FAQs
Who comes to St John’s?
We sit within the open evangelical tradition of the Anglican Church, we are a diverse family where everyone is welcome and where worshippers of all ages and backgrounds can find a spiritual home.
What happens at the services?
Just like most Church of England churches, there are specific services which happen at special times of the year, such as Christmas, Easter or Remembrance. But our regular Sunday services usually include the following:
We sing together - usually more traditional hymns but with some more contemporary ones too
We share in a time of prayer
We hear from the Bible and there is usually a talk which lasts about 15 minutes
There are always notices! Church news, what’s happened recently, special services and importance things coming up
If the service includes Holy Communion, we share bread and wine together.
After the service, there is time to meet others and enjoy refreshments - that’s as much part of church as everything else!
What are the differences between your services?
Our 8am Book of Common Prayer (BCP) service is a quiet and reflective Holy Communion service with traditional language.
Our 9:45am service is usually a service including Holy Communion. We have a group for our children to share together for part of the time.
How long are the services?
The 8am service is about 40 minutes, the 9:45am service normally lasts just a bit over an hour
Do you collect money during the service?
We believe that giving our money to God's work through the church is an act of worship, so yes, we do collect money at our services. But we don’t want anyone to feel pressured to give anything – feel free to give if you would like, however do let the offering bag pass by if you prefer. We encourage regular givers to use our automated Parish Giving Scheme and we have a card reader for people to give electronically.
For more information see our giving section.
Will I be asked to do anything during the service?
No one ever has to do anything they do not want to do. While lots of our congregation contribute to our services, we want St. John’s to be a welcoming and comfortable place to be. There’s no expectation on any member of the congregation to get involved in the service – other than to listen and reflect on your own relationship with Jesus.
Can I bring my children?
Absolutely! Children's ministry is a big part of our work at St. John’s. Children are very welcome, no matter how loud or energetic they are. We want everyone to feel like they can be themselves. All of our volunteers working with children have current DBS certificates and have undertaken the appropriate safeguarding Diocesan training. We take Safeguarding very seriously - you can find out more here.
What is the dress code?
There isn’t one. Wear whatever you feel comfortable in – come as you are!
Can I park at the church?
Yes, there is car parking outside the church on the Village Green.
Do you have provision for the hard of hearing or partially sighted?
We want our services and activities to be as accessible as possible. For the hard of hearing we operate a loop system. We consider the partially sighted whenever we are choosing colours or font sizes for our printed and projected content. Large print words to songs are available on request for our Sunday morning services.
For more information for people with health conditions or impairments please see here or get in touch with us here.