top of page

Worship

Service Times

You are welcome to join us for Worship each Sunday from 10.45am until 12 noon,

followed by refreshments in the Church hall.

Our usual pattern of services for each week:

1st Sunday – 10.45am Morning Worship with Communion

2nd Sunday – 10.45am Morning Worship
                           - 4.00pm Messy Church 


3rd Sunday – 10.45 am Morning Worship with communion

                         
4th Sunday – 10.45am Morning Worship

COGS (Children Of God on Sunday)

COGS is our school aged children's group who meet alongside the Sunday morning Worship. They are with the adults at the beginning of Worship, then move to another location to study the days theme at a level suitable for their age. They rejoin the service and either share their thoughts or share communion with the adults.

Crèche. (0-3)

For the very junior tots who remain in Church we have fun distractions, in a special area. These include paper activities, crayons, toys and books.  Please feel free to bring with you anything (such as a favourite book, quiet toy, food or drink) which will help your child feel settled. 

 

MESSY CHURCH

Crafts, Fun and Fellowship for all the family. Refreshments served after crafts and worship time. 

 

 

We have two easily accessible baby changing facilities. One situated in the church and the other situated in our church halls.

 

Accessibility

We have a range of facilities at Abbots Road URC to ensure that people with all levels of physical abilities can access our buildings and play an active role in worship and church life.

 

Currently, our facilities include:

 

       ▪ Car parking at the side of the building on ground floor level.

       ▪ Ramp and level access to all entrances to the building.

       ▪ Wheelchair-accessible toilets in the main Church Porch and Laburnam room hall porch.

       ▪ Hearing aid loop system within the church and main church hall

       ▪ Large print hymn books and song sheets, and large print welcome/ notice sheets for our main services.

 

Baby changing facility.

There are two baby changing facilities, one situated in the church porch and the other situated in our Laburnum room entrance.

Welcome to Worship leaflet

Abbots Road United Reformed Church has a Church secretary who works hard to produce our weekly Church Welcome to Worship leaflet.  The leaflet is free to all members and visitors and can be delivered to the housebound if requested.

 

The leaflet contains information to inform individuals about:

 

       ▪ Bible Readings, reflection and prayer for the theme of the day/week.

       ▪ Our Church weekly activities for that week.

       ▪ Forthcoming events.

Music

We recognise the importance of music in worship and seek to reflect a variety of styles. 

 

We have a fine piped organ and benefit from the talents of a team of organists. 

We have a Worship Song Group, who are accompanied by the organ or a keyboard.

 

Although we regularly use Mission Praise and Rejoice and Sing, we are not limited to any particular hymn or song book. We sometimes use a computerised system to display the words of the hymns/songs we are singing onto two large screens at the front of church. In addition we have an excellent PA system.

Prayer

Abbots Road URC has participated in many of the National URC's programme which has provided opportunities to refresh our prayer life both as a Church and individuals.

 

We sustain our prayer life at Abbots Road in a variety of ways as follows:

       ▪ prayer as part of our worship.

       ▪ occasionally time for open prayer as part of worship.

       ▪ by using the Prayer section of our Welcome to Worship leaflet.

       ▪ our Prayer Chain which offers prayer for all needs and situations.

       ▪ Prayers for pastoral needs of the congregation and wider community form an important part of the Elders meetings and Church meetings.

 

The Prayer on our Welcome to Worship leaflet,

       ▪ our Prayer Book is situated at the entrance to the main Church doors. People are entitled to write requests for prayers in this book. These will then appear on our Welcome to Worship leaflet allowing individuals or the whole Church to pray for the particular concern.

       ▪ It is open to all to remember to include those individuals,  or families with situations of concern in their own private prayers.

       ▪ if you do not wish to make your prayer request widely known then individual prayers can be offered by speaking to the Worship leader or one of the Elders.

 

If you wish to have a prayer included but are unable to attend church, please send your prayer request to the ‘contact us’ information on the ‘about us’ page on this website.

Prayer Chain

  • Our prayer chain consists of a group of people who are willing to pray for a individual, family or situation at anytime.

  • We communicate via 'whatsapp' or 'text' messaging service when a request is received, therefore we are able to pray immediately.

  • Anyone is welcome to request prayers by posting a message on our Contact Us Page.

Street Prayer leaflet,

       ▪ Each month we pray for a road or street in close proximite to Abbots Road. Leaflets are delivered to individual houses on the road or street of the month so prayer requests can be communicated. Anyone is welcome to post requests for prayers. These will then reach our prayer chain and appear on our Welcome to Worship leaflet allowing individuals or the whole Church to pray for the particular concern.

       ▪ It is open to all to remember and pray for those individuals,  or families with situations of concern

 

If you wish to have a prayer included but are unable to attend church, please send your prayer request to the ‘Contact Us’ information on the ‘about us’ page on this website.

 

All Age Worship

'Fifth Sunday Prayer and  Praise' led by our Worship Song Group is an All Age Worship service where we worship together as a whole Church family, as are other services such as Easter, Holiday Club, Harvest and Christmas.

Our Messy Church service on the second Sunday of each month is also All Age Worship.

 

 

Holy Communion

 At Abbots Road URC Communion is normally celebrated on the first and third Sunday of each month during the morning service. It is also an important part of specific festivals such as Maundy Thursday, Christmas eve etc.

 

Everyone is welcome to share the elements of bread and non-alcoholic wine. The children and young people are included in this part of the service and may partake of communion during the worship.

 

Baptism

 In common with the whole URC, we offer baptism for people of any age . We can also explore the options of a service of thanksgiving for the birth of a child and dedication of parents, or a service of renewal of an individual's baptismal promises. This is arranged with the minister, who will talk with parents or the individual concerned before seeking the agreement of the elders and Church meeting. We recognise the validity of baptism from all other mainstream Christian denominations.

 

We would normally expect that families concerned have a link to the congregation. If someone requests baptism for themselves, when they are already baptised, perhaps as an infant, we would explore with them a service of renewal of baptismal vows.

Infants Baptised or Dedicated at Abbots Road Church are added to our Cradle Roll.

 

 Weddings

Abbots Road Church provides a pleasant environment for a marriage service. 

 The number of weddings fluctuates with demand, but has never been greater than five or six in any one year. This allows for the service to be individually planned.

 

In the United Reformed Church, there is no bar to the remarriage of divorcees. The decision to marry a couple is left to the discretion of the minister, who will be happy to discuss plans at an early opportunity. 

Fees for weddings are in line with other local church venues.

 

 Funerals

 

Christian funerals can be arranged for families requesting such services. 

 

They may take place in the Church with a committal at the crematorium or graveside.

 

Alternatively, a full service at the crematorium may be requested. Fees in line with other local churches are charged for those with no connection to the congregation.

20180729_130018.jpg
20180729_125701.jpg
bottom of page