What to expect at St ThomasCome as you are – and take us as you find us!
Coming to church for the first time can be a daunting experience. You might have questions about all sorts of things, for example, how long will the service last? How will I know what to do and when? What will the people at church be like? Should I wear my “Sunday best”? Will I be questioned as to why I have not attended before, and come under pressure to attend church every week forever after? Are there any toilets?
First, be assured that God will be glad to see you, and to hear your prayers, whenever you come to church. No-one will ask you to “sign on the dotted line”. You will not be given “detention” for “skipping church”. Coming to church is a choice. We hope you will like it and we hope you might choose to come again (and again).
At St Thomas’, the atmosphere is very relaxed and the congregation very friendly. You will receive a warm welcome upon arrival, and will be provided with the books and service sheet you will need. Services can be led by either the vicar (Reverend Barry Pate) or by the Assistant Priest (Reverent Wendy Heaney), and they will say when everyone should stand, sit, pray or sing a hymn.
The congregation at St Thomas are from a cross-section of the community, and if you choose to stay for refreshments (tea, coffee, squash, biscuits) in the Wilbury Hall after the service you will have a chance to get to know us better.
There is no dress code. God takes us all, just as we are. However, if you tend to feel the cold you might like to consider dressing warmly because you will be sitting still (listening or praying) for periods.
The Sunday Communion (10.00 am) usually lasts around one and a quarter hours.
The service itself is made up of various parts: confession, readings, the preacher’s address, a period of quiet prayer with responses (called the intercession), the peace (hand shaking), the preparation of the sacraments (the bread and wine), the communion, post communion prayers and blessing and dismissal. (For a more detailed explanation of the parts of the service, click here.)
There are usually five hymns sung during the service, some of which may be familiar to you. However, do not worry if you find the hymns tricky at first – it isn't the X Factor! During the Offertory Hymn a collection is taken.
The church is joined to the Wilbury Hall, which is where we have refreshments after the service. There are toilets (and baby change facilities).
We hope to see you soon.
JV
We start with a hymn and a greeting, and a sentence of scripture, usually from one of the scripture readings, and probably summarising the theme of the service. We then say the prayer for purity, where we greet Almighty God and ask him to make us worthy to meet with him.
We then say Prayers of Penitence. Christians believe that people, Christians no more or less than others, are inherently sinful. First the minister prepares us by reading, according to the season, a summary of the law (love God and love neighbour) or the ten commandments or the beatitudes. We then say together a prayer of repentance. We acknowledge our sin, to God and to neighbour, and we seek forgiveness, and the chance to make a new start. The priest pronounces absolution. This is very important. We all fail, and need to know that we are not ‘bad’ people. This process tells us that we are bad people, but we can do better, and this is the opportunity. It is the essence of the Christian message, that Jesus died for our sins, so we, in so far as we follow him, are OK.
We are now in a position, cleansed and forgiven, to worship God in the Gloria or some other act of worship.
There is now an opportunity for each person to pray individually. After a few minutes of silent prayer, these prayers are ‘collected’ together in the words of the collect prayed by the minister.
The Ministry of the Word. We hear some or all of the Bible readings prescribed in the prayer book. One is from the Old Testament. Then there is all or part of a psalm. We usually use the refrain, said by the congregation. There will then be a reading from the New Testament, and then, after the Gospel Hymn, a reading from one of the Gospels. Then one of the ministers will preach the Sermon. We respond to all we have heard by saying the Creed together, and by our intercessions, where a minister or member of the congregation leads us in prayer for the church and the world, and in thanks to God for his goodness.
We begin the Ministry of the Sacrament by greeting one another in the sharing of God’s peace. During a hymn we present offerings. Members of the congregation take bread and wine to the altar, and we all contribute money to support the work of the church. We say together expressing our gratitude for all God does for us, and noting that ‘All things come from you, and of your own do we give you’ or similar words. Then, the Eucharistic Prayer is said by the president, with some responses by the congregation. It is here that the bread and wine are consecrated, so that they represent to us the body and blood of Jesus. In the night before he died he told his disciples that they were to do this in remembrance of him, until he comes again. So we remember his death on the cross, and everything it means for us.
