Christian prayer, because Jesus himself spent so much of his ministry with the sick, the poor, and the outcast. We pray for the sick, the bereaved, the lonely, the oppressed, the hungry. We may name people known to us, or hold them silently in our hearts.

And finally, we remember the communion of saints. We give thanks for those who have gone before us in faith, and we commend the departed into God’s eternal care. In doing so, we remind ourselves that we are part of a vast family – the Church across time as well as space – a communion that death itself cannot break.

That’s the pattern the intercessions usually follow. But more than a list, they are a school of prayer. By joining in, we learn how to pray for ourselves. We learn that prayer isn’t just about what we want or need; it’s about holding the whole world before God. It’s about saying: Lord, your will be done – in the Church, in creation, in our community, in the lives of those who suffer, and in us.

Sometimes, when we pray together, there are set responses. The leader may say, “Lord, in your mercy,” and we respond: “Hear our prayer.” This reminds us that prayer is not a monologue but a conversation. We listen, we speak, we respond, and we trust that God hears.

And here’s the encouragement: if you’re unsure how to pray on your own, start by listening closely to the prayers in church. Let them teach you. Begin by praying for the Church, for the world, for your community, for those in need, and for those who have died. That simple pattern will guide you.

Prayer is not about having the right words. It’s about bringing ourselves and the world we live in into God’s presence. And when we do that together, in the intercessions, we are joining in the prayer of Christ himself, who forever intercedes for us before the Father.

ST MARGARET’S · RAINHAM

Prayer After Communion

After communion there is always a pause. We have just shared in bread and wine, we have remembered Christ’s death and resurrection, we have received his life into our own. It would be strange to rush away without giving thanks.

That is why the service includes a prayer after communion. This tradition goes back a very long way. In the early church, when Christianity became legal and Christians began to gather in larger public buildings, it was natural to add a prayer at the end of the meal – a prayer of thanksgiving and dedication, before the dismissal. By the fifth century in the Roman rite, this prayer usually asked for grace to persevere in the Christian life. The Church of England’s Prayer Book of 1549 carried on this tradition with a fixed Prayer of Thanksgiving. Later versions moved the pieces around – sometimes placing the Lord’s Prayer here, sometimes the Gloria – but always the heart of it was the same: to pause, to give thanks, and to ask for strength to live out what we have just received.

In Common Worship today there are proper post-communion prayers provided for each Sunday and feast, as well as some general prayers that can be used at any time. The one we often use begins:

“Father of all, we give you thanks and praise, that when we were still far off you met us in your Son and brought us home.”

These words echo the parable of the prodigal son. Humanity had wandered far from God, yet the Father ran to meet us in Christ and welcomed us home. Communion is not something we achieve – it is pure grace, God’s gift to the undeserving.

The prayer continues: “Dying and living, he declared your love, gave us grace, and opened the gate of glory.” Here the whole story of salvation is summed up in just a few words: the cross, the resurrection, and the new life opened for us through Christ.

Then comes the part that looks forward. “May we who share Christ’s body live his risen life; we who drink his cup bring life to others; we whom the Spirit lights give light to the world.” Notice the movement: from receiving to living, from gift to responsibility. Communion is never meant to end with us. What we have received we are called to share – in acts of love, in bringing life where there is hurt, in shining as light in the world.

The prayer goes on: “Keep us firm in the hope you have set before us, so we and all your children shall be free, and the whole earth live to praise your name.” That hope is not just for us individually, but for the whole creation. Communion points us forward to the great banquet at the end of time, when all God’s children are gathered, and the earth itself is renewed.

So what is the prayer after communion for? It is a hinge between the table and the world, between worship and daily life. It takes what we have just done – receiving Christ – and asks that it will bear fruit in us, in our community, and in all creation.

That is why it matters to pause and pray these words together. Communion is not just about being fed; it is about being sent. And in this prayer we ask that the grace we have received will flow through us, so that our lives become thanksgiving – living to the praise of God’s name.

ST MARGARET’S · RAINHAM

Prayer D

At the heart of the service is the Eucharistic Prayer – sometimes called the Great Prayer of Thanksgiving. This is where bread and wine are set apart, and where we give thanks for all that God has done for us in Christ.

In Common Worship there are eight different Eucharistic Prayers. Each tells the story of God’s saving love in a slightly different way, with different emphases and rhythms. Some are shorter, some are more formal, some echo ancient prayers of the Church, and others are more modern compositions. All of them take us to the same place – thanksgiving for Christ’s death and resurrection, and prayer for the Spirit to make him present among us in bread and wine.

Prayer D is one of these eight. It is a new composition, not a translation of an older text. It was written to tell the story of redemption in direct, dramatic language – so that the past might come alive in the present moment.

One of its features is the way it uses vivid, concrete images from scripture rather than abstract ideas. The sentences are short, punchy, and easy to follow. And throughout the prayer there are moments when the congregation responds aloud with words of praise. So this prayer is not just something the priest says on behalf of the people – it is shared work, the “liturgy” of the whole congregation.

Like all Eucharistic Prayers, Prayer D has a structure. First comes the thanksgiving. We give thanks for creation and for the gift of life. The prayer begins with heaven itself as the setting, linking us with the angels and the whole communion of saints.

Then comes the Sanctus, the great song of heaven and earth together: “Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might.” Prayer D places the word heaven both before and after the Sanctus, almost like bookends, reminding us that in worship heaven and earth meet.

Next comes the institution narrative – the retelling of what Jesus did at the Last Supper. In Prayer D this is shorter and simpler than in some other prayers, but the heart of it is the same: Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to his disciples. He took the cup and shared it, saying, “Do this in remembrance of me.”

Then comes the anamnesis – a word that means “remembrance.” In Prayer D it is strikingly simple. It uses a single verb: “We celebrate the cross.” In other prayers we “recall” or “remember” Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension. Here it is more direct: we celebrate the cross and all it means.

After that comes the epiclesis – the prayer for the Holy Spirit. In Prayer D it comes towards the end: “Send your Spirit on us now.” The words echo the Emmaus story, when the risen Christ was made known to his disciples in the breaking of the bread. In the same way, we ask that the Spirit will make Christ known to us here and now.

Finally, the prayer ends with the doxology – words of praise to the Father, through the Son, in the power of the Spirit. And just as in Prayer A, there is a further congregational acclamation at the very end.

So what makes Prayer D distinctive? Its concrete, scriptural language. Its shorter, dramatic style. Its repeated responses that draw the congregation in. Its focus on heaven and earth joined in praise. And its powerful simplicity: we celebrate the cross, we ask for the Spirit, we proclaim Christ’s victory.

All the Eucharistic Prayers are ways of telling the same great story – God’s saving love in Jesus Christ, made present to us in bread and wine. But Prayer D, in particular, helps that story feel alive, vivid, and immediate.

ST MARGARET’S · RAINHAM

The Bible

In Luke’s Gospel there’s a story of two disciples walking to the village of Emmaus after Jesus’ crucifixion. They were discouraged, weighed down with disappointment. They had hoped Jesus was the one to redeem Israel, but now he was gone. As they walked, a stranger joined them. It was Jesus himself, but they didn’t recognise him.

What did he do? He began to explain the scriptures to them. He opened up the ancient writings of the Old Testament, showing how they pointed to him – to his suffering, his death, and his rising again. Later, when they broke bread with him, their eyes were opened. But first, it was the word of God that rekindled their hope.

That story is why scripture is central to our worship. When the Bible is read in church, it is not just old words from long ago. It is God speaking now. It prepares our hearts, opens our eyes, and draws us deeper into Christ.

The readings we hear aren’t chosen at random. They follow the lectionary – a cycle of readings used by churches across the world. The lectionary ensures that week by week, we hear from the whole sweep of scripture – not just our favourite parts. Wherever you worship, in Canterbury or Cape Town, there’s a good chance the same passages are being read.

On Sundays there are usually four readings. The Old Testament reading roots us in God’s covenant promises and his dealings with Israel. The psalm is both scripture and prayer – words we can take on our own lips as our response to God. The New Testament reading, often from the letters, shows how the first Christians wrestled with following Christ in their own time. And the Gospel is always the climax – the words and deeds of Jesus himself.

That balance matters. The Bible is not one book with one voice. It is a library of many voices, telling the story of God’s love across centuries. Listening to all those voices together stops us narrowing God’s word to fit our own preferences. Instead, it invites us to hear the whole story of creation, covenant, Christ, and new life.

And we don’t just listen silently. After the first two readings, the reader says: “This is the word of the Lord.” And we reply: “Thanks be to God.” It’s our way of saying: what we have just heard is not just information – it is God’s word, alive for us today.

The Gospel is given even greater honour. We stand to hear it, showing respect and readiness to listen. The reader announces: “Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to…” And we reply: “Glory to you, O Lord.” At the end we respond: “Praise to you, O Christ.” Here we recognise that in the Gospel we encounter not just teaching but Christ himself.

