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Our services
St Paul's is the Parish
Church of Covent Garden and therefore, as well as worshipping on Sundays,
also provides various pastoral services such as Baptisms, Confirmations,
Weddings, Funerals and Memorial Services.
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SERVICES |
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Sunday Eucharist
At 11 am the Eucharist is celebrated each
Sunday. All are welcome. If you would like to participate by reading,
singing, playing a musical instrument, leading intercessions, serving
at the altar or helping to serve refreshments after the service,
please let the Rector know.
Sunday Evensong
On the second Sunday of each month
the St Paul's Choir sings Choral Evensong from the Book of Common
Prayer at 4pm. All are welcome.
Weekday Eucharists
Wednesdays 1.10pm
Thursdays 6.00pm |
| BAPTISMS |
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Baptisms of children usually take place during
the Sunday Eucharist at 11am. If you or a member of your
family wish to be baptised you should make an appointment to meet
with Simon, the Rector. To make an appointment please call the church
office 020.7836.5221). Adults who wish to be baptised should similarly
contact the Rector and are normally presented to the Bishop for
baptism on Easter Eve in the Cathedral.
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CONFIRMATIONS |
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Children and adults are usually prepared for Confirmation
during Lent and are then presented to the Bishop on Easter Eve for
Confirmation. For more information about classes please call the
Church Office tel. 020.7836.5221
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| MEMORIAL
SERVICES |
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St Paul's is well known because of its Memorial
Services for members of the theatre and entertainment community.
The following information may be useful to you if you are beginning
to plan such a service. After reading this information it is necessary
to call the Rector to make an appointment to discuss further planning
(020 7836 5221).
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Planning a Memorial Service at St Paul's, Covent Garden
There is a lot of work involved in planning
a Memorial service for a loved one and, of course, as each service
is carefully thought through similar questions are raised by family
and friends. These notes are intended to help you in preparation
for your meeting with the Rector.
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Day and Time
These can be arranged with Church staff. |
Duration
It is good to plan for the service to last
about 50 minutes. |
Officant
Normally the Rector would officiate at the
service. However, if there is a priest or minister known to the family
and it is thought appropriate for him or her to lead the service,
then the Rector is more than happy for this arrangement to be put
in place. |
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The Service
It is vitally important that the service
captures something of the person whose life is being remembered
and celebrated. A musician's memorial service is likely to have
more music than others, and a writer's to have more readings. On
the whole though a typical service would be shaped in this fashion:
- Music before the service
- Welcome and short introduction
("The Bidding") by the Officiant
- Hymn
- Readings, tributes and musical
interludes
- Prayers
- Hymn
- Blessing
- Music for exit
The Rector can give you copies of former services
for you to look through when you meet him. You will need to choose
the readers, tribute-givers and other performers with great care.
It is important to remind all of them that the duration of each
contribution needs to be timed in accordance with your wishes and
with an eye on the duration of the whole service.
The readings may be chosen by you or the readers. It is often the
case that at least one of the readings is biblical but there is
no strict rule about this.
There is a grand piano in the church and an organ. The church does
not have a professional choir but, when required, the professional
choir of St John's Wood often sing at St Paul's. If you would like
the details of the choirmaster please let the Rector know.
We have our own organist at St Paul's, Simon Gutteridge, and you
can contact him direct on 020 8870 4082 to book him and discuss
the music in the service.
The prayers are usually led by the Officiant but may be offered
by someone else if desired.
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Collection
At the end of the service it is usual to have
a retiring collection. This may well be for St Paul's church or for
a Charity whose work relates in some way to your loved one. If the
money is collected for a Charity we ask that you appoint someone to
be responsible for its collection by the doors of the church at the
end of the service and to look after it safely before passing it on
to you. It is necessary to put a note at the end of the service sheet
as to whom the collection is being taken for. |
Donation
We ask for a donation for the service to take
place in St Paul's and do not have a set fee. At the moment the average
donation is around £600. if you are a UK taxpayer it would also
be an enormous help if you would Gift Aid your
donation. If you find it difficult to make such a donation to the
church it is suggested that you donate the retiring collection. |
Flowers and pictures
Flowers may be placed in church. A good local
florist is Wild Bunch. You can speak to Sarah on 020 7497
1200. Some families also like to have a picture or collage placed
in church for the service as well. Stands for such presentations need
to be provided by you. |
Service sheets
The drafting and printing of the service sheets
is your responsibility. It is important to ensure that all contributors
are asked how they wish to be styled. It is also important to print
all the words of the hymns on the sheets too. Please show a draft
of the sheet to the Rector and the organist before the sheet is published. |
Ushers
It is helpful if you can get two or three people
to be ushers at the service to look after hospitality and order. It
is necessary to fix a date to discuss the service in some initial
detail with the Rector. He looks forward to meeting you and to planning
what will be a celebration, both joyful and prayerful. |
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FUNERALS |
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Funerals may be arranged with the Rector by telephoning
him at the office (020 7836 5221).
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There is no parking
at St Paul's Church, however, there is access for cars to unload equipment
and to drop off persons who need assistance to the doors of the church.
Such arrangements must be made in advance with the Rector. |
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It costs on average £100,000 annually
to keep St Paul's church open and this is a costant challenge. Any
donations you are able to give are very gratefully received. Please
donate using Gift Aid. |
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