About St. Luke's

Pattern of Worship

Ecclesiastically, St Luke’s would be labelled ‘traditional, upper central, liberal, inclusive.’ It includes a wide spectrum of churchmanship among the congregation. The Sacrament is reserved in the Lady Chapel where weekday worship is offered.

Lay participation in the liturgy is encouraged. The Deacon and or SPA generally take the service at Parish Communion until the peace. The peace is an important part of the main service each Sunday.

In recent years the healing ministry has played an increasing part in the witness of St Luke’s and the Laying on of Hands is given at Parish Communion on the first Sunday in each month. There have been two recent services for Healing and Wholeness.

In order to keep abreast of thinking in the wider Christian community, St Luke’s has developed a tradition of regularly inviting outside speakers and preachers to take a Sunday service or workshop, particularly during the Lent period.

Lay involvement in Public Worship and Pastoral care

St Luke’s actively encourages lay participation. Lay people assist with the chalice and ciborium, lead intercessions, read the 1st lesson and the Gospel. A Deacon and or SPA leads the first part of the Service. Lay people also assist with the Laying-on of hands in the chapel on the 1st Sunday of the month (during the 10am Service).

St. Luke’s has a large congregation with a great deal of talent and very many gifts and capabilities which are offered in many different ways. There is an established committee system which seeks to use the talents of many who are not members of the PCC and who undertake a wide range of tasks delegated by the PCC.

Churchwardens

St Luke’s has two churchwardens and four deputy churchwardens. The two wardens are usually in post for up to six years.
The current church wardens are:

Sally Watson, who is in her second year as a warden.
Ron Lamont, who is in his third year as a warden.

Ordinands from the parish

One ordinand has come from the parish in the last five years and two other parish members are thinking of ordination sometime in the future. The staff includes an ordained NSM, Katherine Smith; a retired priest, the Rev. John Baker and a pastoral auxiliary Juliette Macpherson.

 

Church Organisations and Committees

Secular groups

Mission Committee	This committee decides which charities to support each year (the budget is 10% of the diocesan quota + special collections, for instance for the Tsunami relief fund)
St Luke’s Community Project Group	This group gives practical help, mainly to elderly people living in the area, with gardening and decorating
Social Events Group	Arranges and supports various functions throughout the year
Coffee Group	This is for retired people and meets monthly in a nearby house
Scouts and Cubs	These groups have a long-standing connection with St Luke’s and have a dedicated room and storage in the Hall which they use at a discounted rate
Visiting Group	This group undertakes to visit people in the parish and has a link with the Doctor’s Surgery adjacent to the church
Drop-in Playgroup	About 50 children with their parents – or carers i.e. nannies and au pairs – meet weekly in the Hall
Novel reading group

Bible study and prayer groups

Theology discussion group	A forum for challenging and stimulating discussion.
Agnostics Anonymous	Meets monthly in a pub to discuss Christian issues
Confirmed Agnostics	The Confirmation course which is similar in some ways to the Alpha course
A House Group	Meets fortnightly on a Wednesday evening
A prayer chain	About 35 people agree to pray very regularly for a number people who are sick or in need for some reason.
A bible study group	Meets on a Monday morning

 

Church Choir and Music

Music plays a large part in Parish life and worship. There is a large choir which is robed and has about 20 adult members and 20 junior members. The standard of choral singing for a parish church with an unpaid choir is high. St Luke’s is fortunate in having a dedicated and talented Director of Music, Derek Carden. The junior choir is organised by another professionally trained musician, Alison Benton. Settings of the Gloria and Sanctus are sung during the services and the choir sings an anthem during communion.

During church services the approach to music is traditional with hymns led by the organ and choir. We use “Hymns Old and New” new Anglican edition. Traditional choral evensong is sung six times a year by Quorum, another choir associated to the church. Quorum includes some members of St Luke’s choir plus a number of others, mainly people in their 20s and 30s who live in London. There are about 25-35 members of this group whose singing is acknowledged to be of a very
high standard.

As well as its choirs, St Luke’s has its own Music Society which arranges 8 concerts in church each year between September and May offering a wide variety of music from jazz to classical, usually from acclaimed musicians. These are advertised locally and have a wide following. The Society’s programme also includes three concerts by the Festival Chorus, a local 100 strong choir which is associated with the church.

St Luke’s has two organs and a grand piano all of which are used during church services. The most important organ is a 100-year old Lewis organ which is in need of major rebuilding. A group of music enthusiasts within the church have been fund raising for this and have reached their target of £250,000. The refurbishment project is now in its last stage with the final refit being carried out by world renowned organ builders Harrison & Harrison. Music is seen as a joyous and important expression of the community’s worship at St Luke’s.

 

04/07/2009