Comment on this report, or find other reports. Our Mystery Worshippers are volunteers who warm church pews for us around the world. If you'd like to become a Mystery Worshipper, start here. Find out how to reproduce this report in your church magazine or website.   1952: St Elisabeth's, Dagenham, Essex, England Mystery Worshipper: Party Girl. The church: St Elisabeth's, Hewett Road, Dagenham, Essex, England. Denomination: Church of England, Diocese of Chelmsford. The building: A traditional looking Anglican church built in 1932. There is a separate hall next door. The church has a lovely wooden ceiling, which looks as if it wouldn’t be out of place in a country church, centuries old. Nothing particularly special about the rest of the building. There was a bookstall and an open kitchen at the back of the church. There was a green curtain behind the altar which reminded me of the curtains at a crematorium! The windows were covered in wire mesh. The church: This is a multi-national church with (so they claim) an average attendance on a Sunday morning of 60-80 people (who apparently don't value punctuality – see below) of all ages and from several different ethnic groups. There was a pinboard at the back of the church with pictures of all the members on it. Nice idea. They record their sermons and make them available on cassettes or CDs. The neighbourhood: Dagenham, in northeast greater London, was originally an agrarian area but became rapidly residential and industrial in the 20th century. In 1931 the Ford Motor Company opened a plant in Dagenham that was intended to be the largest automobile plant in Europe, but full production was discontinued in 2002. Sterling Ltd, manufacturers of British Army weapons and Jaguar car parts, were also based in Dagenham; they closed in 1988. Ever Ready batteries, found in shops throughout the Commonwealth, were also made here. The church is on a main road, near houses, shops and allotments – nothing more interesting or unusual than that, I’m afraid! The cast: The Revd Steven Hanna, vicar, presided. I didn’t realise he was the vicar until I asked someone, as he didn’t introduce himself and was dressed in a suit and open neck shirt. The preacher was Simon Wakeling. The date & time: Sunday, 10 January 2010, 10.30am. What was the name of the service? Morning Worship. (Holy Communion had been listed on the notice board but wasn't celebrated; I didn't ask why not.) How full was the building? The service started seven minutes late but there were only about 15 people there. By the time it finished, there were about 60 people present, which meant the church was probably about a quarter full. Lots of people came in late, some of them almost an hour after the service started! Did anyone welcome you personally? A lovely lady named Maria welcomed me and said that a lot of people probably wouldn’t be there due to the weather (it had snowed heavily earlier in the week). She gave me a newsletter and suggested where to sit so I could see the screen easily. When I sat down, a lady in front of me turned round to introduce herself and we chatted for a while. Was your pew comfortable? No pews but plastic chairs. Mine was perfectly comfortable. How would you describe the pre-service atmosphere? Fairly quiet. Most people were sitting around chatting in low voices. What were the exact opening words of the service? "Good morning. I’m not sure how many people will be here this morning. I hope it will be warm enough – the heaters were put on at four o'clock yesterday!" What books did the congregation use during the service? No songbooks were used, as the songs were projected onto a screen. The collect was printed on the newsletter but half of it was missing – so the words were put on the screen. There were Bibles available but there wasn’t one near where I was sitting, so I don’t know which version they use. What musical instruments were played? Guitar and flute. A piano, organ and digital keyboard remained silent. There were also two singers in the worship group. Did anything distract you? Very little. Amazingly, the children were incredibly well behaved, even though they were there for the whole service. There was a slight disagreement between two members of the worship group at the start of one of the songs – it was to do with when to come in so I'm guessing they were under-rehearsed. I think it was meant to be light-hearted, but there seemed to be distinct undercurrents! Was the worship stiff-upper-lip, happy clappy, or what? I think they were aiming for happy clappy. The songs were very modern, such as "Blessed Be Your Name," "Faithful One" and "Jesus Christ, I Think Upon Your Sacrifice." But they could have been sung more enthusiastically by the congregation. There was some half-hearted clapping. Exactly how long was the sermon? 35 minutes. On a scale of 1-10, how good was the preacher? 4 – The sermon was too long and I found it quite legalistic as well as a bit simplistic. I don't know if he was a visiting speaker or a member of the congregation. I did notice someone sitting near me fast asleep during the sermon! In a nutshell, what was the sermon about? It was based on the reading (Philippians 1:1-11 – Paul rejoices that the Philippians share God's fellowship with him). It was about our partnership in the gospel. Prayer should be a joy, not a chore. We should pray for other believers. God creates love within the gospel partnership. Our faith shouldn’t be individualistic. God uses prayer to strengthen the gospel partnership. (I think that's it – I may have switched off by that point!) Which part of the service was like being in heaven? The incredibly well-behaved children (you can tell I’m not a parent) and the friendly people. Also, there was a lovely moment when the vicar announced during the service that he and his wife are expecting their first baby in the summer. And which part was like being in... er... the other place? It did get pretty cold in the church despite the heating being on. The sermon wasn’t great. When we got into groups to pray (quite unusual, in my experience, for an Anglican church), I couldn’t hear two of the ladies in the group I was in, so it was difficult to add my amen to their prayers. What happened when you hung around after the service looking lost? I went to the back of the church to get a coffee. Several people chatted with me, including the vicar and his wife (separately). I must have chatted for at least half an hour. As I was ready to leave, the vicar said, "You are very welcome here, but I appreciate you are looking around for a church to join, so no pressure." He got the balance just right. Well done! How would you describe the after-service coffee? The coffee was fair trade, served in a mug, and hot. There were also tea, squash and biscuits available. How would you feel about making this church your regular (where 10 = ecstatic, 0 = terminal)? 6 – Although the people were very friendly, I prefer livelier worship and better sermons. I may come back another time to hear the vicar preach. Did the service make you feel glad to be a Christian? Yes. What one thing will you remember about all this in seven days' time? How friendly the vicar was and his complete understanding that I’m looking around for a church to join so was just trying them out. A refreshing change from some of the churches I’ve visited!   We rely on voluntary donations to stay online. If you're a regular visitor to Ship of Fools, please consider supporting us. Easter 2010 From Yunnan in China to Louisville in Kentucky, we report on Easter services, 2010. Read here. 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