About LSM

History of LSM

Round and about

LSM homepage

Frequently Asked Questions

Services

• Is LSM a Roman Catholic Church?
• Are the services in traditional language?
• I've never been to an Anglo-Catholic Church before. Shall I make a fool of myself if I don't know what to do?
• Can I take communion?
• Can I attend the Mass but not receive communion?
• Must I go to confession before taking communion?
• We want to have our baby christened. How do we go about it?
• Is it possible for us to have our wedding at LSM?
• My loved one has died. Can the funeral be held at LSM?

Students, young people and children

• Do many students and young people go to LSM?
• LSM sounds rather formal and grown up – even old fashioned. Is it OK to bring children to the Sunday service?

Special Needs

• Does LSM have a sound system to aid the hard of hearing?
• Is LSM wheelchair-friendly?
• I need to receive communion at my seat. Who should I tell?
• I have coeliac disease. Does LSM have gluten-free communion wafers?

Christian Giving

• Will there be a collection and, if so, what will I be giving the money for?

Issues

• Does LSM have a position on homosexuality or on gay clergy?
• Does LSM have a position on women priests?

Services

Is LSM a Roman Catholic Church?

No. Little St Mary's belongs to the Church of England which is not part of the Roman Catholic Church and does not come under the authority of the Pope of Rome. The Church of England separated from the Church of Rome under Henry VIII due to matters of Church order, not of doctrine, and members of the Roman Catholic Church will probably recognise the teaching and worship in LSM as identical, in most respects, to that of their own church. However, LSM is particularly devoted to the spirituality of the Anglican tradition.

The bishops and clergy of the Church of England belong to the Apostolic succession which has been continuous from St Augustine of Canterbury.

Are the services in traditional language?

LSM uses the traditional language rites of Common Worship for all the major services. The language is similar to the old Book of Common Prayer (BCP). One Low Mass each week is in contemporary language.

The Bible is read according to the BCP lectionary at the 08:00 service on Sundays and according to the three year cycle of the Common Worship Lectionary, using the Revised Standard Version, at 10:30 on Sundays.

I've never been to an Anglo-Catholic Church before. Shall I make a fool of myself if I don't know what to do?

Although LSM likes its liturgy to be done with style, we are not unduly fussy or critical when it comes to welcoming those who are new to the experience. When you arrive there will be sidesmen/women and church wardens at the back of the church to welcome you. Don't hesitate to ask them what to do and where to sit! Leaflets are provided to guide you through the service and books with the words of the service and the hymns are in the pews.

Some people like to make the sign of the cross, genuflect, bow, etc. at various points in the service. There is no need to be anxious if these actions are not part of your accustomed repertoire, but you are warmly encouraged to enter fully into the main movements such as kneeling when others kneel and standing when they stand. This is how we enter body and soul into the prayers together. Also, if you are in the front set of pews you will need to turn round as the procession for the reading of the Gospel passes you, so that the Word of God is not read to your back.

Can I take communion?

Confirmed members of Churches in the Anglican Communion or in full communion with the Church of England, and communicant members of other churches who are in good standing with their own church, are welcome to receive the sacrament. We also welcome children who have been admitted to communion in their home parish.

It is the custom at LSM for congregants, on entering the church before Sunday High Mass or a Sung Mass on a major festival, to remove a wafer from the box and place it into the ciborium. However, if you forget, don't worry too much about it; we've all done it on occasion and disaster has not ensued!

If you are coeliac, please read this.

Can I attend the Mass but not receive communion?

Everyone is welcome to attend the service. There is no obligation to receive the Sacrament, even if you are eligible to do so. Most members of the congregation go forward to the altar rails at Communion, and anyone who feels moved to do so is welcome to come up with them at that time: if you do not wish to take communion the Celebrant will give you a blessing. To indicate that this is your intention, you should bring a service book to the communion rail, or bow your head when the celebrant reaches your place at the rail.

Alternatively you may prefer simply to stay in your pew throughout the communion. This is perfectly respectable and will not leave you in any way excluded. A general blessing is given at the end of the service to which you can respond by making the sign of the cross or simply by saying Amen.

Must I go to confession before taking communion?

No. This is not obligatory, and only a small minority of members of the congregation make a regular habit of going to confession regularly. However, should you need to make use of the sacrament of reconciliation, you may avail yourself of one of the advertised times or contact the clergy for advice.

We want to have our baby christened. How do we go about it?

Please see this page.

Is it possible for us to have our wedding at LSM?

Please see this page.

My loved one has died. Can the funeral be held at LSM?

Please see this page.

Students, young people and children

Do many students and young people go to LSM?

LSM has long been the most popular choice in Cambridge for students from the University who belong to a High Church tradition or are looking for something more challenging intellectually and liturgically. Some attend regularly throughout term; many others come out of term when College chapels no longer function. Students in training for ordination at the Theological Colleges are often on placement at LSM.

Do join other students for drinks at the Vicarage after the Sunday Mass on the first few Sundays of the new academic year, each October. The Vicar will be pleased to get to know you: catch him at the church door after Mass.

LSM's unusual mix of families, undergraduates, graduate students, academics, theological students, college clergy out of term, retired clergy and numerous interested amateurs makes it a particularly stimulating environment for exploring the Christian faith with intelligent and well-informed companions, and for building good friendships across the generations.

