St Nicholas Church, Durham

Who we are

• What we believe
• Mission statement
• History
• Incumbents
• Church guide
  • First impressions
  • The rebuilding of 1858
  • The Fish window
  • The Holy Table
  • The lectern
  • The Cross
  • Rumours of life
  • The church registers
  • The fonts
  • The pillars
  • The stained glass windows
  • The quiet chapel
  • The screens
  • The Holy Table in the chapel
  • The chapel organ
  • The Gateway World Shop
  • The statue of St Nicholas
  • What is a Church?
• Staff team
• PCC
• Interns

The Lectern

Near to the Holy Table stands the lectern, a reading desk designed to carry the Bible. For Christians the Bible is the Word of God. From one standpoint it is just a book, containing two main sections, the Old and the New Testaments, and sixty six 'books'. But from the standpoint of faith the Bible is Holy Scripture, God's word written, the primary witness to God's character and actions in history; it is a window through which we can gaze on the face of Christ.

At every service someone will read a passage from this book and the sermon that is preached will be defined and determined by itsmessage. It is by responding to the words of scripture that the congregation is shaped, directed, challenged, nourished and changed to be more like Christ. The Bible deals with events that happened in the past but as we listen to its story, so the words become living and contemporary, a personal message from God to us.

'Today if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.'
(The letter to the Hebrews, chapter 3, verse 15)