Posts from 2026
Latest news about works in the church after the fire
There was a meeting on 6 October with the insurance companies and their experts, and it seems that things are moving forward, thanks to the city of Lille. We can’t stress enough how grateful we are for their continued support. Things are moving forward. Most encouragingly, we had a very supportive letter from the Town Councillor, M Julien Poix, who has responsibility for Lille heritage. and you can read this here.You will see that the city of Lille will have…
Service sheet for Sunday 18 October 2026
There’s no suitable screen in the aumônerie, so here’s the service sheet to read online. You can also download and print if you wish.
Official licensing service for Vivian Sockett
A chilly day outside had no chance against the warmth of the welcome offered to our new chaplain on Saturday afternoon 10 October.Ecumenical colleagues, chaplains from around France, friends and family from Brussels, Britain and elsewhere, came together to celebrate at the Service led by Acting Archdeacon Ben Harding. It was followed by a vin d’honneur.We were particularly grateful to our Protestant friends for allowing us to hold the service in their beautiful church and for giving us all such…
Our new chaplain
We are delighted that the Revd Vivian Sockett is our new Chaplain! She will be licensed by the Diocese on Saturday 10 October by the Acting Archdeacon Revd Canon Ben Harding. We hope you can join us. More about Vivian and her husband Vivian is coming to Christ Church Lille after her curacy in Paris – 1 year at St Michael’s and 2 years in Maisons-Laffitte. Before that she and her husband were in lay ministry at St Mark’s Versailles,…
Funeral service for Alexis Sorokine
As announced in our recent newsletter🔗, we were sad to hear that Alexis Sorokine had died.Alexis had no living family, and was, sadly, very much alone in the world, although he had friends in the deaf community, and maintained a lively interest in the world and current affairs. It was the AGSS of the UDAF, who acted as his guardian, who informed us on Monday that Alexis had died at his home last week.Here at CCL we do not forget…
Not the Braderie 2026
Braderie 2026 – We’ll Miss You! If you’re heading into the centre of Lille for the Braderie this weekend, you may notice that something is missing… us! For the first time in many years, Christ Church Lille won’t have its familiar Braderie stall, and our church doors won’t be open to welcome visitors, bargain hunters and friends from across Lille and beyond. It feels very strange. The Braderie has become such a special part of our year – a wonderful opportunity…
The Best News
We are delighted to be able to announce that a new chaplain has been appointed to lead us here at Christ Church Lille. We welcome Reverend Vivian Sockett. Vivian is currently serving as Associate Chaplain at St Michael’s in Paris, so she is fluent in French and has lived in France for a number of years. She brings with her a wealth of experience in ministry, mission and working with international Christian communities, and we are all looking forward to…
Latest news August 2026
It’s summertime and some of us are on holiday, others have returned home after their year of study in Lille. Not everyone can enjoy a summer break, we know, and Christ Church Lille doesn’t stop, we are here every Sunday morning for a 10:30 am service. It can seem a bit frustrating that we can’t get back into the church yet, and we totally understand. A peaceful and familiar setting is such a joy and such a welcoming and safe space. But…
Thank you to our locum priests
We say it often but will repeat it here, we are SO grateful for the care and support of the priests who serve as locum during this time of vacancy. Reverend Elisabeth needs no introduction; faithfully travelling to Lille from Paris on Sundays for many months now, we are fortunate to benefit from her care and support. And a friendly smile for everyone!She’ll be taking a break over July and August. In July and August, please welcome Reverend Gary Wilton,…
Update for June 2026
A lot of things are going on in the background. We are in touch with the company which is due to clean the church, but before anything can go ahead, the Town Hall is carrying out tests to see if there is lead in the atmosphere. If tests are positive, this will change not just the programme of work and the cost involved, but the timing too.As a reminder, the Town of Lille will be responsible for cleaning the building,…
What’s happening about the church building
You may think that because there is no news, nothing is happing, but that is far from the case. There are ongoing discussions and tenders going out from the Town Hall, and we have sent a list to our insurers about all the items which we (and not the Town Hall) will have to repair, restore or replace. Research is also going on about suppliers of, for example, church linen and organ frontals The church council is meeting next week,…
An update on the state of the church building
Since our last update, the Town Hall has managed to obtain quotes for all the repair and restoration work: the building will need decontamination and cleaning, and then there are all the works such as repairing the stained glass window, cleaning the organ and replacing the altar. All public contracts need to be agreed after comparing quotes and what is included, it takes a little time, but the people at the Town Hall have been amazing, we are very grateful.…
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