A Newcomer’s First Mass

Arrival: See Mass Times Here. It’s a good idea to arrive between 5 and 10 minutes early to ensure you can find a parking space and a seat. Upon entering through the front door, you’ll be greeted by one or two members of our welcoming team who will hand you a hymn book, and on Sundays a sheet entitled “Missalette”.

Sign of the cross: After walking through the doors, you’ll see two small fonts of holy water, one placed on the left and one on the right side of the door. It’s common practice to wet the tips of your fingers (usually the right hand) and touch your forehead followed by the middle of your chest, then left side, and right side (the sign of the cross). It’s one way we have of asking for a blessing.

Seating: You can choose to sit anywhere that feels comfortable. There will be a couple of seats marked “reserved” for some of the members who take part in the Mass, but any other seats are fine to sit in.  There is plenty of space for wheelchair users.  You can ask one of the welcoming team to guide you to your place.

Hymns: After having sat down, you’ll see the raised area and altar in the middle of the front of the church.  If you look at the wall behind the altar, on the left and right side are placed wooden frames which house a list of numbers. Those numbers are the hymns we will be singing through the Mass.  They should be quite easy to find in the book if you want to sing along with the rest of the congregation. (Hymns are currently only sung at the 10.30am mass on Sunday mornings.)

Prayers & Creeds: Throughout the Mass, we say a few prayers in unison as a community. Remember that sheet the welcomers handed you? You will be able to follow along with those prayers and the whole Mass, as each reading and prayer is marked on that sheet, in order. Useful information if you’d like to take part, but don’t worry if it seems a little daunting.

The Eucharist: The highlight of the Mass is the opportunity to receive the Eucharist or a blessing. If you are not yet a Catholic, that’s fine; in that case, you can receive a blessing. When you reach the front of the line, cross your arms over your chest and bow your head, and you will receive a short blessing. Afterwards, just follow the person before you and return to your seat.

Ending the Mass: When we have reached the end of the Mass, the deacon will say something like: “Go in peace, the Mass has ended.” The congregation will respond with: “Thanks be to God” and then we sing one last hymn as the priest, altar servers and the deacon exit the building, followed by the congregation after the final hymn.

Refreshments: After Mass, some of the congregation go into the church hall for some tea, coffee and biscuits, and you are very welcom to join them.

Next Steps

After you first visit to our church, we hope you will want to come again! 

You can find more information on this website or you can ask for an appointment to talk to our Parish Priest, Fr Anthony Lobo, by calling 01252 546897 or fill in an enquiry form here.

To learn more about our faith, read about the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) here, or contact Deacon Paul Evans via the email or online application form you can access when you click on the RCIA link above.