St James, Bramley

Even though the Coronavirus pandemic means that we can’t meet physically at present, we are still getting together as a church online!

If you and your family would like to join in, please email our Parish Administrator, Steve Day, on crosshousebramley@gmail.com and he will be glad to send you a link.

Services run from 10:30 am on a Sunday, but we allow dial in at any time from 10:00 am for a general chat.  After the service is finished, we use Zoom’s Breakout Room facility to allow small random groups to chat with each other.  It’s lots of fun and an opportunity to catch up with everyone in our Church Family.

Do join us in our virtual services!  No shortage of space online!

If you would like to make a gift to support the work of St James’s Church in our community or to help with the upkeep of our buildings, it’s easy to do electronically.

Simply use your smartphone’s camera to scan this QR code and then follow the instructions that come up in your browser.  Thank you so much for your generosity!

 

 

Although our normal services are all suspended at the moment due to the Coronavirus crisis, we can still meet together on line.  Church is not just a building: it is a family of people under our Father, God.  

In the Bible, Hebrews 10:25 tells us, “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

We want to make sure that people are kept safe and free from infection with the Covid-19 virus, so we can’t meet together physically.  But the wonders of modern technology make it possible for us to meet on the Internet, and at St James, that’s what we’re doing.

On Sunday mornings during the lock-down period,  we are meeting together for an online service via the Zoom App.  These services will have most of the usual elements, including some hymns and songs to join in with if you wish.  There’ll be a Bible reading, followed by a sermon by the Revd John Lenton and prayers.  We plan to upload the sermon as an audio file to this website as usual. To join us, please request to join the St James Bramley Congregation Facebook group, or send us an email asking to be added to the email circulation list.

You can also take part in an online service of Holy Communion via YouTube.  Just click on this link:

Communion Service

 

…you don’t have to cope on your own.  At the church, we’d be glad to help in some way.

If you or someone you know is being abused or bullied or threatened, please do give us a call.  Phone numbers and emails are on our safeguarding page: https://stjamesbramley.com/safeguarding/

We will do all we can to help.

Under the current restrictions, all Sunday services are suspended.  The following is a guide to the services that are run once restrictions have been lifted.

On most Sundays, we have three morning services, each one reflecting a different style of worship – but all three committed to worshipping the same Lord and reflecting on His word, the Bible.  Our aim is that the variety of styles will allow everyone to find an approach to worship that matches their own preference, so that they can glorify God in the way that suits them best.

8.00 Holy Communion: A quiet, reflective service without music.  We always have a short (8-10 minutes) address on the Bible, following the same theme as the other two services.

9.00 Sunday@nine: An informal, lively and relaxed service which takes place over in Cross House, our church hall, with upbeat music led by a small band.  Coffee/tea and breakfast pastries are served from 8.45 and throughout the service.  Children and babies are welcome at all the services, but at this service we have activities for younger children (3-8 years) in the Shell Club and for older children (8 and up) in JAM (“Jesus and Me”).  There are soft toys and cushions for tinies at the back of the hall.  The sermon is always based on a Bible passage and is the same as that preached at 10.30.

10.30 Worship: A more structured Church of England morning service, using words from Common Worship or the Book of Common Prayer, and with more traditional hymns accompanied by our lovely organ.  The sermon, as mentioned, is the same as that preached at 9.00, and focuses on a passage from the Bible.  Children and babies are very welcome, but there is no particular provision for them at this service.

Our parish of Bramley and Little London is part of a group of parishes known as a Benefice. We work together, sharing resources and helping one another out when needed, while also retaining our individual styles and preferences as we worship the living God.

These are the other churches in our Benefice:

• St Leonard’s Church, Sherfield on Loddon
• St Mary the Virgin, Hartley Westpall
• St Mary the Virgin, Stratfield Saye

Currently, as with St James, all church services are at present suspended until further notice.  However, virtual services are being held and you should check the websites of each of the Churches above for more details if you wish to join them.