====== First Time? ======


If you have not been to church before - don’t worry, it is easier than you think. First you need to know where the church is. The building is located at the junction of Fountain Road and Keir street in the middle of Bridge of Allan. We are close to Somerfields supermarket but o­n the same side of the road as the Post Office.

Most people first come to the 10am service which is held at St Saviour’s every Sunday morning. The church is open all through the week though, so you can go in and look around at any time you like. The service books are at the back of the church if you want to have a browse or look up a prayer. The church is kept open for quiet prayer and is used a lot by people who just want to drop in and sit in a quiet place for a while.

If you come to a 10am service, the first person you are likely to meet is someone who will welcome you and give you whatever service books you need. Find a seat anywhere in the main body of the church - no seats are reserved. There is a wheelchair space in the middle of the church.

On most Sundays there is a meeting of the Young Church in the church hall in parallel with the first part of the service in church. We all come together for communion. Children are welcome to choose whether to go to the Young Church or remain with everyone else. We are relaxed about babies (and there are quite a few very young members of the congregation at the moment). Whoever meets you at the door will give details of the crèche if you want to know about this.

You will know that the service is about to begin as the door next to the pulpit will open and a procession of people will come through - the congregation stands up to greet them. These people are the altar servers (who help the service to run smoothly), the choir (who sing sweetly) and the clergy. The person who is going to be conducting the service comes in at the back. Usually it is the Rector but occasionally other people are involved. You will probably see that someone is carrying a red and gold book - this is the book of the gospels which will be used for the Gospel reading later in the service.

The Rector will greet everyone and the service is then underway - the hymn numbers are not announced - all the details are in the service sheet which will tell you what is going o­n all through the service. Although there is considerable variety during the year, most of the services have the same basic shape which people get used to after coming a few times.

You are unlikely to get lost in your service books, but if you do, just ask someone who is near you to show you where we are - they will be delighted to help.

Most people stand to sing and we generally sit or kneel to pray. Everyone is welcome to receive communion St Saviour’s. If you don’t feel you want to receive the bread and wine, you are encouraged to come to the altar along with everyone else for a blessing. 

After the service there is usually tea and coffee in the church hall. You don’t have to come, but it is a good chance to meet people.