Celebrating 800 Years Of Christian Worship In 2020
The first mention of a church on the site of St. Michael and All Angels was in 1220. A wide variety of celebrations were planned to mark the 800th anniversary.
Our planned celebrations were to link into our 800th Purpose Statement which is similar to the church's purpose statement. The 800th Purpose Statement is:
Knowing God through the changing years
Growing in faith as a worshipping community
Showing God’s love through the work of the church.
The celebrations were planned to run from the end of September 2019 until the end of December 2020.
The preacher at Michaelmas Evensong on 29th September 2019 was Rt Rev Dr Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham (former Rector of St Michael’s). The guest preacher on the corresponding day in 2020 was Rt Rev Christopher Chessun, Bishop of Southwark (who served as curate here).
Our planned celebrations were to link into our 800th Purpose Statement which is similar to the church's purpose statement. The 800th Purpose Statement is:
Knowing God through the changing years
Growing in faith as a worshipping community
Showing God’s love through the work of the church.
The celebrations were planned to run from the end of September 2019 until the end of December 2020.
The preacher at Michaelmas Evensong on 29th September 2019 was Rt Rev Dr Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham (former Rector of St Michael’s). The guest preacher on the corresponding day in 2020 was Rt Rev Christopher Chessun, Bishop of Southwark (who served as curate here).
Events
We planned a calendar of events to mark our 800th anniversary. However a unique situation arose: the government closing the church for most of 2020 due to COVID-19! This was definitely not part of our plan, but we adapted within the official limitations