Worship, prayer and fellowship are at the heart of our church life. Services are at 10.30 am and 6.30 pm. Communion is twice a month, once in the morning and once in the evening. There is also a monthly early Communion at 9.00am, usually on the first Sunday in each month, followed by breakfast. In the morning, worship styles are varied, with a mixture of traditional and modern. Evening services tend to be reflective in nature. Several times a year we follow morning worship with an international bring & share lunch to enhance our fellowship.

Special services held during the year include the Covenant service in January, Harvest in September and Remembrance Day in November, as well as the key celebrations of the church calendar – Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. A Junior Church anniversary service, and a Church Thanksgiving service, are each held annually.

Wesley celebrates Christmas with two carol services – a morning service led by Junior Church, and a late afternoon service based on music and readings, which is followed by mince-pies and carol-singing around the neighbourhood. There is also a Christmas Eve midnight communion service preceded by carol-singing in the Royal Berkshire Hospital, and a Christmas Day short family service.

We lead up to Easter with Lent themes and a series of evening meditations during Holy Week, culminating in a Good Friday meditative service (which in 2010 was a musical meditation for all churches in the circuit) and an Easter Day celebration.

Junior Church at 10.30am is for all ages up to 18 and is an important part of the life of Wesley. There is a crèche for 0-3’s. Children stay in church for the first 15-20 minutes, then go to their own groups.

The church keeps a book in the welcome area into which all who come into the building are invited to write requests and concerns for prayer. These prayer requests are brought into worship each Sunday. Prayer requests can also be made by emailing: prayer@wesleychurchreading.org.

A prayer fellowship meets once a month. [See Groups]

Services with the ministry of healing are held jointly with Park URC. Please contact Wesley or Park for details.

We occasionally run these courses as an introduction to what Christians believe. It is an opportunity for anyone wanting to explore Christianity a little, and for those preparing for church membership. We sometimes also run the national Alpha course.

Our worship team, consisting of minister, preachers, worship leaders and other interested members, meets regularly to pray and plan forthcoming worship. We regularly plan series of services that follow a theme. For example, past series have included spiritual gifts, mountains, rivers, Bible characters, as well as Advent and Lent themes.

At Wesley we witness to the truth about Jesus Christ, Son of God and Saviour of the world. At Christmas we give thanks for his birth. In Holy Week we contemplate the Passion to come. On Good Friday we remember his life given for us. On Easter Day we celebrate his victory over death when he rose from the grave so that all might have forgiveness and new life. At Pentecost we rejoice in the gift of the Holy Spirit, making the presence of God a constant reality.

Music in our worship embraces both traditional and modern. Music is led from the organ, piano, and an all-age music group. Wesley’s organist and director of music is Christopher Cipkin.

Wesley is a rewarding church acoustically in which to sing; and for major festivals a choir comes together to enhance worship. All are welcome to sing! There is no audition, but an ability to read music or learn quickly by ear is an advantage. Forthcoming choir rehearsals are advertised in the weekly newsletter. Previous music performed has ranged from medieval carols to spirituals and contemporary anthems.

Wesley is frequently used for concerts – and in 2010 it has been used by Reading Festival Chorus, Concordia, Witt Studio Chorus, Tamesis Choir, Reading Bach Choir, Reading Male Voice Choir, and Reading Phoenix Choir, among others.