I think it was Henry Ford who said of his model ‘T ‘, “You can have any colour as long as it’s black.” The same used to be true of churches. Every church used to have its own particular style or tradition – and you could take it or leave it! But now times have changed as we have woken up to the need to serve all of our community and to provide a place where all can belong. We haven’t changed or watered-down what we believe, it’s just that we want to communicate in words and styles that everyone can understand and enjoy.
So now, at St Peter’s we offer many different flavours of service (and here are just a few examples):
– On a normal Sunday we have a 9.30am traditional Holy Communion service. Then, after all the church has met together over fresh coffee and cake, at 10.45am we have a lively, family friendly, service of modern musical worship and teaching (with children’s groups).
– On the first Sunday of the month, after our usual 9.30am Eucharist, at 10.45am we have Cafe Church. Here informality is the key, as we get to chat about faith and life over coffee and pastries, with loads of activities for the young (and not so young).
– Once a month, on a Saturday, we have Messy Church (pictured above). A joyous event, centred on children and families, where we hear about God, do loads of activities and eat together!
Maybe, in the past, the Church of England could be written-off as unfriendly, dull and irrelevant! That certainly isn’t the case now. Why not give St Peter’s a try? (stpeters-ruddington.org)
Rev. Andrew Buchanan