Funerals

If you have come to this section of the website because you need to arrange a funeral then this is likely to be a difficult time for you. Whether your loved one was living in our parish at the time of death or has close links to the parish or St Mary’s we hope that we will be able to assist you in both the initial, practical details of planning a funeral but also in providing on-going support. We work closely with all the local funeral directors and are used to dealing with the issues which you will be facing.

If you are planning a funeral, one of the first decisions you will need to make is whether you want the funeral service to be at the Crematorium and/or in Church. You might like to bear in mind that the costs of having a service in church – either before the burial or cremation or after as a Remembrance or Thanksgiving Service – are not considerable and may give you more opportunity to acknowledge the death and celebrate the life of your loved one.

If you are having to organise a funeral at this time and feel up to it, reading the funeral pages of the Church of England website for funerals may be really useful. There is a wealth of information there and it will help to steer you through the decisions which may need to be made. But please do telephone the church office (0117 9687449) who will be able to put you in touch with a member of the clergy, who can to talk about the options, perhaps to see if St Mary’s is available for a service or for other help.

Christianity brings a message of hope even at the most difficult times. As Christians, although we don’t understand it fully, we believe that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ show God’s love for us and assures us that that this love accompanies us now and into eternal life.

We hold an annual service of remembering and thanksgiving to which we invite the families of those whose funerals we have conducted during the year.

From time to time we partner with other local churches to run a Bereavement Journey course over six weeks. To find out when the next course is taking place, please contact the church office.

If we can be of any help please do contact us on lifeevents@stmarysb.org.uk

Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click to see more

Visitors click here

Planning your Visit

A Warm Hello

The following information is for those planning a visit, so that you know what to expect if you come to a service at St Mary’s.

Where and When

We meet at St Mary's Church for our Sunday services, find us on the map and you can read more about the different styles of worship here. For your first visit, we recommend arriving 10-15 minutes early to ensure you get a parking space (parking is mainly on the roadside on Mariners Drive) and find somewhere to sit before the service begins. When you arrive, you should be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team who will be wearing a lanyard.

about us2

Our Services

Sunday 9am - our more traditional service with Holy Communion.
Sunday 10.30am - contemporary worship (alternating each week to include either our SHINEonSundays children's groups or Communion for Everyone (see below).
Alternate Sundays 4pm - Explore@4

Click here for the dates for the term.

Everyone is welcome at any of our services and all of them will include singing, prayers, a Bible reading, a talk and ways to respond to what we have heard. There is usually an opportunity to receive prayer during or at the end of the service.

Please do just come as you are, you don't have to wear anything special and you don't have to join in, you are free to simply observe or participate as much as feels comfortable to you.

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access into the church, and a sound loop for anyone who needs it. Please let one of the Welcome Team know on your arrival and they will help you to get set up. There is an accessible toilet in the church and several toilets, including baby changing facilities, in the foyer of the church hall. If you need Communion to be brought to you, please let one of the Welcome Team know when you arrive.

Communion: At our services where there is Communion all those who love Jesus and want to follow Him are welcome to receive Communion. If you would prefer to come forward to receive a blessing from the person leading the service, please do so. There will always be gluten-free wafers/bread available. At St Mary’s we follow the Church of England’s decision not to allow wafers/bread to be dipped in the wine. If you would prefer just to receive the wafers/bread then you can do so, you will still have received Communion in full. To find out more about this, please click here. Prayer ministry will be available during Communion and after the service. For families joining the church, parents are encouraged to have a conversation with the Vicar about children receiving Communion.

Please note: we sometimes have a combined service on Sunday mornings during August and occasionally at other points in the year, so do check out our calendar just to double check the timings!

What happens for children and young people at church?

Families are welcome at all our services. At the 10.30am services on alternate weeks we offer groups for 0-12’s during the service. On alternate weeks at 4pm we offer Explore@4 which is specifically aimed at families, helping children and adults grow in faith together.

Sundays children and youth

On Week A we will have our SHINEonSundays groups for 0-12 year olds. We start the service together in church then the groups meet in the hall for 30-40 mins whilst the service continues. You will need to go with your children the first time and register them. You can then return to hear the talk once your children are settled and we will reunite for the end of the service.

On Week B for we have Communion for Everyone and everyone remains in church worshipping together. On these weeks we also offer our 4pm Explore@4 which is aimed at helping families to worship, learn and grow together, through song, discussion, reflection, interactive activities and creativity.

Click here for the Week A / Week B dates for this term.

For more information about what happens in the children's and youth work, there is more information on our Sundays page and on our Community page.

Does anything happen during the week?

Yes, the church is usually open from Monday to Saturday from 9am to 4pm for visitors and those who wish to use the building for private prayer.

We also have a short communion service on Tuesdays at 11.15am which follows our Connect group on Tuesday. You can find more about that group here.

There are other groups and activities during the week including a baby and toddler group, youth group and activities for our more senior members. For other events and during the week look at our calendar here.

Getting Connected

Emails

Every Friday a Church Family Email is sent out containing a Thought for the Week from one of the church leaders and information for the coming week. To sign up for these please click here.

Home Groups

While Sundays are a great way to meet new people, it is often in smaller gatherings that you can really get to know people. Being part of one of our home groups might help you to make new friends and grow in faith. We have a variety of groups that meet throughout the week, some afternoons and some evenings. Read more here Home Groups.

Serving and Volunteering

If you want to get involved in the life of the church you can sign up to serve on a team, usually we encourage people to be involved with the church for a few months before joining teams.

Other Ministries

For other ministries, check out our Church Life part of the website.

Leadership


Jema Ball		Simon Potter
Vicar		Associate Vicar

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