We aim to provide a wide variety of services for parishioners and visitors alike:

Monday to Friday:

9.00   am   Morning Prayer

5.00   pm   Evening Prayer

Wednesday:

10.00 am   Holy Communion*

Sunday Services:

8.00   am   Holy Communion* - a traditional language service lasting about

                 40 minutes.

10.00 am   Parish Eucharist - with our choir, a junior church, and a small area at

                 the back of the church with books/crayons etc where parents can sit

                 with their younger children if they wish.  Service lasts for about an

                 hour, followed by refreshments.

6.30   pm   Evensong - a smaller reflective service using the Book of Common

                 Prayer and lasting about an hour.

*Gluten free communion wafers are available, please just ask when you come up to the altar rail.

We also hold a 'First Steps' service for tots. For those of you with pre-school children we have a monthly tots service here at St Augustine's at 10:45am, with songs, craft activity, story and Jaffa cakes.  This service generally falls on the 2nd Wednesday in the month.

The Blessed Sacrament is perpetually reserved for the Communion of the sick and dying.  Please inform the vicar of parishioners who are sick or in hospital.

Advent and Christmas Services:

Sunday 1st December Children's Christingle

starting in the Hall at 3:30pm

Sun 22^nd Dec:

Traditional Carol Service  - 4:00pm

Tuesday 24^th Dec:  Christmas Eve  

Crib services 3pm & 5pm (both services especially suitable for small children)

Midnight Mass - 11:30pm

Christmas Day

8:00am Holy Communion (book of Common Prayer)

10:00am Family Eucharist with Blessing of Presents

The vicar is always pleased to receive enquiries about christenings, weddings and other services.

Telephone 01702 587597 or email jonathan.collis@cantab.net   

The Weekly Newsletter is now available online by clicking on the

document below:

Forthcoming Musical or Special  Events 

Please go to the 'Forecast of Events' page which can be found under the above heading of News-Notices-Events or click on link .

Forthcoming Musical Events:  

Saturday 14th December Deanery Orchestra concert 

Forthcoming Services:

Please see Advent and Christmas services above.

Chelmsford Cathedral.  The Dean of the Cathedral produces a quarterly events guide with the aim of encouraging everyone to discover what the Cathedral has to offer.  To find out more and to view the guide, please click on the link below:

www.chelmsfordcathedral.org.uk

Church Extension Update

Having obtained approval from the Diocese Advisory Committee (DAC) some months ago for our extension plans, our architects submitted a formal building application to Southend council.  We waited the seemingly obligatory 16 weeks for the council to approve the plans, only to be told that our application had been rejected.

The reasons for the rejection were to my mind, and that of our architects, relatively minor and we were extremely disappointed that the council thought it necessary to issue a formal rejection without any kind of prior notice or liaison from the council planning department.               

I arranged a follow up meeting with the council and our architects on Wednesday 30^th October to discuss the rejection and find a way forward.  Following lengthy discussion about the role of the DAC and the processes we have been through to get DAC approval for our plans, I’m happy to report that the meeting went well and I am reasonably confident that the councils objections have been addressed.  We can’t be absolutely sure because the council official we met with was not the person who rejected the plans (of course not!) but our architect will now submit a new set of plans, with minor alterations, which we hope will be approved.

Another delay is of course inevitable and we’ve been told that it could be another 16 weeks before we receive the councils response, that will be Mid February.

There won’t be much to report before then so I wish you all a very merry, albeit slightly early, merry Christmas and hope that the New Year will bring us good news!  Best wishes to you all.

Peter Barron

If any of you would like to find out more about baptism, confirmation or marriage, please don't hesitate to contact me at

jonathan.collis@cantab.net

“We are committed to ensuring that St Augustine’s is

a safe place for all”

For further information please go to our safeguarding page, the link is here