sunday 8th March – third Sunday of lent
8am Said Eucharist
10.00am Sung Eucharist
6.30pm Choral Evensong
This Week
Interregnum Update. In line with the timetable we outlined at the start of the interregnum, we held the interviews for the post of the Incumbent of Christ Church Southgate this week. We had shortlisted two amazing candidates with the support of the Bishop, the Archdeacon, our Patron and the Area Dean. Both candidates performed very strongly during the interviews and it was an extremely difficult decision with much prayer and discernment asking for God’s guidance. At the end we came to a decision which everyone supported and an offer was made to the successful candidate. Kate and I are delighted to announce that they have accepted the offer and so we believe we have found our next excellent vicar. Their identity cannot be announced yet as there are some Safer Recruitment processes which the Bishop needs to undertake; once completed and dates agreed with their current role, then we can more formally announce who they are and when they will join us. Graham and Kate
The reading and serving rota request for April and May has been emailed out to regular volunteers but if you would like to be more involved in the service, we are always keen to welcome new readers or servers. There are forms at the back of Church to complete with your availability, and return to the church office pigeon hole asap, but no later than Wednesday 18th March. Please feel free to speak to any of the Clergy, Churchwardens or Caroline in the office if you would simply like to learn more about what it involves first, without committing yourself. Many thanks.
Decorating windows for Easter. In the past few years, the window ledges have been individually decorated by schools, families and others for Easter. We would love to have your input, so if you would like to share in this and adopt a windowsill please see any of the clergy, churchwardens or email the office.
The Weld Car Park. The Trustees of Walker Ground have advised us that the car park will remain closed for the foreseeable due to the problem of anti-social behaviour and until they can decide a way forward. The Parish Centre car park is still available as usual for all services.
2026 Elections to Deanery Synods. Elections of lay representatives to deanery synods will take place at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting on 31st May. We currently have 2 vacancies. If anyone is interested in volunteering please see Graham, Ronald or Sandra, our current members, for more information or visit the link here
Sunday 8th March at 6.30 pm: Choral Evensong. The choir will be singing Tomkins’ Canticles in A and Pärt’s anthem, Littlemore Tractus.
further ahead
Tuesday 10th March at 7.30 pm: Lent Course 2026: “Treasures of Darkness – discipleship in times of mystery and unknowing”. The zoom course continues on Tuesday evenings in church. The third session, Shadow, will be led hosted by Archdeacon Katherine, with guest speaker Chris Cook. There is no need to sign up as this has been done on behalf of the church and there is no course booklet to buy, as there will be weekly handouts. If you have missed any sessions and wish to catch up, you can do this via the link above.
Thursday 12th March. Said Eucharist at 12.30 pm
Friday 13th March from 10 am to 12 pm: Coffee and chat in church.
Sunday 15th March: 8 am Said Eucharist. As part of our interregnum season, Rev Jan Lowe will be returning to preach and celebrate.
Sunday 15th March: Family Eucharist for Mothering Sunday at 10am with the traditional distribution of daffodils. We will also have the pleasure of The Very Rev’d David Hoyle, former vicar of Christ Church and now Dean of Westminster Abbey, coming to preach and celebrate at that service. Please make him welcome.
Tuesday 17th March at 6 pm: PCC meeting in Church.
Tuesday 17th March at 7 pm: Said Eucharist with Anointing and Laying on of Hands for Healing.
Wednesday 18th March: Church will be closed all day for ABRSM music exams to take place.
Copy for the April/May Spire edition will be required by Wednesday 18th March. Please email Freya or Imogen with your articles or any queries.
Saturday 21st March from 9am: The ‘Big Spring Clean’ Please come and help clean the church. Positive action during Lent is always good and this will prepare our beautiful church for Easter. Give what time you can and come and enjoy your church community. This is also a gardening morning. Let’s get busy. Sandra Anderson.
Sunday 22nd March 3.30 pm: Southgate Sessions. The next concert in our recital series will be given by William Waine (countertenor) and Jordan Wilson (tenor), who will perform a seasonal programme including songs by Wolf, Vivaldi’s Stabat Mater and Britten’s dramatic duet, Abraham and Isaac. Free to attend. All welcome.
Passion Sequence – Palm Sunday, 29th March 6.30pm The Choir of Christ Church Southgate will be joined by solo string players from the Bach Sinfonia to perform Membra Jesu nostri, a beautiful set of devotional cantatas by 17th century composer Dieterich Buxtehude which meditate on the crucifixion of Jesus, interspersed with readings of scripture and poetry and Passiontide hymns. Free to attend. All welcome.
Choir tour to Rome and Florence – 24th to 26th May 2026 PLEASE NOTE: The Tour will NOT be visiting Florence as previously advertised. Just Rome. The Choir are excited to be going on tour to Rome in May 2026. Arrangements are almost finalised. We will be singing:
for Eucharist (24/5) at St Paul’s Within the Walls, the first non-Catholic church to be built within the city walls with mosaics by Burne-Jones;
an afternoon concert (24/5) at the Papal Basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls, the burial site of Paul the Apostle and the second-largest church in Rome;
an evening concert (25/5) at the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, which was consecrated in c.325 AD to house various relics of the Crucifixion;
and a lunchtime concert (26/5) at Santa Maria dell’Orto a beautiful and intimate church dating back to 1492 linked to an ancient garden where a miraculous healing took place in 1488.
If you happen to be in need of a holiday in May, we’d love to see some friendly faces in the audience!
Pastoral Care Group. The pastoral care group meets the needs and serves those who would benefit from additional support. Contact: Jackie Anderson or Hilary Meur.
Enfield Food Bank Collection A reminder that we are always happy to collect non-perishable food and other items for the foodbank in Enfield. The collection point is just inside the door at the back of church to the left. The collection point is just inside the door at the back of church to the left. At present they are in need of: long life milk/juice; coffee/hot chocolate; tinned meat/fruit/veg/pasta sauce/ soup/rice pudding/ custard; toiletries; nappies size 5 & 6.
Giving to Christ Church: Thank you! We would like to thank everyone who responded positively to the stewardship campaign, it really is much appreciated. If you give regularly, or you are planning to start giving regularly, please can we encourage you to sign up to The Parish Giving Scheme.
On paper – use a form available at the back of church; by phone – call 0333 002 1271 and quote our parish code 230623352; online – use the following link https://www.parishgiving.org.uk/donors/find-your-parish/southgate-christ-church-london/ or scan the QR code below on your smartphone or tablet.
Swift Box Appeal. Thank you to everyone who contributed to our Swift Appeal. We are very grateful for your generosity and far exceeded our target by receiving over £400. Following her brilliant talk on Sunday, Helen Shore from the Swift Conservation group, unexpectedly also kindly donated three boxes. As such we will use the money for a sound system to attract the birds and in future years, once we have proven we can attract the swifts, will buy more boxes and see if we can get a camera system to film them for the benefit of all. We plan to put the first boxes up at the end April before the swifts migrate back to our shores. We are now closing our Swift Appeal but if anyone would like to support our wider eco activities such as the bees or our gardening then we will be very grateful. Graham & Sandra.