If there is one thing that a church building is for, it is worship and as worship is so important, preparing for a service in church takes time and work, with nothing left to chance. This preparation involves many volunteers.
Before Services
• Bellringers ring every Sunday before Parish Communion. There is a pattern to this which has been followed at St James’s for at least 35 years: tunes for the first 10 minutes, then a single bell for two minutes to call the congregation to church, and finally rapid ringing for the remaining time.
• Beautiful Flower Arrangements are a regular feature in St James's. They reflect not only the changing seasons but also the important points and events in the Church Year. Sometimes the floral contributions are for specific occasions such as a baptism, wedding or an anniversary, but often just provide beautiful displays to enhance our much loved church.
• Cleaners undertake regular weekly cleaning tasks ensuring the church always looks its best. The altar linen is washed and ironed by a member of the congregation and the choir robes are looked after by a member of the choir. Together with the other disciplines of Lent, the annual spring cleaning of our church building is a preparation for Easter. This lasts several days and absolutely everything is cleaned, scrubbed and polished. This dusting and sweeping includes the vestry, the porches, the belfry and the clock chamber.
During Services
• Music in church tends to be very visible - certainly audible! But what you see and hear during a service though is the tip of quite a large iceberg with nine tenths of the work having already happened in advance, usually weeks or months beforehand.
• Welcomers are to be found in church at every Sunday’s 9.30am service and other special services. They arrive early enough to make sure everything the congregation will need is ready for them. Handing out service booklets and church sheets as people arrive gives welcomers the opportunity to welcome visitors or newcomers and invite them to stay for refreshments after the service. They provide all the help visitors need to make them feel at home in our church. During the service, particularly if there is a baptismal party, welcomers may need to guide visitors through communion. They also carry the offertory, bread and wine up to the altar, sometimes encouraging children to help. They may help latecomers or parents with young children. After the service, they put away the booklets and tidy up.
• Servers play an important role in the life of the church by assisting the priest and are responsible for the smooth running of Holy Communion in a variety of ways, making sure that ceremonies are carried out in a respectful, orderly and devout manner. The server who carries the processional cross, at the beginning and end of the service, is called a crucifer.and the servers who light and carry the candles are called acolytes. At St James's servers wear a red cassock over which they wear a long white tunic (alb), a stiff decorated collar attached to a rectangular piece of white linen with two long ribbon-like attachments to fasten around the shoulders (amice), and a white cord round the waist (girdle). The amice is coloured according to the time in the Church Year. Pictures of these special clothes can be seen on the page Service Garments.
• The audio-visual system manager adjusts the sound system stereo microphones to suit the varying voices of readers, intercessor and president, and operates the screen and projector when needed. The equipment is operated from a console desk at the back of church where there is a digital mixing desk and a laptop to power the audio visuals. There are headsets for the clergy and a new induction loop for anyone with a hearing aid. The screen is used to show films, the words of hymns or for a sermon. There is also a camera making it possible to webcast services or concerts. To enhance various musical events, coloured lights with special effects have been added to the church and the audio system is upgraded whenever necessary.
• Service Garments, Church Textiles and Church Plate are all used to enhance the services.
After Services
• Refreshments are provided in the hall after the 9.30 Sunday morning service and are a welcome opportunity to socialise and get to know one other better. It is also the opportunity to get to know someone who has come for the first time or who is still just a face to you.
Find out more
• The Annual Parochial Church Meeting Reports show the annual reports from most teams and groups since 2017. (Scroll down the document of the year you are interested in to find the report you want)
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