Back to Emmaus: those disciples first heard the scriptures explained, and only then were ready to recognise Jesus in the breaking of bread. Word and sacrament belong together. In the same way, we listen to the scriptures to rekindle our faith, so that when we come to communion we recognise Christ who is with us.

So when the Bible is read in church, don’t just hear it as history. Hear it as invitation – God’s living word, calling us to trust, to hope, and to recognise Christ in our midst.

ST MARGARET’S · RAINHAM

The Gathering

Every act of worship begins with gathering. In the earliest days of the church, Christians would slip quietly into someone’s home to pray and break bread. Later, when worship was made public, ministers would process in, carrying candles and the Gospel book, to show that what was about to happen was something holy.

However simple or formal, the meaning is the same: scattered people are drawn together to become one body in Christ.

We begin by naming the God we worship: “In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” These words come from baptism, reminding us that we are a people marked and named by God himself.

Then comes the greeting: “The Lord be with you.” And we reply: “And also with you.” This isn’t just polite. In that moment we acknowledge each other as people who carry God’s presence. Strangers become brothers and sisters. A crowd becomes a congregation.

And then, with the Prayer of Preparation, we ask God to cleanse our hearts and open our lives by the Spirit. It’s one of the oldest prayers of the church, prayed here in this country for over a thousand years. Its words are simple but searching: “to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden.”

It’s the reminder we need at the start of worship: we come as we are, with nothing hidden, offering our whole selves – body, mind, and spirit – ready to love and to magnify God’s holy name.

ST MARGARET’S · RAINHAM

The Lamb

One of the most powerful symbols in Holy Communion is the image of the lamb. You may notice it in hymns, in prayers like the Agnus Dei – “Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world, have mercy on us” – and in the way Christians speak of Jesus himself as the Lamb of God. But where does that image come from?

The story begins in the Old Testament. In the book of Exodus, when the people of Israel were enslaved in Egypt, God commanded each household to sacrifice a lamb and mark their doorposts with its blood. That night, death passed over their homes, and the people were set free. Ever since, the Jewish people have celebrated the Passover meal, remembering how God saved them through the blood of the lamb.

Later, the prophets took up the image in new ways. Isaiah spoke of a suffering servant who would be led like a lamb to the slaughter, bearing the sins of many and bringing healing through his wounds. It was a striking picture: salvation not through power or violence, but through sacrifice and gentleness.

So when John the Baptist saw Jesus coming towards him and declared, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1.29), it would have startled his hearers. He was saying: here is the true Passover lamb, the one whose death will bring freedom.

And in the New Testament that image unfolds. St Paul writes, “Christ our Passover has been sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5.7). In the book of Revelation, the throne of heaven is occupied not by a lion or a warrior, but by a lamb – a lamb that has been slain, and yet is alive. The whole of creation sings, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honour and glory and praise.”

What does all of this mean when we come to Holy Communion? When we receive the bread and wine, we are sharing in the sacrifice of Christ, the true Lamb. His death on the cross is our Passover – the moment when sin and death are defeated, and God’s people are set free. Communion is not a new sacrifice, but it makes present to us the one sacrifice of the Lamb of God.

This is why we sing or say the Agnus Dei just before communion: “Lamb of God, you take away the sin of the world.” These words remind us that the bread we are about to eat and the wine we are about to drink draw their meaning from Christ’s death for us. They invite us to receive not just food, but mercy, forgiveness, and peace.

And notice: the Lamb is not only about sacrifice, but also about gentleness. A lamb is vulnerable, innocent, harmless. In becoming the Lamb, Christ shows us that God’s power is revealed not in force, but in love. The cross is not a defeat, but the victory of love over sin and death.

So when you hear Christ described as the Lamb of God in the communion service, remember the story it carries. The Passover lamb that set God’s people free. The suffering servant who bore our sins. The Lamb slain yet triumphant at the centre of heaven’s worship. And Jesus Christ, who through his death and resurrection gives himself to us in bread and wine.

To call Christ the Lamb of God is to proclaim that our freedom, our forgiveness, our hope, all come through him. And in communion, we share in that life, nourished by the Lamb who once was slain, and who lives and reigns for ever.

ST MARGARET’S · RAINHAM

The Lord’s Prayer

The Lord’s Prayer is probably the most famous prayer in the world. Many of us learned it as children. For some, the first version we knew used the word trespasses. I remember as a child thinking trespass meant “keep off the grass” or “don’t climb the fence.” Later I realised it was another way of saying sin. But maybe that first instinct wasn’t wrong. To trespass is to go where you shouldn’t go. And this prayer, at its heart, is Jesus showing us the path – how to live in God’s way and not wander where it harms us.

So when Jesus taught his disciples to pray, he was giving them more than words. He was giving them a map and a compass for life.

There are actually two versions of the Lord’s Prayer in the Bible. In Matthew’s Gospel, the longer version appears in the Sermon on the Mount. There Jesus says, “When you pray, pray like this…” and gives words that cover both our relationship with God and our daily needs. In Luke’s Gospel, the prayer is shorter. There the disciples have watched Jesus praying, and they say, “Lord, teach us to pray.” His reply is briefer, but the heart is the same. That tells us something important: the prayer isn’t meant as a rigid formula, but as a pattern – a framework for our own praying and living.

The very first words are revolutionary: “Our Father.” Not my Father, not your Father, but our Father. Jesus used the word Abba – more like “Dad” than “Almighty Judge.” It speaks of intimacy, trust, closeness. This is who God is – not distant, but near, loving, relational. And because God is our Father, everyone who prays these words with me is a brother or sister. These two words reshape our whole faith: we are God’s children, and we belong to one another.

The prayer then unfolds in two halves. Someone once described them as “three hearty praises” and “three humble petitions.”

The praises come first: “Hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done.” Before we ask for anything, we set our eyes on God. His holiness, his kingdom, his will. That’s not easy. Most of us, if we’re honest, would rather pray “my kingdom come, my will be done.” The Lord’s Prayer invites us to put God at the centre, not ourselves.

Then comes the bridge: “on earth as in heaven.” Some even suggest “in earth as in heaven” – reminding us we are not just floating on the world’s surface, but rooted in it, living responsibly and fully.

Then the petitions: “Give us today our daily bread.” Teach us what enough looks like. Not excess, not greed, but enough. In a world of hunger and plenty side by side, this prayer calls us to justice and contentment.

Next: “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.” Here the old word trespass comes alive again. We all stray into places we shouldn’t go – in what we do and in what we fail to do. We ask for mercy, but the challenge is immediate: as God forgives us, so we must forgive others.

Then: “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” This is the prayer for strength. Life brings trials, temptations, and evil. Here we ask God to walk with us, to guide us away from what harms, and to keep us faithful.

Most churches add a doxology at the end: “For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and for ever.” These words aren’t in the earliest manuscripts, but they appeared very early in Christian worship. They bring us full circle: everything belongs to God. And when we speak of God’s power, we mean the power of love – the power shown in Jesus.

And then the final word: Amen. It means “I agree.” But think about what we’ve just said – your will be done… forgive as I forgive… give me only enough. Do I really agree? Saying Amen is both the challenge and the gift of this prayer.

The Lord’s Prayer is simple enough for a child to learn, but it carries a lifetime’s worth of meaning. It’s not just a set of words to repeat. It’s a way of life, a compass pointing us back to God.

ST MARGARET’S · RAINHAM

The Nicene Creed

After we have heard the Bible read and preached, the congregation stands to say the Creed.

The word “creed” means I believe. In its earliest days, it was spoken at baptism – the moment someone declared their faith in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit before being plunged into the waters. But as the church grew, questions and disputes arose. Who exactly was Jesus? Was he less than the Father? Was he simply a good man?

In the 4th century, Christians gathered at the Council of Nicaea to protect the truth of the Gospel. They affirmed that Jesus is “of one being with the Father” – fully God, yet fully human. This was not easy or popular. But it was essential, because the church knew that if Jesus were not truly God, he could not save us. And if he were not truly human, he could not share our life. That statement, refined at later councils, became the Nicene Creed.

Over time, the Creed spread across the world. By the 6th century it was being used in worship in Spain, then France, then England. By the 11th century it had reached Rome itself. For centuries it was said every Sunday, binding Christians across nations and cultures in one faith.

When we stand to say it today, we join that chorus of voices across time and place. These words are not just a list of abstract ideas – they are the discoveries of the church, hammered out in prayer and debate, sometimes at great cost. They are truths that guard us against distortion, truths that keep us rooted in the mystery of God.

Notice that we say the Creed together. In the earliest versions it was “We believe” rather than “I believe.” That’s important. Faith is personal, but it’s never private. Saying these words together reminds us that we belong to one another, and to Christians across the world.

