I Go To An Anglican Church

The Services

At the beginning of the service, children come in to sit with their family to listen to a short talk. The talk is taken by members of the church who enjoy teaching children. We call this part of the service "Kidzone". After the talk and a song, the children go out to our Parish Rooms (two small halls) or the local school hall to attend Sunday School. This is a fun time for the children, when they learn about God, Jesus and the Bible. The Sunday School teachers are volunteers, who teach the children in different groups according to their age.

We have three services on a Sunday, one at 8.00 am, one at 10.45 and one at 6.30 pm. People often have a favourite service time. Some people come to church more than once on a Sunday! Because our church has a long history, our services can be different in style each week. In the Anglican Church we use liturgy, which is a way of ordering the service, so unlike some churches we follow a set pattern. Some of our liturgy dates back to 1662! So, at some of our services our Vicar may say things such as:

"Almighty God, unto whom all our hearts be open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid: cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love thee, and worthily magnify thy holy Name, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
(From the Book of Common Prayer 1662)

These words sound very strange to people who are new to the church, and young people can sometimes find the words hard to understand. Once people do understand, though, they find the words are very meaningful. For example, the above words mean something like "You know everything about us God. Please send your Holy Spirit to give us hearts to love you and to do things that give you a good name."

Every week, we follow the service for that Sunday by reading from a service book or sheet. There are places that we all respond together. For example, the Vicar may say, "The peace of the Lord be with you" and we reply, "And also with you."