OUR SERVICES

We offer a range of different styles of meeting together, both contemporary and traditional. Whatever the style, from informal café style to more formal prayer book based services, we believe that when we gather together God really does meet with us and speak to us. When we meet our services run for about one hour. You're more than welcome just to sit and watch – but we think you'll enjoy it more if you try it on and join in! This section is designed to introduce when and where we meet, and how our relationship with God is expressed in our services.

Note that we also often meet during the week with activities for children, youth, adults and families to learn more about God's love and build our community.

Service Times & Locations

Our weekly services are:

6:00pm Saturday 8:45am Sunday 10:00am Sunday Begins with morning tea and includes a children's program.	St James, 460 Elizabeth St, New Town
9:30am Sunday	St John, 14 St John's Ave, New Town

Every couple of months all the members of New Town and Lenah Valley Anglican meet together at one centre to celebrate our relationship with each other as one community.

Service Styles

Although our services vary in style there are common elements which are expressed in different ways when we meet together:

We believe God’s words in the Bible were written for us. We study their meaning and how they can change our lives today.
We celebrate our relationship with God with music and songs.
We pray for the needs of God’s world and about ways we can respond to these needs.
We love Jesus and are grateful that he gave his life for us to renew our relationship with God. We welcome people into this new relationship in a ritual called baptism.
Another way we celebrate Jesus’ gift is by sharing a meal of bread and wine together. The bread and the wine are signs of Jesus’ death on the cross for our forgiveness – his broken body and his blood poured out for us. This meal is called the Lord’s Supper (or Holy Communion) and is regularly shared as part of our services.

In our contemporary style services (10.00am Sunday @ St James) prayers and song lyrics are projected onto the screen at the front of the building. Although contemporary in style these services include many traditional prayers.

More traditional services (6.00pm Saturday and 8:45am Sunday @
St James & 9.30am Sunday @ St John’s) are based on A Prayer Book for Australia and other traditional forms of Anglican service.

Some services include both traditional Anglican prayers and modern prayers, such as prayers developed in the Scottish Iona Community.

During services, some of our members find it personally helpful to follow customs like sitting or kneeling to pray, or standing while singing. But not all members follow all these customs and you are not expected to. From time to time during our services a leader may invite everyone to sit or stand together. Please feel free to join in or to do whatever (sit, stand, kneel, clap, laugh, cry . . .) helps you to feel comfortable and draw near to God.

Baptisms, Weddings & Funerals

If you are enquiring about baptism (for adults and children), weddings or funerals go to the About You section. To meet with one of our leaders please contact us.