The basics …
Sunday service: At 10am normally - we will resume our services as soon as we can.
Vicar: Rev. Rob McUtchen. Rob has been with us for six years. He's had 40 years leading churches in both the Uniting Church in Australia and the Anglican Church, and as chaplain to suburban private schools and industry. He drives Puffing Billy on his day off!
Children: All children are welcome in our services. We usually include a children's talk and there is an activity table with toys, colouring and an activity sheet for older children.
Playgroup: We meet weekly on Thursdays during term time from 10.15 - 10.45am on Zoom. More info here.
Vicar: Rev. Rob McUtchen. Rob has been with us for six years. He's had 40 years leading churches in both the Uniting Church in Australia and the Anglican Church, and as chaplain to suburban private schools and industry. He drives Puffing Billy on his day off!
Children: All children are welcome in our services. We usually include a children's talk and there is an activity table with toys, colouring and an activity sheet for older children.
Playgroup: We meet weekly on Thursdays during term time from 10.15 - 10.45am on Zoom. More info here.
Do we use the prayer book?
St Michael's services adhere to the framework found in the prayer book. Like most churches these days we have the service on a screen with Power Point, and normally we have prayer books available, but not in "touch-free" times.
People are often curious about the prayer book. The Book of Common Prayer originated in the Middle Ages and has had many revisions and development of local versions (we use "A Prayer Book for Australia"). The book contains services, readings and prayers for Sundays, daily prayers, special services such as weddings and funerals. There are three full communion services in the book and we normally use the "Second Order".
Why do we need it? Well, worship services are not performances. The prayer book enhances opportunities to participate in the liturgy, so we need to be able to read (and perhaps eventually remember) the responses and prayers that are said together during the service. It's a rich and long tradition of faith that comes to life in contemporary ways at St Michael's.
People are often curious about the prayer book. The Book of Common Prayer originated in the Middle Ages and has had many revisions and development of local versions (we use "A Prayer Book for Australia"). The book contains services, readings and prayers for Sundays, daily prayers, special services such as weddings and funerals. There are three full communion services in the book and we normally use the "Second Order".
Why do we need it? Well, worship services are not performances. The prayer book enhances opportunities to participate in the liturgy, so we need to be able to read (and perhaps eventually remember) the responses and prayers that are said together during the service. It's a rich and long tradition of faith that comes to life in contemporary ways at St Michael's.
Yes, we do wear robes
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The tradition at St Michael’s is that clergy wear robes for the services. It helps to think of robes as a uniform - they symbolise a function or role. So when members of the congregation are assisting with services, they have a different robe from that of our vicar. And choir members may wear robes too - or street clothes. Robes are not required in Anglican churches - personal preference and the "personality" of each congregation inform whether a vicar might wear robes, street clothes or a clerical shirt with a white collar.
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What about women?
The Anglican Diocese of Melbourne is committed to the ordination of women and men, and the ministry of women and men, at every level. Our current vicar is Rob; our previous vicar was Judith.
What is "Anglican"?
Anglicanism arose in the Middle Ages in England when Henry VIII broke from the Roman Catholic Church and declared himself head of a new Church of England. Anglicans worldwide have different cultural and social backgrounds and worship in different ways informed by the personality and cultural tradition of each congregation. Anglicans generally agree on a few basics - the centrality of meeting together to worship a loving and gracious God and his son, Jesus Christ; the inspiration and teaching of God's word, the Bible; and the significance of the sacraments of baptism and holy communion. There is incredible diversity in the Anglican church, and yet people globally worship God in unity.