What we do
When we meet together on a Sunday morning we start off with a prayer from the pastor or from someone in the congregation, thanking God for getting us through the past week and acknowledging His presence among us as we meet together.
Then we sing songs together; some songs that are ancient, some songs that are modern, all of them are used as aids for us to worship God. They are songs that tell of God's character and His actions, or that voice of our response to Him.
At the close of singing the kids are dismissed into the other room for crèche or an age appropriate bible lesson.
After that, we'll have an open time for about five or ten minutes where anyone present can read a verse from the Bible that has impacted them lately, or share an experience that they've had or a lesson that they have learned from God. Anyone is free to speak, but no one is obligated to.
When that portion of the meeting is finished we move to the sermon. During the sermon the pastor will work his way through a portion of the Bible, explaining the context and any unfamiliar words or concepts in the section. After bringing out the meaning of the passage, emphasis is then given to the question: "what does this mean to us?" We believe that the message of the Bible is just as relevant to us in the 21st century as it was to its original recipients, and our teaching style reflects that. The goal is that through studying together with us, the message and themes of the scripture will speak through the centuries to our own hearts and will impact the way that we treat our spouses and children, the way we work at our jobs, the way we behave at college, and the way that we interact with Cork culture around us.
We also regularly take communion together. Communion is where Christians, through bread and wine, remember our Lord Jesus' death and resurrection. It is a time of reflection, self-examination, repentance, thanksgiving and worship.
After we close in prayer together we all stick around for tea and coffee and cake, enjoying each others company and having a laugh together. That's all, just real people interacting corporately with our God, Jesus Christ.