As a community of faith endeavouring to engage with the 21st century in our time, place and space, we are searching for the God within us, between us and beyond us. We encourage laughter at our own ridiculousness, and are challenged to consider how we might make a radical difference in caring for the community of North Reddish in a practical way. Numbers attending this service are steadily increasing but average between 70 and 75.
All of our services begin with a brief sharing of news from our families and local community; we provide a safe space within which we encourage one another to express our joys (birthdays, anniversaries and personal announcements) and our sorrows (illnesses and tragedies, both global and local) celebrating with some, extending love and compassion to others.
Following local news, we remind ourselves of the despair people are experiencing throughout the world as a result of war, starvation and other life threatening situations.
Each week, we read out a campaign letter from Amnesty International on behalf of individuals or groups and invite everyone to sign it at the conclusion of the service.
We hold all these situations in mind’s eye and hearts care, inviting God to spin threads of compassion from us to them, that we may aspire to do something to change their plight through campaigning for justice.
Following on, we light what is called the Care Candle, displaying
A RED AIDS/HIV RIBBON as a reminder of the 33 million people worldwide inflicted with the disease. Also other life threatening diseases – Malaria and Cholera.
A PINK CANCER RIBBON as many of us know others locally who are living and dying with Cancer.
A GREEN ENVIRONMENTAL RIBBON to remind us of everyone’s responsibility in caring for the world in which we live.
Finally, the Care Candle, is wrapped with a length of barbed wire, the symbol of Amnesty International.
We continue with a few moments silence as we hold in tension the joys and sorrows we have been able to give voice to and the joys and sorrows that we hold privately.
8am – Holy Communion
(Book of Common Prayer, sometimes called 1662)
This traditional service begins with silence, no hymns or singing, followed by a short address usually based on the reading from one of the 4 Gospels. Between 15 and 20 people normally attend this service which lasts for about 45 minutes.Followed by refreshments.
10am – Morning Worship
Includes songs, prayers, readings and a very short address and lasts 40 minutes. At this service we weave together insights from other faith traditions and alternative forms of worship within the basic framework and structure of the Church of England’s Common Worship.
10.40 – We Share The Peace, leading into The Eucharist
You are very welcome to just come in for this part of the Service
11am Refreshments and Gathering for Liquid Worship or Messy Church
11.15am Liquid Worship or Messy Church. All young people and their families are invited to be part of Messy Church, this is a Fresh Expression and as the name suggests, “Fresh Expressions” of church are new and different ways of being Christian in a changing culture.
Singing
We try wherever possible to avoid singing many of the old hymns that clearly inspired previous generations, and were true for the people of that time, but were written when their world view then was entirely different from ours now. We have retained many of the traditional and familiar tunes, but in our quest for a greater authenticity and integrity for our age, we look for words that make complete sense for the people of today.
Hymns and songs that celebrate Justice, Compassion, Mercy, Social Responsibility and our responsibility to work together with God to create a better, fairer, more equitable world is the path we acknowledge that God invites us to follow on. Also songs that invite us to live the biggest, most complete and fulfilled lives that is humanly possible and divinely inspired after the pattern of Jesus and in the power of the Spirit.
