Portishead Church of England | St Peter's & St Nicholas' Church

Worship

Worship is a vital part of our life as Christians. Through gathering regularly to worship together we focus on God and orientate our lives so they are in line with him.

As a single parish serving a large town, we seek to provide worship in a variety of styles at our two churches. We hope that this will mean that people can find something that works for them but also that it will enable them to encounter God in new ways.

Our regular Sunday morning services include the quiet and peaceful 8.00am said communion, a more formal parish communion and our mid-morning all-age service when we aim for church to be ‘shhh’ free and free-flowing.

In all our worship we seek to open ourselves to the transformative work of the Holy Spirit. We hope that you find your place among us.

Weekly Services

Our usual pattern is as follows

On Sundays

Church and time	Week 1	Week 2	Week 3	Week 4	Week 5
St Peter’s 8:00am	Holy Communion (BCP)* Quiet, traditional 40 mins		Holy Communion* Quiet, traditional 40 mins		Holy Communion* Quiet, traditional 40 mins
St Nicholas 9.30am	Morning Worship Traditional at heart, space for something different 1 hour	Parish Eucharist* Traditional 1¼ hours	Café Church Informal, creative, conversational 1 hour	Parish Eucharist* Traditional 1¼ hours	UNITED SERVICE - See Parish Magazine, Noticesheet and Website for details
St Peter’s 9.45am	St Peter's at 9.45 Informal worship for all ages together 45 minutes	St Peter's at 9.45 * Informal worship for all ages with communion and groups for children and young people 1 hour	St Peter's at 9.45 Informal worship for all ages together 45 minutes	St Peter's at 9.45* Informal worship for all ages with communion and groups for children and young people 1 hour	UNITED SERVICE - See Parish Magazine, Noticesheet and Website for details
St Peters at 11.30am	Parish Eucharist * Traditional 1¼ hours	Morning Worship Traditional at heart, space for something different 1 hour	Parish Eucharist * Traditional 1¼ hours	Parish Eucharist* Traditional 1¼ hours	UNITED SERVICE - See Parish Magazine, Noticesheet and Website for details
Afternoon		2.00pm The Gathering 'Messy Church' 1 hour	Baptisms
Evening	6.00pm Praise and Prayer Contemporary, informal 1 hour	7.30pm Dwelling in Prayer over Zoom Listening and responding to God 45 minutes	6.00pm (BST) 5.00pm (GMT) Evensong Formal, traditional 1 hour	6.00pm Haven Inclusive, meditative, mindful 45 minutes

* Eucharist

During the week...

Special Festivals

Throughout the year we also hold a number of services for various festivals. Any changes to the regular pattern of services are posted on our website and in our weekly noticesheet.

Tuesdays (in term time) at St Peter's Church

2.15pm Church Tots

Songs, stories and toys for the under-5s and their carers

Thursdays at St Peter's Church

10.30am Holy Communion

A quiet said service

Saturdays - monthly at St Nicholas' Church

10.00am Saturday Mass

A said High Mass.

Live-streaming of Services at St Peter’s Church

We aim to live-stream one of our services each Sunday to enable those unable to come to church to join in with worship.

On most Sundays we will stream the 9.45am or 10.15am service. No other service will be streamed without that being clearly indicated.

We use a single fixed camera and you will not be visible to those watching from home if you do not go beyond the green line marked on the floor in front of the altar.

Please speak to a welcomer or member of the clergy if you have any concerns

Ash Wednesday

The beginning of Lent is marked by a special service at 10.30am at St Nicholas’ and at 8pm at St Peter’s with the traditional act of Ashing when those who wish to are marked with the sign of the cross using ash on their forehead.

Holy Week

Various services are held to mark the events in the last days of Jesus’ life including daily Compline, Maundy Thursday Communion, a Good Friday Act of Witness in the High Street with other churches from the town and a devotional concert at St Nicholas’. On Easter Eve there is a special vigil service at St Nicholas’ at 9pm including the Lighting of the Easter Bonfire.

Ascension Day & Corpus Christi

Both these special days are marked with a eucharist service. On Corpus Christi those who are authorised for Chalice and Paten ministry are invited to re-affirm their commitment to their ministry.

Patronal Festival

On a Sunday close to 29th June we hold a special United Parish Eucharist to celebrate the Patronal Festival of St Peter’s Church, and on a Sunday close to 5th December we hold a special United Parish Eucharist to celebrate the Patronal Festival of St Nicholas’ Church. On those Sundays the Patronal Festival is at 10.30am and replaces our usual morning services.

Nautical School Service

On the first Sunday of September we hold a special service at 11.30am at St Nicholas’ to remember the work of the former Portishead Nautical School. We are always pleased to welcome former boys from the school for this service.

Remembrance Sunday

Portishead Town Remembrance Service is held at St Peter’s Church which is the home of the town’s war memorial. The service is held at 10.50am and includes the national 2 minutes silence. The service follows on from the Remembrance Parade through the High Street.

Christmas

Christingle Services are held in both our churches during Advent, at 3pm & 5pm at St Peter’s and 4pm at St Nicholas’ Church. Money raised from this service is for the work of the Children’s Society.
A Nativity Play performed by the children from our churches on the Sunday before Christmas at 9.15am at St Peter’s. All children are welcome to take part.
A traditional service of Nine Lessons and Carols by candlelight at 6pm at both our churches on the Sunday before Christmas.
On Christmas Eve we hold Crib & Toy services at 2pm and 4pm at St Peter's Church and at 3pm and 5pm at St Nicholas' Church.
A Midnight Mass is held at both churches at 11.30pm on Christmas Eve.
Details of our Christmas Day services are displayed on our website and at the churches themselves.

If you wish to organise a special service to mark a particular event or occasion we would be pleased to hear from you. Please speak to the Team Rector Revd Rob Eastwood Dewing