Reepham Benefice
Spiritual Enrichment in a Reflective Atmosphere
“Here in the Reepham benefice, we try to incorporate as many different
styles into our worshipping life as possible, both formal and informal,
contemporary and traditional, ceremonial and free. ”
For many people coming to a church service for the first time, or after a break of months or even years, it can be both a moving, but also a daunting experience. People often worry about where to sit, what books to use, when to stand , when to sit, and even what cloths to wear ! Our Answer to all these questions, is just come! Each of our Churches has someone to welcome you, and to give you the everything you need to join with us. We welcome you , whoever you are and wherever you are on your journey in faith to come with us and experience what we do when we meet together. The only expectation that we hope that you will share with us is that through our worship you will have an encounter with God.
Christian worship is basically the way in which people respond to God’s love for us. At the heart Christian teaching is the fact that God loves each one of us so much , that he sent his Son, Jesus, to die for us that we can have new life in abundance. This is what Christians call “Good News”! Indeed that news is so good, that Christians want to constantly thank God for this. We do this by the singing of special songs, which we often call Hymns or Psalms, and by telling him how grateful we are in our prayers. We want to be reminded of that Good News, and to understand more fully what that means in our lives, so we read and listen to the words of the Bible, and in most of our services these words are explained more fully by one of our Ministers in what we call a sermon or talk. Because we know how good this news is, we have a care and concern for others who despite this news are struggling in life, or live in places where life is tough, and we bring these people and places to God in our prayers. At the very heart of this response is the sharing of a special meal, rather like the meal that Jesus shared with his disciples on the day before he died. This meal is incorporated into many of our gatherings and is called by a number of different names, Mass, The Eucharist, Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper. Despite the different names this response to the Good News is the way in which Christians believe we are spiritually fed, and where we receive and meet with Jesus most poignantly.
There is a phrase in Norfolk that “we do different”! Actually every Church does different! No two Churches are the same in the way they worship. Some churches are very formal and use services that go back to the 17th century, some only use modern worship styles. Some churches have lots of people involved in their services and have lots of colour, and ceremony, with incense and bells, others have very few people and almost no ceremony at all. Some use books, and follow strict service orders, others might use modern projection equipment or have no set pattern at all......the list is endless. Many churches, however settle with a particular style of Christian worship, but we do different. We are very aware that we are all different and what speaks to one person in relation to their response to that Good News might not work for another person. So, here in the Reepham benefice, we try to incorporate as many different styles into our worshipping life as possible, both formal and informal, contemporary and traditional, ceremonial and free. People often ask us how we might describe our worship. Is it traditional? Is it contemporary? Would we describe our worship as catholic in tradition, or evangelical?
We hope that our worship is all of these, and more !
On some occasions we wear Eucharistic Vestments (special robes worn by the priest at Holy Communion), on other occasions the clergy wear no robes at all. On some occasions we use a variety of symbolism, on other occasions we have virtually none at all. On some occasions our choice of Hymns and songs is utterly contemporary, on others the great Hymns of the past are used. On some occasions our worship may appear “catholic” in style, on others “evangelical”
On other occasions....you might find a whole mix of the above and more besides!
We try to have services almost every day of the year in the Benefice, but at the heart of our worship is our remembrance of Jesus death and Resurrection . In our churches we call this celebration, Holy Communion.
Holy Communion is celebrated every Sunday throughout the year at one or more churches in the benefice. Some of these celebrations are said , without any hymns, some have a short “thought for the day” based on the Bible readings. At other times Holy Communion is accompanied by the singing of hymns and some parts of the service, and with a longer sermon. We use both the traditional “Book of Common Prayer” words and the modern forms of service. We even have a family communion service on occasion during which we try to involve the children.
In Reepham there is also a regular midweek celebration of Holy Communion, normally on a Wednesday. Sometimes this also take place on a Saint’s day or another important festival.
We also have a new style of Communion service on occasion that enables everyone present to play a part, and incorporates the use of water and incense.
Alongside these services of Holy Communion, we meet to worship in a variety of other ways, both regularly and less frequently. Our regular services include:
- Matins: a traditional service taken from the prayer book published in 1662. This is sometimes called Morning Prayer.
- Evensong: a traditional service taken from the prayer book published in 1662. This is sometimes called Evening Prayer.
- All Age worship: A contemporary form of worship which is fun, interactive and includes the singing of contemporary worship songs led by our music group.
- Godly Play: A contemporary way of telling the stories of the Bible for young Children.
- Morning Prayer: A modern form of Matins
- Taizé: A form of worship styled on the worship of the Taizé Community.
- Celtic Prayer: A style of worship drawn from the Celtic tradition
- Praise and Worship: An adult focused form of worship with a charismatic feel.
- Songs of Praise: An opportunity to sing a number of Hymns both old and new
Plus many more !
If you want to know more about our worship life, we have provided a link below to our regular worship times. Please also check out the “What’s on” pages for details of other worship dates and times which are updated regularly. We warmly invite you to come and join us and meet with the giver of that Good News!
