Worship at St Hilda's
Holy Communion, Sunday 8am and 9.30am
Taize Service, Second Sunday 6.30pm
Evensong, Fourth Sunday 6.30pm
Prayer meeting, Friday noon
Santuary of St Hilda's
Every Sunday: 8am and 9.30am
As a church we express our faith through different styles and approaches to worship - sometimes within the same service. We love the ancient, the modern and the post-modern. So, for instance you might find old liturgies next to new music. Or old hymns next to contemporary reflection.
Both our Sunday morning worship services are EUCHARIST liturgies because we believe in the centrality of taking the bread and the wine as Jesus told us to. The basic patten of Anglican worship is four-fold:
(1) Gathering:
We come together as God's people, to become the church gathered. (Click here to go to Shane's sermon on 'gathering' preached on 29 OCtober, 2006)
(2) Ministry of the Word:
We hear stories from our religious tradition. Normally we have four readings. A Hebrew Scripture; a Psalm; a New Testament reading, and a Gospel reading. Following this is a sermon (about a 15 minute address) from the Rector that endeavours to relate them to our current experience of life in twenty-first century Perth. We then pray as a community.
(3) Ministry of the Sacrament:
As a community we celebrate our life in Jesus Christ by partaking in the bread and the wine. St Hilda's is an open community at which all who seek Christ's grace are freely offered the bread and the wine.
(4) Sending Out of God's People:
We are blessed and encouraged, eqipped by God's Spirit to face our lives once again as God's people: the church scattered.
Our 8.00am Sunday liturgy lasts about 50 minutes and is a quiet meditative worship normally attended by 25-30 people. It is followed by tea/coffee and toast in the parish hall.
Our 9.30am Sunday liturgy last about an hour and a quarter and is normally attended by 35-55 people. It includes community singing and the involvement of our children. We sing songs and hymns from a wide variety of sources, supported by expert organ music and electric piano and our small but enthusiastic choir.
We provide an excellent Children's program that caters for children aged 0-10 as part of our 9.30am Sunday morning worship. The service is followed by morning tea in the parish hall.
Prayer service in the style of Taize
This is a meditative service of prayer that lasts 45 minutes. The focus is on sung prayers using the chants of Taize, with readings from the Bible, a psalm, prayers and a time of silence. Candlelight is a feature of this service as a symbol of Christ, the light of the world. This service is suitable for children of primary school age, but may not suit younger ones.
Choral Evensong
This is a traditional service of the Anglican Church, originating in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. It is a very structured prayer service that lasts about an hour and allows an extended sermon time. As well as traditional hymns, we sing the responses to the prayers.
Shared meal
All evening services are followed by a shared meal in the parish hall. Attendees are invited to bring along a plate of simple food to share in a meal accompained by friendship and fellowship.
Beliefs and Values
We endeavour the live as best we can as followers of Jesus Christ in this time and place. Our motto of 'a community of love and acceptance' expresses our deeply-held desire to be a place for all who seek God meaning in their lives, regard of race, sexuality and income. The following values shared by many today list some of things we are on about at St Hilda's:
Community and Hospitality:
Because God's life (as father, son and spirit) is the source of all relationality; we seek to live in relational community, offering ourselves to God as living members of the body of Christ. Because God has prepared a place for us and welcomes all prodigals home; we honor God's welcome to people from any culture, ethnicity, orientation, economic situation or social position.
Authenticity and Economy:
Because Christ came not to condemn the world, but to save and reconcile it; we value authentic relationships with God, others, and all creation. we seek to walk lightly upon the earth and to participate in God's creating, redeeming and sustaining dream for the world.
Tradition and Innovation:
"the wisdom of past ages with out a vision of the future is irrelevant, but a vision of the future ignorant of the lessons of the past is irresponsible." The practices of those who have come before us in the faith are deep roots that support us as we grow together towards god's future.We value the traditions handed on to us that are of the gospel. We hold them as treasure entrusted to us for future generations. We will use them creatively to illumine the path we are walking within the emerging culture and towards the kingdom of God
Truth and Becoming:
Because we believeGod's truth became flesh in Jesus; we seek to be an authentic community in the presence of truth. We do not possess truth, or seek to correct the truths of others, but to live faithfully in light of the truth of God in Jesus Christ. We also will attend to the emergence of God's kingdom in our world and in our personal and communal becoming.
"this life is therefore,
not righteousness,
but growth in righteousness,
not health, but healing,
not being, but becoming,
not rest, but exercise.
we are not yet what we shall be,
but we are growing toward it,
the process is not yet finished
but it is going on,
this is not the end,
but it is the road.
all does not yet gleam in glory,
but all is being purified."
(Martin Luther, defense of all the articles 1521)
Joy and Serendipity:
Because Christ calls us to abundant life; we seek to live joyously in the light of God's presence and celebrate the release and freedom that life in the spirit brings. Ever aware that the movements of the spirit are both uncontrollable and unpredictable, we seek only to surf the holy wind, breathe deep god's holy presence and enjoy the holy ride.
Want to know more about the Christian faith and what it all means? The following link is a fantastic site at which to start exploring what it is all about
St Hilda of Whitby was born in the year 614 A.D. into the royal house of Northumbria. At the time of her birth her great-uncle was the King of Northumbria. She died, aged 66 years, in 680. Having spent her early childhood in a pagan environment she was baptised at the age of thirteen when the royal household embraced Christianity. A famous bishop of the church, Aiden, who was based at Lindisfarne, had a great influence on Hilda. When she decided to enter the church as a nun it was not long before Aiden appointed her to be Abbess of the monastery at Hartlepool. These monasteries were complex communities of men and women who had taken a vow of poverty, chastity and obedience.
In the year 657 Hilda moved to what is now named Whitby to found a new monastery in a rugged coastal area. The Venerable Bede comments that Hilda carried out her appointed task with great energy. She established the same regular life as in her former monastery and taught observance of righteousness, mercy, purity and other virtues, but especially in peace and charity.
Bishop Aiden, and other devout men who knew her and admired her innate wisdom and love of God, often visited and advised her. Whitby developed quickly as a centre of learning and training for the priesthood.
Division and argument between the "Roman" Christians, centred on Canterbury, and the Celtic Christians in Northern England, had been brewing for some time . Because she had been baptised and taught by Paulinus from Canterbury, but was also greatly influened by Bishop Aidan from Iona, Hilda had a foot in both of the rival camps.
A synod with the purpose of forging unity between the two groups was held at Hilda's abbey at Whitby. The burning questions to be resolved involved, firstly, the method of deciding the exact date to celebrate Easter each year and, secondly, the style in which a monk should shave his head. 'Roman' monks shaved the centre of the top of the head so that their hair symbolized the crown of thorns. The Celtic monks shaved the hair from the front of their heads in the manner of the druids.
The Roman church prevailed at the synod Hilda continued to rule her abbey, upholding the ideals of poverty, chastity and simplicity, and continued with her role of training clergy, educating children and adults, sending out preachers and training scribes in the copying of manuscripts. The scribes' diligent work ultimately produced an impressive library at Whitby. When Hilda died in 680 she bequeathed a thriving, complex community which she had administered with authority, energy and flair.
Source: Mundahl-Harris, Sylvia, St Hilda and Her Times, Caedmon of Whitby