Lion Walk
United Reformed Church

 

Sunday services:

10.00 am

Attendance variable but average 80 adults/10 children

 

6.30 pm

Attendance variable but average 25 adults

Holy Communion:

am

first Sunday in each month, plus Christmas and Easter

 

pm

third Sunday in each month

 

Special Services:

1st Colchester Scouts are invited to family services held in September, December, March and July.  We are involved in pulpit exchange and united services during the week of prayer for Christian unity, the Lent lunchtime services run by Churches Together in Central Colchester and the Good Friday united service at the Mercury Theatre.  The united Walk of Witness on the morning of Good Friday culminates with a service in the Lion Walk car park.

Lay involvement:

Our own and visiting lay preachers lead worship on several occasions each year.  Members of the congregation normally read lessons.  Junior Church and Youth Fellowship have generally led two morning services each year.  The choir contributes anthems at morning and evening services, a choral evensong once a year and a larger work, usually on Palm Sunday evening.  A group of instrumentalists, adults and children, contribute to the morning services fortnightly.

Pew Bible:

New Revised Standard Version

Hymnbook:

Rejoice and Sing

Mid-week services:

From time to time mid-week services are held in the chapel.

Bible Study Groups:

Three small house groups meet monthly or thereabouts; one is liberal-traditional and mainly Bible-based; one more liberal-radical and ranges over a broader field of study; the third meets in the chapel, looking at being church in the 21st century from a liberal perspective. Other short focus bible studies are advertised in Lion Talk, the monthly magazine.

Baptisms:

Infant baptisms are held during the morning service.  Contact the Minister for details.

Weddings:

Ministers have been willing to talk to and, when appropriate, conduct the weddings of couples where previous marriages have broken down.  Contact the Minister for details.

Funerals:

The minister receives a certain number of outside requests, mainly from people with a Presbyterian background.  Contact is generally made through local Funeral Directors.

Publicity and communication:

Monthly magazine, Sunday service sheets, annually updated Church Directory, reference and lending library, website – www.lionwalkchurch.org, continuous television screening of the church’s diary in the shopping precinct, car park display board, frequently changed displays in the tower.  Members can subscribe to the URC Magazine, REFORM.

Church Meetings:

Approximately eight per annum, each preceded the week before by an Elders’ Meeting.  Attendance at Church Meetings is variable, but tends to be around 35.

Children and young people:

Currently teams of dedicated leaders and helpers provide for the specific needs of the younger members of the congregation during Sunday morning worship in Junior Church, Young People and Youth Fellowship groups.  A crèche is available on Sundays during morning worship.  Several members of the church are actively involved in the pre-school and toddler groups which run during the week in the church premises and provide for the under-fives of the wider Colchester community.  A Mother and Toddler Group meets at the church.

Church family weekends and Quiet weekends

have been held at the Yardley Hastings Resource Centre, High Leigh, Hengrave Hall and the Pleshey Retreat House. 

Drama and worship:
Twice in recent years the sanctuary has been transformed into a promenade theatre for public performances of Tony Harrison Mystery Plays – The Nativity and The Passion.  Actors and directors from Lion Walk and Colchester Theatre Group combined to give these lively presentations of the Gospel narrative to sizeable audiences.  In worship, dramatic musical presentations of Christ’s nativity (Find that Baby!) and the story of the Prodigal Son, written and composed by two church members, have had all-age presentations; and occasional services have included drama.

Other use of premises:

The premises are let out as much as possible and are used regularly by the pre-school, Alcoholics Anonymous, Colchester Choral Society, Friends of the Museum, Lunchtime Concerts, Marks, and many more.

In addition, on or off the premises, a number of social activities are organised each year on an ad hoc basis – walks, cycle rides, parties, suppers, etc – usually initiated by one of the core of active members and sometimes with an outreach aspect.