Bury Parish Church, near Huntingdon, used to have a standard all-age service – and as so often it wasn’t as all-age or as effective at making contact with the unchurched as they wished it would be.
So First Bite started once a month down at the school, and soon new familes were coming were food and fellowship. The third F, faith, was a bit on the light side, so then First Sunday was invented, meeting in the modern hall next to the church for bacon butties, activities, newspapers and chat, before moving over to the church for a simple half-hour service. The all-age worship continues on the other two Sundays a month as before.
I went over to First Sunday today to see for myself and was thrilled. As YOU can see for yourself from the pictures, a hall and then a church full of people of all ages and both old and new to church too piled in and had a great time. We’re in Fair Trade Fortnight, so Tim Yao gave a good talk on poverty, hunger and fairtrade, and we all shared bread with each other as part of our prayers – a sort of agape.
So – a very uptodate “Fresh Expression” in a lovely historic church (Norman chancel arch and rare surviving mediaeval window shutters pictured below): old and new, the way I like it.
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