Christ Church
Bath
Somerset

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Bath has many churches, yet we believe we have a valuable place amongst them.

No single church’s worship and community can fully encompass every aspect of God’s nature and Christ’s ministry, and there are certain aspects that we think we have a calling to express.

We wish to offer the welcome of Christ to all who come to our door.
We are an inclusive church; we do not discriminate, on any level, on grounds of economic power, gender, mental health, age, family configuration, physical ability, race or sexuality. We seek to welcome and serve all people in the name of Jesus Christ; to proclaim the Gospel; and in the power of the Holy Spirit to enable all people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of God.

People find beauty in art, music and words of many different kinds. We know that for many in our congregation the liturgy of the Eucharist and the Anglican choral tradition are both ways in which they find themselves brought into the presence of God.

We believe that God allows us to explore our faith and to wrestle with scripture, and that we are in good company when we do so. We aim to provide safe spaces where people can engage in respectful debate, because for many this is part of their walk with God. We do not believe that doubt is the enemy of faith.

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Church of England

Church of England churches in Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom

Church of England churches in Somerset, United Kingdom

Church of England churches in United Kingdom

All churches in Bath, Somerset

http://www.christchurchbath.org

Rev Lore Chumbley

Priest in Charge

07595 294146

Some parking spaces at West end of church. On Sundays there is parking in the Zone 7 area north of Julian Rd., for example in Burlington St.

Sunday
Holy Communion
A quiet service of Holy Communion usually following the Book of Common Prayer. Every second Sunday at 8:00 AM for 35 minutes

Family Eucharist
A Common Worship Eucharist service in modern language, usually with music provided by our large choir. The style of service is usually formal but not stuffy. Junior Church groups are run during the sermon and intercessions for U16s.
Every Sunday at 10:00 AM for 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Choral Evensong
A traditional service of Choral Evensong with music provided by our choir.
Every third Sunday at 4:30 PM for 1 hour

Thursday Eucharist
A said Eucharist for some midweek reflection. Every week at 11 am.

Service Times last updated on the 22nd of January, 2018

Junior Church during 10 am Sunday Eucharist (during the sermon and intercessions). On some Sundays during the year we aim this service more directly at younger members of the congregation whilst maintaining the overall structure, and on these occasions the junior members are encouraged to lead the prayers and readings, and the sermon is often replaced with a sketch or drama.

Cedar Tree cafe 11-1.30 on Fridays serving tea, coffee and light lunches.

Disabled access at present through Choir vestry; enter at leftmost door.

Hymns Ancient & Modern Revised 100 Hymns for Today Other hymns both old and new

60

Christ Church was founded at the end of the 18th century in the fashionable, prosperous city of Bath, a city very attractive to the wealthy visitors who took the waters and engaged in a variety of pleasurable activities. The city’s churches prospered by charging pew rents, which meant, however, that the poorer people could not afford to attend church. To remedy this, a group of socially inclined men opened a voluntary subscription fund to build a new church in which the ground floor should provide seating free of charge for any who wished to attend services, while the gallery seats would be let at a price sufficient to pay clergy and other staff. Early supporters included the Archbishop of Canterbury, the great evangelical and campaigner against slavery William Wilberforce, and Martin Stafford Smith, godfather of John Keble, a founder of the Oxford Movement. The physical structure and appearance of the fine Georgian building remain today, but not the social engineering!

When it was completed in 1798, Christ Church was a typical late 18th century “preaching house”, with a gallery, a central pulpit and a small free-standing altar. About 70 years later, after the influence of the Oxford Movement and in a typical act of Victorian exuberance, the house next to the east end of the church was bought and demolished to make way for a large apse, in a much more Catholic style. This eclectic mix of Catholic and Reformed remains in the make-up of the congregation to this day. Christ Church today is defined as a proprietary chapel, sometimes known with slight amusement as a “Peculiar in Ordinary”, owned by a charitable Trust. It lies geographically within the Parish of St Swithin’s, Walcot, but has no organisational link to that church beyond St Swithin’s having a representative on the Trustees.

The historical oddity of Christ Church having no geographical area of responsibility is becoming less strange as people commonly travel well outside of their parishes, particularly in cities, to attend churches which they feel meet their spiritual needs. In recent times Christ Church has sought to play a full role in the life of the Deanery and Diocese, donating a sum to the Diocesan Common Fund equivalent to a parish share and taking up places on Deanery Synod. We have strong links with our neighbours at St Stephen’s, Lansdown, and St Mary’s, Charlcombe, through the formation of a Local Ministry Group.