Beginning the week commencing 5th October, there will be two new regular services at St Margaret's. Evening Prayer will be held in the Lady Chapel at 6pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, each service lasting approximately 20-25 minutes.Evening Prayer is an opportunity to pause and reflect at the end of the day in the quiet space of the church. Services will be in modern English, focused on the psalms and bible readings. All are welcome.With the introduction of Evening Prayer, the weekly pattern of services at St Margaret's will be:Sundays - 10.30am - Sung Eucharist Tuesdays - 6pm - Evening Prayer Wednesdays - 6pm - Evening PrayerDetails about upcoming special services, or changes to regular services, can always be found on this website - A Church Near You - and on St Margaret's social media accounts.
Photo: St Margaret's Pilgrims 2025. Image courtesy of J.Titley.On Saturday 13th September, St Margaret’s enjoyed a pilgrimage day exploring some of the religious sites of the City of London and discovering more about our local history. After Morning Prayer in Ilford, we began the day (perhaps unexpectedly for a church group) with a visit to the London Mithraeum and an intimate encounter with an example of pagan religion in ancient London. The Mithraeum lies over the course of one of city’s lost rivers, the Walbrook. Nearly two thousand years ago when Londinium was founded by the Romans, this river marked the limits of their first settlement. In the third century AD, a Roman Londoner built a temple to the pagan god Mithras on this reclaimed ground next to the river. Today, you can see the ruined foundations of the temple and experience the sounds of ancient Mithraic rituals. Hearing the sound of Latin chants in the subterranean gloom of the Mithraeum, we pondered what made Christianity distinctive then and now from the other religious traditions surrounding it – an especially important question as the following day was the Feast of the Holy Cross, when we focus on the saving power of Christ’s death and resurrection for us.Next, we moved to All Hallows-by-the-Tower, an early mediaeval church, formerly known as All Hallows Barking with links to Barking Abbey – which also founded the Hospital Chapel in Ilford. The church’s proximity to the Tower of London meant that it was long used for the temporary burials of (in)famous religious figures, including Thomas More, John Fisher, and William Laud. The church has some notable American connections too – the sixth President of the United States of America, John Quincy Adams, was married at All Hallows, and William Penn – the founder of Pennsylvania – was baptised there. In the twentieth century, one of All Hallows’ vicars, Tubby Clayton, founded the Toc H movement tending to servicemen and there is now a fascinating crypt museum exploring the church’s history from the Roman era to present day via the Civil War, Templar knights, and the First World War.After lunch, we regrouped at St Lawrence Jewry for a tour led by the Guild Vicar, Rev. James Titley. St Lawrence is the official church of the Corporation of London and has been destroyed and rebuilt twice following devastating conflagrations: firstly, the Great Fire of 1666 and, secondly, the Blitz of 1940. The seventeenth century rebuild was designed by Sir Christopher Wren and the church has recently been restored to an appearance similar to that of Wren’s original design.We heard the story of the early Christian martyr St Lawrence who was entrusted with the material goods of the church in Rome and the distribution of alms to the poor. When the Roman authorities demanded that Lawrence hand over the ‘treasures of the Church’, he presented the people to whom he had distributed the treasure as alms. The enraged authorities then condemned Lawrence to death, roasting him on a gridiron. He is said to have died with the witty remark, “Turn me over, I’m done on this side.”In another local connection, we discovered that beneath the high altar of St Lawrence Jewry lie eighteenth century Archbishop of Canterbury John Tillotson and his wife Elizabeth Tillotson, for whom Valentine’s Mansion was built in Ilford.We closed our visit with a group photo in the side chapel celebrating the original founding nations of the Commonwealth and headed to Choral Evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral, marking the eve of Holy Cross Day – an occasion made even more enjoyable by the presence of one of our own in the cathedral choir.A grand day out and fun was had by all, and we learnt a great deal about the religious history and riches of London.Deo gratias!
St Margaret's is delighted to welcome our new parish priest, The Reverend Joshua Peckett, who was installed as Vicar by the Bishop of Chelmsford at a special service on Corpus Christi.Rev. Joshua previously served as Assistant Curate in the Headingley & All Hallows' Team Ministry in the Anglican Diocese of Leeds, primarily at St Michael & All Angels’ Headingley. (Cricket enthusiasts will probably know St Michael’s as the church spire which can often be seen in the back of shot beyond the sportsground when matches are broadcast). That ministry has focused on younger people encountering Christianity, building up connections with the wider community, re-establishing a local Churches Together movement and promoting ecumenical ties, especially with Lutheran Christians in this country, as well as work through schools with friends from other major world religions to promote tolerance and understanding of our faiths.Rev. Joshua says "I am particularly delighted to be able to join St Margaret's as a parish church which promotes itself as inclusive. Being an inclusive church can take lots of forms with various approaches to living that as theology and in liturgical practice. At its core though is a conviction that our diversity enriches us as a community and we strive for a generosity of heart which desires to welcome, know, and encourage others in their life and faith. It is great to continue that journey of inclusive church in a new setting with St Margaret’s."Do come along and meet the new Vicar on a Sunday morning!
