Biblically, God's people have been taught to meet in both the morning and the evening, and Christians have particularly understood the Lord's Day to be the day that is devoted to worship (Exodus 29, Numbers 28). The desire to meet together frequently, including in evenings, is seen in the earliest churches (Acts.2:42, 20:7). The Lord's Day is clearly stated as a day set apart for God. The principle of the Sabbath, grounded in creation, and reaffirmed in the Ten Commandments, calls believers to devote the day to worship, rest, and spiritual reflection. Biblical theology has historically emphasized the whole day as belonging to the Lord, not merely a single hour in the morning. An evening service helps God's people frame the entire day around the worship of God.

 This has meant that the practice of morning and evening meeting has been the norm, as a response to the teaching of the Bible. In the fourth century, the Christian historian Eusebius described it as a universal practice of the church.  

Sadly, many Christians today, and many congregations today, do not see the great importance of meeting twice on the Lord's Day, and of remaining committed to the practice,as we are taught in the Bible. 

Churches of every type; Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist, Anglican, have all historically practiced gathering both evening and morning on the Lord's Day. Protestant churches that have dropped the evening worship service altogether have sharply departed from what has historically been a normal practice of the church of Christ.

It is therefore with great sadness that we now realise that the congregation at Christ Church is the only one in Teddington to consistently meet together in evening worship on the Lord's Day, at 6pm. We will continue to be faithful to the Lord's Day, sharing the word and fellowship together both morning and evening.

'Why two worship services, beginning and closing each Sunday?' It is for the worship of God, and is also the means of grace for our own spiritual good. If God nourishes our faith by the preaching of the word, why wouldn't we want to hear the word preached more than once on Sunday? As the great reformer John Calvin wrote, 'let us consider that we cannot employ our time better than in hearing God speak to us.'