Services of worship and praise start at10.30, doors open at about 10.00, come as you are, dressed comfortably.
We use ‘pews’, these are bench seats and you may sit anywhere.
There is an accessible toilet facility near the entrance, a children’s corner inside, and more comfortable seating near the front of the church.
There will be someone to greet you as you come in and you will be given a hymn/song book to use.
We like to sing and use words either from a book or shown on screens. We stand so we can muster a good sound but don’t worry about not joining in.
The only other, possibly unexpected, thing is when a collecting bag is brought round, quite discreetly, for donations to the running costs of the church. Some people donate through their bank and disregard the collection, others simply weren’t expecting it. Nobody is watching!
You will know that the service is about to start when the worship leader comes to the dais at the front and someone else goes to the reading desk to greet everyone, and we stand to focus attention.
We remain standing after the last hymn for a blessing, then we sit and take time to think a bit about the service as music is played.
The service lasts about an hour, afterwards chat over light refreshments gives us an opportunity to say hello.
As well as songs, the service itself includes readings from the Bible and a short talk; prayers for ourselves, for celebrations and for the plight and difficulties of God’s people and the world; there may also be short periods of silence for personal prayers.
If you have concerns for prayer, you are welcome to mention this to whoever greets you at the beginning and the worship leader will be asked to include prayers accordingly.
Usually on first the Sunday in the month the service includes ‘Holy Communion’. Jesus told His disciples to remember Him when they broke bread and shared wine, these ‘elements’ represent the sacrifice He made of Himself. Everyone is invited to join in this part of the service, but as token pieces of bread and wine are brought round, it is easy either to accept or decline.
You are welcome to come to any service, to join in or to sit back and see what you think.