Joshua Hales, Author at St Clement Danes Church

We are Recruiting Now!

Joshua Hales — Mon, 12 Jun 2023 15:27:08 +0000

We are recruiting now!

An exciting opportunity to work part-time as a steward at the Central Church of the Royal Air Force.

We are currently recruiting part-time staff at St Clement Danes, the Central Church of the Royal Air Force. This is an ideal opportunity for anyone interested in people and events, and offers flexible hours on a sessional basis.

St Clement Danes is open seven days a week and has a busy programme of special events. We are looking for stewards to work on a sessional basis to help at these events in the evenings and weekends and/or more generally to assist visitors during the week.

St Clement Danes is a historic church with origins dating back to the 9th century, and since 1958 has been the Central Church of the Royal Air Force. If you would like to be part of the St Clement Danes team then please enquire by contacting the church via info@stclementdanesraf.org

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Remembrance at St Clement Danes Church

Joshua Hales — Sun, 13 Nov 2022 16:07:22 +0000

Remembrance at St Clement Danes Church

The Central Church of the Royal Air Force remembers

As the Central Church of the Royal Air Force, Remembrance is an important time for St Clement Danes, and the community came together to remember in a variety of ways during this period.

From 10 to 13 November, Remembrance artwork by Jacqueline Hurley was displayed in the church. Jacqueline’s beautiful and poignant paintings feature poppies alongside scenes of war, and proved to be a popular and powerful addition to the church’s art during this time, creating conversations and engagement with the many themes of Remembrance. The paintings also featured as visual points of focus during the main Remembrance Sunday service.

At the Armistice Day service on 11 November, we were joined by veterans’ groups from the USA and the Netherlands. American veterans were visiting the UK with the Greatest GENERATIONS Foundation, in commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the first arrival of US forces in the UK for participation in the war in Europe. This group included veterans of the Second World War and Vietnam War, and the visit provided an opportunity to come together as allies and recall our shared history, which for St Clement Danes itself includes the gift of our highly regarded organ from the United States Air Force.

Remembrance Sunday saw a service attended by over 100 people, and an opportunity to reflect together as members of the congregation, public, Royal Air Force personnel, and veterans. The King’s Colour was present at the service, and music, words, and silence created space and focus to remember those who serve and have served.

The Resident Chaplain, Reverend Mark Perry reflects, “Remembrance is a special time at the Central Church of the Royal Air Force. We especially remember those who gave their lives through war. They left home, family and friends often to foreign lands in the search of justice, freedom and peace. Remembrance spurs us onwards in the search for unity and peace of all humanity.”

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New Archdeacon for the Royal Air Force is collated at the Central Church of the RAF

Joshua Hales — Thu, 13 Oct 2022 10:52:22 +0000

New Archdeacon for the Royal Air Force is collated at St Clement Danes Church

The Venerable Doctor Giles Legood is collated as Archdeacon during a Sunday morning service at the Central Church of the Royal Air Force

The Venerable Dr (Air Vice Marshal) Giles Legood was collated - a legal act by which a priest becomes an archdeacon – as Archdeacon for the Royal Air Force during Matins at St Clement Danes, the Central Church of the Royal Air Force on 11 September 2022 by the Right Reverend Hugh Nelson, Bishop to the Armed Forces. The Service was led by The Reverend Mark Perry, Resident Chaplain.

Dr Legood was ordained into the Church of England in 1992, read for a degree at King’s College London, and worked in the City before training for the priesthood. Before joining the Royal Air Force he was Chaplain and Honorary Lecturer in the University of London, teaching ethics and communication skills in the veterinary and medical environment.

He was Station Chaplain at RAF Northolt/Uxbridge, and served in Basrah, Iraq, during Op TELIC. In 2010 he was posted as the RAF Instructor at the Armed Forces’ Chaplaincy Centre, and was deployed again in 2013 on Op HERRICK, based at the hospital at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan. He was appointed as Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for his ministry on this detachment. Following further tours, including as Senior Chaplain at RAF Brize Norton, with the RAF’s largest chaplaincy team, Dr Legood studied as a Member of the Royal College of Defence Studies and was appointed Chaplain-in-Chief of the Royal Air Force in August 2022.

The Archdeacon for the Royal Air Force is the most senior Church of England chaplain in the service. The office of archdeacon is an ancient one with origins in the early Church, and in the modern Anglican Communion is a role associated with stewardship of the Church’s people and infrastructure.

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