St James Church: Our Values

Llangasty

Hope, Healing, Hospitality

Our values reflect Jesus’ command to love God with our whole being, and our neighbours as ourselves. They are reflections of our hope in union with Father, Son and Holy Spirit; our healing in God’s care, which leads on to the hospitality we show for all.

Seeking God is the one thing necessary (Matthew 22:37; Luke 10:38-42; Eph 3:14-21)

Time with God - in prayer, worship and through Scripture - is the irreplaceable foundation of Christian life, as we seek to be filled with God’s Spirit. All need to prioritise this, and all else flows from this. Our services are all about seeking God together and individually.

All need saving and healing, none are strong and whole (Luke 18:9-14; Eph 2:8-9; 1 Tim 1:15-16)

We all need God’s grace, which we find in Jesus at the cross. We offer that same grace to each other, in word and deed. We all actively seek and offer God’s healing for a more whole life. We actively extend that invitation to our local community, and others in need.

All belong here, none are sidelined (1 Corinthians 12:12; 22-23)

God loves all his children individually and equally, and we reflect that. Different people will belong in different ways, but all can find home here. We value anyone’s presence with us more than any issues they bring. In our fellowship we strive to ensure all are included, and we actively invite others in.

All are disciples, not churchgoers (Mark 8:34-5; Romans 12:1)

Church life is about living in fellowship as part of a caring community of Jesus’ followers, not just attending services. With God’s help, we move away from selfish behaviour towards loving behaviour. We pay attention to the Bible’s teachings and try to live them out even when challenging. We prioritise the development of children and young people as followers of Jesus.

All serve and give, none burn out (Romans 12:1-12; Luke 10:38-42)

Every Christian has a ministry. We follow Jesus’ example of loving, sacrificial service. We build God’s kingdom, and we care for each other, by serving and giving faithfully in the church. We practically support and include those who struggle. And we remember the need in service to prioritise time with Jesus.

June 2024

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.

Where and When

We meet at the Church Building (details here) for our Sunday Service starting at 10:30am. For your first visit, we recommend arriving 10-15 minutes early to ensure you get a parking space and find somewhere to sit before the service begins. When you arrive, you should be greeted by someone on our Welcome Team who will be wearing a Welcome lanyard.

We serve tea, coffee and biscuits after the service in the church centre next door. It is a great way to meet people. All refreshments are free.

Accessibility: There is wheelchair access at the rear of the church, and a sound loop for anyone who needs it. Please let one of the Welcome Team know on your arrival and they will help you to get set up. There are toilets in the church centre next door.

Our Service

We hope that whether you've never been to church, or you've been coming for decades, you'll be at home and you can experience God's presence. The main service begins at 10:30am with a warm welcome and notices about what's coming up. Our services are a mix of old and new - contemporary songs led by a good music group. alongside traditional hymns and prayers which have sustained generations of Christians around the world. Preaching is designed to make the bible come alive and be relevant for our daily lives. Every Sunday morning we join in Holy Communion, which keeps our worship anchored in what God has done for us in Jesus. So our services are about both a personal encounter with God, and about establishing our faith in deep biblical wisdom, prayers and traditions of the wider church.

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What about children?

We have a popular children's programme, led by Sian, our Child and Family worker and a team of helpers. If you're bringing children, have a chat with a member of the team when you arrive - our welcomers will direct you.

Children stay with their parent or grown-up at the start of the service for the welcome, first hymn and prayers. During a second song children leave for the church centre.

The children's group activities vary depending on the age but usually there is a friendly welcome, bible stories, praying, and a mix of music, craft, drama, fun games and free play. Our Eco Church group occasionally take sessions in the church grounds, and the vicar Ian leads some sessions too. Children come back into the service for communion and either sit with parents or with each other. We sometimes have all age services where children take a leading role, particularly on special days.

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Other activities

Growing in faith

We have a programme through the year of different types of courses and groups. In the last year, we have done the Prayer Course, had in-depth teaching sessions on the Cross, and Salvation & Life after Death; spiritual gifts; and books of Daniel and 1 John. We have an annual lecture series, which in recent years has looked at literature and faith and science and faith. We're looking to do the Start course for those wanting an introduction to faith, and later in the year the Bible course. These are usually on Thursday evenings at 7pm in the church centre, sometimes you can join on Zoom. And there's a prayer group at 9.15am on Thursday mornings.

Serving and Volunteering

If you want to get involved in the life of the church and help us make Sundays run smoothly, you can sign up to serve on a team.

Other Ministries

We also run the following ministries:

Parent toddler group on Monday
Healing ministry
We host and actively support Swansea Asylum Seeker Support

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


Rev Ian Folks, Vicar		Sian Parkhouse
Ian has been at St James since 2021, and has lived in the Uplands area since 1993. He's married to Vanessa, and they have children Daisy and Amelie. He's passionate about developing healing ministry and children's ministry. He loves walking on the Gower, playing guitar and is afflicted with a love of cricket and Tottenham Hotspur.		Sherry is our Children and Family worker. Sian has worked in children's work for local churches since 2009, firstly at St Paul's Sketty, and then as Bishop's Officer for Children and Family Ministry for our diocese. She is passionate about seeing young people grow in faith, and introducing new families to the church. She is married to Michael and they have two children, Fred and Will.

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

Best Wishes
Ian, Sherry and the team