All Saints Church New Eltham

Weekly Service

We offer a range of services every week in a friendly, welcoming environment. Our services are open to all with our celebration of Holy Communion at the heart of what we offer.

Holy Communion is the basic building block of Christian worship. We are instructed by Christ to partake of his body and blood symbolized by Bread and Wine, to remember not only the last supper but his ultimate sacrifice for us.

Through communion we are bound to Christ and to each other, not just receiving through this sacrament God’s grace but also willingly taking on all that being a Christian can mean for our lives.

‘I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.’ (CS Lewis)

 
Sunday 10.00 am Holy Communion. This is a sung service to music played on either the organ or piano.

On the Third Sunday of every month we have a Family Communion Service, which is an all-inclusive service specially adapted to encourage families with children of all ages to attend and to feel at home. The church has a carpeted area with a range of toys and books where younger children can play safely within sight of their parents.

Lent, Holy Week, and Easter

• Ash Wednesday – marks the beginning of Lent, a season of preparation and penitence before the Feast of Easter. Ashes are a symbol of our sorrow and pain.
  We give up rich foods and ‘extras’ like chocolate and alcohol as an outward sign of the spiritual stripping back of our lives. It is a time o reflect on our relationship with God and with each other, and to strive to be better.
• Palm Sunday – is the day when Jesus was welcomed into Jerusalem with Palms and shouts of Hosanna. He rode on a donkey to fulfil the prophecy of Daniel. We celebrate by waving palms , sharing crosses of palm and singing hosanna to the son of David.
• Maundy Thursday – commemorates the Last Supper on the Thursday before Easter as we remember the beginning of the last week of Jesus, with the story of the foot-washing and of the watching in the Garden of Gethsemane. We share communion, wash each other’s feet, and watch together as a symbol of these acts.
• Good Friday – is the day we remember Jesus Christ’s death. At 10.00 am we walk from Clare Corner to the Methodist Church in New Eltham carrying a wooden cross, singing hymns and recounting the story of this day.
  We also have a service at 2pm where we reflect on the last hour of Christ’s life and the great sacrifice he made for us all.
• Holy Saturday – late at night on the eve of Easter we meet together to reveal Christ Light in the World. We begin with a bonfire from which we light our Paschal Candle (a special candle for Easter), we sing of God’s people and hear of the history of God’s relationship with the world. This is the oldest service we hold which dates back to the first century BC.
• Easter Day – the day when we celebrate Christ is risen from the dead. Traditionally we exchange chocolate eggs as signs of new life. Lamb is a traditional Sunday lunch for this day representing Jesus ‘the lamb of God’

Ascension Day

Where we mark the occasion of Jesus last sighting on earth and his ascension into heaven.

Pentecost

Penticost is the last Sunday of the Easter season, previously known as Whitsun (short for Whit Sunday). We celebrate and everyone is asked to wear something red for the service.

Harvest

We come together to give thanks to God for his generosity and to share what we have been given with others around the world.

All Saints (nearest Sunday to 1st November)

This is our patronal festival. It is when we come together to celebrate all of God’s people past present and future.

Remembrance Day (nearest Sunday to 11th November)

We have an Act of Remembrance on Remembrance Sunday at 10:45am. This is the day we give thanks to those who have sacrificed themselves for our sake. We remember all who have died in conflicts since and including World War One. We remember the futility of war and with sadness the continuing strife in the world.

All Souls

Every year we have All Souls service of recollection at 4pm. This is the day we remember all who have died and thank God for their lives. We ask God to hold us in our grief and to care for those we have lost. If you would like us to remember your loved one at this time please click here.