Prayer & Services

Sundays

On Sundays, our main service is the Eucharist at 10am. All are welcome, and we try to be a place where people’s minds are fed as well as their spirits. The 10am Eucharist is live-streamed on our YouTube channel. There is also a celebration of the Eucharist at 8am on Sundays.

10am Sunday Eucharists will be joint with Corpus Christi College 30 Apr - 11 Jun.

Daily Prayer

For those who can’t join us at St Bene’t’s for daily prayer,  you can join in with the daily prayer of the whole Church through this link.

Or you can download the Daily Prayer app.

Evening Prayer is currently said daily at 6pm in church and on Zoom. To join on Zoom click here.

The Eucharist is celebrated on weekdays as follows - all are welcome:

Monday: 7:00 pm, Tuesday: 10:30 am, Wednesday: 12:30 pm, Thursday: 12.30 pm, Friday: 8:00 am, Saturday: 9:00 am

Resources

One way of praying that many find helpful is the Examen, which is a way of prayerfully reflecting on your day and discerning God’s presence in it.

If you, or someone you know, isn’t able to get to church, please contact the vicar or one of the other clergy, who will be happy to arrange to visit, and to bring the Sacrament to you.

Baptism marks the beginning of a journey with God.

It is the means by which God adopts us as his children, and brings us with Christ to share in his life. When Jesus was baptised in the river Jordan, God acclaimed him as ‘my son, the beloved’. In our baptism, God claims us as his beloved sons and daughters. So we are made members of God’s family, with Christians throughout the world and all those who have gone before us.

The Church of England has always been unapologetic about baptising babies and children. This is because baptism is primarily about what God does for us: before we can say anything, or believe the right things, or act in a particular way, God already loves us and reaches out to bring us to share in his love. The faith that follows, and in which parents and godparents and the wider Church promise to help the person being baptised grow up, is always a response to the fact that God first loves us, and is not a precondition for earning that love.

This isn’t to say that people can’t be baptised as adults, and many people are. If you would like to discuss baptism, for yourself or for your child, please contact the vicar. 

Confirmation marks the point in the Christian journey where those who have been baptised as children make a firm commitment to Christian discipleship. 

Through prayer and the laying on of hands by a bishop, the Church also asks God to give those being confirmed power, through the Holy Spirit, to live the life of discipleship.

Confirmation follows on from baptism. For those baptised as infants, confirmation will come when they want to make the promises made on their behalf at their baptism for themselves – usually in adolescence or beyond. For those seeking baptism as adults, baptism and confirmation will usually happen at the same service. In confirmation, the Holy Spirit strengthens our faith, equipping us to live as Christians in our daily lives. The prayer which the bishop prays before laying on hands in confirmation asks for the gifts of the Spirit which God wants to give us:

Almighty and ever-living God,
you have given these your servants new birth in baptism
by water and the Spirit,
and have forgiven them all their sins.
Let your Holy Spirit rest upon them:
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding;
the Spirit of counsel and inward strength;
the Spirit of knowledge and true godliness;
and let their delight be in the fear of the Lord.

If you would like to talk about being confirmed, please contact one of the clergy.

We recognise that in baptism we are made members of God’s family, and take our place within the Church.

The Eucharist (or Mass, or Holy Communion) is the Church’s meal, and the ongoing way in which God feeds us. So it is right and good that all those who are members of God’s family through baptism should receive the Sacrament (the bread and wine of the Eucharist). At St Bene’t’s, we are glad to welcome children to communion after a period of preparation – for more information, please speak to one of the clergy.

Confession, or the sacrament of reconciliation, is God’s gift to us for forgiving sins.

All Christians are taught to pray ‘forgive us our sins (or our trespasses)’, and all of us will be conscious of things we have thought, or said, or done, that we shouldn’t have done, or of things that we ought to have done but have failed to do. Formal confession is not compulsory in the Church of England, but it can be really helpful and liberating. If you are conscious of something you’ve done wrong, or burdened by it, or simply want to ensure you are honestly opening your life to God’s grace in penitence and faith, the sacrament of confession is there as a place where you can confess your sins and receive the assurance of God’s forgiveness.

Often people are nervous about making their confession, but the sacrament is a place of healing, not judgement. The priest may never speak about what you have said in the sacrament – even to you – afterwards.

If you have never made your confession before, one of the clergy will be happy to talk to you about what’s involved, and how to prepare for it. There is a short rite, with space for you to confess your sins. Then the priest will offer some advice, and give you a penance (this is a short act of thanksgiving for the grace received in the sacrament, which you should complete afterwards), and will then pronounce absolution. Here you hear definitively that God has forgiven you, and has put away your sins. And you can leave, knowing freedom in the grace of God.

