Services at St. James's Church

The Parish Church of St James St. James's Road, Hampton Hill, TW12 1DQ (Parish Office 020 8941 6003)

WORSHIP AND SERVICES Services at St. James's \| Parish Communion at St. James's \| All-age Communion at St. James's \| Sunday Readings \| Pew Sheet \| Sermons \| The Christian Year and other Special Days \| Rites of Passage \| Worship

Various services take place every week/month at St. James's. There are regular Sunday Services and also many other services, some of which take place regularly every week or every month and some just occasionally - see the chart below for details. They are all entered into our on-line church Calendar/Diary.

Regular Weekly/Monthly Services
Sunday	08.00 09.30	Holy Communion Parish Communion or, first in the month, All-age Service (followed each Sunday by coffee/tea)
Monday	09.15	Morning Prayer
Tuesday	09.30	Holy Communion
Wednesday	07.00 09.15	Commuter Communion (first Wednesday in the month ) Morning Prayer
Thursday	09.15 14.00	Morning Prayer Holy Communion on the first Thursday in the month (followed by a cup of tea)
Friday	09.15	Morning Prayer

Our most important service or celebration has several names: Holy Communion, the Lord's Supper, Eucharist, Mass and the Divine Liturgy. Holy Communion means fellowship and sharing; the Lord's Supper means a meal given by Jesus himself; Eucharist means thanksgiving. It is our most important service as it celebrates the death and resurrection of Jesus, particularly remembering the Last Supper when we share the bread and wine as Jesus did with his disciples. Jesus was the host at the Last Supper and we believe he is the unseen host at the Holy Communion service today with the congregation as his guests. Have a look at what is used during a communion service on the page Church Plate

In the Church of England the Holy Communion may only be celebrated by an ordained bishop or priest, when he/she is called the celebrant. It is customary to have been confirmed by a bishop before receiving communion. Children who are too young to take communion and those who are not confirmed are invited to receive a blessing at the altar instead.

Sunday Services

Holy or Parish Communion

Holy or Parish Communion
Every Sunday at 08.00 there is Holy Communion and at 09.30 Parish Communion, or an All-age Service on the first Sunday of the month. Both types of 9.30 service are followed by coffee/tea in the church hall. Holy or Parish Communion is our most important service.

If you want to look at the readings before or after these services, you can find their details on our page Readings for the Weekly Services. The weekly Pewsheet includes details of services and events for the forthcoming week, general notices, contact phone numbers and e-mail addresses and, on the inside, has the Collect for the day and the full text of the Old and New Testament readings and the Gospel. When you come to a service at St. James's Church you will be given a booklet which will enable you to share fully in the service.

Follow the Parish Communion Service, find out what it all means and see the photographs that show what happens during the service on our pages Parish Communion. Or download the actual Parish Communion Service Booklet for Holy Communion in Ordinary Time.

Communion service

All-age Service
On the first Sunday of every month we have an All-age Service. This is usually an All-age Communion Service which includes communion but may be an Informal Service which does not. Both services are especially aimed at family groups and younger members of our congregation and there is generally a theme involving activities for the younger members (and the not so young!)

These services normally include a uniformed parade of Guides, Brownies, Venture Scouts, Scouts, Cubs and Beavers. Sometimes members of these groups act as sidespersons, read lessons, say prayers, assist with parish breakfast, perform short plays and so on during the Service. The St. James's Players orchestra accompanies the hymns and other sung parts of the service, and plays during communion and after the service.

Follow the All-age Communion Service, find out what it all means and see the photographs that show what happens during the service on our pages All-age Communion. Or download the actual All-age Communion Service Booklet.

Activities at the All Age Services

All Age Service

Other Services

Other Regular Holy Communion Services
On Tuesday mornings there is Holy Communion at 09.30.
On the first Wednesday of the month at 07.00 there is a Commuters’ Communion.
On the first Thursday of the month there is Holy Communion at 14.00, followed by tea in the Church Hall. This service is particularly popular with those whose mobility is limited and many are provided with lifts.

Morning Prayer is held on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday mornings at 09.15. It is a spoken service in which members of the congregation participate and includes prayer, psalms and bible readings, often preceded by a short talk about the saint or martyr of the day. Celebrating Common Prayer is the form of service used.

Special Services are held on Principal Feasts and other Principal Holy Days and also special occasions, such as Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Day, Ascension Day, Patronal Festival (July), All Souls, Christmas Carol Service, Christmas Eve Crib Service, Christmas Eve Midnight Mass and Christmas Day, with occasional services such as a Service of Music for Ascension, Pentecost and Trinity and the Presentation of Christ in the Temple (Candlemas). All these special festivals are recognised with different services appropriate to the occasion.

Other services are held and assemblies led in local schools, particularly Hampton Hill Junior School, The Lady Eleanor Holles School and Bishop Wand School. A number of schools use the church for their services. There is a regular commitment to Laurel Dene and to Marling Court, local care homes for the elderly, and regular services are taken there.

Sung Evensong is an occasional service sung for festivals and special occasions.

Compline is said each Sunday in Lent at 20.00, and every evening in Holy Week up to Maundy Thursday. The lighting of new fire is observed on the evening of Easter Saturday, prior to the celebrations of Easter Day.

Historical Background to St. James's Church Services
The pattern of services at St. James's, as in most other anglican churches, evolved over the years due to local considerations, to developments in the Church of England and to the changing social climate. A major concern throughout was to try to maintain accessibility and appeal by experimenting with different forms of services and the times they were held. A major change to the main Sunday morning service was the introduction of Parish Communion in the 1960s which aimed to encourage a greater participation in the act of worship by the congregation. The main trend has been a reduction in the number of services as the number of regular church-goers has decreased over the years in order to provide the most meaningful experiences of shared worship as possible.

For a detailed account of the historical background to St. James's Church Services, read the page The History of Services at St. James's Church.

Further Information
	Contact the Parish Office on 020 8941 6003 or the The Vicar on 020 8979 2069
	Associated pages on this website: Services at St. James's (for youngsters in the Young St. James's section of the website) \| Holy Communion \| Parish Communion at St. James's \| All Age Communion at St. James's \| Readings for the Weekly Sunday Services \| The History of Services at St. James's Church Through the Years: Churchings (1885 January) \| Children’s Services (1910 January) \| The Centenary Year (1963 October) \| The Centenary (1964) \| Further Ideas About Series 2 (1969 October) \| Our Church Services (1990 March) \| The New Lectionary (1997 November) \| Common Worship Communion Services (2000 December) \| Hymns in Church
	Links to other websites: Common Worship

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