And what do we declare? That God is Father, the maker of heaven and earth. That Jesus Christ is his only Son, born of Mary, crucified under Pontius Pilate, risen from the dead, ascended to heaven, and coming again in glory. That the Holy Spirit gives life, speaks through the prophets, and draws us into one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. That we look for resurrection and the life of the world to come.

These are big, sweeping truths – truths that can shape our lives. To say the Creed is to stand in that story and claim it as our own.

Think of it like this: in science, when a great discovery is made – like the earth orbiting the sun, or the link between energy and mass – it must be published, declared, shared, so it isn’t lost. The Creed is the church’s way of publishing its discoveries about God. It safeguards the heart of the Gospel and passes it on to the next generation.

But saying the Creed is never just repeating ancient words. It is always alive. Every time we say it, we are choosing again to trust in the living God. We are saying: this is the faith in which I stand; this is the God in whom I hope; this is the story that makes sense of my life.

ST MARGARET’S · RAINHAM

The Peace

At one point in the service, the priest says, “The peace of the Lord be always with you.” And the people reply, “And also with you.” Then we exchange a sign of peace.

It might seem like a small gesture – a handshake, a nod, a smile, sometimes even a hug – but it has very deep roots.

The New Testament is full of encouragements to greet one another with a sign of peace. St Paul writes to the Romans: “Greet one another with a holy kiss.” He says the same to the Corinthians and the Thessalonians. St Peter does too. For the earliest Christians, peace wasn’t just a nice word – it was a sign that they belonged to one another in Christ.

By the second century, Justin Martyr describes the peace being shared in worship before the bread and wine were presented. Origen and Tertullian called it a “seal” to the prayers of the people, rooted in Jesus’ own command: “If you are offering your gift at the altar and remember that your brother or sister has something against you, first be reconciled to them.” In other words: don’t come to communion carrying division. Share peace, then draw near.

This seriousness about reconciliation shaped the English church for centuries. The Book of Common Prayer set strict guidance: those intending to receive communion were expected to make their names known to the priest in advance. And if a minister believed someone was in open conflict with a neighbour or living in unrepented sin, they were obliged to seek guidance from the bishop before admitting them to the Lord’s Table. The aim wasn’t to exclude for the sake of it, but to protect the holiness of communion – making sure people did not approach while at enmity with others. The Peace, in that sense, was never casual. It was a call to genuine reconciliation.

Across history, the place of the Peace in the service has shifted. In some traditions it comes before the Eucharistic Prayer, in others afterwards, as immediate preparation for communion. In the Church of England it even disappeared for centuries before being restored in the twentieth century. But whenever it appears, its meaning is the same: we share peace with one another because Christ has made peace with us.

So what is happening in this moment of the service? First, we hear scripture: “Christ is our peace. He has reconciled us to God in one body by the cross. We meet in his name and share his peace.” Then the priest declares: “The peace of the Lord be always with you.” We reply: “And also with you.” It is an exchange of blessing, not only between priest and people, but person to person.

And then we turn to those around us. The gesture may be simple, but its meaning is profound. We say: I forgive you. I stand with you. We are one in Christ. Even if we don’t know each other’s names, even if we’ve had a hard week, even if tensions remain, the Peace declares that the reconciliation of Christ is greater than what divides us.

The Peace is not just a polite moment or a social greeting. It is part of worship. It is both gift and challenge: a gift, because Christ gives us his peace; a challenge, because we are called to carry that peace out into the world.

So when you next share the Peace, let it remind you of this: we come to communion not as individuals, but as a reconciled people. The Peace proclaims the kingdom of God, where swords are beaten into ploughshares and Christ’s peace reigns forever.

ST MARGARET’S · RAINHAM

The Sign of the Cross

From the very first centuries, Christians used a simple gesture to remind themselves who they belonged to. They traced a cross on their bodies.

It goes back even further, to the prophet Ezekiel. He saw a vision of people chasing money, power, and pleasure – and ignoring God. But those who stayed faithful were marked on the forehead with the Hebrew letter T – shaped like a cross. That mark became a sign of belonging, a sign of God’s protection.

When we make the sign of the cross today – forehead, chest, left shoulder, right shoulder – we are saying the same thing: I belong to Christ. His love covers my whole being – my mind, my heart, my strength.

It’s not just about words. Worship is something we do with our whole selves – we stand, sit, kneel, sing, listen, speak. The sign of the cross is another way of praying with the body.

That’s why, when you see the red cross in a circle printed in this booklet, it marks a moment when you may want to make that sign. You don’t have to, but for many Christians it is a small but powerful act of faith.

And every time we do it, we join in a story stretching back through centuries – a story of loyalty, prayer, and belonging to Christ who gave himself for us on the cross.

ST MARGARET’S · RAINHAM

What ‘happens’ at Communion

Different answers have been given across history.

In the Roman Catholic Church the traditional answer is called transubstantiation. This means that, at the words of consecration, the substance of the bread and wine are changed into the body and blood of Christ – even though they still appear to be bread and wine. The outward form remains, but the inner reality is changed.

At the other end of the spectrum is a view often associated with some Protestant traditions, which sees communion primarily as a memorial. The bread and wine are powerful reminders of Christ’s sacrifice, helping us remember what he has done for us, but they are not thought to change in themselves.

The Church of England sits somewhere between these two. It rejects the idea that the bread and wine become Christ’s body and blood in a physical sense, but it also insists that communion is more than just a memorial. In the words of the Prayer Book, the bread and wine are “spiritual food”, and those who receive them with faith truly feed on Christ in their hearts. In other words, communion is a sacrament – an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.

That brings us to another way of thinking about it, sometimes called consubstantiation. This view, linked to Martin Luther, suggests that Christ’s body and blood are present with the bread and wine. The bread remains bread, the wine remains wine, but Christ is truly present alongside them.

And then there is an approach we might call trans-signification. You won’t find the word in official theology books, but it expresses something important. The idea is this: what changes at communion is not the physical substance, but the meaning. The bread and wine take on a new significance. They still look and taste the same, but they now point to – and participate in – something far greater.

This way of speaking fits closely with St Paul’s writings. In 1 Corinthians 10 he says: “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ?” The bread remains bread, but through it we share in Christ. In the next chapter Paul warns the church not to eat and drink in an unworthy manner, because to do so is to sin against the body and blood of the Lord. That shows just how significant these elements become. They are not “mere” symbols – their significance is changed, and changed profoundly.

So what does the Church of England teach? It deliberately leaves room for reverent mystery. In the Articles of Religion it rejects transubstantiation as unnecessary speculation. But it also rejects the idea that the bread and wine are only bare signs. Instead it insists that Christ is truly present – not physically, as if the bread were turned into flesh, but sacramentally, by the power of the Spirit.

That means we are free to wonder, and to explore different ways of expressing the mystery. Some will find the language of real presence helpful. Others may prefer to think in terms of trans-signification – that what changes is the meaning and the use of the bread and wine. But all agree on this: when we receive communion with faith, Christ is truly present to us, feeding us, forgiving us, and drawing us deeper into his life.

So what happens at communion? More than we can fully explain. But at the very least this: bread and wine become to us the body and blood of Christ, the means by which he shares his life with us. And that is why we come – to be nourished, renewed, and sent out in his peace.

ST MARGARET’S · RAINHAM

Why Forgiveness Matters

Every relationship needs forgiveness. Without it, hurts pile up, guilt festers, and we carry the weight of regret. With it, there is freedom – freedom to begin again.

That’s why, early in the service, we come to the Prayers of Penitence. It’s a moment of truth-telling before God. We hear words of scripture: “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son Jesus Christ to save us from our sins.” The invitation is simple but searching: if God’s love is that great, then we can come honestly. We don’t need to hide.

And so we do. Together we say the words of confession: “We have sinned against you and against our neighbour, in thought and word and deed, through negligence, through weakness, through our own deliberate fault.”

These words don’t let us stay vague. They ask us to be real. We sin through negligence – when we fail to notice or act. Through weakness – when we give in to pressure. And through our own deliberate fault – when we knowingly choose what is wrong. It’s uncomfortable, but it’s honest. And honesty is the starting place of forgiveness.

We say this prayer together because none of us is exempt. A congregation may look like it’s full of respectable people, but we all carry burdens and regrets. Speaking these words aloud side by side reminds us that we are all in need of grace. No one stands above another – we stand shoulder to shoulder before God.

But confession is never the last word. Then comes the absolution. The priest says: “Almighty God, who forgives all who truly repent, have mercy upon you…” Notice the flow: it is God who forgives. The priest doesn’t forgive in their own name. They speak as a minister of the Church, declaring God’s promise personally and directly: You are forgiven. You are free.

There is something powerful about hearing those words spoken over you. It is one thing to hope that God forgives; it is another to hear it proclaimed aloud in the name of Christ. It takes the message from general truth to personal assurance.

