Find out more about our lecture series here.

To book tickets for each lecture, click on the links below:

https://www.trybooking.com/uk/events/landing/103560

Wanstead's impressive and beautiful war memorial sits in the High Street.  Installed in 1922 to mark the names of Wanstead's fallen in the Great War, it was added to after the Second World War and also contains the name of Royal Marine Thomas Curry, who died on active service in Afghanistan in 2007. 

The war memorial has been restored in the past, but now it is in need of significant works.  The bronze angel sculpture that sits atop of the memorial has been poorly maintained and this has affected the colouring of the Portland stone of the memorial itself, whilst the names of the fallen - recut on granite, probably in the 1960s - have now become worn in places.

The London Borough of Redbridge owns the memorial, but they have granted the Parish of Wanstead a licence to carry out works required.

We hope to raise sufficient funds for the memorial to be professionally cleaned and for the names cut in the memorial to be professionally repainted by an expert in war memorial restoration.

If we raise sufficient funds, it would be ideal for the stone to be repointed and the base to be repaired, with the poor quality paint and concrete 'repairs' removed, and the stone base restored.  This is an expensive job!

The costs of the project are as follows (quotes as of August 2025):

Professional cleaning of entire memorial:  £1,100

Metal stain remover:  £450

Restore all names on memorial:  £1,000

Repoint stonework:  £650

Remove black paint from steps and clean:  £1,650

VAT on above @ 20%

TOTAL including VAT:  £5,820

If you would like to contribute to the cost of repairing the memorial, please see our crowd funder:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/restore-wansteads-war-memorial

2026 Festival - TICKETS NOW ON SALE! 

This year the Festival will take place 23-25 May. 

We have another exciting programme lined up for you, including a piano recital, an outdoor performance from The Ageing Balladeers (weather permitting!), a come-and-sing performance of Gilbert & Sullivan Operettas and a Medieval Music group!

Why not purchase a season ticket for the whole weekend and save up to £15!  

SEASON TICKETS:
Season Ticket (Adult) £45:  https://www.trybooking.com/uk/GHAE
Season Ticket (Concession) £35:  https://www.trybooking.com/uk/GHAF

INDIVIDUAL EVENTS:

Saturday 23 May:
5.30pm Kingsley Peart Piano Recital £15/£10:  https://www.trybooking.com/uk/GHAG
8pm The Ageing Balladeer £15/£10:  https://www.trybooking.com/uk/GHAH

Sunday 24 May:
6pm Gilbert & Sullivan Singalong £15/£10:  https://www.trybooking.com/uk/GHAJ

Monday 25 May
5pm Rune Medieval Music Presents: Saints and Miracles £15/£10:  https://www.trybooking.com/uk/GHAK

In early July, a group from our parish including Fr James, Fr Charles and Fr David, walked all the way from Wanstead to Canterbury on pilgrimage.  The route, which was roughly 80 miles, was split over seven days and over 70 people from the parish and elsewhere joined the main group for some of the way.

People have made pilgrimages to Canterbury for over a thousand years, and many of them have been on foot.  We found mental, physical and spiritual refreshment on the way, as well as raising much-needed funds for our Inspire Wanstead project to renew Christ Church's building.

When we got to Canterbury Cathedral we were joined by Year 5 from Wanstead Church School and many people from our parish, and we were delighted to be able to hold a celebratory Eucharist at St Dunstan's Church, Canterbury - the Pilgrims' Church - which was led by +Lynne Cullens, Bishop of Barking.

A great time was had by all!  You can find pictures of the pilgrimage by clicking here.

There is still the opportunity to sponsor the pilgrims.  Please do so by clicking here.  All funds will go to the Inspire Wanstead  campaign.

