A warm welcome from the St Mary's family...

The following information is specifically for those planning a visit, so that you know, beforehand, what to expect on a Sunday morning.

Where?

We meet inside the main Church Building (details here) for our standard Sunday Services.

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access available via the side entrance, and a sound loop for anyone who needs it. There are disabled toilets just across in the extended section fo the building.

When?

The main service begins each Sunday at 10am.

For your first visit, we recommend arriving 10-15 minutes early to locate the car park opposite the church, and to find somewhere to sit before the service begins. When you arrive, you should be greeted by someone on our Stewarding Team who will let you know the essentials for the service format.

What?

The service begins with a word of warm welcome. The service leader will then introduce the service, and some notices are given. Then follows a time of sung worship, led by either our band or organist. We will have included a couple of passages from the bible, a message related to the readings, and some prayers, interspersed with more sung worship.

Each week is followed by a chance to have refreshments after the service, if you have time available. This is a great place to meet a few others, and to get to know more about who we are and what we do.

Style of service:

Each Sunday of the month has a slightly different format. Some people prefer certain Sundays, but many enjoy worshipping across the full variety. It operates as follows:

1st Sunday:  Holy Communion (with choir)
2nd Sunday: Contemporary worship with message
3rd Sunday: Holy Communion 
4th Sunday: Band-led worship with message
5th Sunday (when applicable): Cafe church worship

Other services:

There is also a 8:00am traditional BCP service every 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month, and an Evensong service every other month.

Our midweek service runs each Wednesday at 10am.

To simplify, you can click here to see our calendar and see exactly what is happening this week and beyond.

What about my kids?

We really value worshipping God all together as a family, but understand that younger ones have particular needs that would usually engage better in a separate group. We are privileged to have dedicated volunteers who lead our 'Explorers' children's group.

Children stay with their parent or grown-up at the start of the service for the welcome, notices, and first song before then heading out to their group. They are welcomed back in towards the end of the service; usually to sing a final song, and feed back to everyone what has been learned.

The kids group activities vary depending on the age but there is always a friendly welcome, with a variety of items including: bible story, praying, music, craft, discussion, and free play. 

Getting Connected

Connect Groups

While Sundays are a great way to meet new people, it is often in smaller gatherings that you can really get to know someone and engage with the real-life questions of faith. Being part of one of our Connect groups allows you to make new friends, share together and support each other. We have a few different groups that meet throughout the week. Check out the page 'Connect Groups' where we can put you in touch with a small group leader who will be more than happy to take your details to see about exploring a group to join.

Serving and Volunteering

Our church life is only made possible through the generosity of others serving in love! If you want to get involved in the life of the church, you can sign up to serve on a team. 

This can involve helping with serving refreshments, giving a bible reading, helping on the tech desk, serving as a steward, and plenty more besides. Please do get in touch via the form below to inquire further.

Other Ministries

We also run the following groups and ministries:

• Storybags baby & toddler group
• Family fun sessions
• Monthly prayer gathering
• Community cinema
• Tuesday games club
• Friday craft group
• Saturday chat
• Alpha

Again, specific details can be found my clicking across here.

We hope that whoever you are, you will feel at home at our church.

Warm regards

Rev Dave
 

Vicar to St Mary's

Rev Dave Cossey