Sunday 25th January 

 

Our Vision: "We are a people being transformed by the unconditional love of God; seeking to bless our community, and longing for all to experience the hope we have in Jesus."

Saturday 24th January

9am - Men’s Breakfast

Sunday 25th January

 

The Third Sunday of Epiphany

9am - Morning Worship – Holy Spirit in the Early Church (1 Corinthians 12:1-11) – Martin Harris

 

10.05 - Prayer Meeting – in Room 4 for approx. 20 minutes

 

10.30am - Holy Communion – As above

 

          *This service will be livestreamed via the Christ Church Bedford YouTube channel*

 

7pm- Sundays@Seven – Holy Spirit in the Early Church (2 Corinthians 3:12-18) – Mhairi Brown

Services in the coming week


Wednesday 28th January
10am - Holy Communion - followed by refreshments

 

 

Sunday 1st February

9am -  Holy Communion:  What Happens at Holy Communion? (Mark 14:22-24) – David Thomas

*This service will be livestreamed via the Christ Church Bedford YouTube channel*

 

10.05am - Prayer Meeting – in Room 4 for approx. 20 minutes

 

10.30am - All Age Worship – As above – Ben Williams and David Thomas (this service will not be livestreamed)

 

7pm- Sundays@Seven - Holy Communion in the Old Testament (Exodus 12:43-13:10) – Sue Marshall

Church Family News

 

Tim Robb: There will be a Service of Thanksgiving for Tim’s life at 12 Noon on Monday 2nd February at St Mary’s Church Eaton Socon. Please be aware that due to the high numbers of people expected to attend car parking will be at a premium so please car share where possible, use adjacent roads and allow time for parking. Dress code: smart and respectful; black is not required. There will be refreshments after the service in the church and any donations in memory of Tim will go to St Mary’s Church, Eaton Socon.

Church Kitchen: The church kitchen has being spring cleaned this week and some cupboards have been reorganised. Kitchen users, please allow yourself time to familiarise yourself with the new layout and to read the labels.

For your prayers this week 

 

The Third Sunday of Epiphany: God of all mercy, your Son proclaimed good news to the poor, release to the captives, and freedom to the oppressed: anoint us with your Holy Spirit and set all your people free to praise you in Christ our Lord. Amen

Please pray for:

The planning for the upcoming Hope Youth event on Friday 13th February.

  • Our Mission Partners.

  • World leaders to know God's direction.

  • Those struggling, that they might know God's grace amidst these trials.

Children's Ministry and Events
 

THIS SUNDAY: 25th January

 

 

THIS WEEK:

 

Little Fishes is not meeting this week, back on 5th February.

 

 

 

 

VOLUNTEERS WANTED:

 

 

For more information about our regular groups please look on our website here or contact Ruth using: children@ccbedford.org or 07554 537757



Youth Ministry and Events

 

 

 

Youth Blog

Once a month we will give you an insight into our youth ministry. You will be able to read what we are getting up to and the fun we're having. So far we have blogged about our youth weekend away and what our youth alpha looks like in our Friday Nights Small Groups.

Find all our blogs on the church website in the 'youth ministry' section in 'connect' or follow this link: https://ccbedford.org/Groups/452353/Youth_Blog.aspx

Happy Reading! :)

 

Satellites 2026: We are taking our young people to a youth festival, satellites, down at the Bath & West showground in Somerset from 6-10 August. This is an amazing opportunity for them to experience faith alongside so many other young people their age. If you wish your young person to come along, please book as soon as possible to access the standard ticket that they offer (price goes up on 27th February). For any more information about travel or prices, please feel free to contact the youth team: email either Hannah Applegarth or Sorcha Brown.

Camping Equipment: Much to Hannah's dismay, we are camping! If you have any camping equipment that you are able to lend for 4th - 12th August 2026, please speak to or email either Hannah Applegarth or Sorcha Brown.

 

For more information about our regular groups please look on our website here or contact Hannah using: youth@ccbedford.org or 07384 295757

What is happening at Christ Church and beyond

 

Date for your Diary: 15th-17th May. Church Weekend @ Home! More details on Sunday.

 

Ladies Bible Study: Weekly during term time on Monday mornings 8:45am-10am in Room 6 at Christ Church. New members are always welcome. For more information, contact Rachel Bennett

 

Bible Study: What the Bible says about Homosexuality. Continues Monday evenings 8-9.15pm in church. We will be exploring passages which explicitly talk about homosexuality.

 

Go4Gold Special: Friday 30th January Meet at Christ Church at 3pm (note later time) to car share to Dorothea Court (32 Park Avenue) to meet the manager and residents for refreshments and chat. All ages welcome

 

Men’s Social Curry Night: A men’s curry night is planned for the evening of Friday 30th January at 8pm at Deshi Spice at 60 Tavistock Street, Bedford.  Final numbers needed by Sunday 25th January to advise the venue.  Please let John Betteley know your intention to join us either directly or via the email mens.breakfast@ccbedford.org   It would be good to see you there.

