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Welcome to St Mark’s!

We welcome everyone. No exceptions.

We extend a special welcome to those who are single, married, civil partnered, divorced, widowed, LGBTQI+, questioning, well-heeled or down at heel. We especially welcome wailing babies and excited toddlers.

We welcome you whether you can sing like Pavarotti or just growl quietly to yourself. You’re welcome here if you’re just browsing, just woken up, or just got out of prison. We don’t care if you’re more Christian than the Archbishop of Canterbury, or haven’t been to church since Christmas ten years ago.

We extend a special welcome to those who are over sixty but not grown up yet, and to teenagers who are growing up too fast. We welcome keep-fit mums, football dads, starving artists, tree-huggers, latte-sippers, vegetarians, junk-food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery or still addicted. We welcome you if you’re having problems, are down in the dumps, or don’t like ‘organised religion’. (Some of us aren’t that keen on it either.) We offer a welcome to those who think the earth is flat, work too hard, don’t work, can’t spell, or are here because granny is visiting and she wanted to come to church.

We welcome those who are inked, pierced, both or neither. We offer a special welcome to those who could use a prayer right now, had religion shoved down their throat as kids, or got lost and wound up here by mistake.

We welcome pilgrims, tourists, believers, seekers, doubters… and you.

Okay, so we’re not there yet. But the above is our aim. Come join us.

Services at St Mark’s

Our main Sunday service is at 10 am—a parish communion service.  

Our Sunday Club also meets during term time for all pre-school-age children and above.  Do join us!

You can also join the 10 am service by Zoom; please contact the Pastoral Minister, Paula Thorvaldsen ([email protected]) if you would like the Zoom link details.

Our Wednesday Communion is a more reflective service meeting 1-1.30 pm in the sanctuary of St Mark’s.  It’s a beautiful way to pause mid-week and find some space to re-focus your life.

If you have any questions about our church or worship, please contact our Pastoral Minister, Paula Thorvaldsen. 

She is also in regular contact with congregation members who are on their own or have particular needs. If you would like her to contact you, her details are:

Paula Thorvaldsen, [email protected], 07711 887 430

You can contact the Administrator and Church Office on [email protected]

Vacancy at St Mark’s

We are currently in an interregnum at St Mark’s.  Very sadly, we said farewell to our previous incumbent, the Revd Clive Gardner, after 13 years of service.  Clive’s leaving sees the start of a search for a new Team Vicar to take the church forward.  This is a period of reflection for St Mark’s, and this period allows us to reflect on what God is calling us to do as we seek to grow in our own faith and as we continue to serve the communities in which we live.  

We hope to have a new vicar in place towards the end of 2024. 

Here are the steps St Mark’s is taking as we move into this period of renewal:

Creating a ‘Parish Profile’

St Mark’s District Council (DCC) puts together a document describing the church and its congregation and lays out its hopes and challenges for the future. This document forms the basis of the ‘job spec’ for the new vicar. The post is open to Church of England vicars from any part of the UK.

Commissioning our parish representatives

St Mark’s DCC has commissioned Paula Thorvaldsen and Nick Wolff as its representatives, who will work with the Team Rector, the Archdeacon and the Bishop of Kingston over a period of months to shortlist and interview candidates.

Interviewing candidates

Once a shortlist has been created, candidates are invited for interviews and may choose to visit the church.

The new Team Vicar starts

Once a candidate has accepted the role of vicar at St Mark’s, he or she will be installed by the Bishop of  Kingston in a special service at church. We hope it won’t take too long to arrive at this important milestone, but the process can take up to a year.

Updated 12 February 2024

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