Saint Mary's

The Ancient Parish Church of Prittlewell

For many hundreds of years people have found their spiritual home at St Mary’s Church, and many more occasional visitors have found the peace of God in this holy place. The church building stands as a sign of God’s abiding presence in the midst of the local community. Members of the congregation seek to show forth the love of Christ through their lives lived out in the parish and beyond, as well as receiving spiritual nourishment and support from belonging to the Body of Christ in this place.

When is the Church open?  The church is open for worship every day of the week. The parish clergy say prayers every morning and evening (at 8.30am and 5.30pm) Monday – Saturday and are happy for others to join them. On Sundays there are three regular services at 8.00am, 9.30am and 6.30pm. There are also two other regular weekly services on Wednesday at 10.30am and Friday at 12.00noon. Details about these can be found below.

The church is usually open for visiting from Tuesday – Friday, 10.00am – 4.00pm. Apart from when services are happening, anyone is welcome to come in, look around, be quiet, pray, or light a candle. There is a steward on duty should visitors need any help or have any questions. Often in our busy and pressured lives it’s hard to find space for ourselves and for God to speak to us. St Mary’s hopes to provide opportunity for this

Which church service would be right for you?  St Mary’s worship is centred on the ancient and traditional pattern of the Eucharist and the Daily Offices. From time to time there are other special services and acts of worship. Every service is a public act of worship and open to all.
 

The Eucharist is the act of worship that Christians believe was instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper before his Crucifixion. In it, bread and wine are placed on the altar and God is asked in prayer that these fairly ordinary things may be for us the Body and Blood of Christ. When a Christian receives the bread and wine (communion, as it’s called), the belief is that God feeds us with his love and power and peace and strength, touching our human lives with his divine life. Anyone who has been confirmed or who receives communion regularly in any other church is welcome to receive communion at St Mary’s, otherwise everyone is invited to come to the altar and receive God’s blessing from the priest.

There are four celebrations of the Eucharist at St Mary’s in an ordinary week, with extra celebrations on festival days. On Wednesday at 10.30am and Friday at 12.00noon a Eucharist service without any hymns is celebrated, and this lasts for about half an hour. A similar service is held on Sunday morning at 8.00am: this is from the Book of Common Prayer and the sixteenth century language is rather more stately. This service, with a sermon, lasts for about forty-five minutes.

The main Eucharist of the week is at 9.30am on Sunday mornings, and last for around an hour and a quarter. This includes a number of hymns and other music, and has a much more lively feel to it. Once a month (usually the second Sunday of the month) there is a definite emphasis on the children and young people who are present, with music, hymns and other elements chosen accordingly. Often at this service the sermon is more interactive! Each Sunday there is a crèche for smaller children and there is also a group called ‘Christian Explorers’ for 4 – 11 year olds which meets in the Church Hall on Sundays (other than second Sundays when the children are encouraged to be part of the whole service in Church). This also starts at 9.30am, and the leaders are properly CRB checked.

The Daily Offices are acts of worship set for use in the morning and evening of each day. Passages from the Bible, prayers and other texts are used to help Christians meditate on the nature and presence of God and our response to his loving call to follow him, serving his world and his church.       

The daily offices usually happen at 8.30am and 5.30pm Monday – Saturday, and are said, without any music or hymns. On a Sunday, the evening office (‘Evensong’) is at 6.30pm and is enhanced by the organ and choir. Whilst the other Offices in the week are from the modern prayer book of the Church of England (‘Common Worship’) Sunday’s Evensong is from the sixteenth century Book of Common Prayer, which follows the same pattern of service as the other days but with the particular cadences of more ‘old-fashioned’ language. These are quieter and more reflective services and whilst anyone is welcome, there is no crèche provision.

Other acts of worship in recent years have included amongst other things: healing services, Christingle and Carol services around Christmas, services of remembrance, Royal Naval Association services, school services and Stations of the Cross.

Wedding and Funeral services, Baptisms (often called Christenings) and Confirmations, Confessions and Anointing also are part of the life and worship of St Mary’s.   Fuller details about these can be found by  clicking here.

That the Church is for ALL people is a strongly held belief of the people of St Mary’s, and the congregation is a diverse group of people from different backgrounds and cultures, with people of all ages, abilities and sexualities involved in all our activities. We seek to be aware of particular individual needs (e.g. there are large print books, a hearing loop, changing facilities for babies, disabled access etc) to try and ensure that everyone who comes through the church door feels welcomed and accepted. If you have any questions about the worship at St Mary’s – or our wider life as a Christian Community - please contact the Vicar, Father Shaun Conlon, on  01702 343470 (UK number)