First time visitor?

Here's an idea of what to expect.

We know that going somewhere for the first time can be daunting, and we'll do our best to make you feel welcome, included, and at home. Every month we have an All Together service at both churches, which are designed to be fun, relaxed, informal, and welcoming. If you've not been along before, you might want to come to one of these services for your first visit. All Together is on the first Sunday of the month at St Paul's (at 11am), and the second Sunday at St Mary's (at 9:30).

Whichever service you come to first, you need to get into the building! When you arrive at St Mary's for the first time, it's probably fairly obvious where to go - up the path and in the main door. St Paul's can be a bit trickier - there are a few different entrances, and the simplest thing to do is enter by whichever one you come to first!

Inside both churches, you should be welcomed at the door by one of our community, who will give you everything you need for the service, and can help you find a place to sit. They're friendly and you can ask them questions if you're unsure about what to do or where to go.

The services will last about an hour, and normally have a mixture of the following elements:

Groups for the kids. If you're here with children, they're welcome to join our regular groups during the service. We don't have children's groups during our All Together services: these are great times when everyone has fun together, with activities, drama, video, and more.

Singing. You might not know the tunes, but don't worry if not - you can join in by listening to the words and reflecting on what they mean.

Saying sorry to God. All of us do things wrong, and these things can damage our friendship with God. We need to say sorry, so we do this in most of our services together. After we say sorry, we remember together the fact that God loves and forgives us for everything we do wrong.

Praying. We'll have a number of prayers during the services. Some will be informal, and led by the person at the front (we'll all say amen), and some are more formal. There might be times where we all say things together, like the Lord's Prayer - the person leading the service will let you know where you need to look to find the words if you'd like to join in. We offer a space for prayer after the services too, so if you have anything you want to pray about we'd love to do that with you.

Reading the Bible. We have at least one bit of the Bible read to us in every service. Sometimes, in our All Together services, we might hear the Bible through a drama or a video, but there's always something from the Bible.

A talk. We normally have a talk, although at our All Together services it might be that we watch a film together. Either way, we're discovering together more about God, and about ourselves.

Tea, coffee, and biscuits! Our services usually end with refreshments, so feel free to join in and enjoy them. Everyone's friendly and will want to talk with you after the services.

One other element you might experience is communion. This is where we remember the last meal Jesus had with his followers, and share bread and wine together as we remember. For many people this is a really important part of our life as church, but if you're not comfortable joining in that's absolutely fine. If you want to join in but don't feel ready to receive bread and wine, you can come forward for a prayer of blessing instead.

This is a lot to take in, but don't worry - we'll guide you through everything you need to know on the day. We'd love to see you, and hope that when you visit you'll have a wonderful time meeting with us, and encountering God in a new way.