Welcome to St Paul's Church Grove Park, Chiswick

 We would be delighted if you came to worship with us in this church which has been used for Christian worship since 1872. Christians of all denominations are welcome here, as are those searching for God and indeed the simply curious. Our main act of worship is at 10am on Sunday and during this service, there is a creche for children at the back of the church. We have a large hall adjoining the church which is available for anyone in the local community to use. Click the Community Hall button to find out more. St Paul's is now supporting a food bank and donations are most welcome. Click on the Charities button for more information.  

St Paul’s is closed to the public for services or private prayer until further notice. Michael will continue to say Morning and Evening Prayer privately as before and he prays for us, as we do for one another, in the days to come.

The services for each week will be posted here on the Welcome page. You can see the previous weeks' sermons by clicking on the Coronovirus Support button above.

We would very much like to be able to reach out to anyone in the local Grove Park community who is self-isolating, or might need any other support, such as help with delivering food or medicine. Sue Hearn is the co-ordinator for this at St Paul's, so please do contact her if you are able to volunteer or if you are in need of help. Her phone number is 07958 414638 and her email susan.hearn@btinternet.com. It will be more effective, safer and easier to manage, if we can co-ordinate help within our own neighbourhoods. So if you are a volunteer from another part of Chiswick or London, please consider trying to find a support group to join that is closer to home. Your local church may well be a good place to start! There is more help on our  Coronovirus Support page.

A PRAYER ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK

Keep us, good Lord,
under the shadow of your mercy
in this time of uncertainty and distress.
Sustain and support the anxious and fearful,
and lift up all who are brought low;
that we may rejoice in your comfort
knowing that nothing can separate us from your love
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
AMEN

Below is the service for Palm Sunday at St Paul's. If you would like to take part in a live service, St Nicholas' Church on Chiswick Mall is now livestreaming all its services on Facebook. You and join in by typing in the comments page (eg 'Amen' or 'Peace be with you') which is a great way to feel part of the service. You can watch the services by using the link here  https://www.facebook.com/stnicholaschurchchiswick/?epa=SEARCH_BOX
or go to Facebook and seach for St Nicholas Chiswick.  

We have started a Zoom group for sharing poetry and prose to help us get through the crisis. The first meeting was great fun and a brilliant way to connect with those who are living alone. You can join the group by phone as well as via a video link, please email email susan.hearn@btinternet.com if this is something that appeals to you. We have put the poems we read last week into an anthology - and you can read them by clicking on, and downloading the pdf below.

It was great to see Pat Davies talking to Jeremy Vine this week with her thoughts about the pandemic! You can watch that on Facebook here

Palm Sunday at St Paul's 

Below is the service for Palm Sunday (5 April) to use for your own worship at home. The services for each week will be here and the sermons will remain available on the  Coronvirus Support page. 

The Palm Gospel

Matthew 21

As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.

The disciples went and did as Jesu instructed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on.  A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him, and those that followed, shouted:

“Hosanna to the Son of David.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Hosanna in the highest heaven.”

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred, and asked, “Who is this?”

The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.

The Procession

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Glory to God, glory to God,

Glory to God in the highest.

The Collect

True and humble king, hailed by the crowd as Messiah:

grant us the faith to know you and love you, that we may be found beside you on the way of the cross.

To you be glory now and forever, Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, 

hallowed be thy Name; 

thy kingdom come, thy will be done; 

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our trespasses,

as we forgive those who trespass against us;

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

the power and the glory,  

for ever and ever.  Amen.

A Prayer

Jesus Saviour of the world,

come to us in your mercy,

we look to you to save and help us;

by your cross and your life laid down,

you set your people free,

we look to you to save us.

In the greatness of your mercy, loose us from our chains

Forgive the sins of all your people.

Come now and dwell with us Lord Christ Jesus:

hear our prayers and be with us always.  Amen.

Thoughts for Palm Sunday and Holy Week

Palm Sunday has both joy and sadness, Joy as we remember Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem and sadness as we read the story of the last days of Jesus’ life.  Some of the crowds in Jerusalem for the Passover festival were clearly thinking that Jesus, the teacher from Galilee, might be the new messiah, which is why they cheer him on as he enters the city with their ‘Hosannas’.

This year we pay attention to the passion story in St Matthew’s Gospel, chapters 26 and 27.  Matthew tells us more about Judas, and more about Pilate and Pilate’s wife and her concerns about Jesus.

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week we think of Jesus being in the Temple daily, meeting with people, teaching, encouraging, discussing and continuing his running disagreement with some of the Jewish leaders. On Thursday Jesus has a final meal with his friends, and a time of prayer and testing in the garden of Gethsemane, before he is arrested. On Friday there follows the trials and the crucifixion.

Some of Jesus’ friends and supporters, may have been getting anxious that

Jesus was not showing his power and messiahship in the way they were expecting. One of these may have been Judas, who perhaps wanted to force his hand. We read of Judas’ betrayal with a kiss, and later his remorse and suicide.

Later we encounter Peter’s threefold denial of Jesus and his tears as he realizes what he has done. And we see how difficult it can be to stand up for the truth, for fear. After Easter Jesus responds to that denial when they have breakfast by the lake, and Peter is restored.

On Good Friday we come to the trial before Pilate. Some say Pilate was just doing his best in a tricky political situation. History has not been kind to Pilate, though he does have the distinction of appearing in both our creeds. Then we have the mocking by the soldiers, and Jesus being led out to the hill of Calvary, where he is crucified and dies. We read of the centurion, the man in charge of the soldiers, being moved by Jesus’ death. He must have seen thousands of deaths in his line of work, but the way Jesus died affected him deeply. He exclaims “truly this was the son of God.”

This is a tale of fear and love, faith and mistrust, political expediency and a cruel death leading to fresh hope and life. It has been told in a thousand different ways by writers and musicians, artists and craftsmen, architects and designers and all who have planned things to encourage devotion, and places to help people offer worship and draw close to the Christian way.

This year the corona virus cuts us off from much of what helps us at this holy time: fellowship, sacraments and the beauty of holiness. But we have words and stories in our bibles, and the stories in the gospels which lie at the heart of our faith. We turn to these, knowing that we join with Christians across the world doing the same:  reflecting on the sufferings and sacrifice of Christ, and drawing strength for what we face today.

You might like to have your bible out for times when we would normally have a service in church:

Palm Sunday at 10am

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 7.30pm

Maundy Thursday at 7.30pm with silent watch till midnight.

Good Friday when we remember Jesus on the Cross between 12noon and 3pm.

Easter Eve 12noon

Easter Day at 10am, celebrating the resurrection of Christ.

I am hoping that, when the worst dangers of this virus have passed, our church leaders will give us a day when we can all be together in church, celebrating God’s love for us in the risen Lord Jesus. Till then we pray for them, the Royal Family, our Prime Minister and all who serve in the government, the homes and families of our area, and all who work through the NHS to promote the health of others.

Go in the peace of Christ.   Thanks be to God.

Thursday 9 April: Maundy Thursday

Friday 10 April: Good Friday

Saturday 11 April: Holy Saturday

Sunday 12 April: Easter Sunday