FAQs
Who comes to St. John’s?
St. John’s Church has always been at the heart of its community. 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 that happen at special times of the year, such as Christmas and Easter. Our regular Sunday services usually include the following:
We sing a songs together, varying from contemporary in style to the more traditional
We enjoy a time of prayer
Someone will read the Bible out loud to the congregation, the reading is then explained in a talk that usually lasts 10 – 15 minutes.
Church announcements are shared, about events, special services and importance things to know.
If the service includes a time of communion, we share bread and wine together.
After the service, there is time to meet others and enjoy refreshments.
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 either morning worship when children leave the service to go to their own groups, or Holy Communion with a DIY family activity area.
How long are the services?
The 8am service is 45 minutes up to an hour. The 9:45am service normally lasts about an hour and 15 minutes.
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 (formerly CRB) certificates and we follow an up-to-date child protection and safeguarding policy.
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 and also on the village green adjacent to St. John’s.
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.
If you have any problems accessing our services, please let us know. And for more information see our special needs section.