LSM sounds rather formal and grown up — even old fashioned. Is it OK to bring children to the Sunday service?

LSM worship, on Sundays and major festivals, is designed to be rich, awesome and spectacular, engaging all the senses in an intense offering of words, music, incense and dance. It is always suitable to bring children, no matter how solemn the occasion. Children delight in the music and in the mystery, and can readily pray without feeling self-conscious and without needing to get their heads round all the details. Adults have much to learn from children in this respect.

Families are made warmly welcome every Sunday at the 10:30 service. Please make sure you sit near the front where there is a good view, or close to the Lady Chapel. Children aged 5+ normally go out to the children's group in the parish room from after the collect until the Peace, but this is not compulsory. If your children are too young for the children's group, you may keep them with you throughout the service — but feel free to take them out briefly, if they become tiresome: don't feel ashamed of this, everyone's used to it and would prefer you to take the baby out to be comforted properly rather than struggle with the cries in church (the Lady Chapel is always available for this purpose). The Churchwardens at the door of the Church will see that you can get into the Parish room if you need to feed or change the baby. Alternatively, if you wish, you can take infants to the nursery at Emmanuel United Reformed Church from 10:45 and collect them after the service.

Children are fully involved in the worship of the Church. Many sing in the junior choir. Others serve as boat bearers, train to become servers, and help with the preparations for major festivals. Older children and teenagers are encouraged to serve, sing in the choir, and generally do sociable things together. Games, activities and outings are organised for all age groups.

There is a teenage Youth Group on alternate Sundays (when the children are not singing in the choir. Please contact the Lay Pastoral Assistant for further details.

Does LSM have a sound system to aid the hard of hearing?

There is a loop system for those with hearing aids, linked to a discreet sound reinforcement system designed to enhance the audibility throughout the nave of the church without destroying the worship experience. The system is used for major services, but LSM is a small and intimate church and for many lesser services amplification would be inappropriate and the system is not used on those occasions.

Is LSM wheelchair-friendly?

Yes. There are no steps at the entrance to the church or into the Parish Room. You may find it convenient to sit in the aisle adjacent to the Lady Chapel, where there is plenty of room. LSM also has a disabled toilet, located at the rear of the Parish Room.

Some early morning Low Masses are normally held in the crypt (not wheelchair-accessible); however, should you wish to attend such a Mass, please let the Vicar know and it will be held upstairs instead.

I need to receive communion at my seat. Who should I tell?

Tell one of the Churchwardens, who should be standing at the back of the Church before the service begins. They will ensure that the celebrant is aware of your needs.

I have coeliac disease. Does LSM have gluten-free communion wafers?

The normal communion wafers are not gluten-free; however LSM does keep a stock of gluten-free wafers for people who need them. Instead of placing a wafer in the ciborium (as is the usual custom at LSM), alert one of the Churchwardens standing at the back of the church to your requirements. They will then ensure that the celebrant is informed.

Christian giving

Will there be a collection and, if so, what will I be giving the money for?

A collection is taken during the offertory hymn halfway through the 10:30 main Sunday service. This goes into the funds of LSM which are used for a number of purposes. Some of the money goes to maintain, insure and heat the building; some goes to other running costs of the church. We like to give 5% of our collections to overseas mission, but over half our income goes to the Diocese of Ely in the form of Ministry Share. This money is used by the Diocese to pay for the stipends, housing and pension contributions of the clergy in our area. Ministry Share is charged to each parish more or less according to their means: at LSM we are relatively well off which means that we contribute towards the ministry in the wider Church in places where there is greater need.

LSM also holds fund-raising events of various sorts, for charity or to make ends meet for paying the Parish share when collections are not adequate. We are also appealing for substantial funds to contribute to the cost of employing a lay pastoral assistant (this is part of our effort to nurture the development of young people who are exploring their vocation to the priesthood).

LSM social events are generally organised on a bring-and-share or pay-as-you-go basis and are not funded out of church funds. Other indulgences, such as when wine is served instead of coffee after mass, are often funded through the generosity of individual donors with something to celebrate.

If you pay tax, it would be helpful if you could use a Gift Aid envelope for your offering. These will be found in the pews.

Issues

Does LSM have a position on homosexuality or on gay clergy?

No. Members of LSM hold a spectrum of beliefs on these matters, and we encourage open-minded theological discussion of the issues, in the context of generous and supportive pastoral care of all.

Does LSM have a position on women priests?

Members of LSM hold a wide spectrum of beliefs on women's ordination, and there is ample room within the supportive fellowship of this community for all God's children, however muddled or wayward their initial thinking on these matters might be. The LSM congregation welcomes all who are respectful of the vocations of others, and who care deeply about the traditional doctrines of the Church, provided they are prepared to be open to the continuing guidance of the Holy Spirit without bigotry or arrogance.

LSM offers a range of opportunities for developing women's ministry, both priestly and otherwise. In recent years this parish has nurtured a steady flow of vocations to the ordained ministry among women (as well as men), many of whom have heard their calling while praying in the pews of this church or serving at its altar. However, we maintain a compromise for the present as we continue to hold within our heart many parishioners who have loved this Church, and worshipped here for many years, but who are not able to cope with a hasty pace of change. At LSM, under the current convention, the celebrant is always a man, and the deacon is almost invariably a man. The subdeacon may be of either sex and we have a mixed-sex serving team. Women, both lay and ordained, are regularly invited to preach.