Following a constant battle with one of the wettest winters for many years, Christ Church’s new Garden of Reflection is nearing completion. Thanks to the hard work and dedication of the ground work team of Rob Andrews and Connor Hurst who struggled with the elements to complete the work on time, the final hard landscaping has been finished. On days of torrential rain and driving wind, Rob and Connor could be found wheeling tons of top soil and barrows of concrete and sand up to the site.

The site of the new garden was, for many years, a rubbish and burning area for the burial ground but it was felt that the location, with its splendid view of the church and its quiet aspect, would make a fitting place of peace and reflection for those visiting the church and grounds. The garden was designed by Rachel Titcombe, who won our Garden design competition last year. Now that things have started to dry up, some planting is underway and we are beginning the process of cleaning up and patching up the damaged grass and verges to complete the work. Our thanks go to Rachel, Rob, Connor and to Ian Handy who directed and co-ordinated the work. The end result will be something we can all be proud of.

We are planning to put some benches in the garden and are inviting donations towards these and the completion of the planting in the garden. If you would like to make a donation or find out more about the garden then please contact Stephen Grosvenor on s.grosvenor@gmail.com or 07885 217077

See what Timberworks Europe say about their latest project – our community centre.

http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=139098332fdfe28f439e47512&id=1a33b27707&e=c00b2bb20b

Partnership Confirmation Service: Sunday 18th May 10am at Bath Road Methodist Church. We are very much looking forward to our confirmation service. Is this something God is calling you to consider? Is there someone you know who might be interested in being confirmed in their faith ? Please pick up a flyer from the back of the church.

Financial giving:  If you are new to Christ Church you may not know that we don’t take collections during services but there is a plate available for offerings before and after each service. We encourage church members, wherever possible, to give via gift aid (if you are a tax payer) and via standing order through your bank. There is a leaflet explaining our vision, mission, challenge and the privilege of Christian giving, at the back of the church. For further information please contact Stephen Grosvenor (01793 341034 or s.grosvenor@gmail.com)  or Ian Walters (07774 518585 ianwalters21@sky.com)

Welcome Everybody

This is a very special day for Swindon, the Old Town Community and for the Old Town Partnership of Churches of which Christ Church was a founding member in 1969, the year our previous community centre was built.

 I love bridges because bridges connect people and places. While I am no engineer I am a passionate bridge builder which is why I am so excited about today. This building is like having a new bridge in Swindon.

The vision of Christ Church is to be at the heart of the Old Town community. We love welcoming people of all backgrounds and ages to meet on this site for a whole variety of activities.

This new community centre enables us to increase our hospitality and make more meetings and activities possible for which we are very grateful. For many years Ideas have been considered, now we have a physical building of which we can all be very proud.

As Swindon Town Football Club Chaplain I love teams. The best teams are the ones who work really well together. Today would not have been possible without a huge amount of team work.

As your Vicar I want to say thank-you to God and to all those people who have worked so hard to get us to this point. We are especially appreciative of the Borough Council for the 106 grant, to the Christ Church PCC for their considerable financial commitment, to the Grant bodies and individuals who have donated finance and gifts in kind. To the volunteers who have given so much time and expertise. You all know who you are but on your behalf can I especially thank Stephen Grosvenor, Mike Palmer and Daniel Pitt. Our architect Anthony Feltham-King, our builders Timberworks and our Community Centre Development Manager Chris Smith who have shared their expertise bringing us to this point and new beginning. Thank-you each of you.

Shortly we will have the official opening by a previous neighbour of the Vicarage , Nick Hewer !

You will then have the opportunity of looking at a specially commissioned painting ‘Christ church at the heart of Old Town’ by artist Laurie Plant.

Also the Garden of Reflection designed by Rachel Titcombe with the William Morris Memorial centrally placed. This is a work in progress.

We are delighted to have such imaginative, creative features central to our community centre. William Morris, as you know, was the first Editor of the Swindon Advertiser. Not all of us are journalists but each of us as human beings can tell stories and pass good news on. I am sure you would agree that today is truly a good news story for us all and for our fellow Swindonians who are not here. Please join with me in passing the good news on

The Community Centre @ Christ Church is truly a special place where hospitality, friendship and a warm welcome are guaranteed. Let’s resolve, whoever we are, as Community Centre team-mates to make its future a great success by continuing to work together.

It is a great joy to me to have our Bishop of Swindon the Right Reverend Lee Rayfield to pray a prayer of blessing for our new centre and our Swindon Community

It’s always a last minute rush to buy presents so we have some suggestions for you:

1) Visit our Floodlighting page https://www.christchurchswindon.co.uk/flood.php and find out how to create a romantic gesture, a thank you, a birthday surprise by sponsoring our floodlighting for a night. It not only lights up the Swindon skyline but also supports the work of the church. You can choose to have a message posted on our website and, where appropriate, can have an e-card sent, telling the recipient when the church is to be lit in their name.

