Over the years St James's has cared and provided for children and tried to provide a rich experience for them. Right from the beginning of his incumbency, Revd Fitz Wygram showed a keen interest in children and education.
Early on in his incumbency, Revd Fitz Wygram discovered that only thirteen children out of a local population of 1,100 went to any sort of school. Having a keen interest in children and education, he made a grant of land in Mill Lane and in 1867 two schools were built at a cost of £315.
St James's Church Schools through the years shows what happened from when records began up until the attempt to maintain the schools as church schools came to an end in 1928.
A Children and Families’ Work Leader, Karen Roach, was appointed at St James’s Church in 2018 but moved away shortly after. Then we were delighted to be able to appoint a new Children and Families’ Worker, Danielle Robertson, who was already volunteering as part of the Children’s Ministry.
A Holiday Club was held in the summer of 2018 and again the following year. During the sessions there were games, stories, songs, craft and fun! Centring on some key Bible characters, they explored what life was like on God’s team.
Family Services History
There have been designated children's services since the earliest days as maintaining children's interest has always been important to St James's.
Family Worship through the years shows their development from when records began up until 2017.
The original All age sevices were, and still are, specially aimed at family groups and younger members of our congregation. There is often a theme involving activities for the younger members (and the not so young!). Examples of these services are Christingle, Mothering Sunday, Harvest and St James's Day. These are usually held in place of the regular 9.30 Parish Communion service, and usually later in the morning. When these take place, the Sunday afternoon services are not held.
Together at Eleven, a service especially created to meet the needs of families, was launched in 2017. Everyone was welcome and stayed together in church for worship, teaching and prayer. There were songs, interactive Bible stories and imaginative prayers. Refreshments and crafts followed the service.
Messy Church was introduced in February 2020 and ran on the first Saturday, then Sunday, afternoon of the month for those who wanted to come to church as a whole family and be messy! Messy Church began with children and adults doing some craft activities exploring a biblical theme. That was followed by a short celebration time involving story, prayer, songs, games and similar and ending with delicious cake and a cup of tea (or squash). At St James’s we had just started a Messy Church before the pandemic. Some 50-60 people came to the first two, and the team were on a roll — but then had to stop! It took time to re-establish the team and for restrictions to ease. We restarted at the end of 2021, initially with a slightly different set up to be COVID-secure.
By 2023 the monthly Messy Church had moved to Sunday afternoons so it was decided to have the Together in the afternoons as well, replacing it once a month with Messy Church. That meant family church in one form or another would be happening most Sunday afternoons.
Children Groups History
The 2007 Action Mission Plan aimed to give children and young people every opportunity to become involved in the Christian life by making it more attractive and accessible. So a Carers and Toddlers group was set up and immediately became extremely popular.
St James's Ark through the years shows what happened from when records began up until 2017.
St James’s Ark celebrated its 10th birthday in 2019 and it is still held on Monday mornings in term time. The Ark team looks forward to continuing to provide this contribution to our outreach. The playgroup continues to be very busy and in 2025 was able to donate £838 to Baby Basics, a charity that works with midwives and health visitors to provide vital items for vulnerable groups such as teenage mums, families in poverty, refugees and asylum seekers, and women fleeing domestic abuse.
The June 1885 magazine reported about the flourishing Sunday School: “The numbers still continue to increase, and in addition to some fifty older ones who attend classes at Mrs Fitz Wygram's and at the Vicarage, there are now two hundred and ninety two upon the books.”
St James's Sunday School through the years shows what happened from when records began up until 2017.
The Church’s endeavours to 'catch them young' has always led her to foster activities for young people. Whilst Sunday Schools cater for them in their early years, other organisations are necessary to keep them interested when they grow past this stage and approach the age of confirmation. The youth organisations which existed at the end of the nineteenth century were considerably different in character from those which exist today.
Youth Groups through the years shows what happened from when records began. However by the turn of the millenium there were no specific groups for teenagers, partly due to lack of suitable leaders and partly due to so many other activities then availble for youngsters. There were, however, other local church-based groups for teenagers who welcomed those from other churches.
Work with Schools and Uniformed Groups Hisory
Children are the future of our church and St James's continues to have an active relationship with the local schools who are always welcomed into the church. Small groups and sometimes whole year groups visit to learn about the church to help with their Religious Education work. The local schools are welcomed for their own special services, especially their Christmas Carol Services. The clergy visit schools and occasionally take assemblies.
The Easter Experience and the Christmas Experience were introduced in 2019. Members of the church were spread around the building and small groups of children moved from point to point being involved in a bite-sized story and reflective activity. In the Easter Experience the children went back in time as they travelled through the church, stopping to experience different scenes from Jesus’ final days. They heard the story of Jesus’s ministry, death, and resurrection from church members. Then at Christmas children were guided through a number of reflections and activities by church members that helped them engage with the Christmas story in a deeper way as part of their Religious Education. These occasions are enjoyed by the children, our volunteers and the teachers.
.The Hampton Hill Uniformed Groups originally were church organisations and the children regularly attended church services and joined in with various church activities. Around 2014 things changed and the connection between them and the church became looser. The scouts still help with the Autumn leaf sweep and also parade in the churchyard carrying flags at the Remembrance Day service.
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Together at Eleven |
Youth Group |
A visiting school group |