New to us?
Visitors are very welcome at St James’ Church.
There are lots of reasons people visit church. Perhaps you went to church as a child. Perhaps a friend invited you along. Perhaps you’d like to connect with God. Perhaps life’s been tough and you’d like some comfort and support. Perhaps you’re just curious about what happens at church.
Whatever your reasons, you’re very welcome to join us at our worship.
We understand that trying anything new can be a daunting experience. So here is a quick guide to what you can expect if you visit one of our services.
We have two main services every Sunday: Parish Eucharist and Church Alive. They are very different in style and you might like to have a look at both.
For Parish Eucharist, when you come in you will be given
For Church Alive, all the words and prayers are on an overhead projector at the front of the church. When you arrive you will find people around the back of church having coffee and you are most welcome to join them!
There are also other services each Sunday, do have a look at our Services page.
Our Children's Church takes place at the same time as Parish Eucharist. Children start at the Hall and return to the main service during Holy Communion. There are two age groups: Pathfinders for children over 4 years old, and Mustard Seeds for the very young ones. The Hall can be accessed from the church through the doors on the left (north aisle), so if you would like to be able to check on your child during the service you might like to sit close by those doors.
During Church Alive the children join the adults at the main service, and there are break-out activities suitable for children.
For very young children, as well as Mustard Seeds, there is a children's corner at the back of the church on the right (south aisle). There are colouring material, toys and building blocks, and books. We understand children can be noisy and we don't expect them to stay quiet throughout! Quite often you will see parents and grandparents walking babies up and down the side aisles during services.
We have a collection plate at the back of church which you can leave your donation either before or after the service. There are no collection bags passed around during the service itself.
If you are a tax payer we would appreciate it if you could gift aid your donation. There are yellow envelopes for this purpose by the collection plate and at the ends of pews.