A very warm welcome to The Open Free Church

The Open Free Church, founded in Oxford in 1994, is first and foremost a fellowship of friendship where everybody is welcome. Very liberal and progressive in our approach, we are purposefully independent of (and very different from) other Christian denominations.

We are inspired by the life, ministry and example of Jesus of Nazareth as unfolded by the Gospel writers and others of inspired thought. We beleive everyone has the freedom to explore and understand God, faith and spirituality in his or her own way.

We celebrate and embrace the Great Mystery of God the Creator Spirit, believing God to be part of us as we are part of the ever-changing Mystery of God. Likewise, we respect all sincerely held religious beliefs and expressions of faith which are committed to justice, compassion, equality, tolerance and respect for others.

The Open Free Church is active in several parts of England and in Scotland. In addition to ministering to our pastoral groups, some of our self-supporting clergy are engaged in specialist pastoral work: padres to ex-service organisations, bereavement care, spiritual care and masonic chaplaincy.

Our services vary in style; but always in the liturgical tradition using our own service book, With One Spirit.

Our ministers mark the important events and milestones in family life. Our ‘informally formal’ liturgical spirituality uses the sights, sounds and colour of worship, allowing the rich tapestry of the Christian message to meaningfully unfold for those present.

We are very proud of the quality and flexibility of the pastoral ministry we provide. Everybody is welcome to share in our journey - we are neither stuffy or old-fashioned (far from it!) and although we minister with all sincerity and respect, we certainly don’t take ourselves too seriously. We all like to laugh!