Worship Services
During Covid-19 RestrictionsWhile we are in varied levels of lockdown, and abiding by the Government regulations, we are able to continue with in-person worship. Sadly the congregation is not permitted to sing. Appropriate PPE is required by all attending, hand-gel is provided at the door, and all are expected to use it. Also for track and trace, we are keeping a record of contact details of all who attend. We are not able to continue our regular patterns of services, so these have been organised and announced month by month. We are trying to have a communion service each week, and will continue to produce On-line video services for those who, for whatever reason, are unable to attend the in-person services in the Church building. Communion is served in 'one kind' (bread only), by the minister who will come to you where you are seated in the congregation. The minister wears a mask and visor while distributing the bread. The Contemporary services will have musical worship from videos projected on the screen, the traditional services have all words projected, and the minister will sing the hymns.
Traditional ServicesThese services use the Book of Common Prayer (BCP 1662) and the King James Bible (Authorised Version). They encourage us to meet God through the beauty of language and music, giving time for quiet reflection and prayer. See below for times and details- services are denoted as BCP, most of these include hymns with organ.
Contemporary ServicesContemporary worship encourages us to meet God through more accessible words and music with a more familiar beat. God makes his presence known through each of us, and time is given to hearing about what God is doing today. These services are denoted with the letters CW, standing for Common Worship, the Church of England's prayer book in today's language. All the 10.30am services use contemporary language, and all are Holy Communion except on the first Sunday of the month when there is an All Age Family Service. At this Service the children stay in church throughout the service, and the aim is to keep them thoroughly engaged for the 45-50 minute service through fun ways to listen, pray, play and sing. We tend to direct baptisms to this service, as it is a great relaxed context for families and guests of the baptism to feel included. If there is a baptism in the service, it can run up to an hour, but we work to keep this service accessible to all. At the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Sunday Communion services, children are encouraged to leave church after the first hymn for Junior Church, and they return to church later for communion or a blessing. There is a lovely Children's Zone at the back of the church for parents with children who wish to stay in church, If your child is struggling to settle, and is crying, or particularly noisy, we are working on space to take children to, so you can follow the talk, without the stress of comforting your child in the context of the rest of the congregation listening to a sermon/talk. If you need help, we always have 'welcomers' available to assist. |