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.
Finding Us
St James’ Church is at the junction between A27 (Church Hill / Moorhill Road) and West End Road. You can find a map, directions and car parking information on our Contact Us page.
Access
Access
Access to the church is via bricked paths from the road and the car park. There are no steps to negotiate and the church door is amply wide enough for wheelchairs and buggies. The church has toilet facilities inside the building, including baby changing facilities. There is a hearing loop installed in the church.
What Happens When I Get There?
We have two main services every Sunday: a Parish Eucharist and Church Alive. They are very different in style and you might like to have a look at both.
For the Parish Eucharist, when you come in you will be given
- an order of service booklet, which sets out what happens during the service, and the prayers and responses;
- a hymn book (the hymn numbers on on a board at the front of the church)
For Church Alive, all the words and prayers are on the overhead projector at the front of the church. When you arrive you will find people in the church hall and around the back of church having coffee and you are most welcome to join them!
Both services will have welcomers or sidespeople to assist you
There are also other services each Sunday, do have a look at our Worship Services page.
Will I Have To Do Anything?
Absolutely not! You don’t need to join in anything unless you want to – nothing is compulsory!
What To Wear And Where To Sit
Wear whatever you feel comfortable in and you are welcome to sit anywhere you like.
What About Children?
Our Children’s Church takes place at the same time as Parish Eucharist. Children start in church then go to Hall and return to the main service during Holy Communion. Pathfinders is for children over 4 years old, and Mustard Seeds for the very young ones, although the groups sometimes run together. 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.
There is also a children’s corner at the back of the church on the right (south aisle). There are story bags, 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.
Will I Be Asked To Give Any Money?
There is no compulsion to give money, but we ask everyone to be generous in their giving of money, time and talents.
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.
There are also posters on which there is a QR code for you to be able donate via your mobile device