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New to Church?
We know that if this is your first time in church, you may be feeling
and thinking all kinds of things like:‘Will I fit in’, ‘I won’t know what to do’, ‘what will people say to
me’ ‘what if I get ignored.’ You may feel anxious, nervous, scared or shy.
There is no need to worry; you will be guaranteed a warm welcome. The
preacher will lead the service, nothing will be asked of you.
This page will hopefully give you an idea of what to expect at Sunday
morning worship. We have pulled some information together that
hopefully will answer any questions you may have. If you have any other
questions, please get in contact and we will try to answer them as best
we can.
What time does the Service start?
The Sunday Service
usually starts at 10.30am, and people arrive well in time to grab
a seat and get comfortable.
On entering the church from the main entrance on Westgate, someone will greet you at the doors and hand you a copy of the weekly notices, together with any other sheets which you might need, like an order of service or an additional hymn sheet.
Does it matter where I sit?
You can seat anywhere you want to sit, unless there is a reserved
sign on the seats. Usually seats are reserved for weddings, baptisms,
funerals, and sometimes performances in Church. There are a lot
of seats to choose from, but of course it is still a mystery why
no one sits on the front row. God doesn't mind where you sit. God
knows you are there.
Wherever you sit, on the back of the seat in front of you, will
be the books you may need during the service, the Methodist Worship
Book, Singing The Faith and the Circuit Songbook. If you sit on
the front row, don't worry more books will be provided for you.
What happens during the service?
During a normal church service we play a lot of 'stand up sit down'.
If you are not sure what to do, just follow what everyone else is
doing. Often the preacher will guide the congregation with instructions
throughout the service. If you feel you are unable to stand, don’t
worry, there will be other people sitting throughout the service.
After the choir enters the church the congregation remain seated.
One of the Church Stewards will follow the choir and light a candle
to indicate the service is about to start. A Church Steward will
then provide a welcome and introduce the minister or preacher who
is to lead the service. When a hymn is announced and the music starts,
the congregation can then stand to sing. As Methodists, singing
is one of the ways we worship God. However you are under no obligation
to join in the singing.
In between the hymns there are readings, and a sermon by the preacher, which
hopefully puts the message across in a way we can understand.
Will I be asked for money?
We do pass around a collection plate during the service, but don't
feel pressured to put anything in. You won't be the only one passing
the plate on without putting anything in. Some regular members choose
to pay direct from their bank accounts. Some people put their money in
an envelope so that the church can claim gift aid on their
contribution. For every £1 given, the Government will pay an additional
£0.28, from the taxes paid by that person.
After the service, you can sit in your seat and take a moment in
silence, or say a prayer. Then tea and coffee is served in the Wesley
Centre as a time of fellowship where we can meet, swap news, have a
chat with friends. This can be daunting if you are new, people will
want to chat to you, find out who you are and ensure you feel welcomed.
If you don’t want tea and chat please feel free to leave after the
service.
Of course, it doesn't stop there....
There may be other community activities or one-off events happening
during the week, we always have something going on in the church
and The Wesley
Centre, (community centre for Almondbury) from Open
House (our luncheon club), concerts, and Zumba to Time
Out Tinies (TOTS), coffee
mornings and our famous pantomimes. These are just a few examples
of what we do in our community.
Have a look at some of the other pages on our website, such as 'The
Wesley Centre For The Community', 'Things we've done', 'Coming
Soon', and 'This Week's Diary' to find out more.
We hope to see you soon.
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Check This Week's Diary
for further details
Sunday Worship 10.30am
The Wesley Centre
Friendly Club
Open House
Almondbury TOTS
Zumba
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