‘The Eucharist sums up in itself Christian worship, experience and theology in an amazing richness. It combines Word and Sacrament; its appeal is to spirit and sense; it brings together the sacrifice of Calvary and the presence of the risen Christ; it is communion with God and communion with man; it covers the whole gamut of religious moods and emotions…The Eucharist also gathers up the meaning of the Church; its whole action implies and sets forth our mutual interdependence in the body of Christ; it unites us with the Church of the past and even, through its paschal overtones, with the first people of God, as an anticipation of the heavenly banquet.’

--Professor John Macquarrie
(John Macquarrie, a Master of Theology)
WORSHIP ON SUNDAYS - please note that from September 2011 the service times have changed

(The main Sunday service is now at 10.30am and the Sunday evening services are at 5.30pm.)

  • 8.00 am – Holy Communion (at St Helen’s during the months of October, December, February, April, June, August; otherwise at St Nicolas’ in the Market Square)
  • 9.15 am – on the 2nd Sundays of the month: starting 9th October Morning Praise (short service)
  • 10.30 am – Sung Eucharist with Junior Church
  • 5.30 pm – Evening Service:
    1st Sunday – Simple Eucharist with hymns
    2nd Sunday – Taize worship
    3rd Sunday – Choral Evensong
    4th Sunday – Service for healing and wholeness
    5th Sunday – Sung Holy Communion from the Book of Common Prayer

    (Any changes to these patterns are found in the weekly Newsletter. For example there may be different service times on Remembrance Sunday in November.)
In faithfulness to Jesus’s command ‘Do this…’ the people of St Helen’s celebrate the Eucharist every Sunday.
The 8 am Communion is celebrated according to the 1662 Book of Common Prayer (slightly adapted) with readings according to the ecumenical three-year cycle. A short sermon is preached. The service takes about forty-five minutes.

The 10.30 am Sung Eucharist is the main service celebrated in contemporary language with full-robed choir according to Order One of Common Worship. Children and young people join in the service in different ways (see ‘Children & Young People’), and lay people play a full part as greeters, sidesmen, servers, lectors, intercessors and sacramental assistants. A sermon is always preached at this service, sometimes as part of a series including local and visiting clergy.

Refreshments and fellowship follow the service either in the Church Centre Hall or in the South Aisle of the church.

Choral Evensong (when scheduled) is offered according to the order for Evening Prayer of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer (slightly adapted). The service includes hymns, and Preces and an anthem sung by full choir. (For Sundays with Choral Evensong see the ‘Newsletter’ and ‘Special Services’.)

Evening Worship offers variety of form and style for those who cannot attend morning worship, or who wish to honour the Anglicanism’s strong tradition of Sunday evening devotion.

The Eucharist on the first Sunday is a simple service with hymns, and it includes laying-on of hands and anointing for healing for those who wish it. Two of the morning readings are used, and a short sermon is given. The service is about 45 minutes.

Taizé Worship on the second Sunday offers a relaxed, contemplative form of evening prayer with chants from the ecumenical community at Taizé, France, accompanied by instrumentalists. The service takes place in the South Aisle gathered around the ‘Taizé Cross’. A short address or spiritual reading is offered. The service is about 45 minutes.

Evensong is celebrated in the Choir of the church according to the Book of Common Prayer. Hymns are sung and usually the psalms and canticles too. A brief address is sometimes given. The service is about 40 minutes. NB on some Sundays the service is Choral Evensong at 4.30 pm as described above.

Celtic Worship in the South Aisle uses the basic structure of Evening Prayer in Common Worship simplified and with songs from the Iona Community. Songs and prayers take inspiration from the spiritual tradition of Celtic Christianity and from the concerns for social justice characteristic of the Iona Community. A short address or spiritual reading is offered. The service is about 40 minutes.

WORSHIP - MONDAYS THROUGH FRIDAYS

MORNINGS

Morning Prayer at 9.10 am – The Lady Chapel. Using the order for each season from Common Worship, this service lasts about twenty-five minutes. A hymn is usually sung and time of open prayer, silently or aloud, is included.

Wednesday Church at 10.30 am – The South Aisle. This simple celebration of Holy Communion using an adapted form of Common Worship’s traditional ‘Order Two’ includes a brief homily. It is followed by fellowship and refreshments in the South Aisle. Those who have become part of this weekday congregation enjoy the sense of togetherness enormously. This is an ideal way to share in worship and life at St Helen’s if you can’t make Sunday morning at 10 am but are free on Wednesday mornings.

EVENINGS

Evening Prayer at 5.10 pm – The Lady Chapel. Using an adapted short order from Common Worship, this service lasts about fifteen minutes. A hymn is often sung. This service includes intercessions for each member of St Helen’s congregation.

SPECIAL SERVICES

Consult the weekly Newsletter for notice about special weekday services.
© St Helen's Church, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK
The Church Office, St Helen’s Court, Abingdon OX14 5BS • 01235 520144 + administrator@sthelens-abingdon.org.uk