Never been to church? - or not in a long while - you might be a little apprehensive!

Hopefully this simple guide will make things easier!

General

The location of the church is shown on the attached map. When you arrive, there is a parking area at the bottom of the drive - however, if you may have difficulty walking up the drive, please take your car to the top of the drive where there is a small turning circle - by all means leave your car here, but you may have to wait a while on leaving the service - you may be blocked in!

When entering the church for any service - you will be greeted by someone (a sidesperson) who will give you the books you require for that service. If you have any queries, any sidespersons will be only too happy to help.

There are 3 main services on Sunday at St John's - 8am, 10am & 4pm (6.30pm in Summer). Each of these services are very different - and you may find that 1 service may suit you more than the others.

In most services there is a collection for the upkeep of the church and it's work - a plate is passed around by the sidespersons. There is no obligation to give anything, but you may feel less the odd one out if you put on a bit of loose change!

At a Communion Service, if you have been confirmed you can go to the Altar to receive Communion - a sidesperson will tell you when it's your turn. If you haven't been confirmed, you can still go to the Altar for a blessing - most children do this, and some adults too.

At the end of each service, the Vicar (Revd Colin Cheeseman) will normally walk to the back of church in order to be able to exchange a few words with people before they leave.

8am BCP Communion

This is a very short service - lasting only about 30 minutes. Usual attendance is about 12 adults which makes this service a very peaceful one. There are no hymns or sermon at this service. The service is very traditional, taken from the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) - the origins of the service go back to 1662 and a novice to this service may have difficulty in following the book - however once this is mastered, the service is very rewarding. Details of this service are also in the new 'Common Worship' book - Order Two - follow link for more details.

10am Service

A liitle confusing here - most services are Communion - with the exception of the last Sunday in the month which is a family service. All services have hymns and a sermon. Coffee is usually available in Church after these services to allow people to catch up on the week's happenings! Of all services on a Sunday, this is the most popular, with attendance about 70 adults and children. Don't worry if your children run about a bit - within reason this is quite normal - there are also a number of bags of toys at the back of church to help keep the kids occupied - please feel free to take one to where you are sitting.

Communion - This follows the new 'Common Worship' format and the booklets are very easy to follow. There is a Junior Church - the children go into a room at the front during the 2nd hymn and stay for about 30 minutes - during this time there are organised activities, usually resulting in some art work to take home!. There are helpers but if some children find it difficult to leave their parents, the parents are welcome too. The service lasts about 1 hour and 15 minutes. For more details on 'Common Worship' - Order One - follow the link

Family Service - This is really intended as a children's service and as such it is very simple. There is no Junior Church at this service because the children are normally encouraged to participate, especially during the Vicar's sermon which is very much aimed at the children. The service lasts about an hour. If you have children and are coming to church for the 1st time in a while, this is a good service to start with.

4pm BCP Evensong (6.30pm after clocks go foward)

Otherwise known as Evening Prayer. As with the 8am service, this is a very traditional service and a novice to this service may struggle to follow it. Again, as with the 8 am service there are about 12 adults attending. As this service has many parts which are sung, usually those attending sit in the choir stalls near the organ - this makes for a very close and cosy service. For a basic pattern of this service - select the link. Details of this service are also in the new 'Common Worship' book - follow link for more details.

Disclaimer - the above guide was put together by Peter Oldfield and the views expressed about various services may not be the same as everyone elses (although Peter feels these views represent the majority).