The Good Church Guide
A selection of York’s finest churches for your perusal
1. The Ark
The Ark Church exists to introduce people to a God who will do them good! One of York’s newest churches, the flavour is charismatic/Pentecostal but with a very relaxed style. The Ark suits those who are happy to be challenged and get involved. Meeting in Foxwood Community Centre and also having the most active church website in the city, you will find a strong emphasis on the presence of God and vital Bible teaching. Worship is band-led. The website offers locally made Fast Food — a word for each day, as well as a library of downloadable MP3s. A number 4 bus from the University takes you all the way to Foxwood. Full directions and service times at www.the-ark.net
Contact: Stephen Redman at the church office on 01904 338903 or email info@the-ark.net
2. St Oswalds (Anglican)
St Oswalds (Fulford) is the warmest, friendliest, most welcoming church I’ve found in York! It’s a thriving C of E church, with lots of families (plenty of opportunity for youthwork!) and is always keen to welcome students and encourage us to join in with church life (music group, house groups, children’s activity days… the list goes on). It’s in easy walking distance from campus — drop me an e-mail and I’ll walk there with you. David Goodhew, the vicar, is very keen to get more students involved, and also has contact with the CU. From September, there will be a new service structure (and at the time of writing, I don’t know precisely how this is panning out — I’ve been away from York all summer). There will be four services every Sunday: 8am Holy Communion (Common Worship), 9:15am Traditional Choral service, 11am Contemporary service, 6:30pm Evensong / Sung Eucharist.
Contact: Nicola Tarver, njt111
3. Campus Mass
University Campus Mass takes place in L/036 at 11am during term time. It is celebrated by Fr. Damian the Catholic Chaplain and is a very relaxed but reverent time of worship. Great liturgy, stimulating input and a genuine sense of community and welcome. There’s plenty of opportunity to get involved, from preparing the room to reading, and we are always looking for new musicians to join us. The music is provided by guitarists, a keyboard player and others. The student congregation and the university setting helps to create a friendly and relaxed atmosphere, although some may find the Catholic liturgy unfamiliar or challenging. After Mass all are welcome to go to More House for a cooked brunch.
Contact: Fr. Damian, dcc500
4. York City Church
YCC meets at 10.30 every Sunday morning at York St John’s College on Lord Mayor’s Walk — there is always a big sign outside so you can’t miss it. I will be meeting people in Vanbrugh Stalls every Sunday morning at 10am . Be prompt because taxis will be booked (and paid for by the church) for 10am. York City Church is part of ‘New Frontiers’, a worldwide family of churches, so it would probably not be classed as ‘traditional’. The worship is really good and the preaching is always really interesting and you can’t help but leave feeling you have learned something really interesting. But most importantly everyone is really friendly! It is very easy to meet people and straight away you get the sense that the church is like one big family. Although it is about a half hour’s walk away from campus it is well worth it, if only to grab a quick lunch in town afterwards!
Contact: Ursula Scott-Wilson, ujsw500
5.York Evangelical Church (YEC)
…is a small & very friendly church which meets in a school in South Bank, at 10:45am and 6:30pm. Highlights are the excellent biblical teaching and sense of community — which includes weekly student lunches — a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon! We’ll be walking from Vanbrugh Stalls at 10am, hope to see you there!
Contact: Caroline Dale, ced110
6. Salvation Army
If you like tambourines, you will love the Salvation Army. I could quite happily live without tambourines, however, and don’t intend ever to bash one, and I’m still as much part of the family as everyone else. Situated on the corner where Lord Mayor’s Walk and Gillygate meet, this is one of the least churchy churches going, and has that friendliness which is often advertised as part of churches but less often a reality. There are two meetings on a Sunday, at 10:30 and 5 o’clock, and all the opportunities for work with youth and the homeless during the week that you’d expect. Bring a bonnet. Or, perhaps, don’t.
Contact: Jon Sargant, jonathansargant@voila.fr
7. Holy Trinity Heworth
…guarantees a warm welcome, family feel and the opportunity to engage with the local community. Although a fairly small Anglican church there are plenty of oppurtunities to get involved including student led services. It provides students with faithful Bible teaching whilst the worship is a mixture of organ classics and modern songs. Only a 25 minute walk from campus, it provides a great traditional/modern blend.
Contact: Scott Franklin, sf508
8. Heslington Church
Heslington Church, or Hes, as it is known, is about the most convenient church for those living on campus, being situated between Derwent and Chemistry. It’s a very friendly church, and there are plenty of opportunities for students to get involved, including a student worship band. Hes church is both Anglican and Methodist, and the two are combined with success. The most popular services with students are the Sunday morning 10am service, comprising Communion one week and Morning Prayer or All Age Worship the next, and Taizé-style Night Prayer on a Friday night at ten.
