|
SUNDAY MEETING LOCATION
LITURGY / WORSHIP - WHAT HAPPENS IN THE MEETING?
(See here for a mystery visitor's comments).
LITURGY:
Liturgy is a set of written words which everyone follows in a service. Our church meeting is a very informal modern service which does not have any liturgy. Instead anyone can pray or contribute their thoughts or experiences in the "open" parts of the service. At other times leaders will lead prayers, meditations, or say what they feel God wants to say. The idea that God will convey specific ideas and direction to the church by causing someone to be aware of what He wants to say is called prophecy, and we welcome God speaking to us in this way in the meeting.
WORSHIP:
Worship, or recognising and expressing God's worth, is something we try to do throughout our lives. But as part of the meeting we do set aside special time to express our recognition of God. Most often this is by singing simply because this is easy for people to participate in together, but sometimes we will write psalms and read them out, sometimes draw or paint (well some do - I can't draw to save my life). Sometimes we join in worshipping actions such as writing needs down and presenting them before God. Because God is worthy of great praise from us, sometime some people wish to worship by raising hands or dancing. No-one is obliged to do anything they find overly embarrassing, but everyone is encouraged to stretch their comfort zone from time to time to acknowledge God's greatness, and our humility. Above all we aim to have a worship format in which everyone can be genuine and honest. The songs we sing are modern songs mostly written in last ten years, which generally have simple tunes and words and are easy to sing along with even if they are unfamiliar to you.
CHILDREN:
Children are completely welcome. We believe that children should not feel excluded from the adults activities. We generally provide a childrens group activity in the teaching part of the meeting when they may become bored, but during the worship and prayer part of the meeting they are free to participate or quietly entertain themselves. We try to avoid too many quiet periods in the worship where children can become disinterested and distract others, and we recognise that if children are to be welcomed, then we need to be tolerant of some noise and disturbance from time to time.
TEACHING:
The majority of meetings include a teaching "sermon", which is based on the bible. We believe that the bible shows us what God is like and how He wants us to live. The sermon is a chance to study part of that message in more depth each week, and apply it to our lives.
BREAKING OF BREAD:
Jesus instructed his followers to break bread, and drink wine, in remembrance of his death and return to life. In some meetings this will be done. All believers are welcome to participate, but visitors who have not yet decided to follow Jesus should simply observe.
THE COLLECTION:
The church is funded by its members and its historic resources. A collection is taken which is intended for the members contributions to God’s work through the local (and wider) church. The church ensures that at least 10% of its income is given to needs outside our own church.
|