PALM SUNDAY,  29 MARCH

8am - Holy Communion, Christ Church

9:30 am - Blessing of Palms and Procession from Christ Church

10:00 am - Sung Eucharist with Forest Church for young people - St Mary's

WEDNESDAY, 1 APRIL

 8:00 pm - Compline - St Mary's

MAUNDY THURSDAY, 2 APRIL

10:30 am - Holy Communion - Christ Church

8:00 pm - Mass of the Last Supper - Christ Church

9:00 pm - 12:00 am - Vigil - Christ Church

GOOD FRIDAY, 3 APRIL

10:00 am - Walk of Witness - U.R.C.

12:00 noon - Stabat Mater - Pergolesi - St Mary's

2:00 pm - Veneration & Distribution - Christ Church

HOLY SATURDAY, 4 APRIL

8:00 pm - First Eucharist of Easter - Christ Church

EASTER SUNDAY, 5 APRIL

8:00 am - Holy Communion (BCP) - Christ Church

9:30 am - Sung Eucharist w/ Junior Church - Christ Church

9:45 am - Nursery Church - Christ Church Halls

11:00 am ~ Sung Eucharist - St Mary's

You can also sign up for our weekly newsletter below, published by email. Or please contact the Parish Office.

These groups are lovely ways to meet new people and to do something useful whilst also having a bit of fun!  Contact the Parish Office for more details.

If you would like to keep fit and join one of our friendly groups, contact the Parish Office.

We run a harvest supper and a pancake party, and help to co-ordinate Christian Aid week, the local Poppy Appeal and much more besides.  Contact the Parish Office to find out more. 

Details of 'Tin in a Bin', the foodbank collection run from St Mary's, can be found here, whilst details of the night shelter can be found here.

Its object is to raise funds for the repair and enhancement of the fabric of the buildings of the parish, particularly both Christ Church and St Mary's Church.  Find out about the latest Friends events here.

Annual Friends events include:

• quizzes,
• Burns Night supper and ceilidh,
• our ever-popular children's discos,
• the summer fete,
• the parish dog show, and much more besides! 

Volunteering with the Friends is a fun and friendly thing to do, and we are always looking for people who can lend a hand!

The Forget-me nots is a group of mainly older people, who come together once a week for an hour of singing and conviviality. Originally started as a way of helping people to recover from the effects of Covid, the group has grown and numbers around 25 people now. We do give occasional performances, but the focus is on the benefits of singing, meeting friends and having a bit of fun!

We meet at St Mary's Church at 10.30am on Fridays.

Our leaders are Alison Wells, Andy Richardson, Tina Lloyd-Morris, and the Rector.

New members are always welcome and it doesn’t matter whether you think you can sing or not – come along and give it a try! Contact Alison on alisongwells@me.com for more information

This is a safe place for people to come who have been bereaved, with people ready to listen over a nice cup of tea. The group is open to those of all faiths and none.

Contact the Parish Office for more details.

We have the capacity to teach new ringers, and experienced ringers are also very welcome. 

We also have a set of handbells that enjoy the occasional outing!


Contact the Parish Office for more details.

The Parish Choir is a friendly group of people who enjoy singing for services and giving our best to enhance those services. We sing Evensong once a month in the Parish, usually on the 2nd Sunday of the month, and we also enjoy making visits to Cathedrals to sing Evensong. This year we are making return visits to Southwark Cathedral and Chelmsford Cathedral. We also sing at major Church Festivals, including a candle-lit Nine Lessons and Carols Service at Christmas.

We have a large and varied repertoire, including the music of living composers alongside the more traditional repertoire.

New members are always welcome.

We rehearse on Friday evenings at Christ Church from 7.00-8.15. and we enjoy social occasions, such as a visit to the pub after rehearsals and drinks after evensong

 For any more information or if you would like to try a rehearsal with us, (no auditions necessary) email Alison Wells at alisongwells@me.com.

Our dedicated teams have created safe and welcoming spaces where young people of all ages can explore, learn, and grow in their faith. We believe in fostering a strong sense of community and values-based learning that empowers our young members to embrace their spirituality and flourish in their journey of faith. 