Contact: Lizzie Freear, erf500
9. York Baptist Church, Priory Street, off Micklegate
Services start at at 10:45am and 6:30pm Meet to walk down at Vanbrugh Porters’ Lodge at 10am and 5:45pm. York Baptist is a well-established church in the city centre, with a strong and continuing history of solid Biblical teaching coupled with warm fellowship. The church’s vision is to see all in the fellowship hear and obey the word of God, bring everything to God in prayer and show that the Gospel is relevant to life in the 21st century. The church is also a committed supporter of UCCF and the Christian Unions in York, and is always seeking to involve students in its church life, which is a great encouragement to students and the church alike. Student Bible studies, lunches and days out are some of the ways that students can get to know each other and God’s word in York Baptist. If you’re church hunting at the beginning of your university life, put a visit to York Baptist Church on the list!
Contact: Phil Walker, pjw120
10. St George’s Methodist (Millfield Lane, Tang Hall)
This small but friendly Methodist church mainly serves the local community, but offers an extremely waarm welcome to any students who may wander across the threshold. Service style tends to be a traditional hymn sandwich, with occasional hints of modernity or experimentation on the theme. Overall a place to feel at home, with opportunuties to get involved, feel part of the local community and be challenged.
Contact: Rachel Cavill rc145
11. York Community Church
York Community Church meets on two sites. I go to the Tang Hall congregation at Tang Hall Community Centre on Melrosegate, the other is in Osbaldwick at Osbaldwick Primary School. here are three services on a Sunday. At 10am, there is the Communion service, an open style service where anyone can get up and ask for prayer, share a verse, share something God has done for them, etc. Then there’s tea and coffee from 10.45 until the 11.15 Family Service. This is the main service of the day, with the core teaching the housegroups follow. There’s kids stuff, Global Focus, prayer, and the talk, though the format of this service is in the process of changing. After the 11.15, there is a student lunch every week for all students (and hangersons!) during university termtime. In the evening is the 6pm service, which is a joint service at Tang Hall Community Centre. Again, the structure of this service is changing, but I think it’s going to be more of an outreach service you can invite non- Christian friends to. Students go to any of these services, there’s no obligation to go to all 3 in a day! The church is really friendly and open to students, there are lots of things you can get involved in if you want to, from kids’ work to the worship band to community work!
Jennie Bigg
12. St Michael-le-Belfry
St Michael-le-Belfrey is a large Anglican evangelical church. There are three services each Sunday — one at 9 am which is traditional, fairly quiet and small; one at 11 am which is the family service, normally a lot louder and featuring funky kids’ songs; and the evening service at 7pm, which attracts the most students. Worship is modern and enthusiastic, with one of the best worship bands around. St. Mike’s is big and it can be hard to get to know that many people, but loads of students go and mix with the crowds for coffee afterwards. It is easy to get involved with youth work, work with the homeless and outreach projects.
Contact: Andrew Weighill, adw103
13. Hope Church, Askham Bryan
If you love God and want to serve him by getting involved in a church that wants to impact the City of York while having a laugh along the way, then this is the church for you. Hope has been in existence less than a year and already runs kids clubs, youth clubs and community projects. The whole point of this church is sharing God with a city and a world that needs him desperately, and they’re prepared to do that by any means necessary… Even (shock) by having church socials in bars! We meet at Askham Bryan College, 5pm on Sunday evenings. Contact me for transport.
Contact: Hayley Baldwin, hcb107
14. Quaker Meetings
…for Worship are a little different from most church services, as there are no priests, ministers, hymns, set prayers, liturgies, or any planned structure to the meeting. Meeting for Worship is mostly conducted in silence, during which anybody who feels moved to speak by God, (however they understand the term), does. Quakers have no fixed doctrines, rather expressing faith through action. Meetings are therefore often useful contacts for all sorts of social action, and issues of equality and social justice. Contrary to popular opinion, we don’t wear big black hats! Friargate Meeting is one of the biggest in the country.
http://www.yorkquakers.org.uk/meeting/YorkQuakers/YorkQuakers
Contact: Ceri Owen, crjo100
15. The Rock
The Rock Church is a large, lively Pentecostal church, which aims to be ‘ice-breaking’ and in touch with the modern world. Services are informal, and the sermons, though long, are always thought-provoking. If you’re looking for a traditional church then you probably won’t like it, but if you want loud, modern worship songs and aren’t afraid of a service that sometimes lasts over two hours(!) then the Rock may be just the place for you. There are only a few students who attend, but there is plenty to get involved in and you are guaranteed a warm welcome. The Rock Church is situated on Priory Street (at the top of Micklegate), and Sunday services start at 10.30am (though no-one minds if you’re late).