City of London Corporation Chaplaincy
St Lawrence Jewry is the official church of the City of London Corporation. The Guild Vicar is the Chaplain to the Corporation members and staff including those working at Guildhall, Mansion House, The Old Bailey, The Barbican, Open Spaces, and Heathrow Animal Reception Centre. In some areas he will work alongside other clergy (for example the Lord Mayor's and Sheriff's Chaplains) to provide spiritual support.
St Lawrence Jewry holds a special place in the life of the City of London Corporation and is open daily to members and staff. We seek to be an inclusive and welcoming place for all those involved in the life and work of the City of London Corporation to offer a place of peace and sanctuary from the busy world, inspire thoughtfulness, enable conversation, make connections, and celebrate the rich diversity of faith and spirituality that is found within our vibrant and diverse community. Please do explore these pages to discover more about who we are and what we do. (pages currently under construction, so check regularly for updates)
The Chaplain
Fr. James Titley is the Guild Vicar of St Lawrence Jewry and Chaplain to the City of London Corporation.
An ordained priest in the Church of England, Fr. James is available to all members and staff of the City of London Corporation irrespective of faith or background. He is regularly available to meet for confidential pastoral conversations with members or staff, and can often be seen in and around Guildhall - if you see him, stop him and say hello! If you work at one of the Corporation's other sites and would welcome a visit, do get in touch and he will arrange to come over.
You are welcome to call in to the church any time, or can contact Fr. James by either:
Telephone: 020 7600 9478 or Email: vicar@stlawrencejewry.org.uk
Who is Chaplaincy for?
If you are part of the City of London Corporation family, you are welcome to use the Chaplaincy:
- whether you have a faith or have no religious beliefs.
- when you need someone independent and confidential to talk to.
- if you’re finding work life difficult and just need somewhere to find a moment of quiet.
- or for all manner of reasons, personal or work related.
Our aim is not to 'convert' you (though we are more than happy to discuss faith matters if you wish to explore them), but to support you.
We are here for you!
St. Lawrence Jewry Church
As members and staff of the City of London Corporation, St. Lawrence Jewry is your church. Located in front of the Guildhall on Guildhall Yard and Gresham Street, the church is open each weekday between 9.00am and 5.00pm and, although a Christian place of worship, is available to members and staff of all faiths and none to use as a place of prayer and quiet contemplation. The building is an oasis of calm and peace within the middle of the busy city and you are most welcome to spend some time here. The Royal Marines' Chapel (just inside the west entrance) provides a small intimate space where you can sit for a while, pray, write a prayer request, or light a candle.
Services of Holy Communion are held on Monday at 12.30pm and Thursday at 1.00pm, and members and staff are encouraged to attend if they wish to.
There are also opportunities to get involved in the life of the church. For example, reading at services, joining our team of casual volunteers, or even being a member of the church council. If you are interested in exploring these options, get in touch.
As the official church of the City of London Corporation, members and staff may be entitled to be married, be baptised (Christened), or have their children baptised (Christened) here. For enquiries, please contact the church office for further details.
Chaplaincy Events
There are occasional events throughout the year, most of which are intended to be suitable for those of any faith tradition or none, and are an opportunity to get to know one another, and to get to know more about one another's traditions and learn from one another's experiences. These will ordinarily be advertised internally.
Prayer Resources in the Christian Tradition
Daily Prayer from the Church of England offers a set of short services for each period of the day (Morning, During the Day, and Evening). These are updated daily and include the appointed readings for each day, and can be accessed in both traditional and contemporary language. These are available on the Church of England website by clicking here, or you can download the convenient Daily Prayer App (from your app store).
You may wish to leave your prayers as written prayer requests. This can be done anonymously by filling in one of the paper slips available in the Royal Marines' Chapel. You can also spend time and light a candle in the chapel too.
Grief and Bereavement
Whether or not you consider yourself to have a religious faith, when someone dies we may find ourselves thinking more about what life means, including what happens when we die. You may wish to spend some time in the peace of the church to offer a prayer or simply inhabit the silence and light a candle as a way of setting aside time to think, pray, or take comfort. St. Lawrence Jewry also holds an annual service for All Souls Day (at the end of October or beginning of November) at which we read the names of those who have died during the previous year from within our community - there is always an opportunity to add the name of a departed loved one to the list, and everyone is welcome to come to the service to light a candle in their memory.
Multi-Faith Network
The City of London Corporation recognises the benefits and opportunities to foster employee angagement, emthusiasm and collaboration around important equality and inclusion issues.
"Faith plays an integral role in the lives of billions of people across the world, which is why it is so important for the City of London to have its own Multi-Faith Network.
The Mulit-Faith Network enables staff to come together to gain a better understanding of one another and work on the issues that affect them.
Whether you are a member of a particular faith or none, we look forward to seeing you at our events and meetings in the near future"
Valeria and Yassar, Chairs
The Multi-Faith Staff Network organises a range of fun and interesting events throughout the year. For more information search 'Faith' on the intranet.
Multi-Faith Prayer Room
The Prayer Room is located on the ground floor of North Wing and is open and available at all times to members of all faiths and on to use as a place of prayer and quiet. The room is fitted with a curtain so that it can be partitioned if required. The Multi-Faith Prayer room also has a small self-service library of books available for loan.