| Your Guide | 01: Who is Welcome 02: The Threat of Evangelism 03: What about Children & Babies 04: Safety & Comfort 05: Money & Giving |
| Your Visit | 06: Your Visit 07: Contact Us 08: How to Find Us |
UPDATED MARCH 2023
* T H A N K Y O U * F O R * Y O U R * I N T E R E S T *
Visitors are very welcome to freely visit without booking. We do not want you to tell us you are coming – just turn up. We do not want your personal details – We are not data mining. We are imperfect and our welcome might be awkward, but we are socialising people, and we are awake, and your friendly face and presence will be a blessing!
You will not be asked for money (there is no collection) and there will be no “Sales Pitch” and no “Spanish Inquisition”! The wearing face masks business has all gone, but the opening all the windows routine occasionally still persists.
01: Who is Welcome
UPDATED MARCH 2023
This is the first page in the Visitors Guide. Visit applies nowadays to both a physical and a virtual visit eg. Zoom. Thankyou for being interested in us. We want to make you feel comfortable, even if you visit only once.
You are very welcome to any of our events and activities, regardless of your creed, beliefs, cultural background, colour, age, gender, or notions. You can come once, twice, intermittently or regularly, without obligation and without interrogation. We welcome, the curious, the interested, the lonely, those seeking God, those seeking entertainment, those seeking new friends, those seeking a safe place for children, those not seeking anything at all.
Whoever you are, and whatever your reasons, you are still very very welcome. There is no sin database.
We recommend events like the “Fun Days” and the “Spring Fayre” which act as no-stress proxi-open days
If you are coming to a Church event and this will be your only time here, the chapel is for all of Gods creation, not just Christians, we hope you enjoy the day. God bless!
P.S. Two groups of people, one group here, the other in the Southampton branch of the British Cactus and Succulent Society. Both do odd things, both groups welcome visitors, but could you tell the difference between these groups if you did not know which is which? (there are four people in both groups!). We are ordinary people: hypocrites, stupid, happy, sad, lonely, inspired, searching, seeking, doubting, loving and caring; just like the people in the Cactus Society, just like you.
And yes we are all a load of grumbling, hypocrites. God’s love shows no bounds.
02: The Threat of Evangelism
UPDATED MARCH 2021
A personal word to Non-Christians coming into the Hedge End Methodist fellowship or buildings for the first time.
I was for many years a broad sense atheist / agnostic, hostile to those who shouted rude accusations about hell and sin to me on street corners.
I met a girl and wanted to get married, but when we saw all the expensive fancy cars and togged up children in suits attending the council registry office something wasn’t right. We met the Methodist Minister of a particularly ugly Methodist Church several times. Afterwards we started to attend the Church and we met some genuinely sincere ordinary people. After several years I became an official Worship Leader in the Methodist Church.
Twenty five years later I still HAVE NEVER experienced THE SPANISH INQUISITION amongst any church people of any denomination, nor met any of those people who shout on street corners within the church.
I still watch “bullhorn evangelists” sometimes. I know where they stand in Wood Green, Elephant and Castle, Victoria and Above Bar Southampton. I still don’t understand them.
Perhaps evangelism is achieved by an experience of who people are; the sharing of their love and compassion with all their human faults and fragilities; where they are hypocritical and where they are sincere; from the heart and not by the size of the mouth.
The average church goer is far more confident about making tea than evangelising. They are scared and worried about bullhornism as much as any visitor, and well aware of the threat of evangelism as far as how you may be put off as a visitor. They are far more likely to appear slightly distant and cold in an attempt to give you space so you don’t feel attacked. They feel the Good News is far too important to bungle it up. The concept of evangelism puts a lot of pressure on them to act out of character, but little practical advice on how to do it.
As far as meeting new people, I hide behind my wife!
Hint: Avoid the problem completely. Come to an event which is secular when the chapel building will be open for those who want to look around, and we are only too excited to talk and get to know people, whilst talking about the flower show or nativity festival or other wife appropriate subjects. The building is deliberately open during events such as the Hedge End Carnival to provide toilets and drinks and a non confrontational, no obligation welcome.
03: What about Children & Babies
UPDATED DECEMBER 2020
A wonderful quote from another blog
I know it’s hard, but thank you for what you do when you bring your children to church. Please know that your family, with all of its noise, struggle, commotion, and joy, are not simply tolerated, you are a vital part of the community gathered in worship.external website: “Jamie Bruesehoff”
There are a number of older people in the congregation, who live life on the whole, most of the week alone. They do not want the church to become an old peoples home; and it isn’t. We have a number of activity groups for children thoughout the week, and a Sunday School during the Sunday Morning Service. We currently have small babies with us in Sunday Morning Worship. Each time we get a gurgle or cry, in the middle of a sermon we thank God for his words of wisdom, the mystery and joy of new life.
Please please bring you children. If your loved one cries, we smile. We can help and reassure you that everything is alright. You are not simply tolerated. You and your children are all fully inclusive members of God’s family, and we pray that we may continue to be blest by your presence!
A list of BLESSINGS we receive from Children, Babies and Carers, which we ENCOURAGE:-
- Fun
- Noise
- Crying (smile)
- Worried fiddling carers (relax please)
- Arriving late (relax please)
- Showing the way to the toilet
- Buggies in the building
- Bicycles in the building
- Piano skills
- The Drums!
