What to Expect

Our Sunday 10am Eucharist (Holy Communion) is our main service, with 80 to 120 people. There are 17 services each week.

People begin arriving as early as 9.40am, but some of us don’t arrive until well after the service starts. (Click here for advice on getting to Bene’t’s).

There are no reserved seats; sit wherever you like. The North aisle includes room for wheelchair riders.

We begin at 10am by singing a hymn, accompanied by our pipe organ. (Generally we use the New English Hymnal). Readings from the bible, a sermon, prayers, and then Holy Communion, follow. We finish by 11.15am, and everyone is invited to stay for coffee.

Our worship is ordered but warm and inviting. Prayerful silence and joyful song are both important parts of how we pray together on Sunday. We follow the Church of England’s Common Worship liturgy, and our worship is consistent from week to week.

We are a sacramental church, broadly in the Liberal Catholic tradition. However, we do not expect everyone in church to be uniform, either in theology or in style of worship.

You can see what a Sunday service looks like by going to our Youtube page. You can also download a copy of our usual order of service by clicking here.

Five or six times a year we use incense, and there are special services for Feasts and Holy Days.

Everyone is welcome at St Bene’t’s, whether you are a life-long Christian, a spiritual seeker, someone getting back in touch with God, a neighbour from another faith, or simply curious about what Christians get up to in church.

No one will interrogate you about your beliefs. We come from a wide range of background, and from many nations and traditions. When we disagree, we do so with respect and love. And we are open to learning to the wisdom and ideas which new people bring to St Bene’t’s.

When it comes time for receiving communion (the consecrated Bread & Wine), only baptised Christians may receive — from any church or tradition. If you are not baptised, you’re still invited to come forward to receive a blessing. In all other parts of our worship, everyone is invited to participate equally.

Yes!

Children are welcome, just as they are. Children are welcome when they are noisy and excited. Children are welcome when they are shy or sleepy. And their parents, grandparents, caregivers and friends are welcome.

Learn more about our family ministries here.

On Sundays during the school year we offer children’s ministries during the first half of the service. Children under 10 meet in one room, and older children in the other. But there are also soft toys and a carpeted area at the back of the church for children who want to stay with their parents through the whole service.

We take safeguarding extremely seriously.

Some of us have come from churches where we have been rejected or hurt because of our sexuality, race, gender, physical disability, or neurodiversity. Others of us have friends and family members who have been similarly wounded.

In order to have a genuine relationship with God, we need to be able to bring our true, authentic selves to worship and community.

St Bene’t’s is a member of the Inclusive Church Network. We believe in a Church which welcomes and serves all people in the name of Jesus Christ. There is no room for discrimination or fear in the love of Christ.

And we are a learning church. Sometimes we might get it wrong, or fall short. When we do, we repent, learn, and strive to do better.

There is step-free access into the church, using the ramp to our main entrance on Benet Street.

We have a hearing loop system in place, and large print copies of all our printed material.

We celebrate our diversity, including neurodiversity, and are a member of the Inclusive Church Network.

We do not yet have an accessible toilet, but we are working on it. We also do not have a quiet room, but it is possible to sit back by the font, which is more isolated, if that is helpful to you.

If there is anything we can do to be more accessible, please let us know.

Email is the best way to reach us; we’re happy to set up a time for you to meet (in person or on zoom) with a member of our clergy team, who are available daily.

There are volunteer opportunities, seasonal and occasional study groups and events, social outings, and an active young adult ministry. Please contact us to learn more!

Oh, the deep questions!

“Benet” is Old English (Anglo-Saxon) for Benedict, the Patron Saint of Europe and of students. When our church was built in 1020, the Normans hadn’t invaded and Old English tended to drop Latin inflections and make names like Benedict more Germanic.

The English language adopted the apostrophe in the early 16th century. By the late 17th century, Benet was changed to Bene’t, changing the name from an Old English version of Benedict, to an Old English abbreviation of Benedict.

The second apostrophe, before the s, show’s posession — that this is the church of St Bene’t. So: St Bene’t’s

Just to make it more confusing, by the 19th century our name in legal church documents is “The Parish of Saint Benedict”