All Are Welcome
Our purpose is to worship God, love each other, care for those in need, and to share the love of Jesus with those in the community around us and world wide.
No matter who you are or where you’re from, you are welcome here.
As a church which seeks to grow in Christian faith and outreach, we are outward-looking, inclusive and we challenge exclusion.
We believe that every person is an important member of God’s family. Connect with us this Sunday either in person or on YouTube.
PLEASE NOTE:
From September 2025 the weekly Sunday services at Raleigh Road United Church will commence at 11.00am.
However: Remembrance Sunday on November 9th will commence at 10.50
We celebrate Holy Communion once a month. Join us for tea and coffee after the service each week, served at the back of the church
The services will be recorded should you prefer to join us from a distance.
Either way, you are very welcome!
Please only attend if you are not self isolating or showing symptoms of Covid 19
The wearing of a face mask during the service is now an individual choice.
Raleigh Road United Church (Methodist / URC) came into existence with the joining of Kew Road Methodist and St Paul’s United Reformed churches in 1995. We believe in a Church which welcomes and serves all people in the name of Jesus Christ; which is scripturally faithful; which seeks to proclaim the Gospel afresh for each generation; and which, in the power of the Holy Spirit, allows all people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Jesus Christ.
Rev. Stephen Lewis
Growing up with the influence of various Christian traditions around me, I eventually became a minister in the United Reformed Church, attracted by the denomination’s commitment to Christian unity. Jesus’ prayer was ‘that they all should be one’ as the Jesus and the Father are one, so that world might believe. (See John 17. 20-21)
The Gospel invites all to know the love of God. The church is not here for its own comfort but to bring the good news to each and every one, whoever we are, whatever our history. And more than that, we are more aware than ever, how much we depend on the whole web of life, and the Earth we live on. God’s love calls us to care for the whole of creation and not to exploit it.
Earlier in my life I was an English teacher in secondary schools. After training alongside Anglicans and Methodists at an ecumenical college, I was ordained in 1996. Most recently, as minister at Hampton Hill and Twickenham, I was called in addition to serve here at Raleigh Road Richmond.
Music has always been an important part of our worship of God. I do value music and enjoy singing and playing string instruments.
Worship strengthens our Christian life, as we pray, and listen and learn together. We equally look for God’s presence in our daily lives and those we meet, in our work, our relaxation, our friendships, our family. I look forward to getting to know people and feel very honoured to work in Raleigh Road United Church.
Stephen
Deacon Richard D Goldstraw
My journey as a deacon seems to have come full circle with my first appointment being in SW8 in 1992.
I was born in Halifax West Yorkshire and some of you will know Happy Valley, Last Tango in Halifax, In loving memory and Gentleman Jack, from the television shows set in the Calder Valley.
I was nurtured in the faith by the Methodist Church in Sowerby Bridge and became a local preacher at an early age, enabled by studying at Cliff College Calver. My Methodist heritage comes from my mother’s side of the family going back to her grandfather, my great-grandfather, Lewis. The church family was and always has been my “happy place”, my safe place, as the well-known hymn goes, “through all the changing scenes of life in trouble and in joy”, where I have felt loved, affirmed and grew in the knowledge and love of Christ. I know that this is sadly not everybody’s experience, but I sincerely believe that God is for all, welcomes all and looks on us with love, delights in us and wants a relationship with us. For this I work and hope and pray for. I look forward to working with Stephen and you all. Charles Wesley, whose hymns I love, good theology, wrote For all, for all, my Saviour died!
My journey has taken me from training in Residential Care after leaving school(rejoicing!!) and working for Leonard Cheshire Homes, the NHS and before I went to train to be a Deacon in 1990 I worked for the Shaftesbury Society.
I was ordained in 1994 and became a full member of the Methodist Diaconal Order. Ministry has taken me to work in several appointments in London and one in Surrey. Two have been Local Ecumenical Projects with the URC and one with the Anglican Church. I have enjoyed and have had the real privilege of serving in chaplaincies in prison, hospitals and workplace. I studied for an MA in Pastoral Theology at Heythrop College under the excellent tutelage of the Jesuits ; full circle from leaving school, rejoicing, where I was told I was not up to much academically! With God all things are possible!
Josh and I had a civil partnership in 2017.
At my welcome service we sang Thou God of Truth and love STF 620, another of Wesley’s greats, it says so much. I encourage you to look it up.
God bless you all.
Join Us
Raleigh Road United Church
Raleigh Rd, Richmond TW9 2DX – Church Tel:020 8948 7851
- Church Secretary Tel:07771 991 531 email:mrjthomas@blueyonder.co.uk
- Hall Lettings: mrspamela70thomas@gmail.com – Tel:020 8876 1231
♿The church and halls are fully accessible via a ramp.
Raleigh Road United Church (Methodist / URC) 