We were all new to church once. Below you will find some answers to frequently asked questions for new visitors.Click a question to read more:
Someone will be there to welcome you, and on a Sunday morning, to help you up the steps if needed. You will receive a warm welcome inside. People gather for the main Sunday service from 9:45am. There are no reserved seats!
Someone will greet you with a smile and make sure that you have a copy of our service booklet and the current newssheet (Communique). They can introduce you to someone who will guide you through anything you are not confident about and will invite you to join us for coffee or tea after the service.
After the vestry prayer, the choir and ministers process into Church to the first hymn. Hymn numbers are on a board at the front.
- We generally sit or kneel to pray, and stand to sing hymns, say or sing the Gloria and for parts of the Eucharistic prayer. Please sit if you struggle to stand, that is quite acceptable. As a friendly congregation, people will be happy to share the peace of the Lord with you, but a full-scale walkabout is not necessary!
- All communicant members of other churches are welcome to receive communion at St Andrew and St George. We believe that God’s gifts are available to all, and welcome all adults who wish to receive. Children are welcome to come to the front to receive a blessing. If you have not been confirmed and do not wish to receive or are a non-communicant member of another church, you are still most welcome to come to the altar rail for a blessing.
- Help is always at hand at the steps up to the communion rail, but the elements can also be brought to you in your pew, just mention it on arrival.
Absolutely! Children are always welcome in church. There are books and activities for them in church, space to chill out at the back, and most weeks they can go through to junior church at the back of church to play and learn together. Children going out to junior church return in the peace.
Please do not hesitate to come and join us just because you do not have money for a collection and wish to avoid embarrassment. Many of our regular worshippers give by standing order and others put their gift on the collection plate as they come in, so not everyone puts something on the plate when it is passed forward during the service. If you would like to give, and you pay tax, we would be doubly grateful for any gift to be in a gift-aid envelope (available on request).
The service usually takes about an hour. Then many of the congregation remain for fellowship over coffee and biscuits, to which you are most warmly welcome.
Even with an outline of what to expect, sometimes it’s still hard to step over the door the first time. There are often other visitors, or families coming before baptisms or weddings, so you will not feel out of place. If you have an particular question you would like to ask in advance of coming to church, please do call or drop us an email (see Contact Us).