Services
Worship at St Paul's Church, Langleybury in the Diocese of St Albans
Every Sunday
- 8.00 am The Holy Eucharist (alternates between BCP and CW)
- 10.00 am The Holy Eucharist.
- Other services as announced
Which Service?
We currently have two services every Sunday. One at 8.00 am and one at 10.00am. We hope to be able to re start our 6.30pm Services once we have appointed a new incumbent.
Our service at 8.00am is always a Holy Communion. It is a quiet service without music. On the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month this will be from the Book of Common Prayer (the traditional 1662 prayer book). The other Sundays, the service is in contemporary language from Common Worship (CW).
At 10.00am we have our main service. This is the one generally attended by more of our congregation especially families. It is either CW Holy Communion (1st and 3rd and 4th Sunday of the month), All Age Holy Communion (2nd and 5th Sunday).
Once restarted, our 6.30pm service will be a said Evening Prayer, except on the 4th Sunday of the month when we have Choral Evensong (Book of Common Prayer) with Holy Communion, and on the 5th Sunday of the month when we have an Evening Service with Prayers for Healing and Reconciliation.
We also have a Family Worship Baptism Service most months at 4.00 pm (2nd Sunday of the month) although occasionally this is incorporated into the main 10am Service if the family so wishes.
This service pattern (but not the times) may occasionally be changed for seasonal reasons or for special occasions.
What are these Services?
Holy Communion (known also as ‘The Eucharist' , ‘The Lord's Supper', or ‘Mass') is a service of hymns, readings and prayers that lead up to a sharing of bread and wine, which Jesus told us symbolised his body and blood, and through which we connect with his gift to us of himself, spelled out in at the last supper.
The All Age Eucharist is as above, but with a more interactive style and aims at allowing people of all ages to participate fully.
Family Worship is an informal service from our own locally produced Worship Book. Again the children are fully involved during this service.
Evening Prayer is a short, quiet, said service from the Common Worship Book in contemporary language.
Evensong is from the Book of Common Prayer, in traditional language and with a full choral setting.
Most services includes a sermon (or talk) lasting usually between 5 and 10 minutes. At the morning services the bible readings can be found on the pew leaflet for that Sunday.
Advent and Lent
During the 4 weeks before Christmas (Advent) and the 6 weeks before Easter (Lent), the services are generally a bit quieter and more reflective as we prepare ourselves for the great festivals of Christmas and Easter.
At these times some parts of the service which are usually sung are said instead.
Christmas and Easter
Our main service on these days is either All Age Eucharist or Family Worship.
Special Events
Carol Services : one on Advent Sunday (4 weeks before Christmas), the other on the Sunday before Christmas - both at 6.30pm.
Christingle : a service for the children with candles. This is usually on the 2" d Sunday in December at 10.00am
St Paul : our Church's special day. We celebrate our dedication as a Church on the 4"' Sunday in January (the nearest Sunday to the commemoration of the Conversion of St Paul).
Mothering Sunday : a special service to celebrate our mothers and our Mother Church. This is 3 weeks before Easter, at 10.00am
Palm Sunday : the Sunday before Easter. We all gather in the village to receive palm crosses and then process across to the Church.
Holy Week : during the week before Easter, there are several services to prepare ourselves for this great festival.
Rogation Sunday : usually the 2nd Sunday in May in the afternoon. We take the service out of doors and include a parish walk to ask God's blessing on the world and everything growing.
Pentecost (Whit Sunday): we celebrate the birth of the Church with the coming of the Holy Spirit. This falls 7 weeks after Easter, with Holy Communion at 10.00am
Harvest: generally the last Sunday in September, at 10.00am. This is a chance to thank God for all the good things we enjoy.
Remembrance: the 2nd Sunday in November at 10.00am. We remember those who have suffered through war, and pray for peace.
Further Information
If you would like up-to-date information either about our services generally, or what is happening during the current week, please check the Notice Board in the Church Porch, our Parish Magazine, or contact the Churchwarden on telephone 07962 441007.