Your First Visit
What do I need to know?
We think all you need to know before you come to one of our services for the first time is that you’ll be made very welcome and accepted as a friend. There’s no special knowledge or qualifications you need – just come on in and join us as we worship God together.
What do I wear?
Worried about wearing the ‘right clothes’ for Church? Read on for some good news – we don’t have a dress code! Some people like to dress up to come to Church but some people wear their jeans and a t-shirt – anything you feel comfortable wearing is fine by us.
What happens in a service?
We’re part of the Church of England and we use services from a book called Common Worship. We have an organist at each of our churches, and we love singing hymns of praise to God. We also pray, hear readings from the Bible and listen to a sermon or talk from one of our ministry team. At Communion services we share bread and wine at the altar together, or receive a blessing from the vicar if we’re not confirmed. After the service we usually have tea, coffee, juice and biscuits while we mingle and chat. We have lots of different services throughout the week – you can find out more on our Services pages.
What is St James’ and St Hilda’s Like
Each of us is made in God’s own image – unique and beautiful; valued and loved. All different. At our churches, we do our best to reflect this by helping everyone to connect with God in the best way for them.
Why Do People Go To Church?
We have all sorts of reasons for going to church – music, friendship, enlightenment, comfort – but basically life and the Christian faith are too difficult to do alone. Since New Testament times, Christians have gathered together to share worship, prayer, fellowship and communion just as Jesus did with his friends and followers.
We all do our best to connect in our own individual way with God through Jesus. At the same time we share with each other a great desire and need to:
- Worship God together, in times of doubt and confidence
- Explore our faith seriously together, through study and prayer
- Support and help each other in our faith and lives
- Live out our faith in our lives by serving each other, our community and the world