Observing Lent at St Mary’s
Lent
The church observes the season of Lent (the time between Ash Wednesday and Palm Sunday) as a special time of prayer, preparation, study and almsgiving. It is a time of spiritual preparation to ready ourselves to walk with Christ through the events of Holy Week and welcome the joy of the Resurrection on Easter Sunday.
There are many different ways that people do this - and we invite you to join us if you can.
Services & Prayer during Lent
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Ash Wednesday
18th February
10.30am - Said Eucharist
7pm - Sung Eucharist with Bishop Will
Both services offer the Imposition of Ashes -
Stations of the Cross
Every Friday at 12noon
Walk the journey with Christ. Beginning 20th February for six weeks. Followed by the Lent lunches
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Choral Evensong
8th March 6pm
A special service of Choral Evensong (from the Book of Common Prayer) for Lent with the St Mary’s Choir and guest preacher, The Rev’d Fergus Butler-Gallie
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Midweek Prayer
throughout Lent
Morning Prayer Mon-Thu 9amSilent Prayer Weds 4pm
Compline Online Weds 7pm
Lent Talks
We are delighted that the clergy team will be bringing their shared insight to Lent this year with a set of talks for the parish. You are welcome to attend as many or as few as you like. They will all be held in the Old Parsonage:
'Lent Lit'
poetry and literature in Lent
with Fr Richard, Saturday 21st Feb at 5.30pm
'History of Holy Week'
with Fr Mark, Thursday 26th Feb at 2.30pm
'Hunger and the Heart of God'
with Mthr. Arwen, Sat 28th Feb at 5.30pm
(£5 a ticket in aid of Mary's Meals).
'Exploring Worship and Sermons'
with Fr Neville, Sat 7th March at 5.30pm
‘Twelve Churches that changed the world’
Fr. Fergus Butler-Gallie, Sun 8th March 3pm
'Religious Honesty' -
with Fr Tony, Sat 14th March at 5.30pm
'History of the Stations of the Cross' -
with Dcn Hilary, Sat 28th March at 5.30pm
Lent Reading
The Vicar’s Book Group for Lent - The Screwtape Letters, by C.S Lewis

Ever wondered how a devil would plan your Lent? This season, we’re going behind enemy lines with C.S. Lewis’s The Screwtape Letters. Through the satirical correspondence of a senior demon to his apprentice, you'll discover how the "safest road to Hell" isn't a sudden cliff, but a gradual slope paved with "daily pinpricks" and subtle distractions.
Join our book group to unmask these cunning deceptions, transform "spiritual dryness" into strength, and use this "reverse psychology" to sharpen your own faith and virtue as we journey toward the light of Easter.
Please read in time for meeting on
Tuesday March 24th at 2pm OR
Wednesday March 25th at 5.30pm, (followed by Compline)
For Independent study:
The Archbishop of Canterbury's Lent Book for 2026.
‘Dancing to the Heartbeat of God’, stories of discipleship
Lent Lunches
Lent Lunches for Mary’s Meals
Fridays in Lent at 12.30pm
starts 20th Feb, ends 27th March
A time of fellowship over a simple soup lunch is provided on every Friday. It follows on from the Stations of the Cross, but isn’t only for those pilgrims.
This year our lunches will raise money for some of the world’s hungriest children.
Mary’s Meals is a worldwide charity that describes itself as ‘a movement of people who simply won't accept that a child should go hungry in this world of plenty.’ They have found that the promise of a good meal brings hungry children into the classroom, where they can gain an education and better opportunities for the future.
This year the monies raised from our lent lunches will go towards their work. They are already serving more than three million every school day, but they know that millions more are still waiting for Mary’s Meals.