Grace

Common
Everyone welcome. Really.
A church in the middle of the city, meeting twice every Sunday in the old print works on Calder Street. Come as you are, sit at the back if you like, and leave when you need to.
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Sundays 9:30 & 11:15
42 Calder Street

The people who lead it

Six people on staff, a dozen more who volunteer every week. If you have a question about anything here, one of them will answer it — in person on a Sunday, or by email in a day or two.
Dele Abiona
Dele has led Grace Common since it started meeting in the old print works in 2014. He preaches most Sundays, and spends the rest of the week with people over coffee rather than behind a desk.
 Dele Abiona
Hannah Croft
Hannah shares the preaching with Dele and runs the Tuesday night course for anyone working out what they believe. She is the person to ask the awkward question.
 Hannah Croft
Ravi Sandhu
Ravi looks after the nine community groups that meet in homes across the city midweek. If you want to meet people properly, he is the one to talk to.
 Ravi Sandhu
Amara Nwosu
Amara runs Common Kids for ages 0 to 11 and the youth group on a Friday. Every volunteer she works with is trained and checked.
 Amara Nwosu
Tom Ridley
Tom leads the music on a Sunday and looks after the band, the sound desk and the recordings that go up each Monday.
 Tom Ridley
Marta Silva
Marta keeps the building running and the welcome team ready. She is the first face most visitors see on a Sunday morning.
 Marta Silva
About us
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A church in the middle of the city

Coffee and conversation in the foyer after a Sunday gathering
12
+
Years meeting on Calder Street
340
+
People across the two Sunday gatherings
9
+
Community groups meeting midweek

What a Sunday looks like

Two gatherings, the same talk at each, about seventy-five minutes from start to finish. No dress code, no collection plate passed down the row, and nobody will ask you to stand up and introduce yourself.
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1
9:15 AM
Doors and coffee
The foyer opens forty-five minutes before the first gathering. Take a coffee, find a seat, talk to someone or don’t — both are fine.
2
9:30 AM
First gathering
Songs, a reading, a talk of about thirty minutes, and time to pray. It runs around seventy-five minutes. Common Kids runs alongside for ages 0 to 11.
3
11:15 AM
Second gathering
The same talk, the same songs, a slightly fuller room. Come to whichever suits your morning — nobody keeps a register.
4
12:30 PM
Lunch, if you can stay
On the first Sunday of the month we eat together afterwards. It is free, there is always too much food, and visitors are the first people we look for.

What to expect

The honest answers to the things people ask before a first visit.
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Come as you are
Jeans, work clothes, whatever you had on. Sit at the back, arrive late, leave early — no one will stop you or single you out.
Kids and youth
Common Kids runs during both gatherings for ages 0 to 11, with checked and trained volunteers. Youth meet on Friday evenings.
About seventy-five minutes
Songs, a reading, a talk of roughly thirty minutes, and time to pray. You will be out by 10:45 or 12:30.
Getting here
Step-free entrance on Calder Street, a hearing loop in the main room, a quiet room off the foyer, and free parking on the site after 9am on Sundays.

Ways to give

Giving keeps the lights on, pays five and a half salaries, and sends a quarter of everything back out to the food bank and the night shelter. Give if you want to. Nobody is counting who doesn’t.
A one-off gift
Once
Card, bank transfer or the box by the door
Gift Aid form takes about a minute
No account to set up
Goes into the general fund unless you say otherwise
Set this up
Set this up
Monthly giving
Monthly
Standing order on a date that suits your pay
Change or stop it yourself, any time
A statement each April for your records
Most of what we plan for comes from this
Set this up
Set this up
Planned giving
Later
A gift in your will, or shares and property
A conversation with the treasurer first
We will point you to an independent adviser
Nothing is ever asked of your family
Set this up
Set this up
Our accounts are published every year and any member can read them. Ask Marta for a copy.

What people say about it

Three of ours, in their own words.
congregation
Claire M.
Here since 2021
“I came on my own on a wet Sunday in February, sat at the back, and left before the coffee. Nobody chased me. I came back the next week because of that, and about a month later someone finally asked my name. That is the right order round, I think.”
congregation
Peter O.
Tuesday group
“I had questions I thought would embarrass me. Hannah took two of them apart over an hour in a café and told me straight that she did not know the answer to the third. I have been here four years now and I still get straight answers.”
congregation
Sun-mi K.
Moved to the city in 2024
“I was new to the city and knew nobody. Ravi put me in a group that met ten minutes from my flat. Within a month I had people to eat with on a Sunday night, which is the thing you actually miss when you move.”

Missed a Sunday? Every talk goes up on the Monday.

sermon archive
sermon archive

Plan a visit

Tell us you are coming and someone will meet you at the door. Or just turn up — that works too.
hello@gracecommon.org
The Print Works, 42 Calder Street
0117 496 0142
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