SCM Connect

Wivenhoe Congregational Church

The closest church to campus. Our service are a mixture of traditional and modern and we pride ourselves at welcoming everyone just as they are.As a Congregational church we are run by our members and for our members, and this allows us to be active in our community with all sorts of events and mobilise quickly, without need to wait for the local or national hierarchy to greenlight our initiatives.Please rest reassured our Church strives to live up to all of SCM's principles, especially when it comes to welcoming everyone regardless of age, disability, denomination, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, socio-economic background or belief. We have a late morning service on a Sunday, as well as an evening service during the week, with further information available on our new website, along with blogs from members and the minister.The Congregational WayWhen described to people who are not churchgoers, they are amazed - that Christians can operate without hierarchies or elaborate ritual. If all churches were like that', they say, I might go!' By trusting God, and trusting the members whom God has called together in a covenant relationship, congregational Christians open the door to the power of God's Spirit. The Bible describes the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and we expect to see these in action, through the members of the church.Congregationalism has a strong tradition of non-conformism and siding with the oppressed and marginalised: we had the first woman minister in the UK, we worked against the slave trade, and many of our members were conscientious objectors during World War One.This is still true today with our church: one of the closest to the University campus, we offer a unique style of worship for people who do not quite fit in in with traditional or contemporary worship, freedom to come to you as you are, and even a library of theology books for you to learn, from some classics to the innovative work of peace theologian Michael Hardin.