St. Chad's, Lichfield - St. Chad's Today

THOSE who consider themselves part of St Chad's Church are a mixture of ordinary, yet extraordinary, people. Although all different, from different backgrounds and of different ages, we all have something in common - our commitment to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour.

Our mission

At St Chad's we try to live according to the teaching of Jesus and put God at the centre of our lives, and so . . .

Worship and Prayer

We are a focal point for prayer and worship in this parish

Our Parish Eucharist (Sunday, 9.30 a.m.) is our main service of the week. There is also a traditional Book of Common Prayer Holy Communion at 8.00 a.m. and a Sunday evening service at 6.30 p.m., which follows various formats and sometimes uses music from Taizé or Iona. Once a month, our 11.15 a.m. 'Service with a Smile' is a very informal service aimed particularly at families with children. Regular Communion services take place during the week.

Our church also sees many baptisms, weddings and, of course, funerals. Various Lichfield groups make use of our church for their own celebrations and commemorations especially at Christmas when St Chad's becomes a venue for carol services and nativity plays.

Away from the church, a weekly communion service takes place at our mission church at Elmhurst, a rural community on the northern edge of Lichfield, and once a month a group from St Chad's leads worship at Nearfield House, a residential unit for the elderly. There is also a Prayer Group which meet fortnightly in someone's home to pray for the work of the church and for those names left on the prayer table.

Teaching and Nurture

We value each person and their contribution to the life of St Chad's and are committed to providing guidance and nurture in their faith development

Support, encouragement and guidance are needed throughout a person's faith journey and St Chad's aims to meet the needs of people of all ages and at whatever stage they are at on that journey.

For young children, there is our Sunday School which meets most Sundays at 9.30 a.m. in Well Cottage next to the church. The Sunday School follows a programme which links to the theme of the main Parish Eucharist which the children join in with later on.

St Chad's youth group provides fellowship in a Christian context for young people aged 14-18 years. The group usually meets at 8.00 p.m. on a Sunday evening in Well Cottage and follows a programme containing a mixture of fun (if not extremely silly) activities, social events, discussions and debates, as well as fellowship with other youth groups.

House Groups provide for those who wish to follow a course of structured study so they can discover for themselves the riches and depths that are in the bible and the Christian faith. Recent themes have included the Old Testament and the meanings of Easter, while the prayer group has made a study of the Book of Revelation.

The popular Bishop's Certificate Group follows a comprehensive two-year course covering experience of faith, the New and Old Testaments, Church History and the Creeds. The group meets once a week and there is some optional written work.

Evangelism and Outreach

We actively seek to establish God's kingdom in this place by sharing the gospel and providing a welcome and open community of love which creates a safe place for all

At St Chad's we see Evangelism not so much as trying to convert people to Christianity by our words but to show God's love for them by our actions.

Apart from those who regularly attend services at St Chad's, there are a great number of people who have contact with the church. This may be at a time of great happiness such as a wedding or baptism or at time of sadness such as after the death of a loved one. Others visit the church out of curiosity or even just to shelter from the rain. On each occasion, there is an opportunity to minister to them and to show God's love, before they return to the business of their lives.

More actively, the church is attempting to reach out to those living in the northern area of our parish - the CHADLINKS project. Already over 600 homes have been visited and now discussion is underway as to how to take this area of work forward having heard of the various problems encountered by those living in this area. Members of the church involved in this are also providing a Christian voice at meetings of the North Lichfield Initiative and have established contacts with other local agencies.

Justice and Care

We actively seek to establish God's kingdom in this place by striving to be aware of, and respond to, the needs of others, especially in the local community

As Christian's we strive for justice in our local community and throughout the world. Local initiatives the church is involved in include Lichfield Housing Concern, whose Tenants Support Scheme is due to start later this year providing advice and support for vulnerable tenants. Our CHADLINKS work in the northern part of the parish is also about Justice and Care.

Internationally, the ecumenical Global Justice Group (set up by St Chad's) campaigns for those who are oppressed, mainly by global economics and politics. In particular, the group aims to promote Fair Trade products, for which the original producers, usually small farmers in third world countries, receive their fair share of the profits. The Global Justice Group is also part of the Jubilee 2000 campaign which lobbies governments to write off the crippling debts of many third world countries which prevent them from providing even basic healthcare and education.

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