Services at Our Church

Christians have many different names for our main service of worship: the Mass, the Eucharist, the Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion. And some Christians perhaps spend more time talking and writing  about the Mass than  actually doing it! But it’s really quite simple: 

We meet on a Sunday to commemorate Jesus’ resurrection on the “first day of the week”.  

We share the bread and wine of Holy Communion, as Christians have done for 2000 years, following the example of Jesus himself.  

Jesus, on the night when he was betrayed, took bread and wine, gave thanks and  said to his disciples, “This is my body that is for you” and “This cup  is the new covenant in my blood: do this in remembrance of me.” (from St.Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 11:24-25) 

In the Church of England, and most (but not all) Christian churches, the minister who  “presides” at Holy Communion must be an ordained priest or equivalent. And in the Church of England, you are normally expected to be confirmed before you take the Holy Communion. (Though it’s important to note that, at St.Mary Magdalene, you’re most welcome to receive the bread  and wine if this is your practice in another Christian church or tradition). 

But taking the bread and wine is actually the climax of all else we do at the Mass: 

We Sing – hymns and songs of praise and thanks to God for all his love towards us and the world.

We Read – from the Bible: on a Sunday, reading from the Old and New Testaments, and the Gospels. We are a very “bible based” church.

We Pray – prayers of penitence (asking God’s forgiveness  for what we’ve done wrong), prayers of thanksgiving (for God’s goodness) and prayers of Intercession (holding before God the needs of  the world, our town and of members of the church community and their own families and friends). 

During our mass here at St.Mary Magdalene’s, children meet for their own activities and worship during the first half of the Mass, and join the rest of the people in church for the second half. 

                                                       COME AND JOIN US!

Service lasts about an hour and a quarter with coffee and other refreshments afterwards.