Liturgy @ St. Matthias’
At St. Matthias’, we use a wide range of liturgies, from sung Matins using the Book of Common Prayer to modern liturgies from the Church of Scotland and the New Zealand Prayerbook.
our choir’s volunteers and professionals guide the congregation into musical confidence
Sung matins
Our Anglican heritage has provided us with a wealth of sources and different ways of worshipping. Once a month, we do sung Matins from the Book of Common Prayer. Matins is an ancient service which took its current form in the very early days of the Anglican church. It remains a very popular service because of it soul-fullness, beauty, and simplicity.
At St. Matthias’, our Matins service is sung by the congregation, choir, and clergy together, bringing this part of our liturgical heritage into our regular acts of worship as a community.
thanks to our former neighbours at Trinity Memorial, we have a full complement of music-and-lyrics hymn books!
liturgical innovation
Liturgy is a means by which we as community breathe in and connect with the Divine. Liturgy is rooted in the timelessness of God and so we believe it can be static and dynamic so to speak, drawing from the best of the past as well as that of the present and beyond!
The Eucharist, or Holy Communion, lies at the heart of our community's liturgical life. It is sustenance for our souls, a concentration of life by which the past and the future are brought together into the present, and a transfiguring conformation to Christ.
In our Eucharist services, we use liturgy from the Church of England, the Church of Scotland, the Lutheran Church, and the New Zealand Prayerbook, among other sources and supplements, including prayers written by members of the congregation. We believe that the diversity of liturgy available to us as Anglicans is a cause for celebration, and take joy in the different expressions provided by liturgists across time and space.
people of all ages participate in the most holy observances, including as many processions as possible
Family services
Four times a year, St. Matthias’ main service is the destination for all members of the congregation, regardless of age. In family services, people of all ages participate in reading, serving, praying, and presenting the Gospel. The liturgy on these mornings is more participatory, which helps the younger members of the congregation to learn about the various aspects of the service, and reminds the older members of the congregation of some of the cornerstones of worship.
Family services also feature liturgical aids for anyone who needs them, from thematic colouring pages to eye spy-style checklists of service content. The aim is to make these services as accessible as possible for the whole community!