Why does forgiveness matter? Because without it, we get stuck. Our past defines us, our mistakes trap us. Forgiveness cuts through that. It tells us that our failures do not have the final say. God does. And God’s word is mercy.

Think of the Prodigal Son in Jesus’ parable. He drags himself home, rehearsing his speech of guilt. But before he can get a word out, his father runs to meet him, throws his arms around him, and restores him. That is what God’s forgiveness is like.

So in this part of the service, something profound is happening. We come honestly with our failures. We name them. We hear God’s mercy spoken over us. And we are set free to live again.

That’s why it matters that this comes before communion. We don’t approach God pretending to be perfect. We come as forgiven people – made whole, restored, ready to receive Christ’s presence with joy.

This moment is a reminder: whatever has happened in the week that has passed, God’s mercy is fresh today. His forgiveness is greater than our sin. And so we go forward in freedom.

ST MARGARET’S · RAINHAM

Broken Cisterns, Living Streams (Jeremiah 2:4-13)

There’s a restaurant I really enjoy, one of those all-you-can-eat buffets. You walk in and the choice is overwhelming—counters full of food, the smell of things freshly cooked, and the knowledge that you can go back as many times as you like. It’s abundance on display. Imagine, then, leaving all that behind, slipping out of the door, and rooting around in the bins instead. That’s the image Jeremiah gives us here. God has given his people a feast, everything they could need, and they’ve walked away from it to search for scraps.

He puts it another way too. He says they’ve turned from the spring of living water to dig cisterns—water tanks—of their own. In Israel, most rain falls in the winter. People would dig deep holes in the ground, plaster the sides, and try to store water so they had something to drink through the dry summer. But the plaster often cracked, and the water leaked away, or became stagnant and undrinkable. That’s Jeremiah’s point. You can dig and dig, but if the cistern is broken, it will never hold water. And yet the people chose that over the fresh, running spring of life God was offering them.

It’s tempting to think this is all about “other people.” But we know the pattern ourselves. We live in a world that keeps digging broken cisterns. Nations chase wealth while the poor are forgotten. Leaders chase power at the cost of peace. Our culture chooses convenience though creation is left damaged. The church too has sometimes chased image and reputation rather than truth. And in our own lives we know the pull of comfort, approval, control. None of these are evil in themselves, but when they take God’s place, they cannot hold the weight of our lives. They leak.

But there’s another side to this. Some of us here haven’t been chasing idols at all. Some of us have been clinging to God with all the faith we can muster—praying, reading, showing up faithfully week by week—and still it feels dry. Still it feels like the water has disappeared. If that’s you, hear this: thirst itself is not a sign of failure. The psalms are full of faithful people crying out, “My God, why have you forsaken me?” or “My soul thirsts for you, my flesh faints for you.” To long for God is already to be turned towards him. And the absence you feel does not mean the spring has run dry. It may mean you’re walking through desert country—but even in the desert God provides. Sometimes not in a flood, but in a trickle just enough for the day.

So this word from Jeremiah isn’t a rebuke to the faithful struggler. It’s a reminder that the source is still there. If you feel thirsty, it doesn’t mean you’ve abandoned God. It may mean you’re waiting for his water to reach you in a new way. In those moments, hold on. Keep near the spring. Keep praying, even if the words feel hollow. Keep opening the Scriptures, even if they feel dry. Keep showing up, even when it feels routine. Because the living water hasn’t stopped flowing, and one day you will taste it again.

And in the meantime, that’s why we need each other. When one of us feels dry, another can help carry us. When one feels abandoned, another can remind us that God is still faithful. The church is meant to be a community gathered around the spring, taking turns holding one another there until the water is felt again.

That’s what we are called to here at St Margaret’s. Not to measure ourselves by numbers, or money, or reputation, but by faithfulness to Christ. To offer our town not a cracked cistern but living water—welcome, hospitality, a vision of life rooted in God’s abundance, not in the leaking promises of the world.

Jeremiah’s words are sharp, yes, but they are also tender. They remind us that we don’t need to live thirsty. And if you feel thirsty right now, hold on. Don’t give up. The spring is flowing—sometimes hidden, sometimes slow—but it is there, and it never runs dry.

Amen.

Further Study

Reading

Jeremiah 2:4–13
John 4:4–14

Ponder

Reflect on a time when you placed your hope in something that later left you feeling empty or disappointed. How did that experience shape your view of what truly satisfies?

Where do you notice “broken cisterns” in today’s world—things that promise life but don’t deliver?

When have you experienced God’s “living water” in a way that refreshed or sustained you, even in a difficult season?

Scripture Exploration

In Jeremiah 2:13, what does the contrast between “broken cisterns” and the “spring of living water” reveal about God’s character?

How does Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman in John 4 expand the theme of living water?

What does the image of a leaking cistern teach us about misplaced trust, and how might this apply to both individuals and communities?

Personal Reflection

What theological principles about God’s faithfulness and human tendency to wander can be drawn from Jeremiah’s rebuke?

How do the experiences of thirst and longing in Scripture (e.g., Psalms, John 7:37–39) resonate with seasons of dryness in your own spiritual journey?

How might recognising your own “thirst” be less a sign of weakness and more a sign of honest faith?

Personal Application

What practical steps can you take this week to turn from “broken cisterns” and draw near again to the spring of living water?

Identify one area of your life where you’ve been relying on something other than God for security or identity. What would it mean to bring that to him in prayer?

How can your church community embody the promise of living water—creating spaces of refreshment, honesty, and hope for those who feel dry or forgotten?

Choose one way to encourage or support someone who may be feeling spiritually abandoned, reminding them that the spring is still flowing.

ST MARGARET’S · RAINHAM

Deeds in Jars: Hope for the Future

It’s a strange story for Harvest. Jeremiah is told to buy a field. Not when the land is flourishing, not when the market is booming, but when the city is under siege. It makes no sense. Why invest in land that you will never see grow? Yet Jeremiah obeys. He weighs out the silver, signs the deed, and has it sealed up in a jar so it will last.

It isn’t really about the field. It’s about the future. Jeremiah is leaving a message for the generations to come: there is hope. This land will not always be broken. Houses, fields and vineyards will be bought again. Life will return.

That same question sits in front of us this Harvest. What future are we leaving? What deeds are we sealing up in jars for those who will come after us?

Because the truth is, creation feels under siege in our own day. The soil is tired, rivers polluted, species vanishing, the climate shifting in ways that make us nervous. We wonder whether there will still be a harvest in generations to come.

And yet, every seed still carries its quiet promise. The ground still yields grain. Apples still ripen on the tree. Against the backdrop of all our anxieties, Harvest speaks of God’s faithfulness. And Jeremiah’s jar reminds us that what we do today matters tomorrow.

Small acts, faithfully carried out, can be signs of hope. Choosing to plant a tree. Choosing to use less and waste less. Choosing to look after the patch of earth entrusted to us. None of these things will solve the crisis alone. But they are deeds in jars – quiet commitments to those who will inherit the earth after us.

Harvest is not just looking back with thanks. It is also looking forward with faith. Jeremiah bought a field in hope. We can live as people of hope too – not ignoring the challenges, but daring to believe that God is not finished with this world.

So when we place bread and fruit and vegetables on the altar today, we do more than give thanks for what has grown. We offer our lives afresh, asking that God would use us to sow seeds of care, to live as stewards of creation, and to pass on a world where houses and fields and vineyards can still flourish.

Further Study

Reading
Jeremiah 32:1–3a, 6–15
Isaiah 65:17–25

Ponder
Reflect on a time when you chose to act in hope, even when the situation around you seemed uncertain or fragile. What sustained you in that choice?

Where do you notice “signs of siege” in today’s world—places where creation, communities, or futures feel under threat?

When have you glimpsed God’s promise of renewal in the midst of difficulty—like a seed breaking through dry ground?

Scripture Exploration
In Jeremiah 32, what does Jeremiah’s purchase of a field during a siege reveal about God’s character and promises?

Why does Jeremiah seal the deed in a clay jar, and how does this act symbolise care for future generations?

How do other biblical passages about planting, building, and restoration (e.g. Isaiah 65:21–22; Amos 9:14) help us understand this story more fully?

Personal Reflection
What theological principles about God’s faithfulness and human trust can be drawn from Jeremiah’s obedience to buy the field?

How do the struggles of our own generation with climate, environment, and justice resonate with the image of a city under siege?

How might Jeremiah’s hope-filled act speak into your own moments of discouragement or despair?

Personal Application
What practical steps can you take this week to live as a steward of creation—small acts that can serve as “deeds in jars” for the future?

Identify one habit or lifestyle choice that could be adjusted to help care for the earth or bless the next generation. What might it look like to begin that change?

How can your church community become a visible sign of God’s promised renewal—creating spaces of growth, healing, and hope?

Choose one way to encourage or invest in a child or young person, showing them that the future is worth tending with care and faith.

