About Us
Welcome
Welcome to Saint Augustine of Hippo Church!
If you are looking to either find out more about traditional Christian beliefs, join a particular type of church, or simply attend one from time to time, we hope you will find God’s presence in this beautiful place.
Are You Looking to Rediscover Christian Orthodoxy?
You might be one of the growing number of Anglican Christians who - in recent times - have been brought to a place where you can no longer, in all good conscience, support the Church of England’s increasingly liberal trajectory.
As a result, you might be considering a move to the Roman Catholic Church or the Eastern Orthodox Church. However, St Augustine of Hippo Church offers you an option whereby you can remain within the Church of England (C of E), but experience many aspects of the Anglo-Catholic tradition, rather than continue worshipping in an environment you now regard as a step too far away from your Christian roots, which perhaps encompassed traditional Christian beliefs and the orthodox teachings of the Bible.
What is an Anglo-Catholic?
Essentially, an ‘Anglo-Catholic’ is a person who embraces beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage - especially pre-Reformation roots - of the Church of England and other churches within Anglicanism.
Here at the Church of St. Augustine, we promote conservative Christian values and we believe the Holy Bible is the infallible Word of God.
The Holy Bible, the Cross of Christ our Lord, and the Nicene Creed are at heart of our faith, and our worship is centred on the frequent celebration of the Mass.
If you visit our church, you will discover that behind an unremarkable exterior, there lies a bright, airy, spacious and truly inspiring interior.
The building itself is a little over a hundred years old (See our Parish History page.
Forward in Faith
Our Church is a member of Forward in Faith which promotes and maintains catholic teaching and practice within the C of E.
Our priest-in-charge, is Father Adrian Mason.
As a Forward in Faith Church we have a ‘flying bishop’ – Bishop Luke - who is The Anglican Bishop of the See of Richborough.
Our Service Style…
If you decide you would like to join us at our Sunday morning High Mass, this is what you will experience…
The services are based on traditional Anglican liturgy, and the music for the sung services is led by our Director of Music, Barry Whitfield, who plays the Church’s 2 manual pipe organ with pedals, accompanied by our ten-strong male and female choir. For our congregation, hymns are an important part of our worship to God.
High Mass
Our High Mass service is based on order and ritual, with an emphasis on prayer and traditional worship. Bells and incense are used during our High Mass services. The service begins with a hymn, during which there is a procession of the choir, thurifer, servers and priest, through the nave of the church.Scriptures are read from the Old Testament, the Book of Psalms, the New Testament Epistles, and the Gospels. The priest’s homily (sermon) is based on the day’s scriptures.
The highlight of the service is the Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist (Holy Communion), where all baptised and confirmed members of the Church are encouraged to take the body and blood of our Lord (by way of consecrated bread and wine) in line with almost 2,000 years of tradition, and the words spoken by Jesus, in John chapter 6 verses 31 to 58, Matthew chapter 26 verses 26 to 29 and recorded by St Paul in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, verses 23 to 30.
Gluten-free option at the Eucharist is available.
Refreshments
At the end of the service, which normally lasts 1 hour 10 minutes, we encourage the congregation to fellowship together with refreshments of tea, coffee or soft drink and biscuits which are served to us inside the church by volunteers.
Low Mass
In addition to the High (Sung) Mass on Sunday mornings, we also have a Low (Said) Parish Mass on Tuesday evenings and Wednesday mornings. These services have no music, less ritual, and less formality. Our Low Mass services last about 35 minutes. Wednesday morning service is normally followed by refreshments.
A few more details about the church
During your time in the church, you will observe various statues of the Holy Virgin Mary with the Christ Child, St. Augustine, his mother St. Monica and several others. The Fourteen Stations of the Cross (see note 1 below), are also featured within the building and are located on the north, west and south aisles of the building. At each station, worshippers can pray and reflect on each moment of Jesus’ journey to crucifixion, especially during the season of Lent, Passion Week and Good Friday.
Note 1 – The 14 Stations of The Cross…
1) Jesus is condemned to death, 2) Jesus takes up His cross, 3) Jesus falls the first time, 4) Jesus meets His mother, 5) Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the cross, 6) Veronica wipes Jesus' face, 7) Jesus falls a second time, 8) Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem, 9) Jesus falls a third time, 10) Jesus is stripped of His garments, 11) Jesus is nailed to the cross, 12) Jesus dies on the cross, 13) Jesus is taken down from the cross, and 14) Jesus is laid in the tomb.
The building is dog-friendly.
Service Times during 2026…
Sundays – High (Sung) Mass 10.00 to 11.10 a.m.
Evensong and Benediction (3rd Sunday of the Month) 5.00 to 5.45 p.m.
Weekdays - Low (Said) Mass Tuesdays 6.30 to 7.05 p.m.
Low (Said) Mass Wednesdays 10.00 to 10.35 a.m.
Holy Days - as announced.
Confessions - after any weekday Mass, or by appointment.
‘And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.’
Acts 2:42-43