- Removed paint
- Added paint
- Food Mess
- The Children’s Clubs
- Polyphonic Sermons
- Craft and Artwork
- Going back to the car to fetch nappies
- Breastfeeding
- Smiling
- Running
- Piccadilly Circus
- Ball games
- Teenagers (when a child becomes a real person, we are blessed indeed!)
- Growing Up
- Minecraft
- Curiosity
And a list of what we don’t like:
- Over apologetic mums
- Kids on phones (without purpose)
We take good practice in caring for the young and vulnerable very seriously, and are careful in areas such as safeguarding and health and safety, without stifling spontaneity or fun. Please note that we are not part of the professional educational or childminding establishment. We are volunteers and by its very nature the church is a welcome place for the general public.
We are not responsible for the safeguarding or professionalism of our external hirers, but we like to support local community projects, and we wish them well in the pursuit of their activities.
04: Safety & Comfort
UPDATED 2014
We take our responsibilities to physical safety and comfort very seriously. This is an non-exhaustive list of what we have been doing.
- Public liability insurance
- Working and checked fire extinguishers
- Working and checked fire alert system
- Practiced fire drills.
- Building keeped in good state of repair
- Building checked for toxic substances
- Fire doors checked
- Building weekly cleaned, including Kitchen and Toilets
- Catering team keep basic hygene certificates up to date. Every catering event always has at least one person with a up to date catering hygene certificate
- We often have retired health workers or care workers on site or those with basic first aid training
- Safeguarding policy including criminal records check when appropriate. We try to ensure only multiple adult groups are left on their own with children
- Hearing aid induction loop throughout the building
- Handrails installed
- Disabled Toilet
- Big screen projector or the option of written text where appropriate
- Carpet issues being dealt with
- Mobility buggy and wheelchair friendly
- Variety of different seats to provide a choice in seating comfort
- Food and drink always available
- Stewards available when appropriate
- Pastoral care and Building committees to monitor our continued corporate levels of care
- People who understand and have experience of careing for special needs
- Individual People who care for others
05: Money & Giving
UPDATED NOVEMBER 2022
All funds used and received are given voluntarily without obligation and we give thanks to all who contribute. There is no tithing or persuasion tactics used to extract funds from friends, visitors and Methodist members.
During Chapel Worship there is no longer a collection bag passed around. Some regulars choose to make standing orders via bank accounts. There is no embarrassment for those who choose to give much, little or not at all. We appreciate the single donations we receive such as the £200 during the free to enter Christmas festival. We now have most of the regulars donating via bank transfers so the weekly offering collection be discontinued, which will remove the feeling of pushiness caused by “in your face” money collection during the precious time of God’s communal Worship. There is a collection box for discrete donations.
There are fundamental expenses that need to be met and we value and thank you for keeping the church running. We would rather save souls and love people than save money, and we will try all we can to avoid becoming a fund raising type of church, which can distort and distract churches in a very ugly way if left unchecked. God commissions us to care for those in need personally and communally ‘Acts 2: 42-47’.
The money received pays for the Southampton circuit ministry staff, the upkeep of the chapel building, the UK methodist church organisation, our projects and group expenses, and charity giving. The financial accounts are published regularly in the church magazine and compiled according to established Methodist principles, and are audited independently and reviewed at the church AGM, to which anybody is invited.
2020 and 2021 provided us with the confidence to know that much of our expenses are not essential to continue worshipping and to live together in Christ.
Giving money is not enough: our hearts should be open as well as our wallets, so that our enthusiasms become a gift from God. He does not need our actions (the Lord gives to us!), but our practical actions are good evidence of his close presence, and we should all give by doing.
Thankyou for what you give. It will enable God’s work and worship to continue communally in this public place in Hedge End, and provide many people with an essential social access point to other people who love the Lord, and want to learn and care together.
06: Visit Us
UPDATED ?
The building was built in 1924. If the church looks victorian gothic with a steeple, that’s the St John’s Anglican church. Walk down hill towards the centre of town about 100 yards. If the church is has a triangular roof with a big window in the centre front, that’s the Methodist Church.
Parking: There is limited parking in the front (St Johns Road) and rear (Granada Road) car parks. There is on street parking in both roads and in adjacent streets within a residential area.
The sign from M27 Junction 7 refers to “Hedge End Village” as distinct from the Hedge End retail park “Sainsburys etc”, where you can easily get lost.
Buses and Trains:Lots of buses stop in central Hedge End which is a three minute walk from the church. Hedge End Train Station is a long way from the town centre.
Access to the Building
The main entrance is in St. Johns Road. Many public events take place in the fellowship hall at the rear. Entry can be made by following the path along the side of the building. All entrances can be accessed from both St Johns Road and Granada Road.
Special Needs Provision
Wheelchairs, Buggies and Bicycles are welcome in the front or rear of the building. We are pleased to help if you have a problem. Please be considerate about looking after paintwork. A variety of different seating arrangements are available. Hearing aid loops are installed in the main hall and the fellowship hall. A big screen is used in the main hall during sunday services.
Facilities
Toilets are always available at the rear of the building. Refreshments are available at most events.
The Step Problem
There are two steps between the chapel and the fellowship hall. If we built a ramp between chapel and hall the emergency exit doors would be blocked. If we lowered the floor it fouls the choir vestry. Now there is an easy way around. There is a flat surface between the door of the chapel and the door of the fellowship hall, but guests often need instructions. This is not ideal, but we are currently stumped.
07: Contact Us
08: How to Find Us
Find Us on Google Map… (Opens as external Tab)
Hedge End Methodist Church 