The Eucharist is celebrated every Sunday in each of our eight churches at times listed elsewhere on this website. Additionally, there are two weekday Eucharists at Javea and Benidorm.

This weekly observance and celebration fulfils our call to worship God, and equips us through Word, Sacrament and Fellowship to carry out our Christian Service to our neighbour through the week ahead. This is done within the community of our churches, by seeking to respond to the needs of others, meeting together for prayer, bible study and the ordering of the common life; and by engaging with those in need beyond the gathered church, and in a shared social life with the wider community.

Our support of those in need is not just practical, but financial also. In addition to supporting the Bishop’s Appeals in Advent & Lent, we have chosen to raise funds for World Vision and the St Paul’s Romanian Orphanage for a number of years; and each year two additional different organisations are chosen for our outward charitable giving. These good causes, along with fund-raising for Chaplaincy funds, form the focus for numerous local social events which are always well-supported by our friends and neighbours within the wider community, as well as by members of other churches within the Chaplaincy.

In addition to leading worship, the clergy are also available for pastoral visits, often following a referral from a church member, and this may well include taking Holy Communion to the sick, housebound or those in hospital. At present there are also two Lay Eucharistic Ministers who share in the task of leading worship and bringing the Reserved Sacrament to churches on Sundays when there are insufficient clergy available to cover all our commitments. Fortunately, we are able to offer a House for Duty scheme, where clergy from the UK spend a month, and assist in leading worship. Additionally, there are a number of clergy who have homes on the Costa Blanca, and assist when they are visiting.

The two resident Chaplains frequently conduct funerals, predominantly for the wider ex-pat community, in much the same way as in a parish in the UK. This involves contact with bereaved families both before and after the funeral, which usually takes place more quickly after the death than in the UK. As more and more younger people are coming to live in Spain, there are several requests each year for the Blessing of a Marriage which is conducted in any of our churches following the legal Marriage ceremony elsewhere, either in the local Ayuntamiento (Town Hall) or in the UK, or even in Gibraltar where the ceremony is conducted in English. There are increasingly requests for the Baptism of children of those beyond the gathered church; and we hope that all of these events may convey the love of God to the extent that new people may seek to join us to learn more about our life as active, practising Christians.

In some of our churches there is a mixture of children and young people, and it is increasingly necessary to meet their needs within the time of worship. This is a challenge for us to address, a task already begun by the Saturday Children’s Club in Teulada. However, at present we have nothing resembling a Sunday School, but we hope this may develop.

We have good ecumenical relations with the Roman Catholic community particularly, and we are very grateful to both the Archdiocese of Valencia and the Diocese of Orihuela-Alicante for their generosity in allowing us the use of their churches for worship.

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