At Prayer Group (Christ Church, Tuesdays at 10am) we meet for an hour and take a piece of scripture, examining it from several different texts, and discussing it further.  We pray about issues big and small, local to international, and we discuss anything that has come to mind.  You would be most welcome to just turn up and join in!

Zoom Groups meet in the evening.  These are groups from our congregation that meet online, often after children have gone to bed, to share something of the Bible and discuss how it relates to life. 

If you would like to join us, please contact the Parish Office.

We often run other small groups, including during Lent and Advent, where we meet to discuss a particular book or course.  Details of these are distributed in the weekly newsletter (contact the Parish Office to receive the newsletter).

If you would like us to pray for you or for a loved one, contact the Parish Office and we would be happy to do so.

We also pray for the streets and businesses of Wanstead in rotation. A copy of our Parish Prayer Diary can be found here.

8am  Christ Church:  Holy Communion (Book of Common Prayer)

A short, quiet and reflective service of Holy Communion in traditional language, on a small scale.  Perfect for early birds and those who prefer the Church of England's historic 1662 liturgy.

9.30am  Christ Church:  Sung Eucharist with Nursery Church and Junior Church

Our 9.30am Eucharist (otherwise known as Holy Communion or The Mass) is a service for everyone in the family.  We make full use of our church building and our two church halls next door to ensure that, whether you are an adult or a child, there is something going on for you. 

For adults, the service in the church building blends choral music, incense and liturgy with readings from the Bible and teaching on the Word of God.   

For young families, Nursery Church (in the Parish Hall) includes fun songs, stories and play - ideal for those under the age of five and their parents.  Nursery Church has a soft start from 9.30am with books and toys, and the worship starts at 9.45am.

For those five and up, Junior Church, run by our specialist youth workers, is a great mix of fun and lively activities.  Young people can be safely left with our experienced leaders, whilst adults enjoy the main service. 

All this culminates in everyone coming together in church to receive communion and being sent back out into the world again (or, at least, sent to the Parish Hall for a cup of coffee!). 

The service lasts for one hour and is an experience of relaxed formality!  We take our faith and worship seriously, but we hopefully don't take ourselves too seriously... 

On the fourth Sunday of each month children and adults all join together for a simplified Family Eucharist in church at 9.30am.

11am  St Mary's:  Morning Worship

Our 11am service offers a variety of different liturgies.  On the second and  fourth Sundays of the month, we have a Sung Eucharist (no incense).  On the first Sunday of the month we have Morning Prayer (Common Worship text) whilst on the third Sunday we have the traditional Mattins (Book of Common Prayer).  All our services include great music, sung by both choir and congregation.  You will be assured of a friendly welcome at St Mary's, where refreshments are always served after the service!  

Note that, where an occasional month includes a fifth Sunday, there is no service at St Mary's as we all join together at Christ Church at 9.30am. 

6.30pm  Evening Services

We have a variety of evening services which take place throughout the month, including Choral Evensong, which takes place in either of our churches on the second Sunday of the month.  Our choir sings the full BCP evensong and we often have a guest speaker, followed by a party at the Rectory.  Check the Calendar Page for more details.

Morning Prayer

This short service takes place in the parish on most days, normally at 9am.  Often it is just the clergy there, but we love it when people join us!  Check the Calendar Page for more details.

Weds 8pm, St Mary's:  Compline

This quiet, reflective service happens every week throughout the year.  Led by our lay leaders, this twenty minute service helps us to prepare for the night, and for the day ahead.

Thurs 10.30am, Christ Church:  Holy Communion

This said service of Holy Communion in the traditional language is conducted in the Lady Chapel at Christ Church.  It lasts half an hour and there is coffee and chat in the vestry afterwards.  Everyone is welcome, especially those who struggle with the busy-ness of church on Sundays.