Each month, there are two services of Holy Communion, one service of Morning Prayer and one All Age Worship service at both St Matthew’s and St Edmund’s. Tea, coffee and biscuits are served after all services at both churches in the Fellowship Room at St Matthew’s and the Church Hall at St Edmund’s.
All Age Worship
This is a very informal and interactive service. We think it’s important for people of all ages to have chance to learn about God and worship Him together, like a family round a dining table. We use a mixture of traditional and contemporary songs. Each service has an opportunity to say sorry to God for things we’ve got wrong and receive his forgiveness; a story from the Bible is either read or acted out; we spend time reflecting on what it means for us today in various ways at different services: short talks, discussion, craft/making, games; and we pray for the world and our community. The service is the same at both churches, on different Sundays, so if you can’t make one you can come to the other, or both!
Morning Prayer
These services have a robed choir. We use hymn books and booklets with the words for the service for people to join in with. Bible passages are read out loud and then someone reflects on the passage, thinking about how it relates to our lives today, plus there is often an activity that helps the children relate the passage to their life too. We affirm what we believe about God and pray for the world and our community.
Once every three months at St Edmund’s, Morning Prayer is a formal service of Choral Matins, using the Book of Common Prayer. These usually happen in January, April, July and October.
Holy Communion
The two Holy Communion services at both churches have a robed choir. They follow the same pattern as for Morning Prayer until after the prayers when we remind ourselves of what Jesus told his followers at the Last Supper, about his body being broken for us and his blood being shed for us. We then go up to the front where we’re offered bread and wine. It’s a powerful way of being connected with the whole church around the world and across time in an act of remembrance and worship. People who don’t normally take it, and children, are invited to come to the front as well, for a prayer of blessing.
