'In the earthly liturgy we take part in a foretaste

of that heavenly liturgy… [it is] the summit toward which

the activity of the Church is directed’

(Sacrosanctum Concilium)

Our Worship

The liturgy is a word which means the public worship of the church. At St Michael’s, our worship draws from the Anglo-Catholic tradition, with music, colour and celebration.

Our services are relaxed and friendly, and they’re open to everyone, whether you’ve been to church before or not.

We believe that Jesus is present with us when we worship together, and that in our worship we see something of the glory of God.

We believe in the full and active participation of all people in our worship, because it is through our worship that God changes us and we are drawn ever closer to God.

We believe in coming to worship God with open hearts, ready to be changed, challenged and renewed by our interaction with God and one another.

Coming for the First Time?

If you’re coming for the first time, then you are sure to receive a warm welcome. There aren’t any particular rules, but you might notice that most people stand during some parts of the service and sit during other parts.

Someone will welcome you at the door and give you all that you need. You can sit anywhere you like, and you are very welcome to come for tea and coffee in the hall afterwards.



As you come into the church, a small sign on the door reads ‘welcome home, come on in’. This is our message to all who haven’t been to the church before: the church is your home, you’re always welcome, and the people inside are your family, ready to welcome you.

Our Services

Sunday

10.30 am Parish Mass

This is our main service, with lots of people, music and incense.

It’s generally the service that families come to.

On the first Sunday of the month is our All-Age Parish Mass, which is focused more on families

(although children are welcome to all our services).

Find details of services at St Peter the Holy Apostle, Sompting or St Mary the Blessed Virgin, Sompting

Weekday Masses

During the week we have a very short Mass (25 minutes) in the Lady Chapel at the following times:

11 am – Thursday

9:30 am – Saturday

For special services, go to our Coming Soon page.

Everyone is welcome to all our services

A recent welcome poster seen at a church

We extend a special welcome to those who are single, married, divorced, widowed, gay, confused, filthy rich, comfortable, or dirt poor. We extend a special welcome to those who are crying new-borns, skinny as a rake or could afford to lose a few pounds.

We welcome you if you can sing like Pavarotti or can’t carry a note in a bucket. You’re welcome here if you’re ‘just browsing,’ just woke up or just got out of prison. We don’t care if you’re more Christian than the Archbishop of Canterbury, or haven’t been in church since little Jack’s christening.

We extend a special welcome to those who are over 60 but not grown up yet, and to teenagers who are growing up too fast. We welcome keep-fit mums, football dads, starving artists, tree-huggers, latte-sippers, vegetarians, junk-food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery or still addicted. We welcome you if you’re having problems or you’re down in the dumps or if you don’t like ‘organised religion.’ We’ve been there too!

If you blew all your money on the horses, you’re welcome here. We offer a welcome to those who think the earth is flat, ‘work too hard,’ don’t work, can’t spell, or because grandma is in town and wanted to go to church.

We welcome those who are inked, pierced or both. We offer a special welcome to those who could use a prayer right now, had religion shoved down your throat as a kid or got lost and wound up here by mistake. We welcome tourists, seekers and doubters, bleeding hearts… and you!