Surely you must understandWorshipping God is at the centre of our life together. As we draw closer to Christ in our worship, we are drawn closer in our fellowship with each other. Through our services we seek to reflect our varied backgrounds and wide age range. The music is led by singers, organ, piano and a small group of musicians. Sometimes services offer opportunities for quiet and reflection. On other occasions there is more active participation.

Services take place in our upstairs worship area where there is a carpeted central space. This enables us to be creative, using this space in a wide variety of ways including the use of drama and dance and other visual illustrations—even for puppets. Music at St. Matthew'sOnce a month we have a service designed for all age groups to be together. At other times the young people have their own activities downstairs.

Although hard to characterise, the word that comes to mind when describing services at St. Matthew's is “intimate.” The circular arrangement encourages even 200 people to feel united in worship. At evening services, when numbers are smaller, the central circle is drawn in to encourage this oneness.

Leading from the wordServices are based on the liturgy of {Off Site]Common Worship. Holy Communion is celebrated weekly alternating with Morning or Evening Prayer. At present the evening service is following a pattern with the 1st Sunday of the month devoted to teaching; the second, a communion service with a global focus; the third a café style service with refreshments in the informal atmosphere of our downstairs hall; and the fourth Sunday has a quiet healing service with Communion. Receiving Communion “in the round” is a tremendous illustration, in itself, of the togetherness of the community of Christ here.