The annual Teddington river blessing took place at Teddington Lock this month, on Sunday 11 July.

News of the event attracted curiosity from our readers, as many wondered why our town has a river blessing and what is involved in the ceremony.

Nub News did some investigating and here's what we found.

Teddington's River Blessing is fairly new

Though it may seem as old as time, the Teddington river blessing was actually introduced in 2017.

The event was part of the Teddington800 celebrations, a 6-month programme of events put on by the community to celebrate the anniversary of the town being officially recorded as a parish.

Teddington's river blessing service took place in September that year and was organised by two Churches in Teddington - St Mary with St Alban and St Peter and St Paul - known collectively as Teddington parish .

The event has a set structure

During the first river blessing many traditions of the soon-to-be annual ceremony were established.

For example, the morning starts with a parade service at St Mary with St Alban's church, attended by representatives of groups in Teddington with river links as well as the normal congregation.

The group then moves to Manor Park by the river at Teddington Lock, where river-themed sermons are delivered, waterside spirituals by the choir take place, and then the Reverend officially blesses the river.

Following this, a cross is launched into the water - and many others attending on their own boats sprinkle flowers or a paper flotilla!

It was set up to recognise the value of the Thames to Teddington

The service's importance to the community is clear from how it has continued to be a well-attended and looked forward to event in the town calendar.

But there is also a deeper meaning to the blessing, as its aim is to pay tribute to a feature of the natural world that many may take for granted.

Writing in 2020, Katherine Matthews, PCC Secretary of the church, said: "This is a service of thanksgiving to recognise and celebrate the importance of the River Thames to the local community, supported by many societies and organisations with a connection to the river.

"In normal times they not only send a representative to attend the church service but also have members gather on the river in their boats and vessels."

The pandemic has changed some things

Not much about the ceremony changed in the 2 years after 2017 - but when the pandemic hit there were a few differences.

This year, due to ongoing Covid restrictions (the service took place before 'Freedom Day'), most of the congregation had to stay at the church as the river was blessed.

The group instead watched the service via video link , and at first just got video with no sound!

In addition, during the riverside sermon Reverend Chris Kennedy referenced the role that the Thames played during the pandemic.

Parishioners Peter and Sue Stevens wrote in their review of the service that "he emphasised the river's healing role, especially in lockdown."

But despite the technical difficulties the duo said the ceremony was "a heart-warming experience" and thanked Katherine Matthews and the technical team for their hard work in organising it.

Conclusion

On the surface, the Teddington river blessing is about celebrating the Thames.

But to Nub News it seems that it's also an important way to get the community together, particularly following the long lockdowns we've had to endure.

We hope to see more river blessings in future, and are proud to have this as another unique feature of our town.