Worship in St. Matthews
Worship is one of the ways in which we honour God but, paradoxically, worship is also God’s gift to us, to help us make sense of life and all the strange, unscripted things that seem to happen to us as each new day unfolds! To aid us in our daiy worship we have linked to biblegateway.com where you can read the bible in various different translations. We also have verse of the day below for your convenience.
CHRISTMAS SERVICES
This year St. Matthew's have two services on Christmas Eve:
1) 7pm Family Carol Service, St. Matthew’s Church, Tay Street.
2)
11:30pm Capital Asset Bar & Restaurant, Tay Street.
Our Watchnight service is, for some, slightly controversial, being in a pub. However, the whole message of Christmas is that Jesus came from Heaven to dwell amongst his people no matter where they are (John 1:) This is about "incarnational" mission! Indeed, it all fits in very well with the National Church's policy to be a Church Without Walls.
Sunday Services
Currently, worship takes place each Sunday morning at 11 a.m. Children are always welcome to attend . . .and behave like . . . children. Generally we have the younger members participate in their own groups to begin with (creche for ages 0-3, Junior Church for 4-11 and J.A.M. Club for 12-15). We welcome these important church members into our church towards the end of the service in order to hear what they have been up to and to conclude our service of worship together. It is important for us to send a message that we are not sending the children out of worship but welcoming them in!
Musically speaking, we use the new Church Hymnary 4, but project the words for these songs onto our big screen. From time to time our youngsters bring their instrumental skills into our worship, as well as their voices! Scriptures are read from different translations, especially the New International Version and Eugene Peterson’s “The Message”. Poetry and secular readings frequently find a place in worship, for the Holy Spirit also moves in ways that are far beyond that which we call “religious”.
Formal Communion takes place at this service three times per year (February, May and October).
A fair proportion of the congregation meets for fairly traded coffee and tea after the morning service. Each Sunday, there is an opportunity to purchase goods from the Traidcraft Stall and the bookstall. Different groups from the congregation, including the teenagers, help with the rotas.
During the summer months, there is an additional service at 9.30 a.m. which is led by different members of the congregation. This is a more informal service which is more appropriate for our younger members. At this time of year, the 11a.m. service becomes more traditional and is largely attended by our older members. Coffee is served between the services.
For an alternative style of reflective worship called "the labyrinth" click here.
For up and coming events in our 'What's On' section click here