Worship at LMC
Worship on a Sunday
We have been told that newcomers feel welcome and comfortable at LMC. We hope that will be your experience too!
As you come through our doors into the Welcome Area - which doubles as Wesley’s Café on weekdays - Stewards welcome you, give you information and show you through to the Worship Area. You are free to sit where you like.
The 9.00am service has a quiet atmosphere, particularly at the monthly Prayer Service which gives space and time for reflection and meditation. Two of the 9.00 am services celebrate Holy Communion usually led by the Minister, Tony Morling The remaining service can be led by a minister, a local (lay) preacher or worship leader/s. There is often quite a bit of interaction in some of these services but there is no pressure to speak.
The 10.30 am service is much noisier! Before service people are chatting with each other, catching up on the week and the organ or piano will be playing. The technical people will be checking sound and organizing the projection of song/hymn words and there’s a general “buzz of expectancy.” Similar to the 9.00am service, the leader and/or preacher could be the Minister or a local preacher and he or she will enter the church with a steward who welcomes everyone and bring particular notices to the attention of the congregation.
Then the service gets underway and we do like a good sing! All the words are projected onto a screen and usually we stand – although you don’t have to! Some of our Worship Leaders may also take part in the services – one of them sings beautifully and sometimes teaches us new songs.
Our church has thriving children’s work (called Roots). The young ones are in the service for the first 15 minutes before they leave for their own worship sessions. Often the children and young people will take part in this first 15 minutes and everyone enjoys the story – particularly the adults!
There is a crèche in the Welcome Area for babies and toddlers up to 3 years of age and Mums can stay with them if they wish or entrust them to the capable hands of our crèche leaders. Toddlers also have their own Toddler Church on Tuesday at 10am in the church, in term time.
Holy Communion is celebrated once a month at the 10.30 service. This is very special. Everyone is invited to share in the bread and wine (non-alcoholic). Communion reminds us of the last meal that Jesus shared with his friends and also symbolise Jesus’ body and blood when he died on the cross.
If you are a child at heart, you will love our All Age Worship services – called “Breakout!” In these services, everyone is given the choice of various activities to do for some of the time (including staying in the church and listening to a sermon). Some of the sorts of things we have done are – watching a DVD and discussing it; making a collage on the theme of the service; baking bread; and painting. Great stuff!
You may not know that we usually take a “collection” in the service – like any average family, the church family has to pay the bills, give to charity, make repairs, decorate and pay staff. So we give what we can each week – but don’t feel you have to participate – we are more interested in you as a person than in your money!
It’s not easy to pinpoint exactly what worship is like at LMC because it’s different every week – the individual personality of the leader/preacher has a bearing on how the worship flows and, of course, we believe that God is there too influencing our thoughts and helping us to worship.
Worship is a very happy time, although that’s not to say that we aren’t challenged and encouraged to think through certain issues – political, spiritual, emotional, intellectual. There is something for everyone but it is not entertainment – we are here to worship God and to bring the whole of ourselves – heart, mind, spirit.
After worship there are always refreshments with plenty of time to chat with friend old and new.
Occasional Services
These usually take place on a Sunday evening but sometimes on a Saturday or week-night. They are called “Out of the Box” because they differ from the usual 10.30 Sunday service and give an opportunity to explore faith through different media – such as film, art, drama, dance, nature, and pilgrimage.
We have been fortunate to have shared “Out of the Box” with Springs Dance Company and Riding Lights Theatre Company. We have also presented our own “home grown” services on the Psalms, reflected on a trip to the island of Iona and celebrated God’s creation in the open air.
Café Worship, as the name suggests, often takes place in Wesley’s Café at LMC and sometimes at Costa Coffee on Loughton High Road where inspiring and challenging DVDs have provoked discussion.
It has also been great to share these times with friends from other churches in the town.