If you would like to make an appointment to make your confession, or to talk more about what’s involved, please contact one of the clergy.

The Bible often uses the metaphor of marriage to talk about the relationship between God and his people.

In fact, one of the most frequently used images for heaven is that of a marriage feast, when God’s people will be brought to perfect union with him. The Church of England marriage service describes marriage as ‘a gift of God in creation’, and talks about three purposes for marriage:

It is given, that as man and woman grow together in love and trust,
they shall be united with one another in heart, body and mind,
as Christ is united with his bride, the Church.

The gift of marriage brings husband and wife together
in the delight and tenderness of bodily union
and joyful commitment to the end of their lives.

It is given as the foundation of family life,
in which each member of the family, in good times and in bad,
may find strength, companionship and comfort,
and grow to maturity in love.

The Church calls marriage a sacrament because it has long recognised that in the unconditional commitment and faithfulness of the partners in marriage to each other, something of the love and faithfulness of God is made visible. So marriage is both a joyous and a serious undertaking. If you’re wondering if you can get married at St Bene’t’s, some of the information below may help, or please get in touch with the vicar, who will be happy to hear from you.

FAQs 

Who can get married at St Bene’t’s? 

• If you live in the parish (you can check which parish you live in on the website A Church Near You); 

• If you are on the electoral roll of the parish (this is a bit like the church membership list. It is different from the register of electors). You can come onto the church’s electoral roll if you are baptized and have been worshipping here regularly for six months;

• If you have some other qualifying connection. This may include:

  • You, or a close member of your family, have worshipped here regularly in the past;

  • You were baptized here;

  • Your parents or grandparents were married here;

  • You or your parents have lived in the parish in the past

Do I have to be baptized to get married in a Church of England church? 

No: if you qualify to marry here (see above) then it is not essential that you or your partner is baptized. However, the priest officiating at the service will want to talk to you about faith and the spiritual side of marriage, and it is often a good time to explore your own faith.

I’m divorced: can I get remarried in church? 

We recognise that sometimes things go wrong, irreparably, in relationships. And we also believe in a God who forgives and gives new life. So in most cases we are happy to offer remarriage after divorce, although the priest officiating at the service will want to talk through with you what happened in the previous marriage.

I’m marrying my same-sex partner. Can that happen in the church? 

I’m entering into a Civil Partnership: can that be blessed? 

The Church of England doesn’t currently allow for the marriage of same sex couples or for the blessing of civil partnerships. But it is possible to have a service that includes prayer and thanksgiving. If you and your partner would like to talk to one of the clergy about that, please get in touch.

I don’t meet any of the above qualifications but still want to get married at St Bene’t’s. Can I? 

In such instances, contact the vicar, who will be pleased to talk to you about how you might establish a Qualifying Connection.

Are there any fees? 

Some fees are mandatory associated with every wedding at St Bene’t’s, such as those set by the Church of Enbland for the publication of banns and the marriage service itself . Others are optional, set by the Parochial Church Council, and depend on whether you want ‘extras’, such as heating, an organist, or bell-ringing. The costs are:

• Publication of banns: £32

• Marriage service: £480

• Heating: £50

• Organist: £150

• Change-ringing (bells): £180

I have a friend/relative who is ordained. Can they take the service? 

We will be happy to discuss involvement of other clergy in the service, although one of the St Bene’t’s clergy will also want to be involved. Please note that, as Church of England clergy also act as registrars for weddings in churches, ministers of other churches and denominations cannot officiate at marriages – though there are other ways in which they can be involved in the service.

Can I pick whatever date I want to get married? 

We will try to be as flexible as possible over dates and times, although this depends very much on what else is going on in church. In particular, during Lent (the period from Ash Wednesday to Easter), marriages would not normally take place.

Funerals

The death of a loved one is always a difficult time, and we will want to give you the best support we can. The vicar, or one of the other clergy, will be happy to talk through planning the service, which may take the form of a funeral service or a requiem (Eucharist). We are always willing to conduct funerals for members of the congregation who have died, or for those who had a particular connection with St Bene’t’s or the parish. Please speak to the vicar in the first instance. If you would like one of the clergy to come and pray with someone who is near death, or offer the last rites, please get in touch. This can be a source of great comfort and strength to those nearing the end of their earthly lives.

Burial of Ashes

The churchyard at St Bene’t’s is open for the burial of ashes. Please contact the vicar if you would like to enquire about a burial: we will always try to say yes if there is a connection with St Bene’t’s or the parish, or if a close family member is already buried in the churchyard.