ST MARGARET’S · RAINHAM

Greatness on the Doorstep of the Kingdom (Luke 22:24–30)

The disciples are arguing. “Who is the greatest?” Who matters most? Who’s closest to Jesus? Who gets to set the agenda?

It’s a familiar argument. The church has been having it ever since. Who’s the most legitimate here? Who really belongs? Who gets to decide how we should be?

And too often, the ones lifted up have been the powerful, the eloquent, the charismatic. The leaders who draw a crowd, who seem successful, who look impressive. But we’ve seen where that road leads.

Think of Chris Brain and the Nine O’Clock Service—once praised as the future of the church, now remembered for exploitation. Think of Mike Pilavachi—celebrated for drawing thousands of young people, now exposed for manipulation and abuse. These were ministers the church held up, trusted, followed. And the damage they caused has left wounds that may never fully heal.

It isn’t just them. Time and again, we’ve aligned ourselves to power and money. Time and again, we’ve confused size for faithfulness, wealth for blessing, influence for legitimacy. And every time, we end up far from the kingdom of God.

But Jesus says, “You are not to be like that. The greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.”

So what does that mean here at St Margaret’s? It means the greatest aren’t the ones at the front, or the ones with titles, or the ones making the decisions. It’s the ones who put out the chairs without anyone noticing. It’s the people who make tea and coffee, who sit and listen when someone’s hurting, who keep praying when no one else sees. It’s the ones who stay faithful when life is hard, who serve with love in their workplaces, who choose kindness in school when no one thanks them for it.

That’s where greatness is found—in the small, hidden, faithful acts that mirror Jesus’ way. Not in power, not in position, but in service.

And here’s the good news: Jesus himself has already walked this path. “I am among you as one who serves.” He takes off the robe of power and kneels with a towel. He rejects the throne and goes to the cross. The King becomes the servant, the Master becomes the slave, the Son of God becomes the crucified.

That is the pattern for us. Success in God’s kingdom doesn’t look like climbing higher. It looks like becoming more like Jesus.

So if we want to know who is greatest among us, don’t look to the loudest voices or the most powerful leaders. Look to the ones who quietly serve. Look to the overlooked, the faithful, the kind. And as a church, let’s measure greatness not by numbers or money or influence—but by how much we resemble Christ.

Because the kingdom is not built on celebrity. It is built on service. It is not built on the powerful. It is built on the powerless. And in that upside-down kingdom, Christ is already among us—the servant King who makes all things new.

Further Study

Reading

Ponder

Scripture Exploration

Personal Reflection

Personal Application

ST MARGARET’S · RAINHAM

Is there no balm in Gilead?

Jeremiah asks a question that cuts across the centuries: “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?” He looks at a nation in turmoil, a people hurting, and wonders whether there is any remedy deep enough for such wounds.

It is not hard for us to hear his cry today. We look around our world and see wars that seem endless, nations bristling with weapons, refugees on the move, economies straining, cyber-attacks that bring airports to a halt, and protests and counter-protests on our own streets. We hear the rhetoric, we see the flags, we feel the divisions. And like Jeremiah we wonder: is there healing? Is there balm for wounds this deep?

The Bible’s answer is not a clever policy or a stronger leader. It is not a quick fix or an easy slogan. The answer is a person. Jesus Christ himself is the balm. Not because he papers over the cracks, but because he enters the wound. On the cross he takes into his own body the violence, pride and sin of the world. And in the resurrection he shows that life is stronger than death, peace stronger than war, mercy stronger than hatred. The balm is Christ.

But if Christ is the balm, what does that mean for us now? How do we live as people who carry that healing into the world?

First, we live by the Word. Our imaginations are shaped every day by headlines and social media feeds. Without even noticing, we start to see the world through the eyes of fear, division, or partisanship. Scripture re-anchors us. Jeremiah teaches us honesty. Jesus gives us the vision of the kingdom of God. A psalm prayed each day, a gospel story read slowly, can steady us. Without this, we will be swept along with the latest outrage.

Second, we gather at the Table. Here, around bread and wine, we remember who we are. Before we are British, or Estonian, or Ukrainian, or Sudanese—before we stand under any national flag—we are Christ’s. This table is our truest belonging. It is the place where divisions come down and enemies are called friends.

Third, we commit ourselves to Prayer. Prayer is not an escape from reality; it is the place where reality is faced most truthfully. We bring the wounds of the world before God—the wars, the refugees, the corruption, the fear in our own communities. In prayer we do what Jeremiah did: we name the hurt and we cry out for mercy.

Fourth, we embody Community. Healing comes not through grand gestures but through ordinary acts of mercy. A welcome to a stranger. A meal shared with someone lonely. Support for a foodbank. A listening ear for someone who feels unheard. The balm spreads in these small, faithful ways.

Fifth, we take a Sabbath from outrage. We live in a culture addicted to anger. The news cycle and social media thrive on keeping us provoked. But if we are constantly consuming outrage, we cannot be agents of peace. Sometimes the most faithful act is to put the phone down, step away, and create space for God’s Spirit to calm our hearts.

Sixth, we practise Courageous speech. Words can wound, but they can also heal. The balm looks like refusing to dehumanise others. It means speaking truth with grace. It means choosing words that dignify, even when we disagree.

And seventh, we live with Hopeful patience. We long for quick fixes, but God often works like a gardener. Seeds of peace and justice grow slowly. We may not see the fruit in our own lifetime, but we keep planting—acts of kindness, words of truth, gestures of reconciliation—trusting that God will bring the growth.

So when Jeremiah asks, “Is there no balm in Gilead?” we can answer, yes, there is. The balm is Christ. He is the healer of the nations. He is the one who binds up the broken-hearted. And he calls us to live as people who carry that balm into the wounds of our world.

In a world of conflict, let us be peacemakers. In a world of fear, let us be people of faith. In a world of slogans and flags, let us remember that our deepest identity is found at the cross and the empty tomb.

And so we pray:
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Spirit of God, heal our land, and make us instruments of your peace.
Amen.

Further Study

Reading
Jeremiah 8:18–9:1
John 14:25–27

Ponder
When you hear Jeremiah’s cry, “Is there no balm in Gilead?”, what situations in today’s world come to mind?
Think of a time when you felt overwhelmed by division, conflict, or grief. Where did you look for healing?
How do you respond to the idea that Jesus himself—not a policy, leader, or system—is the balm?

Scripture Exploration
In Jeremiah 8:18–9:1, how does Jeremiah express both his own grief and God’s grief over the people?
What does the metaphor of “balm in Gilead” suggest about God’s desire to heal? Why do you think Jeremiah feels it is missing?
In John 14:27, Jesus promises peace “not as the world gives.” How does this contrast with worldly ideas of peace?
How do the cross and resurrection of Jesus answer Jeremiah’s question about healing and hope?

Personal Reflection
What theological truths about God’s compassion and Christ’s role as healer emerge from these passages?
How do Scripture, the Table (Communion), and prayer help us resist being shaped only by headlines and outrage?
Which of the seven practices from the sermon—Word, Table, Prayer, Community, Sabbath from outrage, Courageous speech, Hopeful patience—resonates most with you right now, and why?

Personal Application
What practical step could you take this week to bring “balm” into your home, workplace, or neighbourhood?
Identify one way you can create Sabbath from outrage—limiting the news or social media, and instead making space for peace.
Who in your life might need you to speak with courageous grace rather than silence or hostility? What words could you offer?
Choose one small act of mercy—a welcome, a shared meal, a listening ear—that could embody healing in your community this week.

ST MARGARET’S · RAINHAM

Mustard-Seed Faith in a Broken World

This week we have been shaken by the news of the attack on a synagogue in Manchester. On Yom Kippur, one of the holiest days of the Jewish year, people gathered to pray. A man drove a car into worshippers and then attacked with a knife. Lives were lost, people were injured, and an entire community has been left grieving and fearful.

When we hear of such violence, it is natural to ask: how do we respond as Christians? What kind of faith do we hold up when the world feels so broken?

In today’s gospel, the disciples ask Jesus: “Increase our faith.” They had just heard him teach about forgiveness, about forgiving again and again. And their honest reaction was: “Lord, we don’t think we’ve got it in us.”

Perhaps we know that feeling. When we face tragedy or hatred, when life demands more than we feel we can give, we find ourselves saying the same thing: “Lord, I don’t have enough. Help me. Increase my faith.”

But Jesus’ reply is surprising. He doesn’t give them a plan to make their faith bigger. He says: “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it will obey you.”

What he means is this: it’s not about how much faith you can muster. It’s about who you place your faith in. Even the smallest seed of faith, if placed in God’s hands, is enough.

That’s good news when we feel weak. It means our short prayers matter. Our faltering trust matters. Even when we feel powerless, God is not.

