Welcome

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So, you’ve been thinking about coming along on a Sunday morning but you have absolutely no idea what goes on here.  It takes a lot of guts to cross the threshold when you have no clue what you might find on the other side.  Here’s a bunch of frequently asked questions that you might find helpful:

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What happens in the service?

We often have two services on a Sunday.  Every Sunday we have one at 11.00am.  It normally lasts for 80-90 mins. We’ll start with a welcome and some notices and then we have a band lead some singing. Also, there'll be a talk, some prayers, something read from the Bible, and sometimes, communion - when we take bread and wine to remember what Jesus did for us - but you can just let this pass you by if you want to. The style is informal and down to earth.  Separate children and youth groups run for part of the service.

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On the first and third Sundays of the month we also have a service at 9.30am.  This lasts for a bit less than an hour.  We sing songs from a hymn book (led from the piano) interspersed with readings, prayers, and a slightly shorter sermon.  On the first Sunday of the month we share in communion.

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do I need to dress up to come to a service?

No, you most certainly don't. Just come as you are, unless of course you want to dress up!

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Will people be friendly?

Yes, we hope so!  In fact one of the things people most often say when they come to CCC for the first time is just how warm and friendly it is and how welcome they were made to feel. If you want to make new friends CCC is a good place to find them.

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Do I have to join in with singing/praying etc?

No, you don’t have to do anything.  It’s fine to just come and observe. However, most people do find themselves drawn into the singing - music can be powerful stuff-eh! The songs are all pretty simple with easy to pick up melodies.  You can stand up or sit down or even dance if you want to!

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I'm not sure what I believe, is it suitable for me?

Well, first off, you won’t be the only one here who isn’t sure about this stuff - in fact, some of the most interesting people here are the ones who realise they don’t have it all figured out.  What we do on a Sunday is overtly Christian - this is a church worship service after all.  But we’ve found that people from other faiths and none often find stuff of real value here.  Wherever you are on your journey you are very welcome here.  We hope you’ll find something useful here too.

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What about this talk/sermon thing, what's the point of that?

The talk is based on a reading from the Bible.  We’ve found that as we read the Bible we are consistently challenged/encouraged/surprised/comforted by what we find there.  In fact some would say that spending time with these words helps them feel more closely connected to God. The Sunday morning talk is really a way for us to read a passage slowly and make connections between it and our day to day lives. It might seem a funny idea, giving our attention to an ancient text.  The best thing is just to come with an open mind and open heart and see how it feels to you.

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Will I find the service very long and boring and irrelevant?

Well, possibly.  There are many people here on a Sunday from many different backgrounds and with a big spread of ages too.  Some people will like some bits of the service more than other bits - and others might really like those things they didn’t enjoy.  Our service isn’t supposed to be a well crafted variety show or anything like that.  It’s more like a celebration of all the people who have made CCC their spiritual home and it’s a recognition of the ways we’ve found God at work among us.  Most people are pleasantly surprised how enjoyable the service is when they first come.  As you get to know more and more of the other people in the church it becomes more meaningful still.

 

What's all of this got to do with God?

Well, our experience is that he seems to show up on Sunday mornings (and other times and places too).  Sometimes it’s just a little something that someone says, or the way in which our spirits are lifted as we pray and sing, or a peaceful feeling that we didn’t have when we came in, or maybe one of those funny coincidences when it feels like a whole bunch of things happen on a Sunday morning that answer the question you were wrestling with all week.  Every Sunday we pray that somewhere, somehow in our service everyone who comes would feel moved closer to God.  We think it’s a good prayer to pray.