After saying together the Prayer of Humble Access, as today’s disciples, we receive the bread and the wine, as Jesus disciples did so long ago, and we are healed and renewed and strengthened to live in a Christ-like way, and thus, and otherwise, proclaim the good news of Jesus and his love.
After the notices the priest pronounces God’s blessing upon us, and we sing a final hymn, before sharing refreshments together. PW
All priests are ministers, but not all ministers are priests, some are lay. Readers are lay ministers, who have undergone three years training, academic and practical, and are licensed by the Bishop to preach, teach and lead worship.
Scripture is all of the Bible, which tells the story of God’s people from beginning to end. It comprises the Old Testament and the New Testament.
Summary of the law (Mark 12.29-31) When Jesus was asked ‘Of all the commandments, which is the most important’, he replied ‘The first is this. “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is the only Lord. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength” The second is this “Love your neighbour as yourself”’ The minister reads this, and we respond by asking for God’s mercy.
Ten Commandments (Exodus 20.2-17) The ten commandments were given to Moses on Mount Sinai as the Israelites were rescued from slavery in Egypt and travelled to the promised land. The minister reads each in turn, and we respond by asking God to help us keep it.
The beatitudes (blessings, Matthew 5.2-10) In the sermon on the mount, Jesus pronounces that some, who are currently ‘down’ are blessed because they will soon be ‘up’. The minister reads each in turn, and we respond by regretting our failure to live up to them.
‘Repent’ literally means ‘turn around and face the other way’
Priests represent God to people and people to God. They undergo academic and practical training, and are ordained by the Bishop. Only priests can pronounce absolution, or say the Eucharistic prayer, or pronounce God’s blessing. When appointed to a parish church they are given the ‘cure of souls’, which means they are responsible for the spiritual welfare of anybody in the parish who wants their help.
We are absolutely cleansed from our sin, and given a completely fresh start, to go out into the world as though we had never sinned. Some people carry around a huge burden of guilt. This is an opportunity for all of us to put down such burdens, and leave them behind.
This prayer is prescribed in the prayer book, and is different for each Sunday.
The Old Testament is the Scripture that Jesus and his contemporise knew. It starts with Creation (Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden) and Noah and his Ark, and Abraham and his descendants. It tells their story in history, poetry, praise songs, wisdom and prophecy.
The praise songs of the Old Testament
The story of Jesus and the early church, containing Gospels, history, letters, and a description of the end times
Four ‘lives of Jesus’ written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
A statement of the things Christians believe about God, the Father, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Church, baptism and resurrection.
Intercession means ‘stand between’. So we represent the world to God, asking him to be concerned about the things we are concerned about. This seems like trying to bend God to our will, but, like all prayer, sometimes ends in our will becoming aligned to his, as we see what we ourselves can do about the situations we pray about.
Money is a spiritual issue. We put our money where our heart is. The church needs money to for its stipendiary clergy, the maintenance of its buildings, the training of its ministers and officers; when all these are paid for it can support mission and practical help to those in need.
This is the central part of the communion service. In it there is a greeting, and an account of how Jesus life, death and resurrection benefit us. And so we praise him. We remember the events of the last supper, and consecrate the bread and the wine. There have been, and still are, controversies about what happens here. Some like to say that they become (substantially) body and blood. Others insist that this cannot be; this is just a ‘memorial’. Our liturgy says ‘grant that by the power of your Holy Spirit these gifts of bread and wine may be to us (my italics) his body and his blood. That is, they become powerful symbols. It is priest and congregation and God together who bring about this becoming.
We assure God, and remind ourselves, that we can access God by virtue of his love rather than our merits.
If individuals wish prayer for healing, whether physical, mental or spiritual, these are offered. We offer them specifically on the first Sunday of the month, but are happy for this to happen at any Eucharist.
We are told about forthcoming services and events. Often members of the congregation will give notices which are not on the Service sheet, or tell us of encouraging things that have happened to them. |
