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	Usually the first Sunday in each month, plus Christmas and Easter
	pm	Usually the third Sunday in each month

Special Services:	1^st 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:	Two 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. Other short focus bible study groups meet in the chapel, mainly looking at being church in the 21^st century from a liberal, open and progressive perspective. These 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 [printed and made available with a password through the website], Sunday service sheets [also sent out to the Members’ e-mail list in bulletin format], annually updated Church Directory, reference and lending library, website – www.lionwalkchurch.org, continuous PowerPoint presentation of the church’s diary to the shopping precinct via two television screens, car park display board, frequently changed displays in the tower. As well as a Members’ e-mail list, there are lists for each of the committees and for the Elders. Members can subscribe to the URC Magazine, REFORM.
Church Meetings:	Six per annum, with an Elders’ Meeting held in each preceding month. 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.  More recently focus days to encourage Elders in their work in the church have tended to be on a Saturday to fit in with commitments.
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. Many in the congregation took part in a pantomime, including children from a local dancing school. 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, often led by those from Aspire Community Theatre, who meet in the church on Friday evenings.
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, 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, quizzes, etc – usually initiated by one of the core of active members and frequently with an outreach aspect.