Reepham Benefice

The term “All Age Worship” at first might seem a little misleading. It suggests that this is the only form of worship that we offer that is open to everyone from 1 week old to 100 years! Actually ALL worship is available to every person, whatever their age, but this form of worship is unique in allowing everyone the freedom to worship in a more informal way.

During Lent 2008, the people of the Reepham Benefice looked at how our worship might be more accessible to people of all ages. Using the lent course provided by the Family Friendly Churches Trust we decided to re-vamp our old family service to make it more accessible to those who might be coming to Church after a long gap, or even for the first time. The emphasis was on having a moving and fun experience where both young and old alike were able to interact with the worship offered , and where others became involved in the worship in ways that were more than simply sitting in the pews.

The worship is led by our music group who offer a mix of traditional and contemporary worship songs, projected onto a screen which gives the congregation the freedom to raise their hands, or clap , dance, or whatever they feel moved to do. After a short time of remembering our faults and asking God for his forgiveness, we listen to a Bible story either directly from the Scriptures or acted out in the form of a short play. we then have the opportunity to think about what the Bible says to us. This part of the service takes many forms, and often includes both interaction with the gathered congregation, and the opportunity for people to do something, rather than simply sit and listen.

Another important feature of this service is the welcoming of those who have recently been baptised, who along with their parents come and receive their Baptism certificate and are welcomed as new Church members.

The last part of the service is our prayer time, which might be a group of children offering up prayers, or the placing of seeds or leaves in a basket, we try to make every prayer time different, and use a variety of different ways for prayer. For instance, on “Holy Cross Day” 2008, whilst the Rector and a group of Children constructed a cross out of pieces of wood found in the Rectory garden, the congregation wrote their own prayers and then came forward to nail them to the cross. This cross and its prayers, which continue to grow, is to be found at the back of Reepham St. Mary’s.

The whole service ends with a song of praise, and we then invite everyone for coffee in St. Michael's Church. Of course for those who haven’t yet reached the age of coffee drinking there is squash and biscuits!