Welcome to Canterbury Presbyterian Church!
We know that visiting a new church for the first time can be intimidating but we want you to feel at ease so we’ve put together a brief outline of how we ‘do church’ here at Canterbury on a typical Sunday. Be sure to make yourself known to our welcoming stewards on arrival and of course, seek out one of the pastors after the service for a personal introduction and a chat. The service is generally followed by a time of fellowship and morning tea.
If you have a question not answered here, please contact us via our online form or email/phone Rev David Hann or Rev Dong Jin Choi directly. We certainly look forward to worshipping with you.
Facilities
- Parking available on site (20 cars) with ample street parking nearby
- Accessible (disabled) parking available via the driveway on the west side of the church
- Service stewards on hand to welcome and help with special needs
- Crèche room (unsupervised, please remain with your baby/toddler)
- Toilets (incl. disabled bathroom)
- ‘Forrest Hall’ including kitchen servery for morning tea
- Classrooms — Sunday school for primary-age children (years 1–6)
- Outdoor grass play area (unsupervised, please remain with your child)
Sunday morning service
- English language service (90 min) held in the main church
- A multi-cultural mix of (100+) people usually in attendance
- Children’s talk, song, and prayer
- Offering & ‘Prayer for others’
- Expository sermon (approx. 25 min)
- English outline and/or Korean written translation generally available
- Hymns* (pipe organ & piano)
- Choruses on the fourth Sunday of the month (band & worship singers)
- Hymnals available at the entrance and in the pews
- Bible readings** (Old and New Testaments)
- Projected in three languages: English, Korean, and Japanese
- Bibles available at the entrance and in the pews
- Morning tea/fellowship time (in the Forest Hall following the service)
*Rejoice! (the Hymn Book of the Presbyterian Church of Australia)
**Bible versions commonly read: ESV, NIV, RSV
First Sunday of the month
- Combined service with the Japanese congregation
- Children’s talk, song, and prayer
- Sacraments: baptism and communion (sharing of the bread and ‘wine’)
- Expository sermon (approx. 20 min)
- Korean and Japanese written-translations generally available
- Hymns (pipe organ & piano)
Sunday school program
- Primary-age children leave the service prior to the ‘Prayer for others’
- Group worship time (songs and prayer)
- Five classroom groups (age-appropriate Bible studies and activities)
- Strictly two teachers per classroom
- Morning tea
- Children are released to rejoin parents once the church service is over
Of course, contact Rev David Hann if you have further questions or wish to discuss special needs.
Japanese morning service
- Japanese language service (90 min) held in the Bamboo hall
- A mix of Japanese and Aussie ‘Japanophiles’ (20+) usually in attendance
- Choruses (song leader and piano)
- Bible readings (Old and New Testaments)
- Japanese Bibles available at the entrance
- Offering & ‘Prayer for others’
- Expository sermon (approx. 25 min, sometimes in English)
- Morning tea/fellowship time (following the service)
Contact Elder Tadashi Hanazono for all inquiries about the Japanese church.