And then Jesus tells a parable about a servant coming in from the field. The servant doesn’t expect thanks for simply doing his job. At first it sounds harsh, but Jesus is saying something very straightforward: faith is lived out in steady, ordinary obedience. We don’t follow him for applause or reward. We follow him because this is who we are – people who belong to God.

So how does this connect with what happened in Manchester? It means two things.

First: don’t despise your small faith. You may feel helpless in the face of such hatred, but your prayers and your acts of compassion matter. Even mustard-seed faith can be used by God.

Second: keep on with everyday faithfulness. Stand with those who are afraid. Speak out against antisemitism. Offer kindness where there is suspicion. These things may feel small, but they are the work of God’s people.

So today we hold on to this truth: we don’t need huge faith. We need faith the size of a mustard seed, placed in a great God. And we need the willingness to keep on walking in obedience, even when it isn’t noticed.

And the promise is this: in God’s hands, even mustard-seed faith can move mountains – and heal hearts.

Further Study

Reading
Luke 17:5–10
Micah 6:6–8
2 Corinthians 12:7–10

Ponder
When the disciples ask, “Increase our faith,” what situations in your life echo that same cry?
Think of a time when your trust in God felt small or fragile. How did you see God at work in that season?
How does the idea of “mustard-seed faith” encourage you when world events, like the attack in Manchester, feel overwhelming?

Scripture Exploration
In Luke 17, why does Jesus shift the focus from the amount of faith to the object of our faith?
What does the image of the mustard seed teach us about God’s power to use what feels insignificant?
How does Paul’s experience of weakness in 2 Corinthians 12 echo Jesus’ teaching here?
What does Micah 6:8 add to the conversation about daily faithfulness—acting justly, loving mercy, walking humbly with God?

Personal Reflection
What truths about God’s strength in our weakness come through these passages?
How might steady, quiet obedience be just as important as dramatic acts of faith?
When you think of serving God “without expecting thanks,” how does that challenge or encourage you in your discipleship?

Personal Application
What practical step could you take this week to live out mustard-seed faith—a small act of trust in God’s hands?
Who in your community needs a simple act of kindness or solidarity in light of recent events?
Where might you be tempted to wait for “big faith” before acting—and how could you step forward, even with the little faith you have?
Choose one ordinary act of obedience—prayer, forgiveness, service—that you can offer to God this week, trusting that he can use it.

ST MARGARET’S · RAINHAM

The Gospel in One Sentence

John 3:16 has been called the gospel in a single sentence. If you ever wanted to know what Christianity is really about, it’s all here.

It begins with God. Not with us, not with our trying, or failing, or doubting, but with God. And what is said of him? Not that he was angry. Not that he was distant. But that he loved.

And not just the nice bits. Not just the good people. Not just the ones who look like they deserve it. God so loved the world. This world. Messy, confused, violent, beautiful, fragile. The whole lot. Including you. Including the people you struggle with. Including those you’d rather exclude.

Love like that can’t just sit still. It gives. It acts. Real love always costs something. God’s love meant he gave what was most precious to him – his only Son. Not a spare part, not something left over, but his very heart. Given for us.

And then comes the invitation. Whoever believes. Whoever. No barriers, no exclusions. Not the clever, or the pure, or the strong, but whoever. It is as simple and as hard as trust – leaning the whole weight of your life on Jesus. And the invitation never expires. It doesn’t matter how far you’ve wandered, how much you doubt, or how much you feel you’ve messed up. Whoever believes is welcome.

And the promise is this: you will not perish. Life will not wither into nothing. You will have life. Eternal life. Not just life that lasts for ever, but life of a different quality. God’s own life, breathed into you. A life that begins now, with all its light and peace and hope, and that carries on through death into the age to come.

It’s the kind of life that steadies you when everything else feels uncertain. The kind of life that whispers hope when the headlines scream fear. The kind of life that reminds you that you are loved, and always will be.

So if you wanted the gospel in one sentence, here it is.
God loves. God gives. We believe. We live.

Further Study

Reading
John 3:13–17
Romans 5:6–11

Ponder
When you think of God’s love, what images or experiences come to mind?
Reflect on a time when you felt unworthy of love. How does hearing “God so loved the world” speak into that memory?
Who are the people you find it hardest to imagine being included in God’s love?

Scripture Exploration
In John 3:13–15, Jesus refers to Moses lifting up the serpent in the wilderness (Numbers 21:4–9). How does this story prepare the way for understanding the cross?
What does verse 16 tell us about the character of God, and what does it mean that his love is directed not at the “good” or the “deserving,” but at “the world”?
In verse 17, Jesus makes clear he did not come to condemn. How does this contrast with the way people often perceive God?

Personal Reflection
What theological principles about grace and salvation can be drawn from this passage?
How do you understand the relationship between belief, eternal life, and God’s love as set out here?
In what ways does this passage challenge narrow or exclusive understandings of who can be saved?

Personal Application
How might you live more consciously this week as someone who is deeply loved by God, rather than striving to “earn” that love?
Identify one practical way you can show God’s love to someone who might not expect it.
How can your church community better reflect the inclusive, non-condemning love of God described in these verses?
Choose a simple way to share John 3:16 with someone this week—not as a slogan, but as an invitation into God’s love.

ST MARGARET’S · RAINHAM

The Potters House

This story of Jeremiah, it starts in a really strange way because how is it that we think that we hear God? We perhaps sometimes think we don’t hear God at all. Perhaps we just think, oh, he’s talking to other people, but he’s not talking to me.

But he talks to Jeremiah in a way, first off, and basically says to him, go to the potter’s, go to the potter’s home.

Now I don’t know about you, but sometimes I get an image in my head or a sense that I need to be somewhere. And I suspect that’s what’s going on here. I suspect Jeremiah didn’t get a voice that he could hear saying, go to the potter’s home. I suspect what happened was he had a sense that he needed God, wanted him to be somewhere. And as I said, I suspect all of us have been in that same place.

He goes to the potter’s home, open minded. What am I doing here, God? What is it that you want me to do at this potter’s home? Jeremiah is the man who’s used by God to announce the arrival of Jesus, the forthcoming arrival of Jesus. What’s he doing in the potter’s home?

And he stands there and he watches, and he watches that pot being formed beautifully, the skill of the potter, those gentle hands just teasing a beautiful pot out of a blob of clay. And then perhaps to his dismay, watches as that pot breaks.

Because there’s a, there’s a problem with it, there’s a grain of sand in it, there’s a piece of straw in it, it’s not how it’s meant to be. And the thing that was beautiful all of a sudden is back to being a blob of clay again, ready to be reformed.

Now God’s message that is clear to Jeremiah is that it’s for the people of Israel what he’s saying to the people of Israel. And the Old Testament’s full of it.

Look, just do the things that I asked you to do and be the people that I want you to be. And if you’re not, then I’m going to take control and I’m going to make you into those people. And if you do it wrong again, I’m going to do the same thing again and again and again. And the Old Testament is that story.

It’s that story of the people of Israel just getting it wrong constantly, God forgiving them, bringing them back to a point of perfection again. And then entrusting them through their own free will to do the right thing. And you think, well, okay, I get it.

I get if we do the wrong thing, then God can put us back together again. That kind of feels like a bit of a negative story for us. The message for us today.

But I think the message is much more beautiful than that. I think the message for today is something about this. Each of us has the capacity to do something amazing. And what do you think the reason is that we choose not to do something amazing? Because we’re afraid of failure. We’re afraid to look foolish more often than not.

The reason you don’t step out, the reason you don’t respond to that little voice in your head or in your heart is because you doubt it. You doubt yourself that you’re hearing God clearly and therefore you just walk past.

I’m exactly the same. This isn’t about you, it’s about us. But this message is a message of hope. Because God doesn’t want you to walk past. But when you do, he doesn’t slay you. He doesn’t tell you off. What he does is he takes that mistake like that piece of clay, bundles it back up again and says, go again. He loves each one of us so much that he. He just wants us to be the people that we can be.

My piece of ginger, which was meant to look like my grandson, he just takes back on board, unlike Colin and others, just reshaped into love, into a heart. Each one of us has that opportunity. And what we need to do is not be afraid to step out when we get that sense that we’re meant to be doing something.

Because like as not, we may get it wrong. But that’s not the problem. The problem only arises when we choose not to do anything about it. If we do get it wrong, we’ve got that wonderful safety net. The Potter is waiting for us. And he turns our mistake back into love of him again. And off we go again.

Can we be brave? Can we trust that our lives are in the Potter’s hands? That when we get those chances we can venture out, we can go into the scary places and do the things that he wants us to do, knowing always that he’s there. And if we get it wrong, he loves us and we can go again.

Amen.

Further Study

Reading
Jeremiah 18:1–11
2 Corinthians 4:7–10

Ponder
Reflect on a time when you sensed God prompting you to act, speak, or step into something new. How did you respond?
What fears most often hold you back from stepping out in faith—fear of failure, of looking foolish, of letting others down?
How does the image of clay in the potter’s hands speak into your own life story?

