Thankfulness at our centre
We come together as church for no other reason than Jesus. We believe
that this is his church, and that we meet together in gratitude for all
that he has done, and in recognition of all that he calls us to do in
this world.
A Warm Welcome
We believe that God does not call us simply to meet together but to belong
to one another; to be a ‘church family’. For that reason,
we try hard to make strangers and newcomers welcome. As well as refreshments
after church on Sunday, we organise a number of social events, all of
which provide a good opportunity for friendships and a sense of belonging
to develop.
Accessible Worship
We sometimes use the word worship to describe what happens when we come
together on Sunday morning. Our aim is to make such worship accessible:
we try to make sure that all we do is seen and heard; that the words we
use are easily understood; and that it is clear what is expected of the
congregation and when!
A Church for All Ages
We aim to be a church for all-ages. Of course this provides its own challenge,
for don’t all of us prefer things suited to our own age!? And yet
we believe this is important if we are truly to be what a church is meant
to be. In recognition of this aspect of our corporate life, our morning
worship once a month is all-age.
Enjoyment
We do not believe that being serious about our faith is incompatible with
fun and enjoyment. Indeed, we try to make sure there is plenty of joy
in the things we do, whether that be Sunday morning worship, or a meeting
of St Paul’s District Church Council! A good test for us is, ‘Do
we look forward to coming to church?’!
Variety and Creativity
We try not to be afraid of trying new things at St Paul’s. Gifts
of creativity, as well as modern technology, all increase opportunities
for communicating the Christian gospel in fresh ways. Sermons based on
contemporary films, Christmas musicals, PowerPoint presentations, and
even the occasional drama, are just some of the ways in which we have
tried to incorporate creativity into our worship in recent years.
Thoughtfully biblical
Yes, it’s a very old book, but we believe that the Bible should
be our guide! Whether taking the Bible as our starting point, or beginning
with a theme and then seeing what the Bible has to say, we try to take
the Bible seriously on Sunday morning. Our regular housegroups also provide
a relaxed opportunity to study the Bible together.
A church for the community
In various ways we try to be a church for the community. We plan our services
at times of major festivals (Advent, Christmas, Mothering Sunday, Easter,
Pentecost, Harvest) with the newcomer and visitor in mind. Meanwhile,
through our involvement in local schools, our twice-weekly parent and
toddler group called Play and Chat, and our Time Spys annual holiday club,
we are privileged to have many links into the local community.
Opportunities to find out more
Our experience is that there are always people wanting to know more about
the Christian faith. And so we try to provide regular non-threatening
opportunities for enquirers to explore the Christian faith. In recent
years we have run Alpha, Christianity Explored and Emmaus courses, all
of which have been preceded by a meal together. If you would like to know
more, please ask.
The involvement of all
Church was never intended to be a spectator sport! Rather, church works
best when each person recognises the gifts they have been given by God
and is willing to use those gifts for the benefit of all. So while we
do recognise that some, for whatever reason, need to hold back from Christian
service for a while, we try to encourage all church members to find their
place within the life of the church.
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