The church of St Edward the Confessor stands in the heart of the busy town of Romford, surrounded by its shops, houses, pubs, clubs and businesses and famous market. There has been a church here since 1410 serving what was an Essex market town and now is the bustling and vibrant place where Essex and East London meet. The parish is in the Church of England Chelmsford Diocese.
The present church was completed in 1850 on the site of the church of 1410 and it continues its ministry of worship and welcome. The church is open each day as a place for prayer and quiet. Services take place at various times during the week, and we extend a warm welcome to regular members and occasional visitors alike. The Eucharist is at the centre of our life, together with an open approach to exploring being Christians in today's world.
Our website introduces you to the life of St Edward's. In it we show you something of our history, worship, music, St Edward's Primary School and St Edward's Comprehensive School and our ministry today. We extend an invitation to you to join us. We invite you to pray for us as we seek to share the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit in Romford's town centre.
"O Sovereign God, who didst set thy servant Edward
upon the throne of an earthly kingdom
and didst inspire him with zeal for the kingdom of heaven:
grant that we may so confess the faith of Christ by word and deed,
that we may, with all thy saints, inherit thine eternal glory;
through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord,
who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever."
The Reverend Stephen Waine
Vicar
NEW ARCHDEACON OF DORSET IS ANNOUNCED
Media Release 19/10/09 - The Bishop of Salisbury, Dr David Stancliffe, has announced that Reverend Stephen Waine, Vicar of the Parish of St Edward the Confessor, Romford, in the Diocese of Chelmsford, is to be the next Archdeacon of Dorset.
Stephen, 50, succeeds the Venerable Alastair Magowan, who became Bishop of Ludlow last month.
Dr Stancliffe said this morning, “Stephen is an experienced and passionate priest, who will bring energy and imagination to his ministry among us. We look forward enormously to having him as our colleague. It’s a very welcome appointment, and the Diocese – particularly the Archdeaconry of Dorset – is really fortunate to have him.”
“I am looking forward very much to becoming part of, and getting to know, the Diocese of Salisbury and Archdeaconry of Dorset, and to meeting the people who are the Church in Dorset and Wiltshire,” Stephen said today.
He studied Economic and Social Studies at the University of East Anglia before training for the priesthood at Westcott House, Cambridge.
After ordination he served as Assistant Curate of St Peter’s Collegiate Church Wolverhampton for four years and then, in 1988, became Minor Canon and Succentor of St Paul’s Cathedral.
In 1993 he moved to St Edward’s Romford, one of the major town centre parishes of the Diocese of Chelmsford, on the eastern edge of Greater London. He has been Assistant Area Dean of Havering since 2004.
He has a particular passion for creating ‘holy spaces’ where God can be encountered and has transformed his current parish’s buildings and worship.
He has a wide variety of hobbies: music (singing and listening), cooking, walking, caravanning, DIY, gardening, keeping poultry, golf, reading and armchair football and cricket.
Married to Liz, they have two children, William, 17, and Lucy, 15. Stephen expects to move to Dorset in April 2010, and will be joined by his family after A Levels and GCSEs are over.