Our weekly services are held at 8am, 11am and 6pm.

Sunday 20 May
8.00am : Holy Communion.
11.00am: Holy Communion with Peter Phipps preaching on ‘Walking in freedom every day’.
6.00pm: Evening Praise and Baptisms with Stuart Bell preaching on ‘No turning back’.

St Michael’s Church
Laura Place
Aberystwyth
Ceredigion
SY23 2AU

01970 617184
office@stmikes.net
Office open Monday 11am -5pm, Tuesday to Saturday 9am – 5pm

Map location:

When should I arrive?

Our Sunday services start at 8am, 11am and 6pm, so if you arrive about 10 or 15 minutes before the beginning of the service that will give someone a chance to say hello to you.

Will I be able to park?

Yes. We have a large car park, which is free to use for all congregation members. You can leave your car there as long as you want.

What should I wear?

Wear whatever you feel comfortable in. Don’t dress to try and be someone you’re not. A few people come in suits others in jeans and tee-shirts. Whatever you wear you will be welcome.

What will happen?

For some people going anywhere for the first time can be a bit of a nerve-racking experience. To help avoid any worries here’s a quick summary of what you can expect at St Michael’s Church. Everyone of us had a first day at this church – even if it was a long time ago. If you don’t understand something then please ask.

When you arrive you will be greeted by someone at the door. They will give you a notice sheet – this tells you what is happening in the church this week. You are free to sit anywhere you like.

Usually our services begin with a time of ‘worship’. This can be between 35 and 40 minutes and consists of a number of songs, readings from the Bible and times for prayer.

Unless it is an all age service the children will go to their own groups at this stage (11am service only). If you are a visitor and have children, your children are welcome to go out to the Sunday Club too; one of the Sunday School teachers will help them to find the right group. You will need to take your child across to the Castle Rooms, where the club happens, and pick them up at the end – just follow the crowd or ask if you’re unsure.
Everyone who works with children has obtained the relevant clearance from the Criminal Records Bureau.

Next there will be ‘family time’ - This is a few minutes for notices, keeping us informed of important dates, events and news in the church. This is usually followed by an offering. This is an opportunity for those who regularly attend to give money which is used to keep the church running, help those in need, provide for missionaries working overseas and support a number of organisations all over the world working in areas such as health care, education, disaster relief etc. If you are a visitor do not feel that you have to put anything in the offering – you are our guest.

Then we have a talk from the Bible (sometimes called a sermon). Although the Bible is an old book it remains relevant and meaningful to our modern lives. This talk will help us to live as followers of Jesus, whatever our walks of life.

If it is a service of Holy Communion, communion will take place now. Communion is a service where we specifically remember the sacrifice that Jesus made by dying on the cross for us, by sharing bread and wine together. If you are a Christian you are welcome to join in taking the bread and wine.
We will say some liturgy together which will come up on the screens, and then stewards will show you when to go up to the communion point closest to you. If you have any questions, please just ask one of the stewards.

After our service tea and coffee is served (this is usually about 12.30pm). Please stay if you can.

Whether you have never been to church before, or have been a Christian for a long time we hope that our services will be an encouragement and help to you.

Come inside

Walk through the door of our church and two things will happen simultaneously. Firstly you will be greeted warmly by our welcome team who are constantly on the look out for visitors and newcomers. Secondly you will have become aware that the Lord is in this place.

Who is in the congregation

We have hundreds of visitors throughout the year. Some of them are families of the large numbers of students who worship with us, others simply come to West Wales to enjoy the sea and the mountains, whilst still others travel in from long distances just to be refreshed by lively contemporary worship, relevant Biblical teaching, and a sense of the presence of God.

Why they come

Repeatedly people tell us that that there is an atmosphere in our church which has been created by our praying and by our worshipping. Prayer is central to all that we do, not just on Sundays but also throughout the week. It is from that prayer that our heavenly worship flows week by week, blending traditional and modern, led by worship group and choir, from exuberant and exciting to meditative and meaningful.

You’ll discover much more about us by looking through the information on our website, but best of all we would love you to come and visit us for worship and to taste St. Michael’s church life for yourself.

