There's been a Christian presence on this site for 800 years.  As a new type of Christian-led foundation we want to continue this story, not repeat it.

Hospitality

Reconciliation requires honest meeting.  Our mission is  one of hospitality, welcoming and learning from the stranger in the spirit of St Paul's reminder to the Hebrews that "some people have entertained angels unawares". (Heb. 13:2). People of different faith traditions work alongside each other at the Centre. We seek to support each other in living out our own faith authentically, listening and sharing what we can. We don't try to "convert" anyone.

Hospitality also means making space for other faith traditions in our building.  Christians at St Ethelburga's cannot often share in the worship of other faiths but we can respect and be inspired by it. We like Krister Stendhal's concept of "holy envy".

Services

We continue the  tradition of Christian worship with monthly services of Holy Eucharist using a beautiful liturgy from the Iona community. We also provide weekly space for Centering Prayer

Stillness

Being still, silent, perhaps meditating, is at the heart of our life together.

The Tent - where faiths meet as equals

The Tent was created specifically to provide a place where people of different faiths, or none, can meet as equals, rather than as guests in the Christian space of the church itself. It is in daily use as one of the few spaces in London where people from different traditions can spend devotional time together.

The past inhabits the present 

We're encouraged to discover that foreign language and cultures, central features of modern London, have played an important role in the history of St Ethelburga's.

Messages from the East

Our font bears the Byzantine Greek palindromic inscription Νίψον ανομήματα μη μόναν όψιν ("wash my sins, not only my face"), which comes from Constantinople (Istanbul).

The 17th century Rector of St Ethelburga's William Bedwell (1561 - 1632) was responsible for reviving the study of Arabic in England. He created an Arabic Leixcon. He was also a member of the "First Westminster Company" which translated the first 10 books of the King James version of the Bible from the Masoretic text.

In 1861 another Rector, John Medows Rodwell, made the first reliable version of the Qur'an in English.