about worshipping in this parish

God, in and through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has done two things which provide the focus for the Church's worship through the year:He has shared our life. We prepare for this event in the season of Advent, celebrate Christ's birth at Christmas and the 12 days following & then explore the implications of this in a 40 day period known as the Epiphany season (Epiphany is a word meaning revealing or showing).He has transformed our life. The culmination of this is in the three greatest days of the Christian year known as the Easter Triduum - Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter. Easter is the most important season and like Christmas, begins with a period of preparation – the 40 days of Lent.
From this we have the bare bones of the Christian Year which forms a framework within which we celebrate God’s love revealed as father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Worship is a dynamic process in which we offer ourselves to God in praise and thanksgiving. It has a simple structure, the most important aspect of which is that we come together. An essential part of being a Christian is that we worship God together, with others and in community, irrespective of gender, race, marital status.

There is a basic dynamic involved in worship:We offer ourselves to God.God receives that offering.God transforms that offering as he forgives us our sins and failings.God both feeds and challenges us as we listen to him speaking to us through the bible readings and the homily/sermon. In the eucharist we share in the gift of himself truly and really present in the bread and wine as we obey Jesus' command at the Last Supper.As we are transformed or re-formed through this encounter with God, so we are dismissed and sent into the world to reveal Christ in the world.

Once we understand this basic shape and the process, it is possible to 'get more out of it' as many people express it. You get out what you put in: if you just turn up, don't bother to follow the service through or sing a hymn, let alone listen and fail to recognize other people as your brothers and sisters in Christ, then don't expect to receive much back.

So here are some basic tips:Try and arrive 10 minutes before the service is due to begin.Briefly express a hello to people either side of you (there are NO reserved seats in our church by the way!), but don't indulge in unnecessary nattering.Reflect over the past week, or however long it is since you last came to worship God. A useful check list is provided by St. Paul who wrote that, as Christians, our lives should bear the fruit or evidence of God the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.