Scripture Exploration
In Jeremiah 18:1–6, what does the imagery of the potter and the clay reveal about God’s sovereignty and care?
How does the reworking of the clay (when it’s spoiled) illustrate God’s patience and ongoing commitment to his people?
In 2 Corinthians 4:7–10, Paul describes believers as “jars of clay.” How does this expand the theme—fragility held within God’s power?

Personal Reflection
What theological principles about forgiveness and second chances can be drawn from the potter reshaping the clay?
How do you understand the relationship between God’s sovereignty and your own free will in this image?
Where have you experienced God taking failure or weakness in your life and reshaping it into something new?

Personal Application
What practical step could you take this week to trust the “little nudges” of God, even if you’re unsure where they will lead?
Identify one fear that regularly holds you back. What would it look like to bring that fear honestly before God in prayer?
Think of someone in your community who feels like they’ve “failed” or been “spoiled clay.” How might you encourage them with the hope of being reshaped by the Potter’s love?
Plan one small, brave action you will take in the coming days—something you might normally avoid out of fear of getting it wrong. Afterwards, reflect on how God met you in that step.

ST MARGARET’S · RAINHAM

252 KIDS

252 Kids is our Sunday morning group for school-aged children in Years R–6.

We meet during term time from 10:20am to 11:30am at the Millennium Centre. Children and leaders then join the church family at St Margaret’s.

On the first Sunday of each month, there is no 252 Kids session. Everyone shares in the All-Age Holy Communion at 10:30am in church.

Through creative activities, children explore the Bible, grow in faith and build friendships. Parents and carers are welcome to stay for a taster session to help their children settle in.

ST MARGARET’S · RAINHAM

PRIVACY POLICY

LAST UPDATED: 19 OCTOBER 2026

We want you to feel welcome at St Margaret’s and confident about how your personal information is used. This notice explains how we handle information connected with rainhamchurch.co.uk, church communications, enquiries, bookings and giving.

QUESTIONS OR A PRIVACY REQUEST?

Email office@rainhamchurch.co.uk, telephone 01634 362023, or write to the Church Office,
St Margaret’s Church, High Street, Rainham, Kent ME8 7JH.

1. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?

The Parochial Church Council (PCC) of St Margaret’s Church, Rainham is responsible for personal information used for the parish website and parish administration. “We”, “us” and “our” in this notice refer to the parish acting through its PCC. Please send privacy enquiries to the Church Office using the details above.

Clergy, the Diocese of Rochester and external organisations may be separately responsible for some records or services, including statutory registers, safeguarding casework and transactions you make directly with another provider. Where that applies, their own privacy information also explains their responsibilities.

2. WHAT INFORMATION DO WE RECEIVE?

We normally receive information from you. We may also receive relevant details from someone arranging an activity on your behalf, a booking or giving provider, church officers or authorised organisations. If we receive information about you indirectly, we provide privacy information as required by law, unless a lawful exception applies.

3. WHY WE USE IT AND OUR LAWFUL BASES

You do not have to give us optional information. If you do not provide the information needed to answer an enquiry, complete a booking or administer Gift Aid, we may be unable to provide that particular service. We do not use the website to make solely automated decisions with legal or similarly significant effects on you.

4. SENSITIVE INFORMATION, CHILDREN AND SAFEGUARDING

Information about religious beliefs, health or certain other matters has additional protection. Where we need it, we must identify both a lawful basis and an appropriate additional legal condition. Depending on the circumstances, that may include explicit consent, the lawful activities of a religious not-for-profit body, or conditions supporting safeguarding and other legal duties. Membership of a church is not a blanket permission to use or share sensitive information.

Please only include information that is relevant to your request. Avoid sending sensitive information through the newsletter form. Safeguarding concerns should go through the reporting routes on our Safeguarding page, so the appropriate people can respond.

When an activity involves children, we handle their information with particular care and seek appropriate information and permissions from a parent or person with parental responsibility where needed. Information may need to be shared without consent where there is a lawful safeguarding or safety reason.

5. NEWSLETTERS AND YOUR CHOICES

Our website newsletter form sends the name and email address you enter to our existing Mailchimp audience using a confirmation process. You can unsubscribe using the link in an email or by contacting the Church Office. Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of earlier processing.

We may retain the minimum information needed to respect an unsubscribe request and avoid adding you again by mistake. Mailchimp may process delivery, engagement and technical information in accordance with the features enabled for our account and its own privacy information. A subscription does not mean that all church correspondence is marketing: we may still need to respond to your enquiry or send essential information about a booking.

6. WHO WE SHARE INFORMATION WITH

Access within the parish is limited to people who need information for their responsibilities, such as authorised clergy, staff, trustees and volunteers. Service providers may process information to host, secure and operate the website, send email or support administration.

Services used or linked from this site include WordPress.com/Automattic and Jetpack, Mailchimp, Humanitix, MyHallWizard, JustGiving, Vimeo, Google Maps and churchyard or heritage services. Some act on our instructions; others are independent organisations responsible for their own processing. Which organisation receives information depends on the service you choose to use.

For example, an event organiser may receive booking information from Humanitix, a donation provider may share donation or Gift Aid details with the benefiting charity, and a hall booking provider may pass relevant booking details to the venue. Payment details should be entered only through the relevant payment provider’s own secure process.

We may share relevant information with HMRC, diocesan or church bodies, safeguarding professionals, regulators, insurers, professional advisers or law-enforcement bodies where we have a lawful reason or are required to do so. We do not sell personal information.

7. INFORMATION PROCESSED OUTSIDE THE UK

Some hosting, email, booking, payment and embedded-content providers operate internationally. Where we arrange a transfer of personal information outside the UK, it must have an appropriate lawful safeguard, such as an applicable adequacy arrangement or approved contractual safeguards with any further measures required. Providers acting independently describe their own international processing in their privacy notices.

You can ask the Church Office for information about the safeguards relevant to your information. We do not promise that every service stores all information exclusively in the UK.

8. COOKIES, LOCAL STORAGE AND WEBSITE STATISTICS

Cookies and similar technologies can store or read information on your device. Different rules apply depending on their actual purpose; a technology is not essential simply because it is useful to us.

You can clear stored website data or change cookie settings in your browser. Restricting storage may affect preferences or some functions. Use any provider or website privacy choices offered for the service concerned, and contact us if you want to object to our use of information for statistics or need help understanding a particular technology. Browser controls alone do not replace consent where consent is legally required.

9. LINKS, EMBEDS AND SHARING

Our site links to independent websites and includes some embedded services. Their operators have their own privacy notices and settings. Please check these before submitting personal information to them. Opening an embed can make a connection to its provider even if you have not submitted a form.

The Share button uses your device’s sharing facility where available. Its alternatives let you copy a page link or open email, Facebook or WhatsApp. Copying a link does not itself send a message; choosing an external sharing service means that service receives the information you choose to share and relevant technical information. Take care not to share private information in a public post.

10. PHOTOGRAPHS, FILMING AND PUBLIC RECORDS

Church news, event coverage and online services may include photographs, voices or video recordings. How these are used depends on the purpose, the circumstances and the appropriate permissions or other lawful basis. Please contact us if you have questions about an image or recording of you or a child you are responsible for, or want to request a review of published material.

Parish and churchyard material may include historical names, dates and plot references. UK data-protection rights relate to living individuals; historical records can nevertheless include information about living people. We consider correction and privacy requests, while taking account of archival, statutory and other legitimate requirements. A request to remove material does not automatically require deletion of an official register.

11. HOW LONG WE KEEP INFORMATION

We keep information only for as long as needed for its purpose and applicable legal or record-keeping duties. The period depends on the type of record, whether an enquiry or matter is still active, and whether there is a safeguarding, tax, contractual, archival or legal-claims reason to retain it.

Contact us for the retention criteria or period relevant to a particular record. Backups and restricted records may remain until their normal expiry or where retention is legally required.

12. HOW WE PROTECT INFORMATION

We use appropriate organisational and technical measures, including access controls, secure connections and the security facilities provided by our systems. Access should be proportionate to the person’s role. We assess and respond to suspected personal-data breaches, including notifying the regulator or affected people where required by law. No website or email service can guarantee absolute security.

13. YOUR RIGHTS

Depending on the circumstances, you can ask to access your personal information, correct it, have it erased, restrict its use, receive certain information in a portable format, or object to processing. You can withdraw consent where processing relies on it, and you can object to direct marketing at any time.

These rights have conditions and exceptions. For example, we may need to retain statutory, safeguarding or tax records. Contact office@rainhamchurch.co.uk with enough detail to help us find the relevant information. We may need proportionate confirmation of your identity. Requests are normally free and are handled within the applicable legal time limits, usually one calendar month, with permitted extensions or adjustments explained where relevant.

