Tuesday 8th September, 19:00 to 20:00 and Tuesday 15th September 2026, 10:00 to 11:00 – Open Stage Ipswich, developed with Rev. Ross McCrory of the University of Suffolk, will offer community drama workshops from September 2026 at the intersection of theatre and Free Religion.
Saturday 12th September 2026 – Ride and Stride, Suffolk Historic Churches Trust. Be sponsored to walk or cycle around as many historic churches of Suffolk as you want/ can manage. Raise money for the church of your choice.
Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th September – Ipswich Art Trail. Several locations across Ipswich, including Ipswich Unitarian Meeting House, hosting free art exhibitions by local artists. A highlight of the year.
Tuesday 15th September 2026, 19:00 – Life’s Rich Tapestry: A Talk by Liz Chester about the wonders of woven tapestry.
Liz Chester is a woven tapestry artist based in Ipswich, Suffolk. Her work uses form and line to create compositions which lend themselves to the colour and texture of a textile medium.
Tapestry weaving is an ancient craft, used to decorate homes and textiles since people began to weave. The language of weaving has become entwined in our language and while the art form has largely fallen out of fashion, it is enjoying a resurgence in popularity. Liz Chester will introduce the language of the textile, explore some of the history behind the art form and discuss why this slowest of the art forms is still produced today.
Thursday 17th September 2026, 19:00 – Architectural Oddities: The Boot Scraper. An exploration by conservation architect Stuart Edgar.
Tuesday 18th September – Margaret Hancock Heritage walk.
Saturday 29th September, 18:30 – Stuart Edgar talk for Boxford Society.
Saturday 3rd October, 15:00 – Book Festival talk by Caroline Quentin. Tickets £10. More information here.
Saturday 3rd October, 19:00 – Climate Emergency Briefing. Free film screening at the Meeting House (with Soka Gakkai Buddhists).
Saturday 10th October, 19:00 – Ian Griffiths performing the poetry of Dylan Thomas.
We’re delighted to announce a special weekend of music with Jorge Jiménez, taking place at the Meeting House from Friday 16 to Sunday 18 October.
Jorge returns for a complete journey through J. S. Bach’s six Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin, presented across two contrasting recitals, alongside a very different kind of evening exploring the colourful and often scandalous late 17th Century…
Friday 16 October
BACH I — From Solitude to Dance
Jorge Jiménez, Baroque violin
The first instalment of Bach’s extraordinary cycle of Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin.
Saturday 17 October
BACH AFTER DARK
Stories, music and scandal from the 17th Century and beyond
Joy Smith, story telling and harps
18+
An informal and intimate evening of stories, gossip and music.
Sunday 18 October
BACH II — Architecture and Light
Jorge Jiménez, Baroque violin
The second instalment, completing the six Sonatas and Partitas.
Tickets: £15 per event (£12 for UMH members)
Weekend Pass: £35 for all three events (£30 for UMH members)
Saturday 31st October, 19:30 – Spooky Stories for Halloween. Adam Whybray reads Edgar Allan Poe and Robert Aickman in a spookily decorated Meeting House. All money to go to our nominated charity (below).
Sunday Services
We are a welcoming, progressive, inclusive community offering a fresh approach to the sacred.
Sunday Services are at 10:45 am.
Now held in the building and concurrently via Zoom.
We hold all services in person and concurrently via a zoom link (the service is not recorded). You are welcome to join us either way and for the link each week, please contact our secretary (01473 728498 or tessa@tessajordan.co.uk). Most of our service addresses are also posted on this website. We also hold regular Book and Poetry group meetings – mainly online too for convenience.
We are currently collecting donations for The Shelley Centre for Therapeutic Riding. Two of our members have a link with this charity, as one has a granddaughter and another a great nephew who have both benefitted from what is on offer. At present their waiting list is closed as they do not have the resources to cope with the therapeutic needs from within the community.
The Shelley Centre is a member of the UK-wide Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA). On the Charity Commission’s website, here’s how they describe their work: “[as] an independent charity we provide riding for the health & wellbeing for children and adults with physical and learning disabilities. We not only teach riding skills but use the horse for therapy through exercise. We work five days a week during term time with approx. 130 riders a year and 90 volunteers”.
Initially helping children from Belstead Special School starting in 1979, the Shelley Centre became an independent local charity in 1999 called The Hadleigh RDA Group. In 2001 the name was changed to The Shelley Centre.
The volunteers work hard to raise the £90,000 per annum to keep the centre running. Costs are for maintenance, equipment, horse feed, tack & new horses etc. Throughout the year they hold a variety of different events including a stall at the Hadleigh Show, a bingo evening and quiz night.
We also hold special services throughout the year – our Membership service; a St Cecelia musical service; a harvest festival and a Carol service by Candlelight.
For more current news and services join our ‘Ipswich Unitarians’ Facebook Page.
Ipswich Unitarian Meeting House 