2) Support the choir and the Friends of Christ Church by buying a copy of our latest CD – Skyline sounds III  https://www.christchurchswindon.co.uk/shop.htm

3) Buy a copy of the fascinating history of the “Old Lady on the Hill” – the story of Christ Church and Swindon over the past 150 years written by the Teresa Squires and the late Brian Bridgeman – all funds go the Friends of Christ Church.  You can buy it along with other items in our shop https://www.christchurchswindon.co.uk/shop.htm

PROJECT MANAGER for SWINDON RESTORE – up to £22,500 p.a.

 This is a challenging full-time position with Swindon Christian Community Projects, to project manage Swindon Restore on a day-to-day basis. Swindon Restore is a community centre built round a workshop, where donated goods are restored for re-sale, a charity shop, a garden and a cafeteria. You will also need to work with social agencies in Swindon, and to represent and promote Restore with potential donors and the media.

The key skills required for this position include the ability to plan, organise and manage the centre. You will be responsible for ensuring that it is financially sustainable. You will be able to support, manage and motivate volunteers effectively, some of whom may have physical, emotional or other difficulties. Experience in dealing sympathetically with vulnerable people is therefore essential. Excellent communication skills and a strong commitment to being a team player are both critical to this role. In particular working collaboratively with the charity’s Trustees and the Restore sister charity, Swindon Foodbank, is crucial.  Some previous management experience would also be desirable.

This position requires a special kind of person who: 

• will support Christian values
• understands the importance of team working with colleagues and volunteers
• will work with honesty and integrity
• is able to work under pressure and meet deadlines
• can work unsupervised
• is physically fit
• has basic IT skills
• takes pride in paying attention to every aspect of the job
• will ‘go the extra mile’, and when necessary  work evenings or unsocial hours

 A full, clean driving licence is essential as you will have to drive the Restore van.

Appointment will be subject to a DBS check, as the job involves working with potentially vulnerable people.

To receive a copy of the job description please apply to Anna Tuersley

To apply for this position please submit the following by e‑mail:

• A letter of interest – giving insight into
  • why you want the role?
  • what you believe you will bring to the role?
• A current CV
• Two references (1 work associate and 1 personal friend).

 to  Anna Tuersley  anna.tuersley@intel.com entitling your e-mail “Restore Job Application”.

 Applications should be with Anna by Friday 20  December.

This was the culmination of the Partnership Project when we promised last February to raise £5000 to help disabled people in Palestine and Lebanon through the aid agency, Christian Aid.  If we raised £5000 then it would be matched three times over by EU funding so the challenge was set.  In the three churches, Bath Road, Christ Church and Immanuel all kinds of innovative ways of fund raising began from car boot sales to cake sales, a Ready, Steady Cook fun evening to a Pop up Italian restaurant evening and many people opened their gardens for viewing.  We worked hard and we learned a lot about the Middle East and we exceeded our target and raised the grand sum of £10,354.32p.  The photograph shows the organising group ie Margaret Williams from Christ Church, Jean Batten from Immanuel and Eric Sparkes from Bath Road  giving the cheque to Katrine Musgrave from Christian Aid

Find out about this year’s Christmas Services

Last weekend, Carol, Simon and Mark from the choir did a fun run in aid of the Wiltshire Air Ambulance – Carol writes:

Thank you to everyone that sponsored us and encouraged us for the Santa Run last Sunday.  At one point the team was 7 strong but due to illness and injury, on the day we were the Christ Church Choir 3! Those of the team that couldn’t be with us cheered us on in spirit.  See our photo to prove that we did it – we can show you our Santa medals.  If you sponsored us please could you pass your monies to Carol, Beth, Simon, Verity or Mark by Sunday 15^th December as all sponsorship has to reach Rotary by the end of the year.  Thank you again for your support.

In response to a dare, 4 members of the choir will be taking part in this year’s Santa Fun Run on Sunday 1^st December at Lydiard Park.  The course is 5km and is completed wearing a full Santa suit!  The event is organised by Phoenix Rotary Club and all monies raised will go to the Wiltshire Air Ambulance.   There will be a sponsorship form at the back of the church from this Sunday and also one at St Mary’s and we would very much appreciate your support for this worthy cause.  Thank you in hope.  Beth, Carol, Simon & Verity.

The gates are open

Following extensive works to the roadways and paths around the church which have led to the closure  of some of the usual entrances, we are now able to report that the works are completed and that normal access has been restored.  The tarmac team,were initially delayed by the bad weather which prevented the ground from being prepared but this week has been kinder and the weather has allowed them to make good progress.

The tarmac teams withdrew from site on Thursday afternoon after giving our car park a good sweep and clean up. Access to the church and burial ground are now back to normal although the contractors comfort cabin and equipment will take up a bit of space in the car park for a further few weeks as the centre’s pedestrian access paths are completed and the finishing touches are applied to the centre itself.

Sweeping the car park

Community Centre Photo Gallery