14. QUESTIONS AND COMPLAINTS

Please contact the Church Office if you are concerned about how your information is used. We will consider your complaint and keep you informed. You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO); you do not have to complete our complaints process before contacting the regulator.

CONTACT THE ICO

15. CHANGES TO THIS NOTICE

We review this notice when our services, practices or legal requirements change. The date at the top shows the latest revision. Where a change materially affects how we use your information, we provide further information or seek fresh consent where required.

Parish Paper comments

If you submit a comment, we store the name and message you provide with the story and submission date. Church administrators review it before publication. Only approved comments are displayed publicly. You do not need to provide an email address. Please do not include private contact details or sensitive information. Contact the Church Office if you would like your comment removed.

ST MARGARET’S · RAINHAM

HEALTH & SAFETY POLICY

As a church, we understand that we owe a duty of care to ensure the safety of those who visit or use our church, hall or churchyard.

We also know that, where we are an employer or control premises in certain circumstances, we have to meet the requirements of health and safety law.

In particular, we know that if we are an employer having five or more employees, we are required to have a written health and safety policy. As such, we have drafted this policy to meet our duty under Section 2(3) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

General statement of policy

Our policy is to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that our activities are carried out safely and do not pose a risk to the health of our employees, volunteers, congregation, visitors and others who may use the church, churchyard or any other building we are responsible for. This will be in accordance with good practice and any relevant statutory provisions where they apply.

The Parochial Church Council (PCC) accepts its overall responsibility for this. We will ensure that adequate resources are made available to achieve this objective. Any decisions we make will have due regard for it.

We will appoint a member of the PCC to have specific responsibility for this policy and its implementation. To keep matters under review, we will include ‘health and safety’ as a standing item on the agenda for all meetings of the PCC. We will monitor the effectiveness of the policy, amending it where we believe it is no longer valid.

It is the duty of each employee and volunteer to exercise personal responsibility for their own safety and that of others. This policy will be brought to their attention. We will try to ensure that everyone involved with the church plays their part in its implementation.

Further detail about our organisation and arrangements for managing health and safety is set out in this document. A copy of it will be kept in the church and made available to others on request.

Signed

Nathan Ward

On behalf of the Parochial Church Council as agreed at a meeting on: Date: 22 January 2026

Organisation and responsibilities

The person with overall responsibility for implementing our policy is the Vicar. They will ensure that the arrangements set out in this policy satisfy any health and safety law, seeking specialist health and safety advice if necessary.

The following persons have day-to-day responsibility for implementing our policy. They are the Churchwardens. They will ensure that the arrangements set out in this policy are carried out.

All employees and volunteers have a responsibility to cooperate in the implementation of this policy and to take reasonable care of themselves and others while on church business or premises.

Arrangements

This section sets out our general arrangements for managing health and safety and dealing with specific risks. We have removed any points that do not apply to our activities.

General Arrangements

Competent Assistance

Where necessary, we will appoint someone who is competent to assist us in meeting our health and safety obligations. We have appointed Bright Safe to be our competent advisors.

Risk Assessment

Where necessary, we will complete risk assessments to identify what we need to do to comply with health and safety law. We will record our findings, implementing any necessary precautions. We will review and revise these where we suspect that they are no longer valid.

Information and Training

We will provide any necessary information and training for our employees and volunteers in a timely manner. We will keep a record of what is provided. We will also give relevant information to contractors and self-employed people who may need this to complete their work safely.

First Aid

We will provide adequate first aid facilities including – as a minimum – a suitably stocked first aid box and a person who will take charge of the first aid arrangements. We will also provide relevant information for employees and volunteers.

Our first aid box is located in the toilet lobby area. Our person in charge of first aid arrangements is the Parish Administrator.

Accident Reporting

We will record details of any accidents that occur, (in an accident book if required). We will report to the enforcing authority and keep records of certain accidents to employees, volunteers and members of the public in accordance with the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations.

Records of any accidents are kept in the church office.

Monitoring

We will make periodic checks to ensure that our precautions remain effective and adequate. We will also ensure that any lifting, work or electrical equipment and church utilities are inspected as necessary to ensure that they remain safe. We will keep records of the checks we make.

Contractors

If we employ contractors, we make sure that they have their own health & safety policy and Public and Employers Liability insurance by asking to see copies of the relevant documents.

Record Keeping

Our Health and Safety Risk Assessments, records and other documents are kept on the church website (www.rainhamchurch.co.uk) and in the Church Office.

Specific Arrangements

Asbestos

We will take steps to identify the presence of asbestos in our buildings and, if so, assess any risk from it. We will then implement any plan to manage that risk. We will also provide relevant information to others who might need it (e.g. building contractors). We will keep records of the checks, assessments and plans we have made.

Bell Ringing

We will ensure that adequate precautions are in place to protect bellringers and others who may enter the ringing room and bell chamber. This may include any emergency evacuation procedure; a safe means of heating; the provision of fire extinguishers, the provision of emergency lighting and the notification of safety procedures to visiting bellringers.

Church Buildings

We will ensure that the fabric of our buildings is regularly inspected to make sure it is safe. Defects will be repaired as soon as is practicable bearing in mind that a faculty may be required. Where necessary, temporary measures will be taken to prevent danger until permanent repairs can be made. This will include glazing.

Churchyard

We will ensure that boundary walls and gates are kept in good repair. Where appropriate, we will have trees inspected by a competent person and have any necessary work carried out to make them safe. Headstones tombs and monuments will be checked regularly to ensure they are properly maintained. Where our churchyard is formally closed, we will report any concern to the Local Authority or Parish Council.

Construction Work

Where maintenance, refurbishment and restoration work is planned for our church, we will identify what we need to do to ensure the safety of all those concerned before work starts. We will also determine if we have any responsibilities under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations and comply with these if necessary.

Display Screen Equipment

Where our employees and volunteers regularly use computers daily, for continuous periods of an hour or more we will analyse workstations to identify precautions, implementing these as necessary. We will also provide information, training, eye/eyesight tests (on request) and special spectacles if needed.

Electricity

We will ensure that any electrical system, fixed machine and portable appliances is inspected, tested and maintained by someone who is competent to prevent danger. Any defective equipment will not be used until it is repaired or replaced. We will keep records of the checks made.

Events

Where we intend to hold large or unusual concerts, services or other fund-raising events, we will identify any additional precautions that are necessary and implement these.

Fire

We will complete a specific risk assessment to identify what steps are necessary to prevent, detect and take in the event of a fire. We will record our findings, implementing any necessary precautions. We will review and revise these where we suspect that they are no longer valid.

Heating Systems

We will ensure that any oil or gas heating system is suitably maintained and checked annually by a competent person. Any defects found will be corrected immediately and we will keep records of the checks made.

Hazardous Substances

We only use domestic cleaning or horticultural products and petrol. We will ensure that these are stored, used and disposed of in accordance with the manufacturers’ instructions taking any necessary precautions that are specified.

Lifting Equipment

We will ensure that any lifting equipment is properly maintained and thoroughly examined periodically by a competent person.

Manual Handling

We will avoid the need for lifting or carrying heavy objects as far as is possible. Where this is not practical, we will make use of lifting aids (such as, trolleys) or other precautions including team lifting.

Oil Storage

Where we store large quantities of oil, we will take adequate precautions to ensure that oil cannot leak into the ground or any water course. This may include the provision of a double skinned plastic tank, an adequate bund, regular checks and proper maintenance etc.

Preparation of Food

We will ensure that on those occasions when we prepare food we use a clean and disinfected work surface, utensils and equipment. We will store food in such a way as to avoid contamination, provide hand-washing facilities and suitable arrangements for the disposal of waste.

Slips and Trips

We will implement suitable precautions to prevent slips or trips, taking account of any difficulty the frail, elderly or disabled may have in negotiating access. We will make periodic checks to ensure that floors, coverings, steps and pathways remain in good condition, free from obstruction and that any precautions (such as, hand rails, lighting) remain adequate. We will correct any defects identified, keeping records of the checks we make. We will have arrangements in place to manage pathways in winter weather.

Tower Tours

Where we plan to run tower tours, we will identify any specific precautions that are necessary. This will take account of the size of the tower; the control of movement within the tower; the number of stewards available; and the ease with which persons can safely evacuate the tower in case of emergency. We will then implement these.

Working at Height

Where possible we will try and avoid the need for work at height. Where this is not practicable, we will ensure that any work is properly planned to identify suitable precautions. We will make sure that these are implemented, including the provision of any training and checks to ensure the safety of any equipment used.

Work Equipment

Any work equipment (including any hand tools) we provide will be suitable, in good condition and properly maintained. Where necessary, some equipment (such as, ladders) will be regularly checked to make sure they are safe. We will keep records of any checks we make.

Working Alone

We will identify circumstances where our employees and volunteers work alone, and implement suitable precautions to ensure their safety.