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Yes, of course. All worship in the Church of England is public worship |
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Yes, of course. All worship in the Church of England is public worship |
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you are most welcome at any of the times advertised, either on notices at the
church or here on this site. The difficulty you may feel is when you are strange
to it and wonder whether you dare come in. If you feel like that, please talk to
the vicar about it. He can help you.
What services do you have?
On normal Sundays there are three main services:
At 8am there is a quiet service, shorter than the later service, of Holy
Communion without any music. Up to 20 people are normally there. There is a
short sermon too.
At 10am there is a longer service which we call a “Family Communion”, partly
because most of the church family meets then and partly because you are welcome
with all the family, whatever their ages. This service includes music [with a
good sprinkling of traditional hymns for you to enjoy] and a sermon. It
usually lasts around an hour and a quarter and a cuppa is available afterwards
if you want to stop and chat a bit. You’ll normally find around 100 people
there, of all ages – so it’s possible to come and join us without feeling too
conspicuous at first.
At 6.30pm [4.30pm when the clocks change for winter] we have a more traditional
[from the Book of Common Prayer] service – called “Evening Prayer” or “Evensong”
- with hymns and a sermon
Are there other times when you hold services?
Apart from Sundays, we also worship [using Holy Communion services] during the
week on Wednesdays at 10am and on other occasions [festivals and saints’ days]
at times which are announced each month.
The Wednesday morning service normally has around 30 people – an opportunity for people who work weekend shifts or who just
don’t like the bigger crowds of Sundays at church.
If I come to a communion service, can I receive communion?
The normal practice at Church of England communion services is for confirmed
members only to receive communion.
However, if you are a member of another Christian church [such as Methodist,
United Reformed, Baptist, Roman Catholic – and many others] and if you would
normally receive communion if you were there, then please feel free to come and
receive communion here too.
People sometimes worry what they should do when others go to the altar rail to
receive communion. There are two other choices, instead of receiving communion.
If you wish to come to the altar to be blessed, just join the others there and
bow your head. The vicar will bless you when he comes to you. But if you wish,
you can remain in your seat while the others go forward. Others do that, and
there is no need to think you are the odd one out.
Can I bring my children to church?
Yes!
We have a Junior Church for those who are old enough – and a crèche for those
who aren’t. Ask at the door when you arrive and the staff there will pint you
in the right direction.
