We are grateful to Jacqui Parkinson for coming to to Vic on 20 September 2025 to tell us about how she created her Threads through Creation artwork which has been on display at Vic since the end of August. A recording of her evening talk is now available on our YouTube channel:

We are very excited that Jacqui Parkinson’s Threads through Creation textile artwork will be on display at Vic from 25 August to 4 October 2025. This follows on from the exhibition of her Threads through Revelation panels at Vic in September 2024.

Exhibition

Admission to the exhibition will be free and opening times are
Mon/Wed/Fri 11am – 4pm  and
Tues/Thur/Sat 11am – 6pm
between 25 August and 4 October 2025.

Events

Saturday, 20 September 2025, 3.00pm

Jacqui Parkinson will come and speak about the 3-year process of creating her Threads through Creation panels. If you wish, you can watch a recording of this event.

Saturday, 4 October 2025, 7.30pm

In the beginning…
an evening of of music, readings and meditations to accompany Jacqui Parkinson’s Threads through Creation
With the church’s choir singing music from a variety of periods, this will be an opportunity to celebrate creation and creativity, and consider how these ancient creation stories can connect with a more contemporary faith and spirituality in the 21^st century.

Sunday Services

Our Sunday services at 10.30 am from 24 August to 5 October, inclusive, will all be themed around topics from Jacqui’s panels and the creation stories:
24 August: Introduction – Rev David Deeks
31 August: Light and Dark – Rev Patrick Stonehewer
7 September: Water – Ken Luxon and Rev Pearl Luxon
14 September: Biodiversity – Rev Ruth Midcalf
21 September: Joy – John Wing
28 September: Rest and Silence – Vicky Davies and Rev David Deeks
5 October: Reflecting on the Experience – Rev Patrick Stonhewer

Entering the building

We usually have two or three friendly door stewards at the entrance to the church who will greet and welcome you. Do introduce yourself and have a chat or if you have any questions then please don’t hesitate to ask them. Note that on your right there is an accessible toilet and also a servery at which we serve drinks after the service.

Straight ahead, through some glass doors is the worship area.

If you struggle with going up the steps to the church, you can use the ramp and enter through a door at the side of the porch area.

There is no need to wear anything particular or dress up for going to church. Simply come in clothes you feel comfortable in. A good rule-of-thumb is to choose whatever you might wear to meet a friend for coffee – for some people this might be a suit, for others it will be jeans and a T-shirt which shows off their tattoos!

Layout

The worship area at Vic is flexible with benches and chairs and a movable dais – so the exact layout of the church may vary depending on when you come. Typically the church is set out in rows with aisles down the middle and the sides.

However on some occasions (e.g. when there is art being exhibited) there is no central aisle and at other times we arrange the seating in a ‘fish eye’ configuration, with benches facing each other across a central aisle.

Order of Service

Methodist services have very little liturgy (set prayers and chants), so there can be quite a wide variety between services. Normally the service will start with a welcome and some notices from a steward after which the person leading the service (either a minister or a local preacher) will take over. A typical order of service is as follows:

Welcome
Hymn
Prayer
All-age address
Hymn
Children and young people and their leaders go to other rooms for their own activities
Bible Readings
Hymn
Sermon
Hymn
Prayers
Hymn
Blessing

However, preachers may choose to have only four hymns, to break the sermon into two or more parts (perhaps each part paired with a reading), or to add additional prayers or have prayers in slightly different places. However, the general progression of Prayer / Reading / Reflection / Prayer, interspersed with hymns is relatively standard.

If you like to see the order of service in advance of coming to church, you can ask to be added to our mailing list for the weekly notices. The order of service for the following Sunday is sent out as a .pdf file with the notices each Thursday.

Hymns

The words for the hymns and songs are all projected onto screens at the front and sides of the church, so most people don’t bother with a hymn book.

However, if you don’t have good eye sight or like to read music you can ask for a large print or music hymn book which we keep in a rack on the left hand side near the entrance to the worship area.

Mostly we sing hymns from the Methodist Singing the Faith hymn book, but sometimes preachers will also bring other hymns along for us to sing. If you are using a hymn book, then you will find the hymn numbers on the left hand side of the two hymn boards hanging on the walls near the front of the church.

The hymns are accompanied either by a piano, the organ or a piano with some other instruments such as clarinet, trumpet or violin – it depends who the musical accompanist is for that Sunday.

Most people will stand to sing the hymns, but if you prefer to remain seated, then that is fine, too.

Prayers

On the whole, members of the congregation will remain seated during the prayers. Some may close their eyes, some may lean forwards onto their knees, some may fold or put their hands together in some way. There is no set way to sit. If you wish, you can simply remain seated normally with your eyes open.

Typically, the preacher will say the prayers and you can join in their meaning in silence. Sometimes there may be a prayer or a response for everyone to say together. If this is the case, it will be projected.

Some preachers may also include periods of silence or a sung response in their prayers.

In most services we will say the Lord’s Prayer at some point. This is a prayer that Jesus taught his disciples and which many members of the congregation will know by heart. However, it is almost always projected, so there is no need for you to know it in advance. You can also find it on the back inside cover of the hymn book if you have one. There is a traditional and a modern version. Usually we say the modern version, but the best thing is simply to look out for what is on the screens.

