11th January, 2021
Following yesterday's service, Sunday services are suspended pending an improvement in the infection rate. This decision will be reviewed at the end of January.
In the meantime, please do feel welcome to visit St Mary's for private prayer or reflection. Our private prayer sessions will continue 11am to 1pm on Saturdays.
Please bring your own mask - other safety precautions will be in place.
Following yesterday's service, Sunday services are suspended pending an improvement in the infection rate. This decision will be reviewed at the end of January.
In the meantime, please do feel welcome to visit St Mary's for private prayer or reflection. Our private prayer sessions will continue 11am to 1pm on Saturdays.
Please bring your own mask - other safety precautions will be in place.
christmas 2020
Sunday, 20th December - 11am
Please join us for our service to mark the Fourth Sunday in Advent.
Christmas Day - 10am
Please join us at 10am for our Christmas Morning Eucharist Service (Said Eucharist for Christmas - BCP 1928)
Sunday, 27th December - Carol Service - 3pm
Please join us at 3pm for our Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols.
Please join us for our service to mark the Fourth Sunday in Advent.
Christmas Day - 10am
Please join us at 10am for our Christmas Morning Eucharist Service (Said Eucharist for Christmas - BCP 1928)
Sunday, 27th December - Carol Service - 3pm
Please join us at 3pm for our Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols.
Service Times & Worship
6th November, 2020
Under the present Government regulations, public worship is not permitted until the current lockdown is ended (at present 2nd December, 2020).
However, our Sunday services continue with a Service of the Word at 11am and you are very welcome to join us via WhyPay, a free conference call facility. Please call or email Father Ian for access details. Please visit our Contact Us page.
Under the present Government regulations, public worship is not permitted until the current lockdown is ended (at present 2nd December, 2020).
However, our Sunday services continue with a Service of the Word at 11am and you are very welcome to join us via WhyPay, a free conference call facility. Please call or email Father Ian for access details. Please visit our Contact Us page.
General Opening times
Thursday 11 am – 2 pm
Friday 11 am – 2 pm
Under the present Government regulations, public worship is not permitted until the current lockdown is ended (at present 2nd December, 2020).
Our Normal Services are:
Friday Holy Communion 12:30 pm approx. length 35 mins
Sunday BCP Sung Eucharist 11:00 am approx. length 1 hour
For more information, please contact our Priest-in-Charge, the Reverend Ian Walker, or our Church Wardens.
We also have additional services on key festival dates and during liturgical seasons, for example, Lent and Advent, as according to the Church of England calendar (lectionary) for Book of Common Prayer. We also hold civic and commemorative services.
Life Events
If you would like to discuss having your child baptised, arrange a marriage service at St Mary’s or have a funeral service with us, please speak to our Priest-in Charge, the Reverend Ian Walker, or our Church Wardens.
Style of Worship: Book of Common Prayer
St. Mary’s is part of the Church of England and our principal worship follows the Book of Common Prayer.
The Book of Common Prayer is essentially the work of Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) – archbishop to King Henry VIII and Edward VI. Originating in mediaeval Catholic prayer books, which were in Latin, and drawing heavily on Protestant Reformed service books, the first national prayer book (King Henry VIII’s Primer) appeared in English in 1545. It was not until 1549 however, that the book first bore the title ‘Book of Common Prayer’. The title itself was of some significance as, from the very beginning, it was to serve as a prayer book for the entire English nation, and gave Anglican spirituality its distinctive character.
A religion for all
Cranmer wanted to recover the original purity of the age of the apostles, and to make worship accessible to all the people of England. He took the old sevenfold monastic rhythm of common prayer and created from it just two daily services – Morning and Evening Prayer, both of which were to be recited not just for the people but by them – and in English rather than Latin. This kind of daily common prayer was recorded in the Acts of the Apostles as the practice of the first Christians and Cranmer was determined to restore it.
Spirituality for everyday life
This was to be a lay spirituality, not a complex monastic or priestly activity watered down for simpler tastes. The prayers and thanksgivings in the prayer book are for a rich variety of secular needs: for rain, a good harvest, peace, for those at sea. In essence, the Book of Common Prayer looked to integrate religion with everyday life and included the clear setting out of moral standards.
A local religion
The Book of Common Prayer is peculiarly English in tone, not only in its approach to the monarchy, but also in its use of the rhythms and richness of the English language in what was to be commonly regarded as its golden age.
Praying in church
The prayer book made an important contribution, not only to the congregation, but also to an evolving spirituality of buildings. Christ is not restricted to the church; but He is present there for as long as His teaching governs and animates the lives of His people. It is this synthesis of scripture and daily life, which the prayer book was designed to uphold.
The Book of Common Prayer is essentially the work of Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) – archbishop to King Henry VIII and Edward VI. Originating in mediaeval Catholic prayer books, which were in Latin, and drawing heavily on Protestant Reformed service books, the first national prayer book (King Henry VIII’s Primer) appeared in English in 1545. It was not until 1549 however, that the book first bore the title ‘Book of Common Prayer’. The title itself was of some significance as, from the very beginning, it was to serve as a prayer book for the entire English nation, and gave Anglican spirituality its distinctive character.
A religion for all
Cranmer wanted to recover the original purity of the age of the apostles, and to make worship accessible to all the people of England. He took the old sevenfold monastic rhythm of common prayer and created from it just two daily services – Morning and Evening Prayer, both of which were to be recited not just for the people but by them – and in English rather than Latin. This kind of daily common prayer was recorded in the Acts of the Apostles as the practice of the first Christians and Cranmer was determined to restore it.
Spirituality for everyday life
This was to be a lay spirituality, not a complex monastic or priestly activity watered down for simpler tastes. The prayers and thanksgivings in the prayer book are for a rich variety of secular needs: for rain, a good harvest, peace, for those at sea. In essence, the Book of Common Prayer looked to integrate religion with everyday life and included the clear setting out of moral standards.
A local religion
The Book of Common Prayer is peculiarly English in tone, not only in its approach to the monarchy, but also in its use of the rhythms and richness of the English language in what was to be commonly regarded as its golden age.
Praying in church
The prayer book made an important contribution, not only to the congregation, but also to an evolving spirituality of buildings. Christ is not restricted to the church; but He is present there for as long as His teaching governs and animates the lives of His people. It is this synthesis of scripture and daily life, which the prayer book was designed to uphold.
