St Mary's Church, Ely

09/09/2026

This week in our Room at the Table series, we’ve been thinking about the God who makes room for us first.

Chris Tomlin’s The Table captures that beautifully: the invitation of God is not to stand at a distance, but to come near, to receive, to belong.

Christian hospitality begins here. Before we make room for others, we discover that God has already made room for us.

Have a listen, and perhaps take a moment to ask: where is God inviting me to receive his welcome more deeply?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb3GY9j6JQM&list=RDyb3GY9j6JQM&start_radio=1

The Table With Lyrics - Chris Tomlin - Christian Songs Lyrics ➞ S...

08/09/2026

07/09/2026

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7voJXnRQHorQymK00o3PHd?si=7433325a47964566

What kind of God do we meet in Jesus?

A God who makes room for us!

This Sunday we began our new series, Room at the Table, exploring the extraordinary hospitality of God, the God who welcomes us before we ever learn to welcome anyone else.

We’ve put together a Spotify playlist to accompany this week’s theme, The God Who Makes Room: songs to listen to on the school run, on a walk, over a cup of coffee, or whenever you have a few minutes to reflect.

If you were with us on Sunday, use it to carry the conversation into the week. If you weren’t, you’re just as welcome to listen in.

Whoever you are, wherever you are from, there is room at the table.

Playlist · Phil Marsh · 10 items

05/09/2026

We'd love you to join us for our services tomorrow!

This Sunday we are starting our new sermon series about hospitality - Room at the Table, exploring ‘The God who Makes Room’, how God’s hospitality is in His character of welcome rather than something that needs to be earned through effort or by largesse.

eight15 traditional communion service
nine45 intergenerational morning worship service
eleven15 contemporary morning worship service

Our online sermon will also be available via the website from 9am:
https://www.stmarysely.org/online-worship.htm

04/09/2026

Over six Sundays this autumn, we’re making Room at the Table.

We’ll be exploring Christian hospitality not as entertaining or having everything beautifully prepared, but as a way of following Jesus: learning to receive as well as give, to enter other people’s worlds as guests, to recognise the gifts of creation, to make room for the stranger, and to become a church where people can genuinely belong.

Along the way we’ll be asking what this looks like in ordinary life, around tables, on doorsteps, over coffee, through simple acts of welcome, and sometimes with nothing more impressive than bread or beans on toast.

It begins this Sunday, 6 September, with The God Who Makes Room, and runs through to 11 October.

Whoever you are, wherever you are from, you are welcome here. There is room at the table.

04/09/2026

Hospitality isn’t about having the perfect table, the perfect meal, or even much to offer.

Sometimes it’s baked beans and toast. Sometimes it’s accepting a cup of coffee. Sometimes it’s discovering what it feels like to be the guest rather than the host.

It's even got something to do with God. And us.

From 6 September to 11 October, we’re beginning a new six-week series at St Mary’s called Room at the Table, exploring the kind of hospitality Jesus invites us into: receiving as well as giving, going into other people’s worlds, making room for those we don’t yet know, and becoming a church where people can genuinely belong.

Because before we ever make room for anyone else, God makes room for us.

Come and join us this Sunday. Whoever you are, wherever you are from, there is room at the table.

31/08/2026

You could be forgiven for thinking the story of Christianity in Britain is simply one of decline.

But is that the whole story in Ely?

This thoughtful piece by Andrew Brown takes a look at the surprisingly varied Christian life of our city, from cathedral worship and traditional services to contemporary churches, tiny congregations and everything in between.

What struck us most, though, wasn’t the numbers. It was the amount happening quietly across Ely: churches working together to tackle loneliness, provide warm spaces, support the Foodbank, serve meals, build community and simply be there for people.

We’re very different churches. We don’t all worship in the same way, and we certainly don’t agree about everything.

But perhaps the story is more interesting than “the Church is disappearing”.

We’d genuinely love to know what you think.

Have you noticed the churches of Ely making a difference in the life of the city? And where do you think we could be doing more?

👇 Have your say, and have a read of the article below.

https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2026/28-august/comment/opinion/decline-is-not-the-whole-story?utm_medium=Link%20social&utm_source=Facebook =1787913001

“Decline is not the whole story” by Andrew Brown, Church Times

Andrew Brown finds churches in Ely working together, despite their differences

30/08/2026

How many Bibles do you own? Probably more than you think.
For 3,500 people in five villages in northern Ghana, the answer was none, until 2024. It took Wycliffe Bible Translators 37 years to give the Koma people a Bible in their own language.
This Sunday, our church gave to Wycliffe Bible Translators so more people can hear "God so loved the world" in the words they think and pray in.
We have it so readily at our fingertips, what a gift to be able to read it for ourselves and to share. 📖

29/08/2026

We'd love you to join us for our service tomorrow!

As a fifth Sunday, all the St Mary's congregations will be joining together for a 10am combined morning worship service where we will be looking at the work of one of our church charities, Wycliffe Bible Translators, whose vision is for a world where everyone can know Jesus through the Bible in the language that speaks to them best.

10am combined morning worship service
Our online sermon will also be available via the website from 9am:
https://www.stmarysely.org/online-worship.htm

Quiet Service 10am at Holy Cross Stuntney
For those who prefer a quieter service, this simple, reflective service offers space for worship in a calm setting, and all are warmly welcome.

28/08/2026

What are you allowing to shape you?

The voices we listen to, the things we watch, other people’s expectations, and the stories we tell ourselves, all leave their mark.

But the Bible offers something different: words that bring “endurance and encouragement” and lead us towards hope.
What if these ancient words aren’t simply something to believe, but something that can actually fuel us for life?
That’s what we’ll be exploring this Sunday, 31 August, at our combined 10am service at St Mary’s Ely.
There will also be a quieter 10am service at Holy Cross, Stuntney, and the full reflection will be available afterwards on our website and YouTube channel.

Whoever you are, wherever you’re from, you’re welcome here.