 

Coming up in February:

Hope in Bedfordshire Celebration: Sunday 8th February at 6pm at Three Rivers Church. Speaker Paul Harcourt Vicar of All Saints' Woodford Wells, and previously the National Leader of New Wine. There will be no 7pm service at Christ Church that evening.

Hope Youth: Friday 13th February 7pm at All Nations Church

Ash Wednesday: 18th February there will be services at Christ Church at 10am and 8pm.

William Tyndale and the English Bible: Friday 20th February at 7.30pm. A free illustrated talk at Lakeview Village Hall, Wixams in the 500th Anniversary year of the publication of the first New Testament in English. See separate flyer for more information.

Lent Course: Starts Wednesday 25th February 8pm in the church.

 

Discipleship for the Workplace: Are you in full-time paid work and interested in thinking about how your faith fits with everyday working life? Sue Marshall will be leading a short, informal course on Discipleship for the Workplace, made up of three sessions (dates and times to be agreed). It will be a chance to chat, share experiences, and reflect together on faith, work, and the challenges we face. Open to anyone curious about living out their faith at work. If you’re interested, please email Sue Marshall.

 

A Message from Sue Marshall: Festivals can be a powerful way to refresh your spiritual life and deepen your walk with God. This Easter, Spring Harvest returns to Skegness, offering teaching, worship and space to reflect. Later in the year, Greenbelt Festival takes place over the August Bank Holiday — a very different but equally inspiring experience. I’m planning to go to both, and currently have two spare seats in the car for Greenbelt for anyone who’d like to join me. And just to reassure you: we definitely won’t be camping!  For more details see Spring Harvest and Greenbelt or contact Sue Marshall.

 

Thank you: A huge thank you from Malawi Orphan Fund for your support and generosity at the Malawi Lunch and Go for Gold last week. Your donations, totalling £292, and your prayers will benefit the children and all who work at Home of Hope. Many thanks to everyone who helped in any way with these events.

To find out more about the work, sponsor the children or sign up for our news and prayer letters go to https://malawiorphanfund.uk/. You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram, contact us at info@malawiorphanfund.uk. or talk with one of the MOF team at Christ Church.

Thank you: to everyone who has donated ‘winter  warmers’ - most of the hats, scarves, blankets etc. have been given out and the clients were most appreciative. We have a few hats etc left, so we don’t need any more donations just now.

Bedford Foodbank Shopping List: The most needed items at the moment are: tinned potatoes/veg/fruit/custard, jars of coffee, cup a soup, long-life fruit juice bars of chocolate, biscuits,  laundry tablets & deodorant. Thank you for your donations.

Hello
Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Planning your Visit

A Warm Hello

The following information is specifically for those planning a visit, so that you know, beforehand, what to expect on a Sunday morning. When you arrive, you should be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team.

Our 9:00am service is traditional in style and lasts about 45 minutes.

Our main Sunday family service starts at 10:30am and runs for about 75 minutes, everyone gathers together at the beginning of the service. After a short time of worship together, we divide into different teaching and worship groups as children up to school year 11 leave.

At our all-age services (60 minutes), everyone stays together for the whole service. Our weekly notice-sheet gives details of all important events happening in the near future and some guidance on topics for prayer.

Tea, coffee and biscuits are served after the service where there is plenty of time to meet new people and ask more questions. We are proud to be a certified Fair Trade Church.

Our 7:00pm Sunday evening service runs for about 75 minutes and adopts a more contemporary style with a focus on deeper worship and teaching.   

 

What happens to the kids at church?

Children

We have a fantastic programme for the kids at the Church on Sunday mornings during our 10.30am service:

Imagine -  Our weekly group for babies to 3 year olds, parents are welcome to stay with their child, if they like.  They meet in the main hall 
Wonder - Our weekly group for those in school years R-3. They meet in Rooms 2-3
Marvel - Our weekly group for those in school years 4-6. They meet in Room 5 (upstairs)
Youth - Our weekly group for those in school years 7-13. They meet in Room 7 (upstairs). Please register at the desk in the hub


The children and youth stay with their parents at the start of the service as we worship together for the first part of the morning. Someone will announce when the children and youth should go to their groups. You will need to go with your children and register them, the first time they attend. 

For more information about what is currently happening in the children's work please visit the Children's Ministry page and for the youth work please visit the Youth Ministry page.

What about accessibility?

There are parking spaces next to the church halls but for the 10:30am service a larger car park is available at Castle Newman School (south site) just a few yards along Goldington Road. We have step free access from both Denmark street and Dudley street and there is space for buggies and wheelchairs in the Hub area of the new halls. There are baby changing and accessible toilet facilities and a lift to the first floor. Our sound system incorporates a hearing loop.

Getting Connected


Small Groups

While Sundays are a great way to meet new people, it is often in smaller gatherings that you can really get to know someone. Being part of one of our small groups allows you to make new friends, share together and support each other. We have a variety of groups that meet throughout the week, some afternoons and some evenings. Check out Small Groups and see if there’s one that you could join, or we can put you in touch with a small group leader who will be more than happy to invite you along to their group.

Serving and Volunteering

If you want to get involved in the life of the church and help us make Sundays run smoothly, you can sign up to serve on a team. 

Other Ministries

We also run the following ministries: