UK #2: Worship at Saint Mary's Longfleet

I am sorry I haven't posted much.  I have not had a lot of internet access, particularly on my tablet.  I expect to have more for the rest of the trip.  I have lots of ideas of things to write!

Outside of SML

In this first week, I spent a lot of time in one place and with one church community, St. Mary's Longfleet Church of England in Poole.  This is my friend J's church.  The wedding was here, with lots of people from their church.  I stayed with a friend of J's who also goes to this church.  I also met with a couple of their staff members.

As is typical in the Church of England, there has been a church on the site for hundreds of years.  In the last 20 years or so, this church has been revitalized.  It is part of the charismatic/new wine stream of the Church of England.  They have three services a Sunday, with vibrant activities and fellowship.  It is probably not as well-known as some of the other churches I will visit on this trip, but it was a blessing to get to know a more ordinary church.  I worshipped at all three services Sunday in order to get the flavor of each.  The next couple of Sundays I will probably go to a couple churches each day, so this was my opportunity to just stick with one church.

The 9am service is their traditional service.  It was the smallest of the three--maybe 100-150 people.  Most of them were in the 50+ category, although there were a few kids and other young people.  They used a traditional prayerbook service, although they had a self-contained service printed so you didn't have to flip from place to place in the prayerbook, and it was all projected as well.  The components and order of service were very similar to COS, including communion.  The music was contemporary and led by a band.  It was the least expressive service of the three, but it was heartfelt.  People clearly enjoyed being other to worship and fellowship together.

Worshiping at the Evening Service

The second service is at 10:45am and it is the family service.  There is a nursery and children's and youth activities at this service, so most families attend it, but there was a nice mix of people and generations.  The kids worship with the adults for the first part of the service, and then after a "children's song" that everyone sings, they go to the church center across the street for their classes.  The sermon is the same at these two services, although it was called a "talk" at the second service.  The liturgy was less formal, but it still moved through most of the components, except for communion.

Coffee, tea, and fellowship after the evening service

The third service is in the evening.  It is the most contemporary and least formal.  It is focused towards 20 and 30 something's, but there were also a few families and middle aged folks.  For most people, this is the only service they attend, not a second service.  It was refreshing to be at an evening service with lots of other young people!  I really appreciated contemporary worship in a historic space.  Even though the songs were new, the space reminded us that our faith is not new, but an ancient faith.  It is a very different feel than contemporary worship in a generic auditorium style space.  This service bordered into slightly more charismatic worship.  There was no speaking in tongues, but when the pastor led a time of prayer after the sermon, he was more prophetic.  Personally, this was my least favorite worship style, but the service where I heard God speak to me the clearest.  That is a good reminder that it isn't all about what we like or think is best--our God is a God of surprises!

SML is also doing cool things in the community that I will write about another time.  I am really thankful to have been able to meet them and worship with them, and I pray God blesses their ministry.

For some other pictures Of things I've been doing, see my Facebook album.