New here? More information for first time visitors can be found here

Here’s a taster of what St Mike’s Children’s work is like..

We run clubs aimed at 0-11s. The clubs are listed below so come and join the fun! They are all run in the Castle Rooms and cost 50p.

Wednesday The Lab 4-5:30pm, age 4-11

New and exciting happenings are going down at The Lab. Join the Lab gang as they get to know each other better and discover more about God. Watch our wonderful leaders fulfill their challenges. Gain points for your team in our amazing games and brilliant crafts. And we all know what points mean … PRIZES!

Sunday Sunday club 11:30-12:30 (during the morning service)

Using material that follows the church teaching programme we find out how God works through everything! A morning filled with stories, games and crafts all helping us to understand what God means for us in everyday life. PLUS you get to go home and talk to your parents about it cause they’ve been learning about similar things!

We also run one off events, like Holiday Clubs, Soccer Schools, residentials and seasonal activities – WATCH THIS SPACE.

Check out the St Michael’s Youth Blog here

CIA - The Christian Union in Penglais School is open to all ages and all denominations, to Christian and non-Christians alike. Giving an opportunity for the youth to meet with Jesus in school to pray, learn more about God and to be challenged in their faith. Wednesday lunchtimes (12:35-13:20) D10, Penglais School.

Ignite - An opportunity to come and learn about Jesus in a friendly atmosphere. For those who are seeking God and those who want to develop their relationship with Him…Every Wednesday, 7-9pm, Castle Rooms

Youth Group – A safe place to come and hang out, make friends and have a good time. Expect times of chilling, games and lots of fun! Every other Friday evening, 7-9pm, Castle Rooms from 24th September

Mel and Tom are the friendly student pastors, here to help in any way they can!

 Here are some of the things that are going on for Students in St Mike’s…

Plus

• 1-1 Bible Studies

If you feel you need or would benefit from some extra support and a chance to talk things over and see what the Bible has to say then this can be easily arranged. Mel and Tom loiter around at the end of the services, so just grab one of them and make a date.

• Visiting

Because tea drinking is an acquired sport, you will get visits! These visits will be primarily just to say a friendly ‘hi’ and to check up on how things are going and of course to drink tea, but they can also be pastoral. At your request a particular problem can be talked and prayed about. In some cases Tom or Mel can put you in touch with someone on the listening team. Confidentiality is assured on all visits.

Come along on Tuesday 27th March 2012 at 7:30pm and find out more or download a pdf version of our ministries booklet:  Review and Preview booklet 2011

Please contact the office for more information.

The Alpha course is designed primarily for people who aren’t churchgoers and each course is open to everyone who would like to attend. As a course, Alpha attracts a diverse range of guests of different ages and backgrounds, holding many different viewpoints. Over 7,000 churches are currently running the Alpha course across the UK in rural and urban settings, including every major UK city.

Guests do Alpha for a wide variety of reasons – some want to investigate whether God exists; others are concerned about what happens after death. Some people have particular questions that they would like to discuss; others want to understand other people’s beliefs or would like to explore what the purpose of life is. Many guests have never been to church, others may have attended church occasionally but feel they have never really understood the basics of the Christian faith.

We try to make it as “user friendly” as possible. This is done in 3 ways:

1. The evening is informal starting with a light meal then people listen to a talk. Then there is time to mix with others in small groups to discuss the talk and ask the questions important to you. You will be discussing things important to you; you will not be lectured at.
2. Everyone is free to try the course and leave it if they feel it is not for them. They are not pursued or followed up.
3. There is no charge for the course, apart from a weekend away which is held half way through the course for all participants. If finance was an impediment for someone joining the weekend away we would try and find some way of helping. The weekend away is a helpful part of the course that gives people a chance to pause and reflect.

Millions of people worldwide have found the Alpha course an incredible life changing experience that has helped to answer those important questions of life. It has also impacted the lives of many who worship at this church. If you would like more information or the date of the next course, contact the church.

The Alpha course was developed at Holy Trinity Church, Brompton Road, London. Further information about it is available at http://uk.alpha.org/