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New to Church?
What to expect

The best way to find out about us is to come and visit on a Sunday. You would be most welcome and you are free to participate as much as you wish.

Coming to anything for the first time can be a daunting prospect, and church is no exception to that. So, we have put together a short summary of what you can expect:

Before the service

It is a good idea to arrive a few minutes early, so you do not feel flustered. This also gives you the chance to meet a few members of the church family. There is no ‘dress code’, so please dress as you feel comfortable.

There is plenty of parking at the School. There are a few disabled spaces right up near the school.

As you come in, one of the Welcome Team will greet you at the door, ask you to sanitise your hands and show to your seat. You will also be offered a Bible which the speaker will refer to in his talk.

Don't forget your mask and please don't come if you have any Covid symptoms. We'll still be here next week!

During the service

We try to make our meetings varied, interesting, and enjoyable for people of all ages and backgrounds. There are formal and informal elements.

All ages are together as we begin. Most weeks the children and young people go out to their own groups after about 15-20 minutes. We all meet up again about an hour later, at the end of the meeting. Once a month we have an all age service, where we all stay together for the whole time.

The whole point of our meeting is to get to know God better so we can appreciate him more and discover more about how he wants us to live as Christians in the modern world. We believe this happens through His word, the Bible, so listening to the Bible being read and then explained to us is at the heart of our meeting. The talk usually lasts about 25-30 minutes.

There are some bits of the service where most people say words together. These are all on the screen, and if there are bits you don’t agree with, it’s fine just to keep quiet. No-one will notice or mind.

Christians love to sing about who God is, and what he’s done for us. We sing a mixture of contemporary songs and more traditional hymns. We normally stand to sing, and the words are projected on to the screen. 

We believe God is both great and good and so loves to hear and answer our prayers. There is always a specific time of led ‘intercession’ (praying for others), where we pray for the needs of world, the nation, the church, and individuals, as well as other prayers throughout the meeting.

Once a month we specifically remember Jesus’ death for us and share in the benefit of what he did for us through the Lord's Supper. This takes the form of a symbolic meal in which we share bread and wine. The bread and wine are brought to you in your seat. Anyone who knows and loves the Lord Jesus is welcome to participate; those who do not wish to do so are free simply to observe.

After the service

The service usually lasts 75-90 minutes (60 minutes for an all-age service) after which there are refreshments. You’ll find that people often stay around for quite a long time chatting. We hope that you will feel comfortable to stay too and say hello to some of us.

At the back of Church, there is an Information Table and a literature rack with further information about our church and its activities. Please feel free to browse these and to take anything that looks helpful.

We look forward to welcoming you to Christ Church soon!

If you have any questions, or you think there are things we could have done better, then please do get in touch with us via our contact page. It matters to us that we make the whole experience as enjoyable and interesting for you as possible.