TOURS OF PLACES OF WORSHIP IN REDBRIDGE – St Luke’s, 4th Nov 2025
VENUE:- St Luke's, Baxter Rd, Ilford IG1 2HN
DATE:- Tuesday 4th November 2025
On our Annual Walks of Peace, we had the opportunity to have a short tour of some of the many Places of Worship in Redbridge. Many participants had shown interest in having more detailed visits, so the Redbridge Faith Forum organised a series of Tours of individual Places of Worship in Redbridge.
Our 3rd Tour took place at the Church of England Parish Church of St Luke’s, Great Ilford.
We were warmly welcomed with cups of tea as we arrived at St. Luke’s church for the Faith Forum “Tours of Places of Worship” event.
Fr. John Brown, the Vicar at St. Luke’s, introduced the church, explaining that it was built in 1914, but was not completed at that time due to lack of funds after the outbreak of the 1st World War. He pointed out a beautiful stained glass window which marked the place where a tower would have been built had building proceeded. The church was bombed in the 2nd World War and the roof was damaged, but the church survived.
Fr. John explained that the font is near the entrance to the church as that is the place for Christening and Baptism. It is symbolically and physically a person’s first encounter with the church. He described the altar as the place where a special, symbolic meal of bread and wine is served to the congregation during worship. It is a focal point of the service. It is both a remembrance of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, and a sign of fellowship for Christians throughout the world. It is also a sign of our solidarity with all humanity.
Fr. John also pointed out that the church has a number of crosses. The cross is the most well known symbol of the Christian faith. It both recalls Jesus’ death, and also reminds us of the love of God which overcomes all the injustice and hate in the world.
Fr. John introduced the Forgiveness Project Exhibition. https://www.theforgivenessproject.com/
He explained that God’s forgiveness is at the heart of the Christian faith, and that we are invited to also be participants in practicing forgiveness.
The stories in the exhibition are of people who, in the most painful of circumstances, were able to reach out to those who had wronged them. Stories have the power to transform the teller and the listener. We were invited to enter into that process of transformation.
Mohammed Omer also spoke of the power of forgiveness. He himself visited Rwanda after the genocide, which was a very moving experience for him. He also pointed out that forgiveness is very important in Islam. He noted that this is Islamophobia week.
Claire McCarthy, from the Police, also spoke, and encouraged participants to contact the Police if they experience any problems.
Refreshments were then served and people were invited to view the exhibition. Many people commented on how moving the stories were. A Synagogue and a Church have since offered their space to host the exhibition. It is still possible for other faith venues to offer to host. If you are interested, then contact Saira Saira.Yakub@redbridge.gov.uk or Ruth (ruth.musgrave52@gmail.com).
The meeting was well attended. Thanks to St. Luke’s church and to the Faith Forum for hosting such a meaningful event.
For those interested to know more about the Forgiveness Project, Radio 4 is doing a series of stories with the Forgiveness Project every day from Nov 3-7 at 1-45pm.
“I have seen the exhibition twice myself now and for me it is the most moving and helpful experience of my life – it helped me cope with my own experience when all other methods had not succeeded.” — Visitor to The Forgiveness Project exhibition.