Children in Church

Families, children and young people are an integral part of life and worship at St John the Baptist. We aim to encourage and nurture children’s spirituality through teaching and activity; as well as through familiarity with and inclusion in our weekly Holy Communion. On the first Sunday of the month, our 10am service is a Family Holy Communion and the whole Church shares Communion together on the last Sunday of each month. Otherwise, our children and their families gather for Children’s Church in the Hall most Sundays. To find out more visit our ‘Services’ page.

Relax! God put the wiggle in children; don’t feel you have to suppress those wiggles in God’s house. Consider sitting toward the front where it is easier for your little ones to engage. Quietly explain the parts of the service and actions of the priest, musicians and leaders. Sing the hymns, pray and voice the responses. Children learn behaviour by mimicking you. If you have to leave the main body of the church with your child, feel free to do so, but please come back. As Jesus said, ‘Let the children come to me.'
Parents are welcome to join their children in Children’s Church and is encouraged for those with young children. It is an opportunity for you to grow in faith and understanding together as a family. This is done through singing, story-telling, craft and prayer.

We use a programme called Diddy Disciples to engage our children in church. This is a programme of stories, songs and craft which encourages the children's innate spirituality and creativity. To find out more about Diddy Disciples visit their website here.

Growing in Faith

As previously mentioned, children are an integral part of our community. We aim to make them feel welcome and participate in the services. We have children who help with welcoming, some who read and help to lead prayers, and some who serve at the altar. For children aged 8 and over, we run an early Admission to Communion class. Here children learn all about Holy Communion in preparation to join the regular congregation in taking communion each week. For young people over the age of 12 and adults, we also run classes to prepare for confirmation.

A Safe Church

St John the Baptist works to provide a safe environment for the whole Church family, especially children and adults at risk. Our Children’s Church leaders have been DBS checked and we aim to arrange Safeguarding training annually. For full information on our Safeguarding policy, please see the Church of England Safeguarding page.

Hello and welcome to our church. If you are a new visitor, we have a page for you to get to know us and learn more about planning a visit.
Click here to see more.

Visitors click here.

Planning your Visit

A Warm Hello

The following information is specifically for those planning a visit, so that you know, beforehand, what to expect on a Sunday morning. People of all ages and backgrounds are welcome to join us. We are an eclectic inclusive church. There is space for buggies and it is a safe place for breastfeeding.

Where and When

We meet in the Church for our Sunday Service starting at 10am. When you arrive, you will be greeted by one of our welcomers.

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access, and a sound loop for anyone who needs it. We don't currently have a disabled toilet.

Our Service

The main service begins at 10am with a warm welcome from the priest. You will then be invited to stand and we sing a hymn while the choir, servers and priest process in. The service can be followed in the service booklet handed out by the welcomers. Our style of worship follows the Church of England Common Worship. It is easy to follow, with a mixture of prayers and hymns (both traditional and modern), and includes Holy Communion each week. We all begin together in church, and on the weeks when there is Children's Church, the children move into the hall before the readings begin. They then rejoin us for Communion. After the service free refreshments are available in the hall.

What about my kids?

Children are welcome in the church service. There are books available and a colouring table. We encourage parents to help the children engage in the service by following the service sheet together, joining in with the talk in All Age services, and joining in with prayers where they can.

On the second, third (and sometimes fourth) Sunday of the month we have Children's Church which uses the Diddy Disciples resources. It involves bible stories, songs, prayers and craft. Parents are encouraged to stay with their children if they are below school age to help them get as much out of the session as possible.

We want parents to be able to feel they can worship as much as possible as well as the children, so that church can be a place of refreshment, friendship and spiritually uplifting for everyone.

As children get older, there are more opportunities for them to participate in the life of the church. For more information please see our Children's Church page.

Children

Get in touch with us to plan your visit

If you would like to come and visit the church beforehand you are more than welcome! Get in touch and we can arrange a time that suits you.

Name:

Telephone:

Email Address:
Comments / Questions or anything you would like to say?

Next, we will contact you by email to say hello and help arrange anything necessary for your visit.

Leadership


Leader 1		Leader 2
Leader Intro		Leader Intro

We hope that whoever you are, you will feel at home at our church.

Best Wishes

(Handwritten Signature)