9:30 @ St. Peters Hutton

The parish communion service is probably the 'normal' service at St. Peters. As I looked around the congregation it seems to be split in two, in the centre part of the church there are older people, I estimate that the majority are retired, but I may be being unfair. On the far left there are a few younger women, one has a child with her, I guess that these are mothers of Sunday school children and this turns out to be the case. On the far right the church is empty. Every church has its pattern, but I am left speculating - what it this about. On the way in I am welcomed and handed a hymn book, a 'news letter' with the readings, collect, and a few notices, and a service book. The service starts as the first hymn is announced from the back. We stand and sing as Bob and his assistant (crucifer?) parade in. The liturgy is 'sung', so is the psalm. The Lord's prayer is the 'traditional' style. The readings - O/T and N/T are read by members of the congregation, as are the prayers. The gospel is read by Bob. There is a 10 minute sermon on Riches and the Kingdom, with an aside about St. Francis. Short and to the point and preached without notes. Impressive!
At the end of the communion the Sunday School children (3-10) come in for a blessing. The younger children are not admitted to communion. They all sit in the empty seats on the right hand side of the church. Before the blessing, as part of the notices, I am introduced to the congregation, so they know who I am and why I'm here. Hopefully this will make them more willing to chat.
After the service everyone is encouraged into the hall, behind the church for coffee and cakes (some made by the children) in aid of the Seeds for Africa appeal, that started at Harvest last week. There is good take up of this and most people seem to be in the hall, the queue for cakes is quite long, and it takes a while to get one. I chatted to 5 different people. They are all friendly but their comments are not for a blog, some have been in the Church for a long time, others are new arrivals.
On leaving the church I drove around a bit. Down Hanging Hill Lane, past Hutton Mount, and Thriftwood, to the estate beyond, and back again. There is only one shop - a general store and Post Office. Then I drove down the inaccurately named "Hutton Village". There are only houses down here, it leads to Church Lane, so I drove past All Saints, and saw the parking problems there.