Hundreds of people visit St. John's & Emmanuel every year.

Many attend wedding, funeral or baptism services, others join us for worship at Christmas and Easter. Some people travel from far and wide for special events, or people who have been part of our church in the past and moved away return to visit.

Whatever your reason for a visit to St. John's & Emmanuel, you will be most welcome. If after your visit, you feel you would like to become a regular member of our church, then feel free to contact us to discuss our services and activities, or just come along on a Sunday.

This page will give you some information to help you plan your visit. Used in conjunction with other pages on this site, you should be able to find out all the details you need. Should you still have any questions, please do feel free to contact us.

Service Times
Please check here for details of our services.

Location
Please check here for maps and details of how to find us.

Parking
Free on-site parking is available for users of St. John's Church and St. John's Centre. Most of these areas are covered by CCTV. Please do not park on the raised pavement or block the garage doors and other access areas.

Disabled parking is available at the front of the church.

Street parking is available around the church, however we discourage this if space is available on the parking areas provided. Should it prove neccessary to use street parking, please exercise consideration for our neighbours and bear in mind that Crossley Road is a bus route.

Emmanuel has parking on-site on the grass around the building. This parking provision may be closed on some occasions if the area is dangerous or if cars are likely to spin or stick on the surface. Street parking is available but again, we ask you to exercise consideration for our neighbours.

St. John's PCC, St. John's Centre, their employees, volunteers and representitives cannot accept responsibility for cars or their contents while parked on our parking areas and users accept that parking is at their own risk.

Disabled Access
The entrances to St. John's Church, St. John's Centre and Emmanuel Church each have access by steps and a ramp. Should you require any assistance, Wardens and Sidespersons of the church, or St. John's Centre staff will be only too happy to help.

Inside St. John's Church, seating is set in fixed pews. Provision has been made for a number of wheelchair users and an induction loop system is in place for hearing aid users.

Emmanuel Church is set out in movable seating, so wheelchair users can be easily accommodated. As it is a small building, no sound amplification system is installed at Emmanuel.

Visiting For Services

Before, During and After the Services
Upon arrival, you will most likely be greeted by a member of the church and given any relevant hymn books, orders of service and notice sheets for the service. Some services are also presented on PowerPoint slides.

You are free to sit anywhere in the church that you feel comfortable, though at some services at St. John's, the very front pews on both sides may be used by our 5 Alive Club and/or music group. During Baptism services, it is normal (though not obligatory) for the Baptism parties to sit on the pews to the left as you face the front of church.

After some services, free refreshments are served in the St. John's Centre. Normally, an announcement will be made if this is the case. You are more than welcome to stay for a drink and a chat if you wish.

Should you wish to discuss anything you hear or see in the service, please speak to the leader of the service or one of our churchwardens who will either be able to assist you or point you in the right direction to someone who can.

Children
Children are warmly welcomed at St. John's & Emmanuel Churches and you should not feel uncomfortable about bringing them to our services. Should children become restless, a creche facility is provided for under 8's at the back of St. John's Church, with a speaker system installed so users can still hear the service.

Collections
At most services, a collection will be taken. Visitors need not feel obliged to make a contribution as it is for those who regularly attend to ensure the upkeep and financial viability of the church. However, the church is a charity* which seeks to serve its community and should you feel you wish to make a donation, we would be most grateful.

UK taxpayers are encouraged to gift aid their donations as we are then able to claim back an extra 25p for every £1 given, at no further cost to the donor.

At some services, such as Harvest, extra collections may be taken to benefit other charities or good causes. Again, donating to these collections is at your own discretion.

Our annual accounts are available for public view. They are approved by our Parochial Church Council, who also act as our Board of Trustees, and presented to the Annual General Meeting. Should you wish to see this document, please speak to a member of the PCC or the churchwardens. The document can be downloaded at the website of the Charity Commission: Download PCC Accounts from the Charity Commission.

Visiting For Prayer, General Viewing Or Educational Visits

Prayer and General Viewing
St. John's Church is not generally open to the public through the week, however it may be possible to arrange to open the building for you. Our churchwardens or St. John's Centre staff may be able to give you access to the church for prayer or general viewing.

We strongly advise that you contact the centre in advance to make arrangements as staff and volunteers have responsibilities to the community work of the centre and at busy periods may not be able to give you the time they would like. Alternatively, please contact the churchwardens to make arrangements. Please see our Contacts page for more details.

Educational Visits
It is possible to arrange educational visits to the church, for school groups for instance. Please contact us to make arrangements.

Guided & Historical Tours
We do not currently conduct in-depth guided historical tours of the church. However, we are currently compiling the information neccessary to offer such an activity and hope to be able to take part in the annual St Helens heritage days before long. Details will be published on this website and in the relevant literature when appropriate.