Worship Cafe at St. Michael le Belfrey Church, North Yorkshire

Starting from 9th June, St Michael le Belfrey Church in York will open a worship cafe on every Wednesday evening. The Cafe is an informal event open to the public as an extension of the musical worship of the Church.

The cafe is decorated with candlelit tables arranged in front of the stage, low level lighting creates a relaxed atmosphere which people can talk, listen to the music and enjoy some refreshments.

The original idea of the cafe comes from a healing service at St Michael’s. It was a normal service with some time to pray for people who was sick or in need. The church musicians play and sing some gentle songs while the congregations can keel at the rail to be prayed for or some just sit in the pews.

“I was in the pews at one service and was struck by what a wonderful atmosphere it was. I thought it would be great to spend an evening that way, where just being there is about the extent of participation. I hoped that people would find this a very accessible way in to church.” Joel Payne, the music co-ordinator at St Michael's, the runner of the cafe says.

The Worship Cafe is not a service. There is neither set structure nor prayers nor sermons. But it makes many Christians feel like home dwelling in the presence of God, it is also good to enjoy coffee and good music with friends, in an atmosphere of worship. Or some can even join in singing the songs with the words projected discreetly off to one side.

"We do a lot with lights trained on the stage and around the building to create a really comfortable atmosphere. There is a small band on stage, MTV unplugged style, singing a selection of songs that we often use in our services, as well as a few more personal songs of worship, in the singer-songwriter mould.” Joel Payne says.

Not only so, the Worship Cafe also wants to attract non Christians or other religious background people to come to know God through the praise.

"I hope that people with no Christian background can come in and enjoy some good music and find out what we're about. God is for everyone, not just an exclusive group, and this is one of the ways of sharing that."

The Worship Cafe is open on the 9th, 16th and 23rd of June 2004 from 7:30pm at St Michael le Belfrey Church, which is next to York Minster.