Come and worship Christ the Lord

The Madonna carved at Walsingham and the screen enclosing St Peter's Chapel were also added.

A major event each year that brings the church and community together is the Community Festival held around mid-March when there are ten days of events, musical, artistic, dramatic, etc., involving schools, groups, individuals and anyone who wants to become involved.

In addition a number of regular activities take place in the Centre.

St. Catherine's and the Centre have space that we hope you will use.

St. Catherine's encourages families to bring children for a service of thanksgiving or baptism.  These are usually held during a Sunday morning service where we hope you will feel welcome

We are always willing to consider requests for funerals and for weddings in church.  For this you need to contact the Vicar.

There's a place for everyone at St. Catherine's, whether you have just moved into the neighbourhood or whether you have lived here for several years.  We are a diverse congregation, from the perspective of age, physical ability, sexual orientation, gender and ethnicity.

Through the Church and Community Centre we offer a network of people and activities where we hope you will feel at home.

Worship is of the Catholic tradition and includes Children's Church sessions on Sunday mornings alongside the adult worship.   We have regular 'joined-up' services with children and young people, occasional evening services on Sundays and regular weekday services on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Work with other Churches

At certain times of the year, e.g. during Lent, there are study groups when we join with St. Thomas the Apostle, Roman Catholic Church. Our relationship with St. Thomas's has lasted over 40 years.  This is recognized in various events throughout the year, e.g. study days, joint worship, retreats, events in Holy Week and social events such as the summer barbecue and autumn Quiz Night.  

We are members of Deptford Deanery, ( a group of local Anglican churches).

We have a good relationship with the Assembled Church of Christ which meets in our building.

A New Year, New Opportunities

To worship God as ecumenically and inclusively as possible.

To  work with other groups and agencies to foster community cohesion (well being)

The church was built between 1892 and 1894 to the design of  H. Stock, who was surveyor to the Haberdasher's Company.  The roof was damaged by fire in 1913, often attributed to the suffragettes.  The church suffered war damage and was re-roofed in part after the war.  In 1972, after many years of planning, the western end of the church was incorporated into a new community centre designed by Gordon Cook of Thomas Ford.  The church is built in an Early English Gothic style in Kentish ragstone.  In the 1980’s further substantial re-ordering took place. (Read more)

By Canon Francis J Makambwe, Vicar of St Catherine’s Hatcham

The Roof  

The scaffolding is going up! At last work is beginning to renew the roof and to repair the stonework of the church. We have been told that it will be safe to use the building while work goes on. We would like to thank everyone especially RICHARD BENJAMIN WHEELER HAINES,  who helped raise money for the project which has been on our minds for so long. Work is expected to finish sometime in March 2010.

Centre Funding

The  building alongside St Catherine's known as the Telegraph Hill Centre, and Cafe Orange belong to the church. Until recently the top half of the centre building and the 'Cafe Orange' were leased to Carr - Gomm, a Charity. The rent from these premises  allowed St Catherine's to give a substantial grant to the Community as it get no funding from Lewisham Council. Carr - Gomm going was therefore something of an emergency as we urgently needed to replace the income. It has been decided by the Parish Council to lease the Cafe Orange building to Haberdashers Aske's Hatcham Foundation for their sixth Form. It is hoped that some use by the community will still be possible.

Flat  2

A Flat at the back of the church is being re -instated and refurbished to let. These two incomes will go a long way toward filling the gap left by Carr-Gomm, but we still need to find short term tenants for the remaining room in the upstairs of the centre building, and because there is no disabled access to this part of the building it may prove harder to let, leaving us a shortfall in funding.