We have a service every Sunday morning at 10:30am and Communion is served on the 3rd Sunday morning. You are also warmly invited to join our virtual community and we look forward to welcoming you at one of our online services.
What time should I arrive? If it’s your first visit then it’s probably best to turn up around 10.15am. for the morning service. If you are driving then you’ll be pleased to hear that there is plenty of free parking. For directions to reach us please see our contact page. You’ll be greeted on the door by our welcoming team.
What can I expect? 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 Ararat. First of all, we aren’t super-spiritual beings, we all had a ‘first day’ at church, you’ll find we are a friendly bunch, if you don’t understand something please simply ask.
We start our meeting at 10.30am with a few minutes of notices keeping us informed of diary dates etc, then we spend a short time praising God. Our worship time consists of modern songs (with guitars, keyboards and drums). Everyone participates in the worship but at 11am the children and youth go to their own groups, we also run a creche for the little ones. We then have a talk from the Bible that is relevant and meaningful to our modern lives.
We finish our meeting around midday, with tea and coffee. Our aim is that whether you are just looking into Christianity for the first time or have been a Christian for many years that you should be encouraged and inspired by the morning. We hope that everyone will draw closer to God.
What should I wear? This is easy. Wear whatever you feel comfortable in. We are an informal church and accept people as they are. There is no need to dress up to try and be someone that you’re not.
Renew Wellbeing Café
Renew is our Wellbeing Café. This is a quiet shared space where it is okay not to be okay. It is an opportunity to come and share a hobby, learn a new one or simply to enjoy the quiet space with your favourite brew. Renew on Tuesdays, 2.15pm – 4.00pm.
Ararat Christians Against Torture – working on the big questions
The group normally meets at 7.00 p.m. on the first Monday of the month, and arranges other events during the year. We welcome everyone.
Headline news of world events often seems overwhelming. What can we make of it? How should we pray? What might we do?
In the Ararat Christians Against Torture group we try to explore the issues together.
Our central work has always been opposing torture and supporting its survivors. For more than 30 years we have written, campaigned and prayed for prisoners in many countries. We have particular concern for persecuted Christians, but work for people of all faiths and none – in recent years challenging our own government and the US over Guantanamo Bay.
- We believe that a world without torture is what God intends. This invariably gets us thinking widely.
- In a typical meeting, we share items which have moved or puzzled or challenged us during the previous month – a radio or television programme, a report in a newspaper or magazine, a book or a new film. The subjects might range from stories about asylum seekers, refugees and child labourers, to the use of cluster bombs, reactions to terrorism, arguments for a ‘just war’, or the judicial system in the UK.
- We usually begin with prayer and reflection on one of the many passages of scripture related to our concerns. Sometimes we use material written by a prisoner, or by someone whose experience of conflict or other suffering offers valuable insight.
- We certainly don’t pretend to have all the answers, but we try to reflect in light of our understanding of the God revealed in Jesus.
- At the end of each evening we bring it all together, naming each person and situation in prayers of intercession.
