Home
What's New?
How to find us
Who we are
The Parish
Patterns of Worship
Monthly/Quarterly Services
Pastoral Letter
Calendar & Prayers
Events & Notices
About Our Art
Liturgy at St. Matthew's
Music at St. Matthew's
The Choir
The Director of
Music
The Organ
The Organ Restoration
Commissions
Concerts
Northampton
Bach Choir
Ministry of Welcome
St. Matthew's Northampton Trust
Regular Activities
Youth
Mission and Outreach
Vision and Priorities
Parish Renewal
Parish Cell
Pastoral Care
webdesign: Juli@
Liturgy at St. Matthew's
In a book written to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of St. Matthew's, Gertrude Hollis wrote that the church is a place where "The teaching and practice has been strongly Catholic, definitely Evangelical and always English"!
Famed for its art and music, St. Matthew's has emerged from a period of liturgical renewal firmly rooted within Anglicanism, but with a definite Catholic expression. The St. Matthew's community has embraced Vatican II's understanding of a parish eucharistic liturgy that encourages the "full active and conscious participation of the gathered assembly", so that we are beginning to rejoice in a community that does not merely sing at the mass, but sings the mass.
Our liturgy is enhanced by seasonal liturgy booklets that include musical settings for the people of God, and which seek to enrich the meaning of the liturgical season.
Liturgical CeremonialWe aim for a liturgical excellence where the primary symbols of the liturgy can speak for themselves without layers of elaborate fussiness. There is a very Benedictine approach, which is both rooted in a traditional ceremonial where the baptised are encouraged to exercise their various ministries, in which the beauty of ordered liturgy points us towards the holiness and love of God. This is not to create a bolt-hole for pietistic liturgical escapism, for St. Matthew's is a parish committed to serving the community, and which embraces a fully collaborative approach to ministry.