Whether you’ve never been to church before or are simply looking for a new church family, we hope that you’ll experience something of God’s love at a Sunday Gathering or Service at HWBC. (You might call it a Sunday Service, Church Service or Worship Service.)
Our building is at the corner of Hill & Barton Streets, Hawthorn.
What’s a Sunday Gathering Like?
Things can change a bit each week, and usually involves musical worship, reading the Bible and learning from it, praying, sharing communion, taking time to share what’s going on in our lives, and sometimes eating together!
Around 50 people show up each Sunday, including families, teenagers, young adults and older adults. A lot of us are in our 20s and 30s, but there are people from all walks and stages of life. God’s family is diverse; there’s plenty of welcome for everybody!
The music varies from pretty loud to reflective, with a variety of instruments and styles. The teaching times and gatherings as a whole are led by a range of different people. Women and men, older and younger, are involved in leading the various parts of our gathered times, reflecting who we are as a church together.
If you have children, they are absolutely welcome. We have a supervised space for pre-school aged kids during the service, where there are plenty of toys to play with. We also have an outdoor play ground and sandpit!
On the 3rd Sunday everyone brings food to share (don’t worry if you didn’t bring any, you’re our guest!) for a Smorgasbord lunch.
Some Practical Tips for Sundays
- Sunday gatherings start at 10.30 am. We aim to finish by 12pm. However just because we finish the organised part of the day then, you’re welcome to stick around and chat, everyone’s pretty friendly and we’d love to get to know you a bit and help you feel at home.
- Nobody minds how you dress, but we are pretty casual; you’ll see plenty of bare feet in summer. Wear what you feel like.
- On the 3rd Sunday of the month, we enjoy “Smorgasbord Sunday” together – everybody brings a dish to share and we eat together around tables. If you are a visitor, please be our guest and stay and enjoy the food and conversation!
- Parking is limited so we suggest using feet/bicycles/public transport. There are the 75, 109, and 48 trams nearby, and Hawthorn train station is a 5 min walk away. We are about 6km from the CBD. If you need to drive, try parking at St James Park on the corner of Burwood Road and Barton Sts.
- Kids are always welcome.
- There’s no offering or collection taken up during Sunday worship – regulars generally give via EFT.
- Singing is a big part of what we do together, and the musical styles vary from pretty loud to just fun and occasionally powerful…if you’re not into singing that’s fine, just come along and listen and enjoy.