About half of the services in the benefice are lay-led, by lay readers, church wardens or lay worship assistants. Several people from the congregation contribute to these services by doing a reading, leading prayers or giving a reflection or short talk. These are usually services of morning worship which take slightly different forms depending on whether the preference is for a more traditional liturgy or something more informal.
Raddington church prefers traditional services and has Matins from the Book of Common Prayer in the winter and Evensong in the summer. Other churches use a more modern form of Morning Prayer from the Book of Common Worship. Morning worship at St Andrew’s features a variety of liturgies to make services more accessible to those unfamiliar with formal church services.
The family-friendly Celebration service at St Andrew’s is preceded by bacon butties and coffee at 9.30am. The service is designed to be accessible to all and features a drama or video in place of a reading. We celebrate the good things that God has been doing in our lives. There is contemporary worship led with a guitar and there is always an action song for everyone to join in. During the break the children go to the tower room for craft activities and the adults can refill their coffees and discuss questions set out on tables. There is a short talk and discussion, followed by prayers and then the children return to show us what they have made.
Sunday@6 is a very small, informal service featuring contemporary worship, Bible-based discussion and a time of sharing and prayer. It provides opportunity to support individuals on a personal level.