St John's Church, Woking

To know Christ and make him known
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Our service and involvement in the community

1. Ministry in life's crises

The Bible says "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Have the same concern for everyone. Do not be proud, but accept humble duties." (ROMANS 12.15-16) At St John's Church, we minister to local people in happy times and sad, through baptisms, weddings, funerals, renewal of marriage vows, prayer and pastoral counselling, the village Remembrance service, etc. These are some of the main situations in which non-churchgoing members of the community come into contact with the church.

2. Sharing Christian values

Jesus said "Go to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you." (MATTHEW 28.19-20)

This is a core part of the ministry of St John's, because we believe that people's spiritual well-being and eternal salvation are areas that we can minister to, in ways that few others can or want to.

This is expressed in a variety of ways.

Drawing others into the Christian faith: outreach in the parish, and support for mission here and around the world.

Alpha and Christianity Explored Courses.

Confirmation courses, and baptism and marriage preparation.

God says "Never forget the commands that I am giving you today. Teach them to your children." (DEUTERONOMY 6.6-7) So St John's tries to pass on the truths and values of the Christian faith to children and young people, through:

Sunday schools and various youth groups for children and young people of different ages.

Assemblies and lessons in local schools. We have provided Choices, and sex and drugs lessons at Winston Churchill School, and we often take part in RE lessons in primary schools, too.

Environment: "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it." (PSALM 24.1) We endeavour to use low-energy solutions and promote recycling as a church; we encourage members to think ecologically, and to be involved in things like the village clean-up.

FairTrade: God says: "I will testify against those who ... who cheat employees out of their wages, and those who take advantage of widows, orphans, and foreigners." (MALACHI 3.5) As a church we use fairly traded products where possible, and promote FairTrade issues and campaigning amongst members; we are active in the Trade Justice Campaign.

Accessibility issues: "Large crowds came to him, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the crippled, the dumb, and many other sick people..." (MATTHEW 15.30). Our 2002 refurbishment made for greatly improved disability facilities, and easy-access for wheel-chairs.

We've improved lighting, visibility and the hearing loop; we provide large-print worship books, simplified liturgical language and a glossary to explain church terms.

3. Giving.

"Remember the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" (ACTS 20.35) Part of our Christian education work involves encouraging our members to be generous and support charitable giving and involvement. As a church we donate tens of thousand of pounds each year to charities, missions and good causes beyond our parish, and also contribute to the Church of England to help poorer parishes elsewhere.

We distribute money to needy parishioners on behalf of the Smiths Charity, and make other grants and gifts to local causes and institutions.

4. Particular ministries of St John's Church

Services of worship: Jesus said "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from God's mouth." (MATTHEW 4.4)

Worship and the Bible are vital for people's spiritual well-being, and we provide the focus and venue for that in St John's. This also includes prayer for the local community and for the world. We pray for local needs in many other contexts and meetings, too.

Youth clubs at St John's Youth Centre we provide the main youth club facilities and activities for the St John's area. This includes the annual children's summer Holiday Club.

Pantomimes: we stage a low-cost, clean, amateur alternative to the official Woking panto (every other year).

The elderly We run groups such as Mothers' Union and Thursday fellowship. We hold regular services in old people's homes and housing schemes in the parish (Nightingale Court, Sutton Avenue, Apollo Place, The Mount, Greys Nursing Home, Woodbank).

The Pastoral team visits the elderly, the bereaved, the house-bound, those in hospital, etc. We send greetings cards to those in need.

5. St John's Church members in the community

Jesus said: "You are the salt of the earth. ... You are the light of the world." (MATTHEW 5.13-14)

Because of the Christian values we teach and want to live by, lots of our members are in the caring professions, or involved in voluntary work.

Our members include, doctors, nurses, social workers, teachers, professional counsellors, police officers, charity workers, and people in the prison service.

Other church-members are involved in the local community as school governors and on PTAs and the Memorial Hall committee; in the St Peter's Hospital chaplaincy team, as voluntary helpers at the Hospice, and as foster-parents; working for the St John's Care scheme and the Citizens' Advice Bureau. One of our members is the local Councillor; other members run the Good Companions club, another runs the Surrey Care Trust; others set up the (former) Woking Association for the Single Homeless, and chair the York Road Project; members give up holidays to work on Falcon Camps, run local Brownie and Guide groups; do reading support in St John's School, and invigilating at Winston; we campaign for Fair Trade, and raise money for TEAR Fund, Christian Aid, the Rent Guarantee Scheme, the Across cross-cultural ministry, the Scat team, and other local good causes. We started the oldest Preschool in the parish and for 30 years hundreds of local children have passed through our doors.

Our members are involved in all sorts of community activities, and they do it because they are Christian people. We encourage this, even though few people would realise that it's anything to do with St John's Church. But of course, it is!

6. Facilities

"Share what you have with your needy fellow-Christians, and open your homes to strangers." (ROMANS 12.13)

Our improved buildings provide a beautiful place to meet and to worship God, and for meetings and day-conferences of various sorts.

We carry the responsibility for looking after the architectural heritage of St John's oldest and finest building. We also care for the village's burial ground.

The Little Acorns Preschool is now independent but uses the church's facilities and maintains close links with the church. Our members run the Mums' and Toddlers' Group that meets in the Youth Centre.

We provide venues for groups and activities like Alcoholics Anonymous, the Schools Inclusion Project, Parenting Courses, charity concerts, children's parties, interview panels, etc.