Living, loving, serving and growing together with God.
Loving and serving our local community is at the heart of our vision, along with an exploration of what it means to live an abundant, rich, full and meaningful life. We seek to follow Jesus Christ and to share the good news of God’s love revealed in his life, death and resurrection.
Thanks to our large church hall, St. Paul’s is a community hub, and activities go on throughout the week, not just on Sundays. Our worship is based on Common Worship, with a variety of styles to suit different ages and needs. Our robed choir leads the music under the direction of our Director of Music, Daniel Tonks, giving the congregation the confidence to join in with the sung elements of our Holy Communion services.
Young people and their families are at the centre of our mission. We run a Youth Church (11 – 16 yrs) on the 1st Sunday of each month, and Junior Church (3 – 10 yrs) each Sunday except the 2nd, when all ages worship together, with presentations, readings and prayers led by members of the Uniformed Groups. Fun@4 is an activity-based session for all the family based each month around a theme, with stories and treasure hunts, finishing up with a freshly prepared hot meal.
Pattern of worship:
1st Sunday: 10.30 a.m. Parish Communion & Youth Church
2nd Sunday: 10.30 a.m. All Age Service & Uniformed Groups parade
3rd Sunday: 10.30 a.m. Parish Communion; 4.00 p.m. Fun@4 (Messy Church)
4th Sunday: 10.30 a.m. Sunday Morning Worship; 6.30 p.m. Celtic Communion
5th Sunday: 10.30 a.m. Parish Communion
Every Wednesday: 10.00 a.m. Holy Communion in the Parish Centre
Three Home Groups meet fortnightly on a Wednesday evening for Bible study and fellowship. Contact the Vicar if you would like to join in.
Prayer Group meets every Monday afternoon at 4.30 p.m. in church. A prayer basket for prayer requests is located at the front of church by the vestry.
There is a full programme of events throughout the week for young people as well as seniors.
An important feature of life at St. Paul’s is the extent to which members are involved in leading and delivering activities. There are three ‘Mission’ Groups – Worship, Community & Refurbishment – each with a lay chair. Home Groups are lay-led, as are Fun@4 (Messy Church), Pastimes and Luncheon Club. Ideas for new initiatives are encouraged, especially amongst young people, whose development as leaders of tomorrow is taken extremely seriously. Six Uniformed Groups meet every week in the Parish Centre during term-time and each group leads a service at least once a year.
There are excellent relationships with two local schools, with regular services, assemblies and special visits throughout the school year.