An Anglican church in an old pub in Islington, London. Service at 7pm every Sunday.
Becky Garrison is a NY based religious journalist who is exploring new forms of church. Her work is particularly aimed at the US scene, arguing that effective church dosen’t have to be large scale, and mega budget (and may in fact be better if it isn’t). She visited COTC last year, and there is a good chapter about us in the book, along with lots of other stories of innovative and creative churches and communities, including SafeSpace in Telford. Well worth a read.
Our annual Carol services are a great event to invite friends and workmates to, simple, beautiful, soulful and thought provoking. Not to mention the mulled wine and minced pies. If you wish to send out an invite you can use the one above (click for a full sized version) or pick a non-virtual one up at church on Sunday.
Each year at Church on the Corner we mark Advent together, and this year we are exploring prayer. Advent is a really important season in the church year, often lost in the the run up to Christmas. Advent means ‘the coming’ it is the solomn fast before the great feast of Christmas, and it is a time to look forward to the joy ahead of us.
While there is much we do well at Church on the Corner, Prayer is often something we struggle with, and all too often it becomes a burden and a source of guilt, when it should be life giving, refreshing and nourishing. But while prayer will always require decision and discipline there are many patterns of prayer which are rich and wise. Often we have grown up in just one tradition, and this Advent we are intending to explore some older patterns together.
We make this commitment, before God and one another to pray each day throughout the season, and when we fail to get up and start again. There are three different patterns, which are well worth trying out, but once you find one that works well for you, try to commit to it.
Our teaching series this term is on Christian Doctrine. You can find some of the Talks below.
Doctrine 9 & 10 – to follow
This autumn St Paul’s Cathedral are holding a series of public debates on themes such as Love, happiness, suffering and death, and inviting heavyweights like Stanley Hauerwas and Oliver James to contribute. It is one of the great privileges of living in London that this stuff happens around us, and it is all too easy to miss because there is so much going on. But this is well worth making time for. You can find out more here and the leaflets will be available at church.
What an interesting way to spend our Wednesday nights! Lovely to see so many of you there. We recorded some of the sessions, you can find them on the resources page
Time Eight is an exhibition at Church on the Corner by 8 local artists, taking place on the 17th and 18th September. Click on the Flyer for more information.
What a delightful bank holiday weekend. Greenbelt was much more mellow than last year (probably helped by the fact that we weren’t doing a major slot) and a fantastic collection of speakers and acts. My highlights were a bit cerebral – Stanley Hauerwas and Richard Rohr both amazing. Everyone got very excited about Mr & Mrs Vicarage from Rev being there. But perhaps my most enduring memory will be our girls playing in the sunshine on the deep grass of the racecourse on a beautiful late afternoon.
I come away from Greenbelt every year with a deep sense of peace, optimism and refreshment. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
I used twitter to record some of my favourite quotes from the festival. Here are my top 5:Continue reading “Greenbelt 2010”
One of the major parts of our church life is our commitment to our local parish. And one of the most important ways this is expressed is through the Parish wide Youth and Children’s Ministry.
We are in the process of putting in place the next piece of the picture, in the form of a new Youth Minister for 11-18 year olds. If this is you, or someone you know, please get in touch
UPDATE. We are pleased to welcome Rachel Anderson as our new Youth Minister
We’re gearing up for this years football tournament. If you haven’t heard, for the last 6 years we have been running a tournament which has grown and grown (it is now the biggest amateur event in the UK). Churches from across London compete in the different categories, in the beautiful surroundings of Regents Park. You can find out more, and enter your men’s, women’s or youth team at the site www.LCFT.org.uk
Tom writes:
Lent starts on Wednesday. For those of you feeling slightly nervous about the prospect of feeling duty bound to give up chocolate or pork pies (or another vital food stuff), let me remind of you of what some of us did last year – we embarked upon reading the whole of the New Testament over 40 days.
As Mrs Crease will testify, for me chocolatelessness = not good, so I will be taking up this reading challenge once again. I thoroughly enjoyed doing it last year and am looking forward to doing the same this year. If you are interested in doing the same, I attach a reading plan for Lent 2010. There is a decent amount to read each day, but if you get a bit behind, the plan allows for Sundays to catch up.
Happy reading – I pray that you will find something new about yourselves, about your walk with Christ and about God’s Word during this Lenten period.
Our two most popular services of the year are coming up in the run up to christmas. Our Carols by candlelight are beautiful traditional carol services, old favourites, choral numbers, mulled wine and an uplifting message.
Once again this year we are marking the season of Advent with a series of reflections, day by day we will take turns sharing a thought, and image or a prayer as we travel through this time of preparation together. You can follow them here
22nd and 23rd October
Taking a picture makes us look at the things around us in a different way; seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary, or capturing the essence of a beautiful place. Have you had a moment where you’ve lifted your eyes up from the daily grind and captured a unique or surprising image? Enter your photographs exploring the theme ‘I lift my eyes up’ to be displayed in a gallery at Church on the Corner on 22nd and 23rd October
First Prize: £250, plus have your photo framed up to the value of £100 at ‘The Only Place for Pictures’
This Weekend we are heading out to the wilds (of shropshire) for a weekend away together. Time to think & pray, to hang out with old friends and meet new ones. To eat, rest and play. These are always fantastic events. Don’t miss it. If you have booked in see you there, if not talk to Bee and book your place.
Our Speaker is a friend of mine called Mark Berry. Find his blog here, and more about the theme of the weekend here.
We are doing a screening of The Age of Stupid at All Saints Church in the Parish. Find out more here
This weekend we are taking some time out with God as church. We will be praying for 48 hours, and you are invited to participate. The chapel will be filled with a mix of solo and group prayer, in all sorts of different styles and forms. You will be able to follow the event here.
Update: The weekend was amazing, and the Chapel looked beautiful. Toms pictures can be found here
In this Autumn’s series of Saturday workshops, we will be exploring ‘creativity’. You will re-discover a sense of play through simple improvisation and writing exercises. And in the process have a lot of laughs and gain a fresh perspective on your own creative journey.
When: Saturdays, 2pm – 5pm (19th September, 3rd October, 10th October, 31st October)
Where: Church on the Corner
Who: Anyone! (You don’t need to come to all four, as each one is a stand alone session)
And finally, what people have said about previous Saturday afternoon workshops.
“I can’t encourage you enough to take part in one of these workshops. It may be the start of a whole new chapter in your life!”
“The laughter and freedom you experience is wondeful and as a non-creative person (my own label) I have
been amazed at what I have produced!”
Email Rebecca for more information or to book your place: rebecca.mackenzie@gmail.com
Church on the Corner 
