Mattins is a service of Morning Prayer taken from the Book of Common Prayer (1662) with sung canticles and psalms. It is a service that many people love and appreciate. The service includes 4 hymns, a good sermon, and a time of intercession. The service is followed by refreshments in church, which is a good chance to chat and extend the fellowship enjoyed during the service.
The Holy Communion service is fairly traditional, (but not Prayer Book), with 4 hymns, a time of intercession and a good, but not too long, sermon! The service generally lasts about 50 minutes.
The Family Festivals are short very informal, interactive services. We hope the timing of the service enables families to “do something” during the day and then come to church before going home for tea. The services are especially designed to be enjoyed by young families and every effort is taken to involve the children wherever possible. The general format is hymn, short interactive talk, craft, short prayers and final hymn. Children who are too young to join in with the singing are invited to choose a musical instrument to play. The Family Festival services last no more than 30 minutes and they are followed by extensive refreshments with a time for the children to listen to a story, play a theme related game, count the collection taken, (by the children), towards “Living Gifts” or generally a time to play and enjoying being in church. There is a lending library available too with a range of Christian books for children. Adults too enjoy time to chat and get to know each other.
The pattern of worship is likely to change in the future as the church looks at how to grow and how to enable more people to worship God.
