Services & Events

including baptism and wedding information

SUNDAY WORSHIP

10.15am Parish Eucharist

with congregational music, an address, and activities for children in term time

On the first Sunday of each month, children remain in church for an all-age celebration.

We aim to be an inclusive church, for people of all ages and traditions. Our congregation is very mixed, and we have a reputation for friendliness in welcoming newcomers.

The style of our worship is liturgical, based on the the contemporary provisions of Common Worship.

Refreshments follow the service, and sometimes a bring and share lunch.

WEEKDAY WORSHIP

Tuesdays at 12.30pm Eucharist a simple, said celebration in the side chapel   [note change of day and time from November 2008 - previously Wednesday 1pm]

Morning and Evening Prayer are usually said on weekdays at 8am and 5pm, and the church is normally open between these times for private prayer and visitors during the day.

Festivals and Special Days - Eucharist as announced (see monthly Calendar)

BAPTISM, CONFIRMATION AND MARRIAGE

Holy Baptism, or Christening, is administered during the Sunday service, or at other times by arrangement.

Young people and adults are regularly prepared for Confirmation.

Enquiries about any of these can be made at the Sunday service, or click here to contact the Rector. 

You can download baptism information and forms here, and wedding information and forms here.

REGULAR EVENTS

On most Tuesdays at 1pm, Wapping Great Voices - the staff choir of News International - rehearses, and gives occasional concerts.Their carol service, involving other church and school choirs as well, is an annual highlight at St George's - a deliberate and welcome choice to 'stay local' rather than go somewhere grander! We are pleased that NI has decided to remain in the area, even though the printing presses have now moved to Broxbourne. They have become the major employer in the parish, and their plan is to create a 'media campus' over the next three years, with about 4,000 staff, on a site which has acquired a symbolic status in the light of events 20 years ago; we look forward to continued co-operation.   

On Tuesday evenings during term, course members from North Thames Ministerial Training Course share a meal in the crypt and come into church to worship at 7.15pm, before their teaching sessions. NTMTC is based in our crypt, and is part of the College of St Mellitus which oversees training for ordained and some lay ministries in the dioceses of London and Chelmsford.

All the children of our church school, St Paul's CE Whitechapel Primary School, come to church for special services at least twice a term, and individual classes come at other times. The Rector leads assembly in school every Monday morning. In 2008, we held an 'Education Celebration' for children, parents, staff, governors and members of the congregation. The London Diocesan Board for Schools provides support for governors and staff, and resources for festivals. The recent denominational inspection rated the school as 'outstanding' in all four categories - distinciveness and effectiveness as a Church of England School (serving a Muslim-majority intake), collective worship, religious education, leadership and management.

During the summer of 2008 a series of concerts, linked to art displays, were arranged by members of Art Impact Project. The group is currently holding concerts elsewhere while funding is explored, and we hope they will return to St George's in due course, and use our newly-restored grand piano. Here are some of their posters: 1, 2, 3, 4; click here for more information. In 2009, a 'home team' has arranged a successful series of recitals on Sundays at 5pm, which we hope will continue to develop. We have not just one, but two, good grand pianos - a fine Blüthner, recently-restored, and a late-Victorian Broadwood.  Please contact Elspeth Wilkes, our director of music, for more details.

On Saturdays, the Sottyen Sen School of Performing Arts rehearses in church, and performs regularly around Tower Hamlets. They are keen to pass on the traditions of Bengali folksong, dance and drama, and we are glad to be associated with them.

CHURCH VISITS

Throughout the year many groups visit St George-in-the-East. School groups, both primary and secondary, come for various curriculum projects - not only RE, but history, geography and art (for example, a recent Religion and Place project by Building Exploratory). Students from colleges and universities study the building and its local context. And adults come, as groups and individuals, often as part of local history or Hawksmoor trails, or during the Open House or East London Heritage weekends.