A Pride flag flying with the church in the background.

Our Values

St Paul's Covent Garden Statement of Values

St Paul’s Church is a Christian church. It seeks to be welcoming and inclusive of all, especially in the seven protected categories – in the manner of Jesus Christ. We also campaign for equal marriage in the Church of England.

We are committed to championing equality and diversity, and therefore racism, sexism, homophobia and other forms of discrimination have no place here.

We welcome events of all kinds. However, we do not permit any event that denigrates others, that uses abusive or insulting language or that insults Christianity or any other world religion.

Whilst recognising the breadth of opinion in the Church of England and in the wider Anglican Communion, we are clear in our support for:

the full inclusion of lay and ordained people in Church government
both men and women’s ordination to the threefold ministry of the Church – bishops, priests and deacons
the equal participation of LGBT people in the life of the Church

For many years, an unassuming sign has sat in our foyer. Our Rector, Rev. Simon Grigg, first saw it when he visited Coventry Cathedral and considered that it so perfectly encapsulated our ethos here at the Actors' Church that he must bring it home to St Paul's. And thus, for over a decade since it has welcomed those coming into St Paul's.

It reads as follows:

'We extend a special welcome to those who are single, married, divorced, widowed, straight, gay, confused, well-heeled or down at heel. We especially welcome wailing babies and excited toddlers.

We welcome you whether you can sing like Pavarotti or just growl quietly to yourself. You're welcome here if you're 'just browsing', just woken up or just got out of prison. We don't care if you're more Christian than the Archbishop of Canterbury, or haven't been to church since Christmas ten years ago.

We extend a special welcome to those who are over 60 but not grown up yet, and to teenagers who are growing up too fast. We welcome keep-fit mums, football dads, starving artists, tree-huggers, latte-sippers, vegetarians, junk-food eaters.

We welcome those who are in recovery or still addicted. We welcome you if you're having problems, are down in the dumps or don't like 'organised religion'.

We offer a welcome to those who think the earth is flat, work too hard, don't work, can't spell, or are here because granny is visiting and wanted to come to church.

We welcome those who are inked, pierced, both, or neither. We offer a special welcome to those who could use a prayer right now, had religion shoved down their throat as kids, or got lost in Covent Garden and wound up here by mistake. We welcome pilgrims, tourists, seekers, doubters... and you!'