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.
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.
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
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Jema Ball |
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Simon Potter |
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Vicar |
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Associate Vicar |
We hope that whoever you are, you will feel at home at our church.