From early October 2026, some new initiatives are coming to Godalming Minster! We also have some updates about various other things that we’re working on. All of this flows out of the prayer events, and vision work, that was done earlier in the year; as we aim to go deeper, grow bolder, and shine brighter. We very much hope that you will be as excited about these initiatives as we are. Click the button links for more info and FAQs about the changes to services outlined in the update below.
Church St FAQs Brighton Rd FAQs Hambledon FAQs
From Sunday 4th October, we are planning some changes to our service patterns. These are as follows:
Choral Eucharist at Church Street
This service will become a weekly event at 9am, with coffee and refreshments afterwards.
Contemporary Service at Church Street
This service will also be held every week, with a new start time of 10.45am. We will also be inviting attendees to come early, from 10.15am, to share refreshments with those who have been at the Choral Eucharist. More
Morning Service at Franklyn Road
This service will change certain aspects of its format. It will begin each week at 9.30am, with a simple breakfast, and will seek to build on some of the current strengths of Franklyn Road by making space within the service to build community, as well as becoming more deliberately multigenerational.
Evening Service at Brighton Road
This service will ‘pause’ after a celebration evening on 13th September, re-launching on 4th October as ‘The Six’. The Six will be a refreshed service, still contemporary and charismatic, but now with a particular vision to reach youth and young adults. People of any age will still be absolutely welcome to attend. More
Other Services
With the exception of Muddy Church/Church in the Park, which ended in July as leaders needed to step down, all other current services: Classic, Hambledon, 8am at Church Street, and Evensong, will continue their current pattern and format.
Where changes are being made, we have given careful thought to resourcing, and to alternative options. In each case we are convinced that the changes will help us to go deeper with God together; and to grow our church. Across all our services, we are committed to our core purposes of worship, encouragement and encounter; as well as being equipped to live our whole lives for Jesus. If you would like the chance to find out more, or to discuss any of these changes, information about how you can do this is at the end of this leaflet.
From 4th October, we will be bringing in a new role, that of Location Leader. Each of our four church sites will have a Location Leader, who, working in partnership with the Rector, will have responsibility for worship at their site; a duty of pastoral care, along with the Pastoral Care Team, for their congregation(s); and a charge to lead on local mission. We believe that this new role will allow for growth by enabling our clergy to focus their ministries in a fresh way, allowing for a better balance between site-specific and Minster-wide responsibilities, and encouraging and enabling mission and social action, as we look to ‘love Godalming’ and Hambledon.
The Location Leaders for each of our church sites will be as follows:
Brighton Road – Rev’d Chris Lion as Interim Location Leader; with Rev’d Chris Garner as Associate Location Leader*
Church Street – Rev’d Simon Willetts
Franklyn Road – Rev’d Mike Moritz
Hambledon – Minister to be appointed (more on this below)
The Location Leaders will work with existing Congregational Leaders, and Congregational Leadership Teams; and what that looks like in practice will vary by site. Location Leaders will commit to spending time midweek in their locality, in order to understand and explore missional opportunities within their communities, and in order to be accessible to their local congregations. Mike will continue to hold a particular responsibility for mission, Minster-wide.
*Longer-term, we anticipate that the Rector will not be a Location Leader; however, we see this as the best short-term option. Chris (Lion) will balance this role at Brighton Road with his responsibilities across the Minster. Chris Garner will assist, by taking particular responsibility for the Classic service.
All are invited to participate in our new programme, ‘Explore Your Calling’ (EYC), led by Rev’d Dr. John Valentine. Starting with an introductory session on 17th September, 7.30pm, at Brighton Road, this is designed to help anyone within our church family to explore how God might be calling you to use your gifts in this next season of our church’s life.
EYC aims to refresh, renew and enthuse those who are already serving in various capacities within church life; and to encourage those who might not think of themselves as leaders, or even as having relevant gifts, to see what God might be calling out from within them. EYC is not about filling rotas; it’s about exploring, together, what gifts we have, and how God might use us to His glory.
Following on from our ‘Listening to God’ sessions in January and February; the sermon series on ‘Making Prayer our Heartbeat’; and our two prayer evenings in June/July; we are wanting to consider how to refresh our pattern of corporate prayer across the Minster. We remain thoroughly convinced that all our good ideas, unless they are birthed and bathed in prayer, will achieve nothing.
Anyone who is passionate about prayer, and interested in being a part of this, will have the opportunity to get involved; watch this space for an invitation, coming your way within the next few weeks!
We are currently advertising for a new member of clergy to join our team, as Associate Minister for Hambledon. This has been under discussion for some time, and we’re delighted to now be in a position where we are looking to appoint. Clearly, this is a significant role within the Minster; so please do pray for the right person to respond. More
As many will be aware, for some while there have been ongoing conversations about a reordering project for Church Street, in order to open up this lovely ancient building to our community, and to make it fit for purpose for our worshipping needs. We have been working behind the scenes to put together a team to take on this project; and we anticipate being able to share further updates in the near future.
At the same time, we also recognise that there are some immediate challenges at Church Street, such as heating, and children’s spaces, which cannot wait until the reordering project is completed. We are actively pursuing shorter-term solutions for these issues, and again, hope to be able to give further updates soon.
All of the above only scratches the surface of all the different things that are ongoing, new, or in the pipeline, across our church. We continue to be enormously grateful to all the amazing people, both staff and volunteers, who contribute so much to serve God’s purposes here.
If you have any questions about anything in this leaflet, there are more detailed ‘FAQ’ and other documents available that explain further some of the things listed above. In addition, members of the SLT will make themselves available after services during September, to chat informally about any questions you might have; and there will be some service-specific meetings advertised in upcoming notices.
Thank you for reading, and for all you do as part of our church; and may God bless you in this next season of our church’s life.
Chris & the Senior Leadership Team
September 2026
