Worship and Spirituality
What to expect
St Wulfran’s is a parish church where people of many different traditions and backgrounds come to know, love and follow Jesus Christ. Worship at St Wulfran’s is varied, drawing on a range of traditions and styles, but always seeking to remain distinctly Anglican.
Our main Sunday morning Eucharist at 10am is traditional in style, whilst remaining warm and friendly. Once a month we have a more modern format for our family services and on Sunday evenings we offer different types of worship ranging from traditional evensong, to healing ministries and informal worship formats. We have services throughout the week including Holy Communion, Morning Prayer and on Fridays we have a popular online meditation group.
We are a pilgrimage church visited regularly by many walkers and visitors to the area. The church is always open and the Lady Chapel is an important component of many people’s experience of prayer and spirituality.
We hope you’ll consider visiting us! Here are the answers to some questions you might have about our worship.
What Kind of People Attend St Wulfran’s
The people of St Wulfran’s represent a wonderful mix of people from the village and well beyond. Everyone is welcome. We have young and old, singles and families, rich and poor, churchy and not so churchy.
How Will I Know What To Do During the Service?
When you arrive at St Wulfran’s you will be greeted at the door. As you enter the Church we will offer you a service leaflet which will list everything that will happen in the service, in order. Most of the service, including the prayers and responses to be spoken by the congregation, are in the service sheet. We typically stand, if we are able, for prayer and singing hymns and sit at other times. Some people prefer to kneel during times of prayer. You should feel comfortable following your personal practice.
What About Children?
Children and young people of any age are always welcome. We have a Sunday school group and all age services once a month especially for families – but you and your children are welcome at any time.
What About Communion?
At Communion time, the congregation is invited to come forward to stand or kneel at the communion rail in front of the altar and receive the consecrated bread and wine. In the Church of England we believe that by the power of the Holy Spirit the bread and wine contain the presence of the Body and Blood of Christ. You are welcome to receive Holy Communion if that’s your normal practice. If you prefer not to receive Communion, you are invited to come forward to receive a personal blessing from the priest.
Does It Matter If I Believe or What I Believe?
Your faith or lack of faith – whatever your religious background – all of this makes no difference in your welcome to St Wulfrans. Everyone is welcome.
SUNDAY SERVICES
SUNDAY 10AM
Parish Eucharist Service in church
Also on Zoom – contact ewart.wooldridge@uwclub.net
01273 390206
SECOND SUNDAY EACH MONTH 8AM
Said Eucharist
FIRST SUNDAY OF EACH MONTH 6PM
Compline
THIRD SUNDAY EACH MONTH
SPIRIT – informal worship and music
MIDWEEK SERVICES
WEDNESDAY’S 10:15AM in church
1st wednesday – Said Communion led by Revd David Porter
3rd wednesday – Celtic Communion led by Revd Mary Samuel
2nd, 4th and 5th wednesday (where applicable) – Morning Prayer led by Teresa Stirling
THURSDAY’S 9AM
Morning Prayer in Church 2nd and 4th Thursdays led by Michael Miller
Other Thursdays on Zoom. Contact michael.miller@tiscali.co.uk
FRIDAY 9AM
Silence and Stillness – 30 minutes of meditation and contemplation on line Contact Barry Sugg: barry.sugg@btopenworld.com;
01273 303838
A fresh new programme of Spirit Services is starting on the third Sunday of the month. All our services at St Wulfran’s aim to be welcoming to all and to foster a sense of spirituality. To supplement this the programme of Spirit services is planned with a wider range of music and themes to be meaningful to people, not just from our own church family, but also from other church traditions or none, or from those who are searching for spiritual inspiration or comfort.
Next Spirit Service: Sunday 21 April, 4pm – Travelling with God: A celebration of age and life stori; what we bring to the life of faith as we grow older
Next Generation
Next Generation is about deciding together as a parish how we might further invest in St Wulfran’s so that it continues to be a thriving parish for this and future generations. Get involved – share your ideas.
In terms of investment we might for example want to consider new investments in the fabric of the church building and grounds, we might also want to consider investing in people and activities to deliver new things or new ways of doing things.
NEXT STEPS
We want the process of gathering ideas and agreeing on priorities to be as collaborative as possible. Throughout last autumn, we sought views from within the St Wulfran’s community on potential projects. We are hugely grateful for the projects you have suggested, most of which are eminently do-able.
What we have to do now is to obtain specific professional advice on each of the key clusters of projects, and start action plans to take this forward.
