First time at All Saints'?

We warmly welcome all visitors or first-time worshippers to All Saints’. Below are guides to the main 10.30 Sunday Parish Mass as well as the early Sunday Mass at 8.00am and Sunday Evensong at 6.30pm.

There is no dress code, although it is a church tradition that men remove their hats and that women going forward for communion cover their shoulders.

Please introduce yourself to the priest if you are worshipping here for the first time. And, of course, continue to follow us on the website and Twitter, @ASBlackheath. Most importantly, you are always welcome to return – hopefully regularly.

Sunday Parish Mass, 10.30am

If you come to the Parish Mass you are in for the chance to worship at a Sung Liturgy and to make your communion. The Mass usually lasts about eighty minutes. On the first Sunday of each month, apart from in March and December, baptisms usually take place (link).

On arrival you will be welcomed by our sidespersons, who will hand you a hymn book, a Mass booklet and a pewsheet, which has information on the service as well as church notices.

The pewsheet and the hymn boards on the side walls list the hymn numbers: The Psalm, which is sung after the first reading is printed on the back of the pewsheet. The Mass booklet gives a guide to the service and lines printed in bold are to be prayed by the congregation.

After the Peace, when the congregation greet their neighbours in the name of God’s peace, a collection will be taken to support the work of All Saints’. Please consider placing collections in the blue envelopes at the ends of each pew, as this allows us to claim Gift Aid, but please remember that this requires you to fill in your name and address (for further information, see Giving & Stewardship).

Communion follows the Agnus Dei. The Church of England invites communicant members of any Trinitarian church to take Communion, at the Altar; alternatively, those who wish to receive a Blessing should hold an order of service. If you require a gluten-free host please speak to one of the Sidespersons before mass so that the priest can be informed. In our tradition we receive communion kneeling and in both kinds (The Body and Blood of our Lord).

There is a crêche (through the South door at the right-hand side of the church) for children immediately before the Sermon; there is also a quiet corner around the font at the back left-hand corner where younger children can do reading and colouring in, ideally with at least one adult in attendance.

After Mass, please join us for refreshment.

Early Sunday Mass, 8.00am

If you come to the early Sunday Mass you will join us in a traditional language service that derives from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer communion service. The Mass usually lasts about thirty five or forty minutes and includes a short address.

On arrival you will find a Mass booklet and a pewsheet, which has information on the service as well as church notices, on tables at the back of church.

The Mass booklet gives a guide to the service and lines printed in bold are to be prayed by the congregation. The Psalm that follows the first reading is printed on the reverse side of the pewsheet and is said responsorially, the reader leading the first verse. At the colon in each verse we pause before continuing.

After the Intercession and the Peace a collection will be taken to support the work of All Saints’ and the Diocese of Southwark. Please consider placing collections in the blue envelopes at the ends of each pew, as this allows us to claim Gift Aid, but please remember that this requires you to fill in your name and address (for further information, see Giving & Stewardship).

Communion follows the Agnus Dei and the invitation to the altar. The Church of England invites communicant members of any Trinitarian church to take Communion if they have confessed and heard the Gospel proclaimed; alternatively, those who wish to receive a Blessing should come forward holding an order of service and bow their heads. If you require a gluten-free host please speak to the priest before mass. In our tradition we receive communion kneeling in both kinds (The Body and Blood of our Lord); you are encouraged to consume the host before receiving from the chalice.

If you wish to offer your own prayers silently after communion you are warmly invited to light a candle at the icon of Our Lady and the Christ Child in the Lady Chapel.

Sunday Evensong, 6.30pm

If you come to Sunday Evensong you will join us in a traditional language service from the 1662 Book of Common Prayer communion service. When the service is sung it lasts around an hour; said evening prayer takes about thirty five minutes. A sermon is given at both.

On arrival you will find an order of service, a hymn book and a pewsheet, which has information on the service as well as church notices, on tables at the back of church.

When the service is sung by our choir (link) the Psalm(s) that follows the first reading, the Canticles -  Magnificat (‘Song of Mary’) and the Nunc Dimittis (‘Song of Simeon’) - as well as the Versicles and Responses and the Collects are sung.

At said evening prayer the psalm is said responsorially, the officiating minister leading the first verse. At the colon in each verse we pause before continuing. The Canticles are said together, pausing at the colon in each verse.

At Choral Evensong a collection will be taken to support the work of All Saints’ and the Diocese of Southwark during the last hymn. Please consider placing collections in the blue envelopes at the ends of each pew, as this allows us to claim Gift Aid, but please remember that this requires you to fill in your name and address (for further information, see Giving & Stewardship). A collection plate is left out at the back of church at said services. Again, please consider GiftAiding your contribution.