All-age Address

This is often a slightly more interactive part of the service which is meant to be accessible to people of all ages with particular appeal to children. It might involve the preacher asking some questions (which both old and young are invited to answer), telling a story, showing a video, or asking for some volunteers to help with a little demonstration. There is no need to participate if you don’t wish and you can simply sit back and listen and observe if you like.

Bible Readings

The Bible readings are usually read by members of the congregation on a rota basis. If you start coming to our church regularly and would like to be added to the rota, then speak to a steward and they can put you in touch with the person who currently arranges the rota.

There are usually copies of the Bible in the little shelves at the back of the benches and chairs.

You can use these to read along. But note that readers will sometimes read from a different version of the Bible, so the words may not always be exactly the same. The right-hand column of the hymn boards shows the page numbers for the Bible readings and indicates whether they are in the Old Testament (OT) part at the front of the Bible or the New Testament (NT) part towards the back of the Bible.

Sermon

The length of sermons varies, but 15 minutes (plus or minus 5 minutes) is probably relatively standard for our church. However, sometimes a preacher may decide to split the sermon into several shorter reflections. On the whole, sermons are not interactive and the congregation simply listens. Some preachers may use slides to illustrate the sermon or show an artwork.

Occasionally, if people have found a sermon particularly helpful, they may ask the preacher for a copy of it after the service and most preachers are willing to share this by email. So don’t feel shy to ask for this if you think it would be helpful.

At the end of a service

At the end of the service the preacher will generally give a blessing or invite the congregation to join in ‘The Grace’ in which we all bless one another using the following words:

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
And the Love of God,
And the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit,
Be with us all for evermore. Amen.

The preacher will then usually move towards the church entrance and the musician(s) will play some music. After a few moments of music people may start greeting and talking to their neighbours.

Those less keen to chat, might leave at this point. Others will continue talking or go and get some tea, coffee, water or squash from the servery at the entrance and get talking to people there.

The preacher will usually be available to talk to near the entrance to the porch should you wish to speak to them.

Please note that from Monday 14 July 2025 the Whiteladies Road outside Vic will be closed in the Northbound direction. The work is only expected to be completed by the end of 2025.

The church will remain accessibe, but only when driving soutbound along the the Whiteladies Road.

The council has put in the place the following diversions:

For more information please see the council webpage.

It was a delight to welcome Jacqui Parkinson to Vic on 21 September 2024 to talk to us about her Threads through Revelation artwork which has been on display since the start of September. A recording of her evening talk is now available on our YouTube channel:

Eventbrite Tickets

You can book your free ticket for this event on Eventbrite.

More Information

Join the event online at www.facebook.com/metalmethodist.

For more information about the Metal Methodist go to the Metal Methodist website, Facebook page, Facebook Group or YouTube channel.

You can also have a read of the recent connexion magazine article about James Morely and his ministry within the Metal community.

We’re very excited to be hosting Jacqui Parkinson’s Threads through Revelation artwork at Vic from 4 September to 14 October. See our exhibition page for more details on going to see the exhibition.

Alongside the exhibition we will be hosting some related events:

Saturday 21 September 2024, 3.30pm and 7pm

Talks by Jacqui Parkinson on her work. A recording of the evening talk on our YouTube channel and website.

Saturday 28 September 2024, 7pm

Metal Compline: prayers for the end of the day exploring Metal and Hard Rock music that uses imagery from the book of Revelation – led by Revd James Morley, the Metal Methodist. More information. Free tickets available on Eventbrite.

Saturday 12 October 2024, 7pm

And I Saw A New Heaven: A Meditation in words and music based on Jacqui Parkinson’s Threads through Revelation. Free tickets available on Eventbrite.

Sundays, 1 September – 13 October 2024, 10.30am

Services using readings from Revelation and focussing on different panels from Threads through Revelation each week.

1 September 2024 10.30am
Rev David Deeks
Setting the scene of Revelation in advance of the exhibition

8 September 2024 10.30am
Vicky Davies
Prayerfully reflecting on art using panels 4 (Pregnant Pause) and 12 (The Last Judgement)

15 September 2024 10.30am
Clare Campion-Smith and Christine Stones
Panel 7 (The Great Battle) in context with the Gospel

22 September 2024 10.30am
Rev Patrick Stonehewer
Panel 6 (Two Witnesses)
Communion Service

22 September 2024 6.30pm
Vicky Davies
Taizé service
with chants and readings based on Revelation

29 September 2024 10.30am
Rev Patrick Stonehewer and Rev James Morley (founder of Metal Methodists)
Connecting with God through Heavy Metal music using panels 3 (Horsemen of the Apokalypse), 10 (Armageddon) and 11 (Beauty and the Beast)

6 October 2024 10.30am
Ken Luxon and Rev Pearl Luxon
Panel 14 (New Creation)
Communion Service

13 October 2024 10.30am
Bring & Share: what impact has Revelation had on you and what questions has it raised?