ABOUT US
Worshipping God, Following Jesus,
Impacting the world
Leytonstone United Free Church
Our mission is the growth of Christ’s Kingdom in Leytonstone; a key aspect of this for us is finding creative and innovative ways to be a church with a servant heart. Motivated by the love of Christ, our vision is to be agents of change in the local community, working for the common good as we grow in faith together.
We are a Baptist/United Reformed Local Ecumenical Partnership seeking to offer an inclusive ‘radical welcome’ to all. Based on the foundations of our underlying denominations, we are essentially ‘progressive’ with a broad spectrum of theology hence working with other churches in our community, and also with other faiths, is important to us.
We have been blessed in the fact in the last 40 years we have had a stable succession of long term ministers and since September 2014 we are registering to offer services of same-sex marriage.
Our modern building aids our vision to serve the needs of the community. Church activities include youth fellowship, social afternoons, coffee mornings and ‘Baby Yoga’, with numerous outside charitable and social lettings including Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous groups. We were instrumental in the launch and development of a Credit Union and a Night Shelter within the borough. We have been recognised for our environmental credentials by having received an Eco-Congregation Award over a number of years.
Radical Welcome
We seek to be an open, friendly and inclusive fellowship that offers a ‘radical welcome’ to all. Radical Welcome combines the Christian ministry of welcome and hospitality with a faithful commitment to eliminate historic, systemic barriers that limit the genuine embrace of groups often marginalised in mainline churches (young adults, the poor, LGBT people, people of colour, and people with disabilities).
In worship we often sing the song ‘Come all you vagabonds’ and feel that these words describe our belief that we are called together as a loving family in this place.
Eco Church
We were one of the original churches in London to be awarded an Eco Congregation Award. Our church has twenty solar-PV panels on the roof not only to reduce our electricity consumption and to provide some income from Feed-In Tariff receipts but also to demonstrate to the community our commitment to care for the environment. We encourage members to cycle to church or use public transport where practical by providing bike racks.
We regularly include prayers and intercessions about the environment within worship and take our role as stewards of creation seriously by committing to recycling and monitoring our energy use.
Social Action
We believe in operating as a church with open doors and a congregation rooted in the local community. As an example of this we are proud of our continuing involvement in the borough's homeless Night Shelter scheme through the winter months, We seek to continue to develop as a church that cares and provides for our neighbours near and far. This is our faith in action, showing love and lifting up God’s people.