Sunday 22nd February

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All our latest events, information and prayer needs

Our Vision: "We are a people being transformed by the unconditional love of God; seeking to bless our community, and longing for all to experience the hope we have in Jesus."

Sunday 22nd February

The First Sunday of Lent

9am - Morning Worship – Holy Communion in the Epistles: Corinthians (1 Cor. 11:17-34) – Ben Williams

10.05am - Prayer Meeting – in Room 4 for approx. 20 minutes

10.30am - Holy Communion – As above

*This service will be livestreamed via the Christ Church Bedford YouTube channel*

7pm - Sundays@Seven – Holy Communion in the Early Church – (Rev 19:9 + Acts 2:42) – Agape Meal w/ Soup + Rolls in the church hall.

Services in the coming week

Wednesday 25th February

10am - Holy Communion - followed by refreshments

8pm - Lent Course - in Church. This will be livestreamed via the Christ Church Bedford YouTube channel

Sunday 1st March

9am - Holy Communion – Lent 2 (John 3:1-17) – David Thomas

10.05am - Prayer Meeting – in Room 4 for approx. 20 minutes

10.30am - All Age Worship – God’s Love is for Everyone (John 3:1-17)

7pm - Sundays@Seven – Prayer at Jesus’ Baptism (Luke 3:21-22) – Vikki Thomas

Church Family News

Rita Haines: It is with great sadness that we must announce that Rita died on Thursday 19th February. Please hold Margaret and Geoff Topham and all Rita’s family and friends in your prayers at this difficult time.

Ben Williams: Rev Ben will be on placement at Church of the Transfiguration, Kempston from Sunday 1st March until Easter. Please be praying for him as he continues his training in a different context.

Care For Our Building: Christ Church is looking to employ someone to help look after our church and halls, plus do some cleaning. 8-10 hours per week, flexible hours. If you are interested, please email vicar@ccbedford.org for more details/job description.

Prayer Team on Sundays: we are looking for a couple more people to join the prayer team at our 10.30am service. People usually serve once a month in groups of two. If you are interested talk to the vicar (contact as above)

Thoughts from the Vicar

At the beginning of this Lenten season I have been thinking about the love of God. At our 8pm Ash Wednesday service we looked very briefly at Mark’s Gospel and Jesus’ baptism and then 40 days in the wilderness. Tom Wright in his book Lent and Easter For Everyone, which we will be using during our Lent Course, shared the perspective of God the Father, speaking to the Son, saying I love you and am well pleased. And from there Jesus went into the desert, and faced temptation.

The key point is the love of God comes first.

How often do we do stuff to try and receive love or affirmation? How often do we do stuff because we think it's the right thing to do but there is no heart within it? The life of a Christian is responding to the love of God. All the stuff we do, should flow out of being known and loved by God. So at the beginning of Lent, let us open ourselves up to the love God has for us.

For your prayers this week

The First Sunday of Lent: Heavenly Father, your Son battled with the powers of darkness, and grew closer to you in the desert: help us to use these days to grow in wisdom and prayer that we may witness to your saving love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

Please pray for:

The work of Bible translators.
Our Bishops and Archdeacons.
Those who give up their time to serve others.
Opportunities to share the love of God.

Children's Ministry and Events

THIS SUNDAY: 22nd February

THIS WEEK:

COMING UP IN MARCH:

VOLUNTEERS WANTED:

For more information about our regular groups please look on our website here or contact Ruth using: children@ccbedford.org or 07554 537757

Youth Ministry and Events

Don’t forget: No Friday Night tonight, due to Half term

Youth Blog

Once a month we will give you an insight into our youth ministry. You will be able to read what we are getting up to and the fun we're having. So far we have blogged about our youth weekend away and what our youth alpha looks like in our Friday Nights Small Groups.

Find all our blogs on the church website in the 'youth ministry' section in 'connect' or follow this link: https://ccbedford.org/Groups/452353/Youth_Blog.aspx

Happy Reading! :)

Coming Up

Youth Quiz: Join us in fundraising for our youth ministry. This year we are fundraising to take our young people to the Satellites Youth Festival! Dinner is included in your ticket price and there are yummy treats and drinks available for donation. Book via link or you can just click on the flyer: for more info email youth@ccbedford.org

Come and join us in supporting our Youth Ministry!

Satellites 2026: We are taking our young people to a youth festival, satellites, down at the Bath & West showground in Somerset from 6-11 August. This is an amazing opportunity for them to experience faith alongside so many other young people their age. If you wish your young person to come along, please book as soon as possible to access the standard ticket that they offer (price goes up on 27th February). For any more information about travel or prices, please feel free to contact the youth team: email either Hannah Applegarth or Sorcha Brown.

Hello as we look ahead to Satellites Festival (6th–11th August), we’re exploring options. Does anyone have a touring caravan we might be able to borrow for that week? Or know anyone who may be willing to lend us one? It would make a huge difference. Please do get in touch if you can help thank you so much!

Camping Equipment: If you have any camping equipment that you are able to lend for 4th - 12th August 2026, please speak to or email either Hannah Applegarth or Sorcha Brown.

For more information about our regular groups please look on our website here or contact Hannah using: youth@ccbedford.org or 07384 295757

What is happening at Christ Church and beyond

Date for your Diary: 15th-17th May. Church Weekend @ Home!

William Tyndale and the English Bible: Friday 20th February at 7.30pm. A free illustrated talk at Lakeview Village Hall, Wixams in the 500th Anniversary year of the publication of the first New Testament in English. See separate flyer for more information.

Snowdrop Garden: The Bishop of St Albans’ Garden will open for what may be the final time this February, with thousands of snowdrops and early bulbs in bloom. A warm invitation to enjoy the garden’s early spring beauty and help care for our historic churches.

Lent Course: Starts Wednesday 25th February 8pm in the church. We will be looking at Jesus in different spaces as we journey together to Holy Week, beginning with Jesus Amongst the Crowds. Using material from Tom Wright’s book “Lent and Easter for Everyone”, please do join us in person or online – we will be livestreaming on the Christ Church Bedford YouTube channel

Go4Gold Soup and Social: Friday 27th February @ 12.45pm. There will be a choice of soups, bread rolls, cheese, yoghurts and fruit for a suggested donation of £2pp. This will be followed by a social in the Hub from 2-3.15pm (suggested donation £1pp). No booking is needed, you are welcome, just turn up to one or both events.

Men’s Breakfast: Saturday 28th February 9-10.30am at Christ Church. Numerous breakfast options available with perhaps the most popular being the egg and/or bacon and/or sausage bap plus tea/coffee etc. Also available are cereal, croissants, toast, jam, orange juice etc. If you are vegetarian and would prefer a veggie option instead please let me know (mens.breakfast@ccbedford.org). All for the bargain price of £3 (free on first visit). No need to sign up, just turn up on the day as we would love to see you. We shall be beginning a short series looking at the book of James. This is a valuable time to build up friendships and develop support networks. We hope you can join us. [The men’s social to see Bedford Blues rugby will be on Saturday 21st March (3pm kick off) – details to follow].

World Day of Prayer 2026: Christ Church are hosting the local World Day of Prayer service this year. The service is on Friday 6th March at 2pm and we are looking for volunteers to help with serving refreshments after the service. If you can help please speak to Vikki Thomas or email on vicarspa@ccbedford.org

Volunteers needed: The Impact Easter Experience is a re-enactment of the Easter story presented by volunteers from various local churches. It will be held at St John’s Church in Bedford from 16th–20th March, and you do not need to commit to helping every day to be involved. If you would be willing to help by acting, stewarding, or assisting with refreshments, we would love to hear from you. If you are interested, please get in touch with Trish. Her contact details are: trish@impactbedford.org.uk Thank you!

Plant Sale: Saturday 9th May, please start to take cuttings & plant lots of flower & vegetable seeds. We will be raising money to help with the costs of the Church Weekend at Home.

Bedford Foodbank Shopping List: The most needed items at the moment are: tinned spaghetti hoops/fruit/custard, jars of coffee/cooking sauces, cup a soup, bars of chocolate, long-life fruit juice, sponge puddings & shampoo. Thank you for your donations.

Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Visitors click here

Planning your Visit

A Warm Hello

The following information is specifically for those planning a visit, so that you know, beforehand, what to expect on a Sunday morning. When you arrive, you should be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team.

Our 9:00am service is traditional in style and lasts about 45 minutes.

Our main Sunday family service starts at 10:30am and runs for about 75 minutes, everyone gathers together at the beginning of the service. After a short time of worship together, we divide into different teaching and worship groups as children up to school year 11 leave.

At our all-age services (60 minutes), everyone stays together for the whole service. Our weekly notice-sheet gives details of all important events happening in the near future and some guidance on topics for prayer.

Tea, coffee and biscuits are served after the service where there is plenty of time to meet new people and ask more questions. We are proud to be a certified Fair Trade Church.

Our 7:00pm Sunday evening service runs for about 75 minutes and adopts a more contemporary style with a focus on deeper worship and teaching.

What happens to the kids at church?

We have a fantastic programme for the kids at the Church on Sunday mornings during our 10.30am service:

Imagine - Our weekly group for babies to 3 year olds, parents are welcome to stay with their child, if they like. They meet in the main hall
Wonder - Our weekly group for those in school years R-3. They meet in Rooms 2-3
Marvel - Our weekly group for those in school years 4-6. They meet in Room 5 (upstairs)
Youth - Our weekly group for those in school years 7-13. They meet in Room 7 (upstairs). Please register at the desk in the hub

The children and youth stay with their parents at the start of the service as we worship together for the first part of the morning. Someone will announce when the children and youth should go to their groups. You will need to go with your children and register them, the first time they attend.

For more information about what is currently happening in the children's work please visit the Children's Ministry page and for the youth work please visit the Youth Ministry page.

What about accessibility?

There are parking spaces next to the church halls but for the 10:30am service a larger car park is available at Castle Newman School (south site) just a few yards along Goldington Road. We have step free access from both Denmark street and Dudley street and there is space for buggies and wheelchairs in the Hub area of the new halls. There are baby changing and accessible toilet facilities and a lift to the first floor. Our sound system incorporates a hearing loop.

Getting Connected

Small Groups

While Sundays are a great way to meet new people, it is often in smaller gatherings that you can really get to know someone. Being part of one of our small groups allows you to make new friends, share together and support each other. We have a variety of groups that meet throughout the week, some afternoons and some evenings. Check out Small Groups and see if there’s one that you could join, or we can put you in touch with a small group leader who will be more than happy to invite you along to their group.

Serving and Volunteering

If you want to get involved in the life of the church and help us make Sundays run smoothly, you can sign up to serve on a team.

Other Ministries

We also run the following ministries:

Men's Ministry
Women's Ministry
Students' Ministry
Seniors' Ministry
Foodbank (in partnership with Bedford Foodbank)